How long does it take to upgrade tickets to AP? and confirm my non-expiring tix info

[kniquy]

We will be upgrading our undercover tourist tickets for my husband and daughter to AP -- we expect to be able to upgrade both for under $200 total - can't pass up this opportunity!

I am planning on bringing the recipe from UT to show how much we paid, but these are older non-expiring tickets which i am under the impression would be bridged to current 7 day hopper price then upgraded. I want to go in with correct information so that we don't pay more than we should if i encounter a CM who is a little less knowledgeable.

My question is -- how long should i allot for upgrading both? Does it depend on the CM? We will do it sometime during our trip. but some days we have plans to hit the park right away and don't want to spend a 1/2 hr at guest services putting us behind for the day.

 

[supersnoop]

i am under the impression would be bridged to current 7 day hopper price then upgraded.

This is not correct. They will be bridged to the last available gate price of the tickets before expiration dates were introduced. There’s a thread in the theme park forum with more details and a link to verify the value.

*i assume you’re talking about tickets without an expiration date and not tickets with the no-expiration option

 

[danielocha30]

guest service on each park open about an hour before the park do, be there early to be the first in line, 30 min go fast and they aren’t in a rush to do their job. another option is to do the upgrade at Disney Spring but I don’t know their hours. It can take more or less than 30 minutes just the upgrading, you have to fill your personal info, then sign the contract, and double check any details, that’s all standard. Plan for the unforeseen, we once did show up early and were first in line and after the upgrade paperwork was done, the magicbands were not working and it took an extra 30 minutes to sort the problem. Still make it on time for rope drop.

 

[kniquy]

i assume you’re talking about tickets without an expiration date

Yes tickets without an expiration date - so is there a source to find out what the 7 day hopper price would have been before they changed to the expiring tickets? or am i just at the mercy of the CM.

They did just start the expiring tickets last year -- correct? Was that in February sometime?

We bought these from UT in the summer time because it was a great deal - but are the older tix with no expiration dates -- so maybe they were left overs from prior to Feb.

Want to have my ducks in a row.

 

[Chuck S]

Why not arrive at the park 1/2 hour early and upgrade? 1/2 hour is a probably a good estimate, if guest services is a bit busy. Probably less, but better to allow extra time just in case.

 

[supersnoop]

Yes tickets without an expiration date - so is there a source to find out what the 7 day hopper price would have been before they changed to the expiring tickets? or am i just at the mercy of the CM.

Like I said, there’s a link in the theme park forum. I guess you can find it here: https://www.disboards.com/threads/all-about-tickets-at-wdw.3570721/

 

[hakepb]

I generally upgrade to an AP in the afternoon, when leaving a park.
(Unless I was dining in the AM somewhere that I wanted the AP discount). And morning Photopass pictures will be “unlocked” after upgrading to the AP, so you don’t really miss anything by waiting to upgrade.

Might even be able to try out the Liberty square ticket office in the Magic Kingdom
http://wdwnt.com/blog/2017/02/new-t...ocation-opening-liberty-square-magic-kingdom/

 

[loves to dive]

I don't know about DVC annual passes but for the regular AP you do not need to show how much you paid. It doesn't matter, they are just going to take the current price for whatever ticket you have and upgrade it to the AP. If you have it already on your MDE account it's pretty easy. I upgraded in Dec. at the front ticket counter at Epcot, took me about 10 min.

 

[diznee princess]

1 tip you should know...If you have not used or activated any days on these UT tickets do not upgrade until you have entered the park.
Once you enter, the value of the ticket will then adjust to the gate price as if you purchased them from Disney. You will get full gate price toward purchase of upgrade.
We do this all the time.

If they are partial used tickets you receive value of gate price at time you first activated them at turnstile.
You do not need receipt of what you paid to show Disney. All activity on each card will come up on computer when they swipe.it doesn't matter who the CM is.

You would lose the discount from UT, toward full price APs, if you upgrade at face value before activating.
You can upgrade any time after entering parks Before you exit on the last park day.

A Good place is the guest services in MK near Liberty Square (around the Christmas store) its usually a good hidden quiet place with quicker service.

 

[diznee princess]

Be sure to take pic of back of tkts. If for some reason you have issue you can call UT located Orlando.

 

[CMNJ]

1 tip you should know...If you have not used or activated any days on these UT tickets do not upgrade until you have entered the park.
Once you enter, the value of the ticket will then adjust to the gate price as if you purchased them from Disney. You will get full gate price toward purchase of upgrade.
We do this all the time.

If they are partial used tickets you receive value of gate price at time you first activated them at turnstile.
You do not need receipt of what you paid to show Disney. All activity on each card will come up on computer when they swipe.it doesn't matter who the CM is.

You would lose the discount from UT, toward full price APs, if you upgrade at face value before activating.
You can upgrade any time after entering parks Before you exit on the last park day.

A Good place is the guest services in MK near Liberty Square (around the Christmas store) its usually a good hidden quiet place with quicker service.

Many have said that upgrading after use is no longer necessary to get the “gate” price (if it ever was) including a ticketing cast member who posts on disboards. Also tickets that do not expire will not receive the current gate price as many people have encountered since the expiration dates started last Feb. Their value is now capped at the value they held prior to the price increases in Feb 2017.

 

[disfanforlife]

It is true, you do not have to activate/use the ticket first. The price you will get towards your upgrade will be the ticket price before the increase in Feb 2017 ( I believe) The price for the 7 day with hopper was $467.54 so you should get that amount towards your AP. I have done this several times and you are right - know the value and what you should pay and ask the CM politely to double check if their calculation is different than yours. I would expect a minimum of 30 minutes plus depending on how many people are in line ahead of you.

 

[supersnoop]

You would lose the discount from UT, toward full price APs, if you upgrade at face value before activating.
You can upgrade any time after entering parks Before you exit on the last park day.

This is no longer true. Recently available information calls into question if it was ever true. You do not have to use a ticket before upgrading to get the gate price.

 

[bumbershoot]

1 tip you should know...If you have not used or activated any days on these UT tickets do not upgrade until you have entered the park.
Once you enter, the value of the ticket will then adjust to the gate price as if you purchased them from Disney. You will get full gate price toward purchase of upgrade.

Not accurate any longer.

Recently available information calls into question if it was ever true.

I refuse to believe that. There was a solid amount of time between Mike not being on the boards (and then passing) and our current ticketing guru showing up, so the change likely happened during that time. Mike was so sure if it, and it absolutely fit the experiences of many people back then.

 

[philandjd]

Recently available information calls into question if it was ever true.

I know this to be untrue. I have upgraded UT tickets to AP's on a few occasions over the years and always used them before the upgrade. On one occasion the upgrade price was much higher then I expected and asked if she had adjusted the purchase price of the original ticket. She didn't know what I was talking about. I declined the upgrade and took care of it the next day at a different location. As for the new process since the introduction of expiring tickets I have no experience.

 

[KBoopaloo]

I second the person who suggested doing it on the way out of the park for an afternoon break. It takes the pressure off if you feel like it is taking too long and I generally find the lines to be shorter. Back in early December I was able to upgrade to an AP at a ticket window at the corner of Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards and I was the only person there.

 

[OKWJan]

They do NOT need to be used before upgrading. Some tickets may need to be upgraded, then upgraded again to get to the correct price.

 

[Greg36]

Took us closer to 45 minutes for a family of 4. Make sure you have a good sense of what you should owe. When we did this recently the CM tried to charge us a lot more and a supervisor had to show her how to do it for her to get the correct amount...

 

[diznee princess]

Many have said that upgrading after use is no longer necessary to get the “gate” price (if it ever was) including a ticketing cast member who posts on disboards. Also tickets that do not expire will not receive the current gate price as many people have encountered since the expiration dates started last Feb. Their value is now capped at the value they held prior to the price increases in Feb 2017.

Yes you are correct! We were just there in Jan. They definitely changed the way it used it worked in my previous post. We upgraded our tickets I purchased from undercover tourist to APs. This time we received the value of the non expired gate price before it changed over last year. Interestly, Not sure if the CM was correct, but she told me that the price given me on each ticket would have been higher if we were upgrading in busy season based on their tier pricing therefore the difference would have been less saving us money. Again im not sure if thats true.
Btw we upgraded mid day at Epcot guest services and it took about 15 20 min for all 3 up

1 tip you should know...If you have not used or activated any days on these UT tickets do not upgrade until you have entered the park.
Once you enter, the value of the ticket will then adjust to the gate price as if you purchased them from Disney. You will get full gate price toward purchase of upgrade.
We do this all the time.

If they are partial used tickets you receive value of gate price at time you first activated them at turnstile.
You do not need receipt of what you paid to show Disney. All activity on each card will come up on computer when they swipe.it doesn't matter who the CM is.

You would lose the discount from UT, toward full price APs, if you upgrade at face value before activating.
You can upgrade any time after entering parks Before you exit on the last park day.

A Good place is the guest services in MK near Liberty Square (around the Christmas store) its usually a good hidden quiet place with quicker service.

1 tip you should know...If you have not used or activated any days on these UT tickets do not upgrade until you have entered the park.
Once you enter, the value of the ticket will then adjust to the gate price as if you purchased them from Disney. You will get full gate price toward purchase of upgrade.
We do this all the time.

If they are partial used tickets you receive value of gate price at time you first activated them at turnstile.
You do not need receipt of what you paid to show Disney. All activity on each card will come up on computer when they swipe.it doesn't matter who the CM is.

You would lose the discount from UT, toward full price APs, if you upgrade at face value before activating.
You can upgrade any time after entering parks Before you exit on the last park day.

A Good place is the guest services in MK near Liberty Square (around the Christmas store) its usually a good hidden quiet place with quicker service.

Many have said that upgrading after use is no longer necessary to get the “gate” price (if it ever was) including a ticketing cast member who posts on disboards. Also tickets that do not expire will not receive the current gate price as many people have encountered since the expiration dates started last Feb. Their value is now capped at the value they held prior to the price increases in Feb 2017.

SO we Just went 2 weeks ago..Everyone commenting on my post are right. The above is no longer true as of Last year. Our APs last year were purchased in 2016. We upgraded from UT tickets this trip and learned the value is based on pre the expiry ticket prices. It cost us more to upgrade this time around due to this and increased ap pricing. I actually realized later I recieved a less for the value than I paid at UT for our 7 day hoppers. I should have double checked while there.
But it did only take us 20 min to upgrade 3 tickets midday at Epcot guest services inside park.
Side note, The CM did tell us, whether she was right and true or not, that had we upgraded in the higher tier season we would have gotten a higher price toward our APs thus would have saved us some on the difference from ticket to aps. Again I don't know if that's true or not. I purchased our undercover tourist tickets in Dec of 2016 and Jan 2017.