new and old style AAA Diamond Parking Passes

[Tara]

This has been discussed before, but I wanted to share my experience today. I booked an AP rate at CBR. Later I decided to add DxDP. Since it would then be a more substantial package, I figured I'd let my AAA office get a little cut of the deal (doesn't cost me any more anyway) and I'd get a parking pass out of it. So I signed over my reservation and asked them to add DxDP.

I also told them when I picked up my documents, I wanted to buy a 6-day PH for my MIL for a trip in August that I already had arranged through DVC and made it clear I wasn't buying anything else through them aside from this pass. I asked if I could still have a Diamond Pass that would be good in August as well. The agent said sure and I left it at that.

Today I went to pick up the documents. I've never booked a package through AAA so I wasn't sure what to expect. The agent walked me through the booklet of vouchers and there it was, the new pass I'd heard so much about. This is what the dated pass looks like:

Note the dates and my name (covered up the last name and reservation number).

Then I asked to buy the 6-day PH and reminded her about the Diamond Pass. Another person rang up the PH sale then said she needed to check about the Diamond Pass, made a phone call and confirmed that they could give them out for people buying passes. This is what she gave me (I intentionally cut off part of the pass, left part with glare and put something over the serial number so - that isn't just bad photo skills )

Note the big ol' "VOID IF SOLD" warning right on the front.

I thought this might be helpful as I've never seen what the bound voucher looks like and the way others have described it, I wasn't even sure if it was a deal where you had a voucher for each day of the package booking and I had no idea what to expect when I picked up my documents today! I'm such a visual person that I always feel better when I know what something is going to look like, so I thought posting this might help others, too.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

A very effective use of pictures to tell your story. Mission accomplished!

 

[dis-happy]

So the first pass you posted (with the dates) is black and white? Is it the same size as the second pass? Kind of hard to tell.

I bought a ticket (as usual) at my AAA office this year so I could get the pass. It looked the typical pass, same as the one shown in your second picture. Interesting that there are two kinds now. Hopefully they won't phase out the regular pass, as we use it for multiple trips every year.

Oh, too funny, I also found a pass on the ground by my car at Epcot a couple of weeks ago. It had a little bit of gum stuck to it but that didn't stop me from wrapping it up and taking it home for my friend to use! (Dh wasn't too thrilled though).

 

[Tara]

So the first pass you posted (with the dates) is black and white? Is it the same size as the second pass? Kind of hard to tell.

The first one is black and white and it's a perforated voucher. If detached from the booklet, it's larger than the second, color pass. The printed portion of the voucher is slightly smaller though. The back of the b/w voucher is the same as the color one, but it looks like a bad photocopy.

 

[lonegungirl]

I always find it so irking that they have different rules for different offices. I've called a number of AAA office around where I am to see if I could get a Diamond permit for either just booking a room or just buying tickets, and they've told me they'll only give the permits out if you purchase a whole package from them--even if the package is more expensive than the room and tickets purchased separately. Foo.

 

[goofy4tink]

I find it interesting that the same office gave out two different types of passes. One would think that if you buy a pkg through AAA you get a limited parking permit. But if you buy passes, the permit isn't dated. I wonder if that is because the park passes are non-expiring, so the parking permit will match it??

 

[Brian Noble]

I suspect it's simpler than that---this particular office happens to have old passes that they haven't gotten rid of yet, and this is one way to do it.

 

[Tara]

I find it interesting that the same office gave out two different types of passes. One would think that if you buy a pkg through AAA you get a limited parking permit. But if you buy passes, the permit isn't dated. I wonder if that is because the park passes are non-expiring, so the parking permit will match it??

I think this is exactly it. The woman who gave me the pass called to confirm the policy and was told that they give the passes to people who buy park admission. There's no way for them to produce a dated parking pass for this. I assume they will continue to give them out in this way.

I'm going to ask next time I'm there about their policy related to the passes and see if they're just getting rid of the old ones (which is what I previously suspected) or whether they'll continue to give out undated passes as well (which is what I now suspect). I would have asked this before, but one of them said something about Photopass and I mentioned I'd already pre-ordered the CD with the $50 discount and they were on my like a duck on a June bug wanting to know all about this discount they'd never heard of. (this is also after I flipped through their 2010 Disney brochure and pointed out errors in their Bay Lake Tower description)

 

[dis-happy]

I suspect it's simpler than that---this particular office happens to have old passes that they haven't gotten rid of yet, and this is one way to do it.

No, these passes are printed and dated for 2010. They are new, not old.

There was some speculation late last year that only the LOS dated passes would be available for this year. Was glad to see that things stayed the same at my AAA.

 

[JB2K]

As anything AAA goes, I believe it is left-up to the individual auto club, in particular (AAA is made-up of 69 different auto clubs around the U.S.)