??? Purchasing AP's at Disney Store

[crusin'minnie]

Our local disney store closed The nearest one is 2 hours away. I am planning on purchasing AP's for the whole family.
1. How much time at the parks will I save if I purchase at Disney Store before we leave?
2. Do I need the whole family with me at time of purchase?


Thanks!!

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by crusin'minnie
1. How much time at the parks will I save if I purchase at Disney Store before we leave?
In all reality, you'll only save about 5 minutes if that. What you get at TDS is an AP voucher that has to be exchanged at WDW for the activated AP. So all you will have gained time-wise is the fact that you won't have to take out your charge card at the WDW ticket booth.

2. Do I need the whole family with me at time of purchase?
No not when you buy them at TDS but they will all have to be with you when you exchange the voucher at WDW as all adults must show a photo ID in order to get the activated pass.

 

[crusin'minnie]

Thanks so much GoldenOldie!!

I'm just going to wait till we get there. If I have to stand in line to activate anyway I may as well just purchase at the gate as well!

And I won't have the anxiety of forgetting or losing the tickets before our trip!!

 

[Minnie's Mate]

If you are flying into Orlando, you can buy actual activated passes at the airport Disney Store. The down side is the 365 day period starts the day you arrive at the airport and purchase the passes. The up side is it saves time at park entry. You still have to do the finger scan at the Disney gate and you have to let the gate attendant know they are new cards so the scan can be saved, but that doesn't add any time to the process.

You can also purchase the activated AP's at Guest Services at Downtown Disney. Again, they are activated and the clock starts ticking, but you have one less line to stand in on your first day at the parks.

By the way, there never seems to be a line at the ticket counters at any of the parks if you want to just wait 'til you get to the parks on your first park day.

 

[BonnieA]

I bought my activated AP at the disney store at MCO 2 weeks ago and just walked right into the parks with it the next morning. Couldn't have been simpler.

 

[kathy387]

Does anyone know what time DTD guest services opens? We're spending the first 4 days at Universal and I'll need my ap when we check in but I don't want to buy it until the last minute since it's activated right away. We thought we'd get them after we leave Portofino on our way to the Wilderness Lodge so if we do decide to make another trip at the end of next summer, we'll have a few days to play with.

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by Minnie's Mate
If you are flying into Orlando, you can buy actual activated passes at the airport Disney Store.

Be aware that this won't always work. I tried to do this last month. Apparently, there's only one employee who can sell the passes. She was not in the store when we arrived, and we waited for her for maybe 20 minutes (the other workers kept saying she'd be right back...)

We finally gave up and just bought our APs at the parks, where the wait was really short. I had wanted to have them in hand at check in (AP discounted room), but I had no problem checking in at the Poly without them.

Buying the passes at the airport sounds like a good idea, just don't count on it working out.

 

[kathy387]

If I bouht them ahead of time, would I be able to check in with just the voucher? We wouldn't be hitting the parks until the next day anyway.

 

[minster22]

Another question here about purchasing PAP at the Disney store....My Disney card expires in May 2003 and we have a long trip planned for April 2004. My plan is to purchase the vouchers at the Disney store using a DC discount before my card expires and then not activate them until April 2004. I will save at least $40.00 on two PAPs and possibly avoid a rate increase. Anyone see a flaw in my planning? That $40 is a very nice lunch somewhere in the World!!

 

[bunnyfoo]

How long is the lineup to exchange the vouchers for an AP at the parks? I'm guessing the line could get long in the morning... but is it super long, like more than 30 minutes?

 

[sunking]

instead of driving the two hours to tds, you can order them over the phone the internet from disney directly...they will send you vouchers that will need to be redeemed when you arrive at the park...we just received ours in the mail a few weeks ago for our june/july trip...
have fun!!!!
sunking

 

[disneyjunkie]

Can you get the DC discount at TDS in the airport? Anyone know the hours they are open?

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by disneyjunkie
Can you get the DC discount at TDS in the airport?
Yes you can at any of the three airport Disney locations.
Anyone know the hours they are open?
Currently 7:00 am to 10:00 pm for all

 

[Minnie's Mate]

How long is the lineup to exchange the vouchers for an AP at the parks? I'm guessing the line could get long in the morning... but is it super long, like more than 30 minutes?

The line is very short. I think just about everybody gets their passes ahead of time, so your in line with other people exchanging vouchers. We activated ours on Christmas Eve and went right up to the window and were the only people in line.

If I bouht them ahead of time, would I be able to check in with just the voucher? We wouldn't be hitting the parks until the next day anyway.

Yes, if asked for it, just show the voucher. You will have paid for it by then and entitled to the discount no matter when you activate the pass on your trip. You may be asked to show the activated pass before check out or be subject to rack rate.

 

[bunnyfoo]

Thanks for the reply Minnie's Mate! I was thinking of activating mine the day of my arrival, but I was thinking I'd be too tired to enjoy the parks.