HELP! Seasonal pass blockout dates changed?

[kdnmom]

Hi All,

OK, so I'm currently in a panic. We are Florida resident Seasonal Passholders, and our passes are good through August 19, 2010. When we bought the passes, I remember thinking that we would have to come back in June because we wouldn't be able to fit a trip in in August because of the blockout days. (I remember thinking originally that the blockout days were 2nd week of June through August 19.) Then more recently I looked the dates up again to try to figure out when to fit in a summer trip. Was initially upset because the Blockout dates started earlier in June than I remembered, and the kids would still be in school. Then I noticed that the blockout period ended August 12! YES! We can get a week in before they expire and before the kids are back in school!! I just recently (after I got a PIN) booked a trip for August 12-19. Just happened to look at the passholder site today and saw the blockout dates now listed as through August 19th!! Now my husband has his vacation scheduled and there's really no way he can switch it to June. We might have been able to schedule a June trip had we known before that early June was going to be available.

Now, I am a compulsive planner and must have looked up those dates a hundred times. Could I really have misread them over and over and over again? Or have the blockout dates changed? Anyone have any documentation of the dates being through August 12th?

Thanks for any help!!

 

[BBG-BLT]

Hey - what! I'm about to get APs what do you mean block out dates!!

 

[kdnmom]

Seasonal Passes are a cheaper, limited form of Annual Passes that are available to Florida Residents. They are cheaper because they block out certain dates throughout the year - a couple of weeks around Christmas, a couple of weeks at Spring Break, and most of the summer. They also don't have the parking benefits that regular APs have (and probably a bunch of other things that I can't think of right now).

 

[DOOM1001]

Hey - what! I'm about to get APs what do you mean block out dates!!

Annual passes,for Florida residents or non Florida residents don't have blackout dates,Seasonal passes that only Florida residents can get do have blackout dates,it's usually 2 weeks during spring break,2 weeks during the peak of Christmas and around 2 months during summer.

 

[Eljay]

...must have looked up those dates a hundred times. Could I really have misread them over and over and over again? Or have the blockout dates changed? Anyone have any documentation of the dates being through August 12th?

Thanks for any help!!

When I used to get the Seasonal Pass, there was always a sticker on my pass sleeve that stated the blackout dates. Take a look at your SP sleeve.

 

[amzking]

Just for history, when we had the SP, in 2008, the blackout dates ended around the 19th, NOT the 12th. They began around the 5th or 6th of June.

 

[DebbieB]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/ticket-descriptions.htm#Florida Resident Seasonal Pass

Florida Resident Seasonal Pass -
Entitles Florida residents to admission* to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom and the Disney's Hollywood Studios Except activities/events separately priced.

The following dates are excluded:


* 3/27/2010-4/7/2010, 6/12/2010-8/19/2010, 12/18/2010- 1/01/2011

This pass expires 365 days after date of purchase

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Here is the current schedule

2010 Block Out Dates
Date Type Start Date End Date
Block out 12/19/2009 01/01/2010
Block out 03/27/2010 04/09/2010
Block out 06/12/2010 08/19/2010
Block out 12/18/2010 01/01/2011

2011 Block Out Dates
Date Type Start Date End Date
Block out 12/18/2010 01/01/2011
Block out 04/16/2011 04/28/2011
Block out 06/11/2011 08/18/2011
Block out 12/18/2011 01/02/2012

 

[kdnmom]

Thanks for the replies everyone. Yes, I know how the blockout dates are currently listed. I just swear that I saw them before as ending on the 12th. I guess if there's no evidence for that, I'm just going to have to face the fact that I have lost my mind.

Now I just have to figure out what to do about our vacation...

 

[BrettS]

Now I just have to figure out what to do about our vacation...

If you can't move the vacation you do have the option to upgrade your seasonal passes to full FL resident annual passes for the difference in the cost between the passes, but it's still around $120 each... quite a lot to have to spend unexpectedly. Also, upgrading your pass won't extend your AP expiration date and since it sounds like yours expire on 8/19, so you wouldn't really get any other use out of them.

The only other thing that might help if you had planned to renew your passes for next year is the fact that you can do the renewal 30 days before the expiration date of your pass and you can also switch to another AP type at the renewal rate. I'm thinking that if you do renew and you renew to a full FL resident AP before your trip then you should be good for this trip. Of course, it's still going to be more expensive than you had originally planned on, but at least you would get 15 months our of your new AP (if you renew before 8/31 they'll give you 15 months on the renewal). The only caveat is that I don't know for sure when the new upgraded AP will actually be valid... whether it starts on the old expiration date (which wouldn't help you much) or if it starts the day you do the upgrade. Cheshire might be able to answer this question.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

If you can't move the vacation you do have the option to upgrade your seasonal passes to full FL resident annual passes for the difference in the cost between the passes, but it's still around $120 each... quite a lot to have to spend unexpectedly. Also, upgrading your pass won't extend your AP expiration date and since it sounds like yours expire on 8/19, so you wouldn't really get any other use out of them.

The only other thing that might help if you had planned to renew your passes for next year is the fact that you can do the renewal 30 days before the expiration date of your pass and you can also switch to another AP type at the renewal rate. I'm thinking that if you do renew and you renew to a full FL resident AP before your trip then you should be good for this trip. Of course, it's still going to be more expensive than you had originally planned on, but at least you would get 15 months our of your new AP (if you renew before 8/31 they'll give you 15 months on the renewal). The only caveat is that I don't know for sure when the new upgraded AP will actually be valid... whether it starts on the old expiration date (which wouldn't help you much) or if it starts the day you do the upgrade. Cheshire might be able to answer this question.

Doing a combined renewal/upgrade will not work as the new pass will not be valid until the actual expiration date of the old pass.

But if you do upgrade to a full AP and are staying off-property you will be saving the $14 per day parking fee.

 

[DisneyWisher]

I just got out the little sleeve that lists SP benefits which I received in January and it states August 18th. I think the 12 for June is probably what stuck in your head. I would change dates if at all possible. Its not worth the $500 upgrade to APs (least in my opinion) since your passes are almost expired at that point. I'm so sorry this happened to you, its stinks when you are planning a Disney trip and it doesn't work out the way you want. Been there, done that.

 

[BrettS]

Doing a combined renewal/upgrade will not work as the new pass will not be valid until the actual expiration date of the old pass.

:: sigh:: I was afraid that might be the case, but I'd hate for them to have to spend an extra $120 per pass to do the upgrade just to have it expire on them. I realize that it's probably up to the manager on duty, but do you think that if they did renew to a full AP for the next year that Disney would allow them to use their existing seasonal pass during the last week of the blockout period or upgrade their seasional to a full AP for one week at no charge? Or is that something that would just never be done?

Of course, even if there is a chance that they might get a little magic like that it would be tough planning a vacation around it because if it didn't happen then what would they do.

 

[kdnmom]

Thanks again for everyone's input!

So, I called and spoke with someone at Disney ticketing, who confirmed that I have indeed lost my mind. The dates as far as she knows have always been through 8/19. The good news is that she said that since I have been confirmed to be crazy, I can go work for Disney.

She did say that I could do the renewal/upgrade, though. I know that this is different than what CF said (whose input I much appreciate), so now I'm not sure who to believe. She said that I could purchase regular APs at the renewal rate when I got there (8/12 or 8/13) and that they would then have the new AP expiration date be the 12th or 13th, instead of the 19th. Plus, it would count towards the current 15month-for-12month offer, so they would expire November 12th or 13th.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!!!

 

[BrettS]

She did say that I could do the renewal/upgrade, though. I know that this is different than what CF said (whose input I much appreciate), so now I'm not sure who to believe. She said that I could purchase regular APs at the renewal rate when I got there (8/12 or 8/13) and that they would then have the new AP expiration date be the 12th or 13th, instead of the 19th. Plus, it would count towards the current 15month-for-12month offer, so they would expire November 12th or 13th.

Anyone have any thoughts on this?

Thanks!!!

Unfortunately I would tend to believe CF on this over the person on the phone. CF does ticketing day in and day out, so he's very familiar with this sort of thing. The person you talked to on the phone just works in a call center and has probably never sold or upgraded a single ticket in her life. I'm sure she had good intentions, but there are so many different ticketing rules and the people in the call center don't have much experience with unusual transactions like this one.

Now, that said, even if you tecnhically shouldn't be able to use your new AP immediately, I wouldn't be at all surprised if you did go ahead and do the upgrade and explained the whole situation to them (maybe even add that you were told that it would work by someone on the phone) that they would make it happen. Of course, it's still a bit of a risk and you'd have to have some sort of backup plan if it doesn't work out:/

 

[fla4fun]

Doing a combined renewal/upgrade will not work as the new pass will not be valid until the actual expiration date of the old pass.

But if you do upgrade to a full AP and are staying off-property you will be saving the $14 per day parking fee.

Could they buy a regular multi day ticket, use it on their trip, and then use the value of the multi day ticket towards their seasonal renewal? Or would they only be able to do a straight upgrade from the multi day to the seasonal? I'm thinking if they were able to get a discount rate on a multi day, and then apply that ticket's value toward the upgrade or purchase of a new seasonal, they might not come out too badly in the long run - especially if they get the multi day before Disney does their next annual increase (which if I remember correctly has been the first weekend in August the last couple years or so).

 

[BrettS]

Could they buy a regular multi day ticket, use it on their trip, and then use the value of the multi day ticket towards their seasonal renewal? Or would they only be able to do a straight upgrade from the multi day to the seasonal? I'm thinking if they were able to get a discount rate on a multi day, and then apply that ticket's value toward the upgrade or purchase of a new seasonal, they might not come out too badly in the long run - especially if they get the multi day before Disney does their next annual increase (which if I remember correctly has been the first weekend in August the last couple years or so).

Yes... that should work perfectly. You can use a MYW ticket to upgrade to an AP renewal, and a partially used (or fully used) MYW ticket is fine too as long as you do it within 14 days of the first use.

Get a 7 day FL Resident MYW ticket, use it for your trip, then on the last day use it to renew your seasonal pass... you will almost certainly have to upgrade to a full annual pass when you do this, because the ticket will have been used on block out dates, but I've also heard that if you do the upgrade on a non blockout date, or don't use it on the day you do the renewal that you may be able to still get a seasonal pass for next year.

The only other caveat is that if you want hopping for this trip the cost for a FL resident 7 day hopping MYW ticket is slightly more than the cost of a seasonal pass renewal. If you can renew to a seasonal pass then you won't get a refund for the difference, but it's only about $20 per ticket, so that may be acceptable. A non hopping ticket is less than the seasonal pass renewal, so that would be fine, and of course, hopping or non hopping would be less than a full AP if you need to go that route.

Great thinking, Fla4fun

 

[kdnmom]

OOoooohhhhh! I'm liking this idea! Thanks fla4fun and BrettS!

I would be able to upgrade a MYW ticket after it had been fully used? (Within 14 days?) I'm off to go reread CF's sticky...

 

[BrettS]

I would be able to upgrade a MYW ticket after it had been fully used? (Within 14 days?) I'm off to go reread CF's sticky...

Correct.

 

[DisneyWisher]

OOoooohhhhh! I'm liking this idea! Thanks fla4fun and BrettS!

I would be able to upgrade a MYW ticket after it had been fully used? (Within 14 days?) I'm off to go reread CF's sticky...

CF can confirm but this might not work. When I had a FL 3 day pass and used 1 day during blackout date(wasn't even in the park an hour) got on EE within 15 mins and right after started feeling faint and overheated and left after downing 2 bottles of water. I could have gone to GS to see if they might refund the day back to our passes but I felt so sick I just wanted to go. So 2 months later I go to upgrade to SP and I was told that since ticket was used during blackout it could only be upgraded to AP. I didn't know that and that it wasn't stated on website. CM said he would do it that time but that it was a rule. So just so you know that might not work. I hope it does.