Price Bridging discounted or free ticket to AP

[Tiffer]

Hi all, it used to be that if you had a free or discounted ticket, you could go to guest relation inside the park, once you've had your ticket "scanned" (used) and get the full retail value credited toward upgrading to an AP. IS this still true? TIA

 

[Robo]

Hi all, it used to be that if you had a free or discounted ticket, you could go to guest relation inside the park, once you've had your ticket "scanned" (used) and get the full retail value credited toward upgrading to an AP. IS this still true? TIA

You do not need to have the ticket "scanned" (used) at the gate before you do the upgrade.
(You CAN do that, if you like, and its won't hurt the upgrade.)

The thing you need to know is that certain (MOST) "free" tickets cannot be upgraded (and never could be.)
It absolutely depends on where the "free" ticket came from.
Most times, tickets awarded as prizes and premiums for raffles and similar are
"complimentary" (comp) tickets, and they have no actual "value" (Disney gives them out at no charge) and, therefore, have no price value to upgrade "from."

More info on how to Upgrade can be found in the Tickets link in my signature.

 

[Accident]

Some complimentary tickets can be upgrade but some can't. I would go to guest relations as you do not need to use it to find out if it has upgrade value first.

 

[wifeofjh]

I was told my a phone cast member (they are not known for providing the most accurate info) that my complimentary ticket could not be upgraded. I too am interested in upgrading but will not be there 'till March.

 

[Anal Annie]

You can upgrade discounted tix from Undercover Tourist or Parksavers.com at Guest Relations either before or after you enter the park. At MK our experience is that there are more CMs working at the GR inside the Town Hall than at the booth outside which makes the line move quicker.

I would not use the word bridge when you go. That's not really a thing even tho that term has been used around here a lot. That can confuse some CMs. Just say that you want to upgrade your ticket to an AP. They understand that.

I would have doubts about being able to upgrade something that was complimentary to begin with. A tix that was purchased but discounted is a different thing.

 

[wilkeliza]

The only "free" tickets I know that can be updated are usually ones that are marketed as free but are really purchased with a package and the price is looped into the total cost but not presented as such. Sometimes these are upgradable and sometimes they are not.

Any ticket you get from Disney as compensation for an issue or you get through a raffle or auction is most likely not eligible for an upgrade. The only way I have see raffle or auction tickets be up-gradable is if someone bought tickets and then donated them to the organization instead of Disney giving the tickets for free.

 

[Tiffer]

You do not need to have the ticket "scanned" (used) at the gate before you do the upgrade.
(You CAN do that, if you like, and its won't hurt the upgrade.)

The thing you need to know is that certain (MOST) "free" tickets cannot be upgraded (and never could be.)
It absolutely depends on where the "free" ticket came from.
Most times, tickets awarded as prizes and premiums for raffles and similar are
"complimentary" (comp) tickets, and they have no actual "value" (Disney gives them out at no charge) and, therefore, have no price value to upgrade "from."

More info on how to Upgrade can be found in the Tickets link in my signature.

Thanks for the info, but I had "free" one day park hopper issued to me by a resort manager in 2010, I used it to enter AK in 2015, inside the park at guest relations and I was given a full retail value towards an AP. So yes, it was a thing. Just asking if it still is. I appreciate all of your other information though.

 

[Robo]

Thanks for the info, but I had "free" one day park hopper issued to me by a resort manager in 2010, I used it to enter AK in 2015, inside the park at guest relations and I was given a full retail value towards an AP. So yes, it was a thing.

It was just one of those "things."

 

[DisneyWishes14]

As others have said, it depends on where that "free" ticket came from. For example, Disney gives complimentary tickets to non-profits to auction off at fundraising events (typically 4, 1-day park hopper passes). Those free tickets are not upgradeable.

 

[Tiffer]

As others have said, it depends on where that "free" ticket came from. For example, Disney gives complimentary tickets to non-profits to auction off at fundraising events (typically 4, 1-day park hopper passes). Those free tickets are not upgradeable.

Thanks! I posted above what my "free" ticket was. I learned from these boards back in 2014 or 2015 to upgrade once in the park, not outside in order to receive retail value (credit) on the AP upgrade. I did it, and it worked. Just wondering if this is still true.

 

[Robo]

Nothing beats fun at the Disney parks!

 

[bumbershoot]

Thanks for the info, but I had "free" one day park hopper issued to me by a resort manager in 2010, I used it to enter AK in 2015, inside the park at guest relations and I was given a full retail value towards an AP. So yes, it was a thing. Just asking if it still is. I appreciate all of your other information though.

Robo said, very specifically, "certain (MOST) "free" tickets cannot be upgraded". He did not say all. It's entirely possible your resort manager gave you something that wasn't coded right to be not upgradeable, or the CM that helped you upgrade did it wrong and/or gave you pixie dust.

I learned from these boards back in 2014 or 2015 to upgrade once in the park, not outside in order to receive retail value (credit) on the AP upgrade. I did it, and it worked. Just wondering if this is still true.

It used to be true. Or we were told, and believed, that it was true by a then-active CM that worked in Ticketing.

We've since found out in the last year that it has changed or was never correct (there wasn't an overlap, it seems, in the past CM and the current CM telling us this). Bridging can and is supposed to happen no matter when the upgrade happens (once there at WDW, that is). (and CMs can ignore their training and forget the bridging at any point, too, so it's important to know what cost to expect)

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

When a manager/leader/coordinator/someone else with authority issues comp tickets, they can do it a few different ways. One way is to just issue a regular ticket that looks just like a paid one and write off the price to a voucher code. That's one instance where the ticket could be upgradeable even though it wasn't actually paid for - the computer could still see that it did have a dollar value.

Tickets issued as complimentary to begin with through a system intended to do that - examples being CM tickets, those given to charities or auctions, or those given to travel agents/media/special guests of execs/etc - aren't issued in that way and have zero dollar value, and therefore are useless for upgrades.

It really does depend on who issued the comp, why they did it, what system they used to do it, and how they documented it.