Picking Up New Annual Pass?

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

It's been a few years since the last time I was able to go to DLR enough justify having an annual pass. I'm pretty giddy that this is one of those years! DD and I are staying at DLH, so I don't need to worry about trying to buy a multi-day ticket first for MM/EMH. I'll be getting the Signature AP, but I won't have a car this trip, so no worries about parking reimbursement. I do have a few other questions, though.

1. Where should I buy the AP that will be the most time efficient? (We arrive by plane tomorrow morning and should be at the DLH at around 8:30 to check in and have them store our bags until a room is ready later that day. Then we will head straight to the parks.)
2.How long does the process take (is it about the same as buying a ticket or does it take longer because there is more paperwork?)
3. Will I get an official AP card at that time or will it be temporary and the real one will come later?
4. Is there any benefit to DD11 getting an AP, too, other than cost? Cost wise, I think it makes sense to buy her a Deluxe since our whole family will be going next October and the cost of a 4-day + 3-day parkhopper ends up costing a few dollars more than a deluxe.

 

[SMD]

It takes a lot longer to get an AP than buy a ticket. They have to go through your contract. If you buy in advance and go directly to the turnstile you will get a paper ticket to enter and then you'll need to complete the process at the ticket booth later for your actual AP. If you go directly to the ticket booth first you'll get the AP. First thing in the morning the lines will probably be long at the ticket booths. It looks like Deluxe doesn't have any blockout days in October, but it is blocked this Saturday if you were planning to go then you might want to buy a ticket and get the Signature on day 1 and upgrade the ticket on Saturday.

 

[Nevada Jen]

The tickets booths are super slow. I would buy online ahead of time.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

We are leaving on Friday, so no worries about blackouts. I definitely looked at blackout dates before deciding on which AP would work (along with parking, discounts, and photopass). I'll plan on buying the passes online today and print out the paper tickets to use tomorrow morning. I'll plan on changing them out when we leave the parks for the hotel after our room is ready in the afternoon. Are the ticket booths the only place to change the paper ticket for the APs? I seem member there being an AP processing center on Main Street, but if there is one still around, I know it definitely moved since the last time I used it since that location is now the Jolly Holiday.

 

[Niltiac]

In terms of getting into the park and on rides quickly, the fastest thing would be to buy the voucher online ahead of time and take it directly to the turnstiles. You will not have the actual AP right away (you'll get a temporary one-day ticket that you can use for FP and reentry). You'll have to go to the ticket booth later in the day to finish your paperwork and get your real AP. I'm not sure what the protocol is for using your AP discount with the temporary pass, so the biggest downside to this would be if you plan on making any big purchases that morning that you want to use the discount for. Other than that, I would go with this method because you can enjoy the morning and deal with all the paperwork in the afternoon when the parks are crowded anyway, or even after park closing (I believe the ticket booths stay open an hour later than the parks).

If you don't want to go with that method, I think you might be able to purchase the AP at the front desk of the hotel. I'm not positive though - I've heard of people buying tickets at the hotels, but I'm not sure about AP's, so you would want to ask at check-in. This way you would be able to avoid the line at the ticket booths, but it's still kind of a lengthy process, so you'd miss out on some morning park time.

In terms of your DD getting an AP, it mostly comes down the cost. The only advantage I can think of is if she was going to go to the parks without you sometime, or if your family might split up sometimes, she would be able to use the AP discount without you (although her discount wouldn't be quite as good as yours). Also, if you're planning on attending a Halloween party during your October trip, you and your DD would have access to the AP treat trail. It's not a big deal, but you usually get a little something special like a tote bag.

 

[SMD]

The only place to get an AP processed is the ticket booths. They now take your photo at the turnstile with a handheld scanner. Most likely they're going to take your photos when you enter in the morning, give you a paper ticket, and then after you have the actual AP they'll take it again when you re-enter. The whole photo taking is less than 30 seconds, just be ready when they scan your pass.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

I bought our APs! I printed them out but I also have digital copies on my phone that say the e-ticket can be scanned at the ticket booths and then a photo taken by any Photopass photographer later. It does not say I can go directly to the turnstiles with it, but maybe I can find out more when I check in to the DLH in the morning.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

We were able to go right to the turnstiles. CM scanned our barcodes, took our photos right then and there, gave us paper tickets to use for FP, and told us to go back to the booths sometime later in the day. We went to the booths that evening to avoid waiting in the heat. The transaction took a little less than 30 minutes for the two of us.

 

[HydroGuy]

I would make sure whatever you have in hand for Day #1 when you get inside the parks can be used to get your discounts on merchandise and food. I think the Signature is like 15% on discounts.

Next month DW and I are getting APs. But I am going to buy in advance 3 day tickets which has a Magic Morning. As we are staying off-site this time, we will use MM at DL on the first morning, then before lunch backtrack to the ticket booths to upgrade to Deluxe APs. We have a Blue Bayou lunch res on Day 1 and I want to get our discount (10% for DAP).

 

[Winnowill]

Signature pass discount is 15% on food (restaurants only - kiosks don't do the discount) and 20% on merch. Deluxe are 10% for both.

You will get your official AP card as soon as you process your pass at the ticket booth.

 

[3TinksAndAnEeyore]

Thanks for the input, everyone! I changed the pre-bought paper vouchers for our plastic AP cards right when we arrived at the ticket booths. There wasn't much of a line (about 8-10 people in front of us) and the entire process from getting in line to walking to the gates with APs in hand didn't take more than 10 minutes. We had reservations at the Blue Bayou yesterday at 11:30 and as Hydroguy pointed out, I wanted to be able to use my discount. We had a picture taken at the gate (where they also needed to see my ID) and the process was completed.

 

[SusanMatt]

I have a related question. We've bought our Signature APs online already. The first time we enter the parking garage, can we show either the print out or our app to get our included parking, or will we have to pay for parking the first time?

Thanks!

 

[JeannieJay]

I also have a question:

We go in a couple of weeks. We've already bought 3 day parkhoppers. What's the process to upgrade those to annual passes? We arrive Saturday evening - should we do the upgrade that evening, as opposed to the next morning?

 

[HydroGuy]

I also have a question:

We go in a couple of weeks. We've already bought 3 day parkhoppers. What's the process to upgrade those to annual passes? We arrive Saturday evening - should we do the upgrade that evening, as opposed to the next morning?

I would. Usually when I buy hoppers I try to make the first day be a MM day. I just did this last month. We did DL on a Tuesday morning then around 11AM we left DL out to the kiosks and upgraded to DAPs. That allowed us to start getting the discounts and we had a BB lunch res that day.

In your case, if you are going to the parks Sun/Mon/Tue, then Tue is the first day you can use MM. You can wait until Tue to upgrade, but then you will not get food and merchandise discounts on Sun/Mon. In that case I would upgrade the night before to save the time on Sunday.

 

[JeannieJay]

Thanks. We will do that. We are there for a week, but won't actually be going into the parks until Monday. I hadn't even thought about being able to use the discount, because we'll probably be eating dinner Saturday and breakfast Sunday in DTD as we're staying onsite.

 

[tlcdoula]

I am going to upgrade my park hopper this October. Our first night Fri Oct 27 we are hoping to do WOC des package (just waiting for that to release).

Then from what I can guess the Saturday will be a MM which everyone in my party would like to use at DL. If I upgrade my hopper to an Annual pass Friday night I won't be able to join them for the first hour, so I can wait and go out and get it done at the ticket booth before our Cafe Orleans reservation at 1:30 but what about Max Pass.

Worst case will I just lose the $10 I pay if we decide to try it out on the first day?? I was going to add it on to my annual pass for the year I believe I read it was $75 is that correct?

 

[Ryan120420]

I have a related question. We've bought our Signature APs online already. The first time we enter the parking garage, can we show either the print out or our app to get our included parking, or will we have to pay for parking the first time?

Thanks!

Your print out can be used for parking. The Cast Member will scan the barcode on your print out.

 

[smartlabelprint]

I am going to upgrade my park hopper this October. Our first night Fri Oct 27 we are hoping to do WOC des package (just waiting for that to release).

Then from what I can guess the Saturday will be a MM which everyone in my party would like to use at DL. If I upgrade my hopper to an Annual pass Friday night I won't be able to join them for the first hour, so I can wait and go out and get it done at the ticket booth before our Cafe Orleans reservation at 1:30 but what about Max Pass.

Worst case will I just lose the $10 I pay if we decide to try it out on the first day?? I was going to add it on to my annual pass for the year I believe I read it was $75 is that correct?

If you buy MP for day 1 and upgrade to AP day 2 you will lose $10.

 

[whoever]

Be careful when buying APs near ticket price increases. I spent OVER AN HOUR on my October 2015 trip arguing with the CM at the ticket booth who said I had to pay the increased price even though I had already purchased the AP vouchers. I eventually won out, but not after a LOT of pain and suffering on my part. Idiocy.

 

[Canadian Harmony]

So to be clear (because I'm a slow learner) - I can enter DLR with my 5DPH and do MM. Then after I'm done with MM, I can take my ticket to the turnstiles (?) to upgrade to a SAP and just pay the difference? As I want a Signature pass, I won't have to pay to add MP or PP+ onto the AP, like I'd have to do with a DAP. And Signature means there's no blackout dates, because we're going over Christmas and during the week (23-30), correct? Then use the AP as usual throughout the park for discounts and suchlike.