Staying @ POR, where to activate my AP?

[c&m]

Where is the closest place where I can activate my AP, when I get to POR? Is it in Downtown Disney...if it is where specifically? Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

[dudspizza]

Where is the closest place where I can activate my AP, when I get to POR? Is it in Downtown Disney...if it is where specifically? Thanks in advance for your help!!!

We stayed at WL last August and I had to go activate my AP. I simply headed over to the MK and activated it there. We then went for a nice monorail ride to each of the resorts. It was a great way to start our trip.

From PO, the closest would be DTD, if you can activate it there. Otherwise MGM or Epcot.

Duds

 

[scoutsmom99]

you can activate your AP at DTD Guest Relations or any of the theme parks DTD would be your closest option

 

[eeyore0062]

Where is the closest place where I can activate my AP, when I get to POR? Is it in Downtown Disney...if it is where specifically? Thanks in advance for your help!!!

Many people stop by DTD before checking in to activate their AP, especially if they are getting AP rates on their room. There are 2 locations. One is located at the Marketplace next to the Once Upon a Toy shop and behind Summer Sands. The 2nd location is at the Westside to the right of Wetzel's Pretzels as you are looking toward the water. It is a small round building with 2 ticket windows. The hours for the Marketplace are 8:30am until 11 pm, and for the Westside 9:30am until 11:30 pm. DTD is the closest place to PO-R to do this without having to go to a park.

 

[c&m]

Thanks for your replies!!! I think our option would be the Marketplace in DTD next to Once Upon a Toy. We arrive @ 6:30 am and plan to be at POR by around 8 am.

 

[WillCAD]

The stores at Downtown Disney don't open till 10am, so I would guess that the Guest Relations windows also don't open till 10am.

If you already have a voucher, don't bother getting it activated before you check in. Just wait till you go to a theme park and get it activated at either a ticket window or the Guest Relations window. You will not need an activated AP to check in; the voucher is enough.

If you don't have a voucher and you are buying new APs, you can do this at the Disney stores in the airport. I believe they open around 7am, so by the time you collect your luggage you should be able to get into one of them and get your APs.

Remember, though, that if you have vouchers you cannot get them activated at the airport Disney stores. You will have to wait till you get to WDW to activate a voucher.

 

[momshark]

You will not need an activated AP to check in; the voucher is enough.

I thought you MUST have your AP activated before check-in. Or is that only to get the AP rates that I booked my rooms with??

 

[rkmassa]

We did not have our AP activated when checking in. In fact nobody ever asked for it. Of course we had it and activated later because I was using it, but nobody ever asked at check in for it. It was easy to hop on the boat to DTD and activate it in the evening.

 

[c&m]

WillCAD: Thanks for your feedback. You also figured everything out for us logistically!!! We WILL be buying an AP at MCO. So, given that we can't activate the AP till later, we will be just showing a voucher on check-in.

rkmassa: Good to know that you didn't need the activated AP. We'll be doing the same thing!

We're looking forward to this whole trip at the POR. Heard many great things about this resort on the boards. Only thing I wish I could change is the time of our trip (EASTER week!!! ).

 

[cigar95]

I thought you MUST have your AP activated before check-in. Or is that only to get the AP rates that I booked my rooms with??

Only rarely will a CM require an already activated pass at check-in. Most often it's never mentioned. Sometimes a guest will be asked to come back to the desk within a day or two to show that they've activated their pass.

If a CM does require an active pass, the simplest thing to do is just say "OK, I guess I'll check in later", go to a park and activate the pass, and come back. But this seems to be a fairly uncommon event.

The only thing we can say for sure on this (frequent) topic is that if there *is* a formal policy, it's not applied uniformly across WDW, varying not only from resort to resort, but from one CM to the next, and even from day to day.

 

[momshark]

Great! Thanks for the info. I was trying to figure out how to leave my family at the resort with the luggage so I could go somewhere else to activate my AP.

 

[momshark]

Great! Thanks for the info. I was trying to figure out how to leave my family at the resort with the luggage so I could go somewhere else to activate my AP. I gues this is one less thing to worry about! Thanks!!

 

[WillCAD]

WillCAD: Thanks for your feedback. You also figured everything out for us logistically!!! We WILL be buying an AP at MCO. So, given that we can't activate the AP till later, we will be just showing a voucher on check-in.

rkmassa: Good to know that you didn't need the activated AP. We'll be doing the same thing!

We're looking forward to this whole trip at the POR. Heard many great things about this resort on the boards. Only thing I wish I could change is the time of our trip (EASTER week!!! ).

If you buy your APs at the airport, what you get is a fully-activated AP, not a voucher, so you don't need to worry about activating anything. You could go straight from the airport to a Disney park and walk right to the turnstiles!

The airport stores sell fully-activated APs, they just can't activate vouchers for some reason.

I've ranted on the check-in policy many times on many boards. Cigar95 is right that there doesn't seem to be a blanket policy; things vary from resort to resort, CM to CM, and day to day. But my opinion is this: if you are booked with an AP rate, then the SHOULD ask to see proof that you're an AP holder. But to me a voucher IS proof, because you have to give Disney your money to get the voucher, and once you get the voucher it's non-refundable under any circumstances. So if a CM asks to see your AP, and says the voucher is not enough, ask politely to speak to his manager and explain why the voucher is proof enough.

 

[c&m]

Thanks, again, WillCAD! BTW, are you a writer??? You are very clear and concise in your posts.

My mind is put at ease, knowing that the AP purchased from MCO is already activated. That's one less thing I need to worry about!

 

[WillCAD]

No, I'm not a writer. In fact, I make maps for a living, so you might say my calling is to express myself without words. But I have had people comment on my writing over the years. I don't think I'm a GOOD writer, merely a technically proficient writer.

Ever see the movie Finding Forrester? Sean Connery said something in that movie that describes me well: "A lot of writers know the rules of writing, but they don't know how to write." I know a lot of the rules, but what I write is seldom engaging or inspiring. Once in a while it's funny. Usually it's just long-winded and could easily be yada-yada'd and achieve the same effect.

I seem to suffer from linguistic OCD. Seeing and hearing misused words and expressions in the English language grates on my nerves like fingernails on a blackboard. Typos I can handle; I make enough of them myself to fill an encyclopedia of "what to NOT do when typing."

Yada, yada, yada...