Ticket Bridging to DVC Gold AP at Guest Services

[Ketchup]

Getting conflicting information on if this is possible, does anyone have any experience?

Hoping to buy 6 day tickets from Undercouver Tourist, then towards the end of the trip upgrade to DVC Gold Passes at Guest Services at the parks.

We should be able to "bridge" and get the Disney value of the 6 day tickets applied to the DVC Gold AP cost.

However, can the DVC Gold AP be purchased at Guest Services in the parks? Or is this an online / DVC phone Guest Services only thing?

Any advice/experience is appreciated!

 

[Cyberc1978]

I did the same in May. I bought and use a 5 days hopper I think and then at day 2 or 3 I bridged it at guest services to a DVC gold pass.

They used the gate price for bridging.

 

[EdnaMarieMode]

We upgraded our 5 day base tickets for DVC Gold AP’s at guest relations at Epcot on 8/17. We didn’t have any issues. We needed to show photo ID and our DVC membership card. We called DVC before our trip and they stated they are unable to upgrade by phone or online and it has to be done in person at guest relations.

 

[rlduvall]

As mentioned by many pp, you definitely can do this at Guest Services in the parks. BUT, make sure you know exactly what the cost should be after bridging. Just recently I went to do this at MK. I had a very sharp and sweet CM, but I knew they were quoting me $60 too much [and it's not the first time this has happened to me over the last 10 years]. I didn't argue; thanked him and didn't do the upgrade. Later, I was at EPCOT, tried again and got the correct price. I don't believe the first CM was trying to cheat me at all, but not all know what exact buttons to hit to make it come together.

 

[Frederic Civish]

I also believe there is a requirement that you must make the upgrade by midnight of the last day that you are in the park.

 

[Henwen88]

I also believe there is a requirement that you must make the upgrade by midnight of the last day that you are in the park.

Confused by this. I believe you can upgrade at any time. At one point, you had to use the tickets in order to 'bridge' to gate price, but last I read that had changed (although this is Disney so it probably just depends on who you get and what mood they're in lol). I've purchased 7 day tickets because they had the best discount, knowing that we were only going to use 3 days, and upgraded the morning of day 4 on our way out of town.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Yes, I said BY the last day in the park, but I meant midnight of the last day before the tickets are “finished” or expire. There were times in the past when you could do it up to a week or so later, but I don’t think that is the process anymore.

We also have always done it at a ticket window, but maybe you could do it by calling member services.

 

[Henwen88]

Yes, I said BY the last day in the park, but I meant midnight of the last day before the tickets are “finished” or expire. There were times in the past when you could do it up to a week or so later, but I don’t think that is the process anymore.

We also have always done it at a ticket window, but maybe you could do it by calling member services.

Gotcha Have never tried to do it later... would be worried something would mess up and my money would be down the drain!

 

[Kazrak]

Ooh. Theoretically, I should be able to do this even if one of the days I used would have been a blackout date, right?

I'm looking at two (maaaaaybe three) trips this year, and the first day of the first trip is a blackout date but no other dates are.

If I can buy park hoppers (even from Disney) and then convert them to annual passes before we leave, this could save me a few hundred bucks. (Three gold passes instead of platinum.) I'd probably want to convert right off the bat for Photopass, and so I don't forget.

 

[Frederic Civish]

Yes. You should be able to do it even if you have used a pass or ticket that bypassed block out dates. When you convert to an annual pass, depending on your type of annual pass, you might have block out dates. But you will have been able to use your regular ticket on some of those block out dates before you convert it over.

Disney doesn’t care. They just look at the total amount you have spent on the ticket including any Park Hopper parts, and they convert that total amount of money over to the new annual pass, of the type of annual pass that you select. So you might as well get the best tickets you can get and make them park hoppers, since you will be getting all of that value added to your annual pass purchase.

 

[hlhlaw07]

If I can buy park hoppers (even from Disney) and then convert them to annual passes before we leave, this could save me a few hundred bucks. (Three gold passes instead of platinum.) I'd probably want to convert right off the bat for Photopass, and so I don't forget.

Just make sure you convert after the blackout date. As for photopass, just take photos like you have the photopass and once you convert to an AP all the photos that you have previously taken will become available as the AP will be in the system as starting on the day you first used whatever ticket you started with. I did this in March for a spring break trip that fell on the blackout dates. No issues using upgrading, and no issues with getting the photos.

 

[Kazrak]

Just make sure you convert after the blackout date. As for photopass, just take photos like you have the photopass and once you convert to an AP all the photos that you have previously taken will become available as the AP will be in the system as starting on the day you first used whatever ticket you started with. I did this in March for a spring break trip that fell on the blackout dates. No issues using upgrading, and no issues with getting the photos.

The Photopass issue had occurred to me since my last post - thanks. Good to hear. This should simplify things for me as well - I can just buy park hoppers for everyone. (The trip will be 3 people getting annual passes, one on an 8-day hopper, and one on a 6-day hopper.) And it lets me put off the AP purchase for a couple months.

 

[Eastcoast02]

I bridged from park hoppers to an annual pass last year and it was sort of a mess. I was overcharged by about $85. I think the difference in taxes messed everything up. Anyways after repeatedly showing them my math it clicked in one of the CM's minds and they issued me the refund on a gift card.
Just make sure it looks right before you pay to avoid a situation like mine!

 

[mousestruck]

You can absolutely do this upgrade in the parks. We’ve done it many times. However, you must do the math ahead of time and know exactly how much you should pay - which is generally the difference between the price of the ticket you have and the price of the ticket you want (DVC Gold Pass). Many cast members do not bridge the price or aren’t aware of how to do the transaction properly, so you may need to ask for a supervisor or go to another park’s Guest Services. You’ll also need ID and your DVC membership card. Enjoy your AP! I’m always so happy when I have one!

 

[MrsP833]

Also, I'm not sure if you've already purchased PhotoPass, but you can apply it to the balance when bridging the tickets. We purchased the whole Magic Your Way package with hopper tickets and PhotoPass. We bought into DVC after already paying for the package and upgraded to Gold AP on our first park day. Guest services at MK applied the ticket cost plus PhotoPass when bridging and it saved us a bunch of money.