Maximizing Value of Volunteer Voucher

[07pilot4me]

Hello,

My DW and our family are planning a trip to DL in April. We were also both planning to volunteer to get a free day.

as i understand, the $72 voucher can be credited towards a park hopper or a DAP... i was not planning to use the vouchers in April, since special pricing is available if we purchase 4 day park hopper online ($161) and i feel that if we applied the $72 voucher at the gates it would minimize its value since tickets are more at the gate. ($199 at the gate).

any thoughts on maximizing the $72 value of the voucher??? am i correct in assuming that the vouchers can only be credited towards the park value of the tickets as opposed to the online value of the tickets?? can $72 voucher be combined with park hopper purchase price toward an AP???

any advice would be appreciated

 

[Disney Dreams]

Hello,

My DW and our family are planning a trip to DL in April. We were also both planning to volunteer to get a free day.

as i understand, the $72 voucher can be credited towards a park hopper or a DAP... i was not planning to use the vouchers in April, since special pricing is available if we purchase 4 day park hopper online ($161) and i feel that if we applied the $72 voucher at the gates it would minimize its value since tickets are more at the gate. ($199 at the gate).

any thoughts on maximizing the $72 value of the voucher??? am i correct in assuming that the vouchers can only be credited towards the park value of the tickets as opposed to the online value of the tickets?? can $72 voucher be combined with park hopper purchase price toward an AP???

any advice would be appreciated

Okay, first the easy one: You cannot get the online price at the gate.

Now, what you CAN do is:
1. Purchase the 4day PH online. (Cost: $161)
2. Volunteer and get your voucher
3. Activate your PH.
4. Use your voucher to upgrade your PH to an AP. (Cost: Price of AP minus $161 minus $72.)

Others may have another creative option.

HTH,
Dreams

 

[SeattleTink]

Dreams,

Will this scenario you mentioned above work? I have the same dillema.

We already volunterred and have our vouchers.

Can I buy a PH and use it and the voucher and then use both to upgrade to a DAP?

That would be great....then I could get a MM too!

Thanks in advance.

 

[07pilot4me]

this is the only way i can think of to fully use the $72 value

the $64,000 question is, will this work????

i guess its time to shoot Disney an email

Okay, first the easy one: You cannot get the online price at the gate.

Now, what you CAN do is:
1. Purchase the 4day PH online. (Cost: $161)
2. Volunteer and get your voucher
3. Activate your PH.
4. Use your voucher to upgrade your PH to an AP. (Cost: Price of AP minus $161 minus $72.)

Others may have another creative option.

HTH,
Dreams

 

[SeattleTink]

07Pilot, let me know what you find out, pretty please...

 

[Lollipop's Mom]

Get the ear hat figurine and sell it on ebay??
I am in the same dilemma - we are going in the busy march break week so might get fast passes.

 

[Disney Dreams]

Dreams,

Will this scenario you mentioned above work? I have the same dillema.

We already volunterred and have our vouchers.

Can I buy a PH and use it and the voucher and then use both to upgrade to a DAP?

That would be great....then I could get a MM too!

Thanks in advance.

Not quite.

1. Buy the PH.
2. Use it. (And your MM)
3. DON'T use the voucher for a fifth day.
4. On the fourth day, when you show up at the Park, present your PH and your voucher. Tell them you want to upgrade your PH to an AP using your voucher.

- Dreams

 

[07pilot4me]

i found this under the FAQ here:

http://disneyparks.disney.go.com/disneyparks/en_US/WhatWillYouCelebrate/index?name=Give-A-Day-Get-A-Disney-Day-Terms-Conditions-FAQs#groupOne


May I upgrade my free one day ticket to an Annual Pass or multi-day ticket?

Yes, you may upgrade the free ticket to another ticket type of greater value within the applicable upgrade window. However, you are responsible for the incremental cost and the new ticket may only be used by you. No changes or refunds will be given. The value of the free ticket may not be used to combine or upgrade with a separate single or multi-day ticket.

i am interpreting this as combining a PH and a free day voucher is not allowed


i also wrote an email to CS and awaiting a response

 

[mareed]

Why not just use the GAD voucher as credit towards an AP? Your cost spent will be the same, and all you're missing out on is the 1 MM if you bought the park-hopper ahead of time. There have been many other threads here pointing out that the value of the free day with the GAD voucher is only beneficial if you're making a 1-2 day trip because otherwise you're better off pre-purchasing the tickets as you've seen.

 

[07pilot4me]

just got off the phone with CS. only ONE "ticket"(either a free day voucher OR a Park Hopper) can be credited toward purchase of an annual pass

the CS did suggest upgrading the free day to an AP at the gate WITH ONE WARNING: Make sure that the rest of your days during the visit are not block out days since it would require you to purchase block out tickets.

wish this was not the case since it "dilutes" the value of the free day voucher (park hopper cost at the park is more $$$$)

4 day park hopper at the gate= $229 - $72 = $157

4 day park hopper online = $161

so the answer to my question is: the only way to maximize a free day vouchers value is to upgrade it to an AP

 

[gethane]

Bummer. I'm in the same situation and one of the days of our visit is a blackout day .

 

[SeattleTink]

Thanks for your legwork 07Pilot....

That is kind of what I suspected.

Oh well. I think we will just use our vouchers for the DAP upgrade and forgo the MM. It probably is worth it to upgrade for just the discounts anyway.

I appreciate you sharing the information.

Have a great trip.

 

[07pilot4me]

Bummer. I'm in the same situation and one of the days of our visit is a blackout day .

your good as long as the blackout day is the first day of the visit

 

[Disney Dreams]

just got off the phone with CS. only ONE "ticket"(either a free day voucher OR a Park Hopper) can be credited toward purchase of an annual pass

the CS did suggest upgrading the free day to an AP at the gate WITH ONE WARNING: Make sure that the rest of your days during the visit are not block out days since it would require you to purchase block out tickets.

wish this was not the case since it "dilutes" the value of the free day voucher (park hopper cost at the park is more $$$$)

4 day park hopper at the gate= $229 - $72 = $157

4 day park hopper online = $161

so the answer to my question is: the only way to maximize a free day vouchers value is to upgrade it to an AP

Well.....

I called and asked:

If I have a 4 day PH and I volunteer, can I come to the Park, use my PH and then upgrade my PH to an AP, applying the value of my voucher to the AP? She said, yes, as long as it's a Deluxe or Premium.

I said, so - The PH costs $161. They will apply that and then subtract the $72 and I owe the difference for my AP? She said, "Yes."

I will call back and ask again.

- Dreams

ETA: So I called back and was told the above is not quite right. LOL

What you CAN do is:

Go the the Park with your Get the Give a Day voucher. Buy a 4 day PH at the gate, applying your Give a Day ticket. ($229 - $72). Cost: $157. Then, on day 4, upgrade to the AP. They will apply the cost of your 4 day ($157) towards your AP.
PHEW!

- Dreams

 

[mareed]

Well.....

What you CAN do is:

Go the the Park with your Get the Give a Day voucher. Buy a 4 day PH at the gate, applying your Give a Day ticket. ($229 - $72). Cost: $150. Then, on day 4, upgrade to the AP. They will apply the cost of your 4 day ($150) towards your AP.
PHEW!

- Dreams

But, you could have purchased a 4-day park hopper ticket ahead of time at Getawaytoday.com for $157. This is costing you $150 using your GAD free-day voucher, so the "value" of that voucher for you is $7 - not $72.

With DL's ticket pricing structure of having readily available pre-purchase discount for 3 day or greater park-hoppers, the only times that using the GAD voucher for a free day really makes much sense is if you're only going to DL for 1-2 days, or you're upgrading right to an AP from the free one-day ticket.

In the case listed above, you're only saving $7 off the price of the AP or park-hopper, and if there were many people in your group doing this, it could add up, but it definitely greatly dilutes the value such that I think many people would consider the Fastpass option rather than saving only $7.

 

[Eeee-va]

What you CAN do is:

Go the the Park with your Get the Give a Day voucher. Buy a 4 day PH at the gate, applying your Give a Day ticket. ($229 - $72). Cost: $150. Then, on day 4, upgrade to the AP. They will apply the cost of your 4 day ($150) towards your AP.
PHEW!

- Dreams

Brilliant! Great explanation and nice legwork (finger-work? ).

 

[07pilot4me]

the value of the voucher in this scenario is $0.00

since $229-$72 = $157

so volunteering nets you warm fuzzies and nothing more in this scenario

But, you could have purchased a 4-day park hopper ticket ahead of time at Getawaytoday.com for $157. This is costing you $150 using your GAD free-day voucher, so the "value" of that voucher for you is $7 - not $72.

With DL's ticket pricing structure of having readily available pre-purchase discount for 3 day or greater park-hoppers, the only times that using the GAD voucher for a free day really makes much sense is if you're only going to DL for 1-2 days, or you're upgrading right to an AP from the free one-day ticket.

In the case listed above, you're only saving $7 off the price of the AP or park-hopper, and if there were many people in your group doing this, it could add up, but it definitely greatly dilutes the value such that I think many people would consider the Fastpass option rather than saving only $7.

 

[07pilot4me]

what is the fastpass option?? i thought all tickets included the fastpass option. what exactly does the Fastpass exchange card do??

But, you could have purchased a 4-day park hopper ticket ahead of time at Getawaytoday.com for $157. This is costing you $150 using your GAD free-day voucher, so the "value" of that voucher for you is $7 - not $72.

With DL's ticket pricing structure of having readily available pre-purchase discount for 3 day or greater park-hoppers, the only times that using the GAD voucher for a free day really makes much sense is if you're only going to DL for 1-2 days, or you're upgrading right to an AP from the free one-day ticket.

In the case listed above, you're only saving $7 off the price of the AP or park-hopper, and if there were many people in your group doing this, it could add up, but it definitely greatly dilutes the value such that I think many people would consider the Fastpass option rather than saving only $7.

 

[Eeee-va]

what is the fastpass option?? i thought all tickets included the fastpass option. what exactly does the Fastpass exchange card do??

It appears that if you exchange up your voucher for the "Fastpass Option," you get about 6 Fastpasses (3 for more popular rides and 3 for less popular rides), good for your entire party (up to I believe 6 people). These are separate from, and in addition to, the regular FPs that anyone can get with valid ticket media. Your whole party must be present to claim them.

The only FP number I have heard for this particular promotion was 6 FPs, but I know during the birthday promotion you could get fewer or more FPs, perhaps based on how busy the park was predicted to be.

 

[07pilot4me]

It appears that if you exchange up your voucher for the "Fastpass Option," you get about 6 Fastpasses (3 for more popular rides and 3 for less popular rides), good for your entire party (up to I believe 6 people). These are separate from your regular FPs that anyone can get.

The only FP number I have heard for this particular promotion was 6 FPs, but I know during the birthday promotion you could get fewer or more FPs, perhaps based on how busy the park was predicted to be.

so if i understand correctly, when i receive the FP card, i can run up to the eligible rides and obtain fastpasses for them?? i know it is once FP card per day. but can you obtain multiple FP on the same card on the same day???

sounds like a more worthy option for those volunteering to get their vouchers worth