Ticket upgrade clarification

[kdmoore]

I am hoping to get some authoritative advice about a proposed ticket upgrade Goldenoldie? Anyone else? Thank you in advance!

I have a 7 day Parkhopper plus with 6 days remaining. I purchased this pass from Ticketmania for $315.

What would be the cost to upgrade this back to the full 7 days, i.e. to add one day?

I gather that I would get prorated credit towards a new 7 day parkhopper plus, calculated using the price Disney sold the pass to Ticketmania originally. If Ticketmania purchased it for $280, then I would get credit for the remaining 6 days at $40 per day, or $240 total. Is this correct?

Then would I be charged the gate price by Disney for a new pass, i.e. $350, rather than the advance purchase price ($327?)

Would this extra day actually cost me $350-240= $110 total?
Can this be correct? Seems nuts!

Thank you for your insights.

 

[BethR]

Unfortunatly, it sounds to me that you have figured this correctly, kdmoore. But I will let the REAL expert, GoldenOldie confirm it.

Isn't there a day that you KNOW that you will not park hop and therefore you could just buy a one park/one day pass for half the amount that you are speaking of?

 

[kdmoore]

Thanks, Beth.

Yes, if my reasoning survives the scrutiny of others
and seems correct, that the additional day would cost $100+, then I will almost certainly end up buying a one-day/park pass instead.

But an extra parkhopper day would certainly be preferable.
I just want to confirm the crazy math that makes it a ridiculous option. I would have thought it would be possible to upgrade the additional day on my parkhopper+ much more reasonably - say for the cost of a one-day/park pass or thereabouts.

Kevin

 

[GoldenOldie]

Seems outrageous, doesn't it?

You are doing two things that Disney discourages. You are trying in essence to get a one day park hopper and you have purchased your ticket from a wholesaler well below what Disney would have charged you.

You already know that if the price is high, you're going with the 1 day/1 park ticket so you have nothing to lose.

Go up to the Guest Relations window and tell them what you want to do. Don't say anything about where you got the ticket or offer any additional information more than is necessary. Let the CM do the talking. There is a possibility that he/she will give you credit for 6 admissions rather than the dollar value of the unused days. If they don't, you only lose a couple of minutes time. And yes, they will use gate prices.

The only thing that I see possibly gumming up the works here is if you have used any of the plus options from the original ticket. If you have, then all bets are off. You will definitely be doing the dollar credit.

Be warned that some CM's will not let you turn in a used 7 day PHP towards a new 7 day PHP. They will only allow it if you go for a higher value ticket like an AP.

Bottom line is that you won't find a hard, fast policy in place for doing what you want to do. You're going to be at the mercy of the CM you get. Remember too that if you don't like what one CM tells you, you can always go to another GR location and try with another. Many people have reported success by going elsewhere after they were told no.

 

[kdmoore]

Thanks GoldenOldie.

I haven't used any pluses. So can you take me through
the math of how this would be handled, if I did happen
to run into an accommodative CM who would give me
credit for six admissions?

Would I be charged the difference between the gate price of a seven day and a six day hopper, or what?

(i.e. $350.40-$318.45= $31.95)

That would seem too good to be true


Kevin

 

[Straitlover]

Technically, what you're wanting to do is not upgrading but recharging. What you have is a 7 day hopper, even though you have used one day. Therefore, I wonder if they will even let you add a day back, i.e. swap a 7 day for a 7 day. I thought you couuld only go up when upgrading, i.e 6 day PHP to 7 day PHP, etc.

If you could do what you're proposing, wouldn't lots of people who take shorter trips and continue to go to the parks (say take a 4 day trip every 16 months) be better off buying the longest PHP available to get the per day cost down and just add days back on whenever they need them?

Anyway, that's just something that popped in my head. I have no expertise to answer your question.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by kdmoore

I haven't used any pluses. So can you take me through
the math of how this would be handled, if I did happen
to run into an accommodative CM who would give me
credit for six admissions?

Would I be charged the difference between the gate price of a seven day and a six day hopper, or what?

(i.e. $350.40-$318.45= $31.95)

That would seem too good to be true

LOL, now you've swung the pendulum the other way. I can't give you a hard and fast answer on this as there are many variables that enter into it not the least of which is the CM him/herself.

My inclination is that you would be charged the difference between the advance purchase price for a 6 day PHP (since you did purchase that in advance of going to WDW and they will know that) and the gate price for the 7 day PHP.

$350.40 (7 dPHP) - $295.02 (6 dPHP advance) = $55.38

That would more closely equate with a 1 day/1 park ticket but allow you to still hop. But that isn't etched in stone.

I know you won't want to hear this but my gut feeling is that they will not allow you to do this transaction at all since you're not upgrading.

When are you going back? I'll be looking forward to hearing how you made out.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
LOL, now you've swung the pendulum the other way. I can't give you a hard and fast answer on this as there are many variables that enter into it not the least of which is the CM him/herself.

My inclination is that you would be charged the difference between the advance purchase price for a 6 day PHP (since you did purchase that in advance of going to WDW and they will know that) and the gate price for the 7 day PHP.

$350.40 (7 dPHP) - $295.02 (6 dPHP advance) = $55.38

That would more closely equate with a 1 day/1 park ticket but allow you to still hop. But that isn't etched in stone.

I know you won't want to hear this but my gut feeling is that they will not allow you to do this transaction at all since you're not upgrading.

When are you going back? I'll be looking forward to hearing how you made out.

This person bought the pass from Ticketmania, so, is it correct to assume any credit would be what the ticket actually cost Ticketmania, not what they charged the OP? So, it may cost more than you estimated.

 

[Mic]

I was wondering the same thing as Gail. When I went to upgrade a ticket I had purchased at Wal-mart(in Kissimmee), I was credited $222, even though I had paid $256, and the ticket, a 5-day hopper plus with 4 options, had never been used, and I was simply wanting to receive the $256 credit towards a Premium Annual Pass. By the time I had a chance to look over my receipt and realized how much I had lost(not just on that upgrade, but several others), I felt it was too late to argue. To be honest, I hate being the person holding up a line, and I had been at the window for almost an hour by the time all the transactions were done, and the line was only getting longer! My advice would be to get there early, and ask the castmember to explain the Magic Math before he/she charges your card!

 

[kdmoore]

LOL. Oh well, I can always dream about an upgrade for $32.

But what you are suggesting, GoldenOldie, something like $55 seems more reasonable to me than either $110 !! or $32.

I will try when I go, but you will have to wait quite a long time to hear about it! Like many of us, I am one of those obsessive Disney types - I am trying to square away my admission media for a trip about twelve months away.

Actually, Gail and Mic, I tried to account for the Ticketmania issue in my example, by assuming a $280 cost for my pass, rather than the $315 I paid for it.

I took a peek on Ebay just for fun, and noticed that people seem to be willing to pay upto $90 for a one-day adult parkhopper! Wow!

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by GAIL HAYDEN
This person bought the pass from Ticketmania, so, is it correct to assume any credit would be what the ticket actually cost Ticketmania, not what they charged the OP? So, it may cost more than you estimated.

LOL, don't make any assumptions, Gail. I'm growing ever more doubtful that this transaction will take place at all since he is not upgrading.

Under normal circumstances, yes, the Ticketmania wholesale cost would be the basis for figuring an upgrade. But that's not what he is doing. The way I'm reading it now is that it should not be able to done. But like many many other things, it will depend largely on the CM he gets and their interpretation of the Carousel of Policy.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
LOL, don't make any assumptions, Gail. I'm growing ever more doubtful that this transaction will take place at all since he is not upgrading.

Under normal circumstances, yes, the Ticketmania wholesale cost would be the basis for figuring an upgrade. But that's not what he is doing. The way I'm reading it now is that it should not be able to done. But like many many other things, it will depend largely on the CM he gets and their interpretation of the Carousel of Policy.

LOL, yes, you are totally correct about assumptions. I should know better at my advanced age.
I like your phrase "Carousel of Policy". Still think you should be out there training them.

 

[GAIL HAYDEN]

Originally posted by GoldenOldie
LOL, don't make any assumptions, Gail. I'm growing ever more doubtful that this transaction will take place at all since he is not upgrading.

Under normal circumstances, yes, the Ticketmania wholesale cost would be the basis for figuring an upgrade. But that's not what he is doing. The way I'm reading it now is that it should not be able to done. But like many many other things, it will depend largely on the CM he gets and their interpretation of the Carousel of Policy.