TIcket Upgrade question AGAIN!

[Cmbar]

I know this has probably been asked a million times, but we leave in two days and I still don't know whether to bring my tickets with me.

Question: We have 3 days left on a 7 day NON EXpiring pass. I paid to upgrade to Non Expiring when I was there in Feb 06. Now I would like to bring those passes with me when I go this week. We are not using these passes on this trip. I want to upgrade to a 10 Non Expiring therefore adding three more days so we will have 6 days on these passes. CAN I DO THIS???? Thanks

 

[NewEnglandDisney]

You must upgrade a ticket within 14-days of first use, according to the latest I have heard. This is regardless of if you purchased "no expire" or not.

Give it a try, but I don't believe they will do it with MYW tickets now. In the old days, the rule was as long as you did it before you used the last day on the pass, but again, I believe the 14-day rule is hard and fast now.

NED

 

[WillCAD]

You CANNOT upgrade a pass once the 14-day window has passed.

In the past it was possible to trade-in a partially-used pass for a dollar credit toward the purchase of a whole new pass. You may still be able to do this, but the new pass will have to have the same options or more as the one you trade in; i.e. if you had the water parks option, the hopper option, or the no-expiry option on the old pass, those same options (or more) would have to be on the new pass.

 

[ClemsonTigger2]

We were there in January - we purchased the no expiration option for my husband's ticket - he used 3 days, he has some left... I can't remember how many (2 or 3), and I understand that I can't find out till we get back to Disney in a few weeks.
When we returned from our January trip, I realized we might be coming back in Dec. and would need more days, so I called within the 14 days to upgrade the pass. The CM said they couldn't upgrade on the phone, but that I could upgrade them when I returned. I asked "even if it's this fall/winter?", and she said yes.
So, from what y'all are saying, it sounds like we won't be able to upgrade his pass (to more days) when we get there, even though the CM said I could, right? I was afraid that was too good to be true. Any thoughts?

 

[SnackyStacky]

We were there in January - we purchased the no expiration option for my husband's ticket - he used 3 days, he has some left... I can't remember how many (2 or 3), and I understand that I can't find out till we get back to Disney in a few weeks.
When we returned from our January trip, I realized we might be coming back in Dec. and would need more days, so I called within the 14 days to upgrade the pass. The CM said they couldn't upgrade on the phone, but that I could upgrade them when I returned. I asked "even if it's this fall/winter?", and she said yes.
So, from what y'all are saying, it sounds like we won't be able to upgrade his pass (to more days) when we get there, even though the CM said I could, right? I was afraid that was too good to be true. Any thoughts?

Call 407-WDISNEY, and ask for Guest Services. Explain the situation to them. You may have to put on a bit of pressure, but continue to politely insist to speak with Guest Services. The first cast member did, in fact, give you incorrect information. You will not be able to upgrade those tickets. I think they've even cut off the option of getting dollar credits from partially used passes. Even if it was an option, you would lose out because they front load the tickets. Meaning the first days you use are more expensive. The last days on the ticket are worth small amounts of money.

BUT - you were told you'd be able to upgrade - which is a big no-no after that 14 day window.

 

[ClemsonTigger2]

Thanks for the suggestion! Sounds like it's worth a try.

 

[seashoreCM]

For Magic Your Way tickets (with non-expiration and) used more than 13 days ago I am still told you can add hopping or water park fun paying the prices posted at the ticket booths, but adding more days is uncertain.

Dollar value credit trade in is no longer allowed for partly used pre-2005 tickets.

Disney hints:
http://members.aol.com/ajaynejr/disney.htm

 

[Nite0wl71]

I bought a 7 day non-expiring ticket in April 2006, I used 4 days. When I went back in August 2006 I wanted to add 3 more days and was told at Guest Services I couldn't because it was first used more then 14 days ago.

 

[motherof4]

Can you upgrade a 7 day ticket non-expiring to a annual pass, when you get to disney?

 

[WillCAD]

Can you upgrade a 7 day ticket non-expiring to a annual pass, when you get to disney?

If the ticket is completely unused, yes, you can upgrade it to an AP. The AP would start on the day you buy it.

If you have used part of the ticket, you can upgrade it only within 14 days of the first time you used it, whether it is non-expiring or not. The AP would be back-dated to start on the first day you used the MYW ticket.

If you have used part of a non-expiring ticket, you cannot upgrade after 14 days. However, you can trade in the remaining portion for a dollar credit toward purchase of a new an AP.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Before this thread gets dug any deeper - I think we should probably clarify the difference between YOUR meaning of the word "upgrade" and the Disney Cast Member's meaning of the word "upgrade". Because chances are, they are not the same.

When you say "I'd like to upgrade", chances are you mean that you'd like to add more days.

If this were a test, you'd only get partial credit.

When a Disney Cast Member hears the word "upgrade", they take your definition, and have to add to it: "add more days....AND get FULL credit for the cost of the ticket"

SO - when you're asking a cast member to upgrade, you're asking for full retail price back on a ticket. That can be done in 2 instances, as we've hashed out here previously.

1.) The ticket is completely unused

2.) The ticket's first use was within the past 14 days

ONLY if your ticket falls into one of those 2 categories will you be able to upgrade the ticket.

Those two criteria will determine whether or not an upgrade is possible. Once you get past THAT hurdle, if you ARE eligible to upgrade, there's a few more ****y traps to get through.

Your ticket must be of equal or GREATER value with respect to USED entitlements, as well as length.

Entitlements is a fancy word for options. If you have the park hopper option, and have USED it, you will have to get the park hopper option on the new ticket. If you have the water park fun and more option, and have USED it, you will have to get the water park fun and more option on your new ticket. (This includes an upgrade to an annual pass - if you've used your water park fun and more option, you will have to purchase a premium annual pass). If you've got a 5 day ticket, your new ticket will have to have 5 or more days. I'm PRETTY sure this is the way things work. The last I heard, this was correct, but it may have been changed to having to get all the same options on the new ticket whether you've used them or not.

And the last ****y trap deals with annual passes. If you upgrade AFTER using the ticket, your anniversary date (fancy word for the date your pass will expire) will be on year from the day you first used the ticket you upgraded. So if you use a ticket on January 14, 2007, and upgrade it on January 20, 2007 - your anniversary date would be January 14,2008 - meaning you'd lose 6 days.

So what happens if your ticket doesn't fall into one of those two categories? Then you can try for credit from a partially used pass. There's one rule to remember with this:

DISNEY DOESN'T LIKE DOING IT.

There are two sepcifics I'm sure of. You CAN'T get any kind of credit from a partially used pass that was purchased BEFORE they began selling Magic Your Way tickets. So if you bought your tickets prior to January 5, 2005 - you're out of luck.

The other thing I'm sure of is that if you CAN get a dollar credit? Disney will gouge you. You won't get much credit for your unused days. They do this in an attempt to steer guests away from trying to get credit for these passes.

Up at the top of the Theme Park Attractions and Strategies board, in the stickies section, there's a thread entitled "EVERYTHING YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT MAGIC YOUR WAY ADMISSION". There's a pretty exhaustive list of questions and answers in there. And don't be scared off by the fact that it's about a million pages long. The very first post is an FAQ.

 

[ClemsonTigger2]

I just spoke with a CM, who AGAIN told me that yes, we could add days to my husband's ticket from January that has some days left and the no expire option. And I was getting ready to buy an 8-day ticket for him, and she stopped me from doing that, saying no, you can add days to your old ticket. Maybe she didn't understand that we had used some of the days? But I'm sure I said "has some days left" on the Jan. ticket...
Anyway, this is the second CM who has told me this. There's no way to upgrade it now, right? I just have to wait till we get there, and see what happens? I guess that's OK - I'll just miss out on the advance purchase savings (about $7, I think).

 

[SnackyStacky]

I just spoke with a CM, who AGAIN told me that yes, we could add days to my husband's ticket from January that has some days left and the no expire option. And I was getting ready to buy an 8-day ticket for him, and she stopped me from doing that, saying no, you can add days to your old ticket. Maybe she didn't understand that we had used some of the days? But I'm sure I said "has some days left" on the Jan. ticket...
Anyway, this is the second CM who has told me this. There's no way to upgrade it now, right? I just have to wait till we get there, and see what happens? I guess that's OK - I'll just miss out on the advance purchase savings (about $7, I think).

Here's the deal with what they're telling you.

1.) There's only two options when dealing with partially used admissions. Upgrading, or getting a dollar credit. In either instance, the admission you hold in your hand will be cancelled out and a new one issued. They can't just "refill" or "recharge" your admission. (If it were only that simple!)

2.) The information they're giving you is a half truth. The truth is that you can use your admission towards a new ticket with more days, but you will have to fall into one of those two categories in number 1 - an upgrade, or a dollar credit. Since your admission is partially used, and it's been more than 1 days since the first use, you're eligible for a dollar credit.

3.)Disney will gouge you with the dollar crediting. Let's say (for discussion sake) you had a 7 day base ticket. That's worth $210. Each day, however, is NOT worth $30. Here's how it would work:

Day one: $67
Day two: $65
Day three: $60
Day four: $10
Day five: $4
Day six: $2
Day seven: 2

Which means, if you have 3 days left? Your ticket is worth about $8. If you have 4 days left, it's worth about $18. Those are only my best guesses as to how they figure out the value - but they don't like doing the dollar credits, and they're fixing the system to try and dissuade guests from doing it.

So, I would plan on using the admission you have as is, buying only what you need for this trip - and not buying the non-expiration option again.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

When you are calling 407-W-DISNEY you are not calling DisneyWorld. You are calling the Disney Travel Company and/or Central Reservations. All they do is sell rooms and packages and some tickets. Then do not ever see a guest face to face and they do not deal with ticket problems.

If you call 407-824-2222 you will get the Walt Disney World Main Switchboard which can connect you to anything. They can see items on their computer screen, but they do not sell anything and do not have access to the Automated Ticketing System (ATS).

If you came to my ticket window with a partially used Magic Your Way Ticket that had been first used more than 14 days earlier I could not do anything with it other than reissue it if it had become demagnetized. ATS would not allow me to process any other transaction with it.

When I use the term "upgrade" it is making at least one of the following changes which would involve issuing a new ticket: (1) Add more days, but the total of used and unused days cannot exceed ten. (2) Add Hopping for the four major theme parks. (3) Add Water Fun and More, which will allow access to the five minor parks. (4) Add No-Expire (and the price is based on the total number of used and unused days on the ticket). (5) Convert it to some version of Annual Pass, but the expiration would be one year from date of first use of the original ticket, not of the upgrade date. In any event you would have to pay the difference between the current gate price of your original ticket and the new ticket with the upgrades.

If you came to my window with a partially used pre-Magic Your Way ticket all the system would allow me to do would be to replace a ticket which had become demagnetized; I would be unable to do anything else to that ticket.

If you came with an unused ticket, ATS would tell me how much money to credit you with when you purchase a new ticket.

One last thing, if you came with a ticket which had Water Fun and More on it, and at least one of the Water Fun entitlements had been used, the only type of AP you could upgrade to would be the Premium Annual Pass.

(And about 25% of my time I am in either Tickets or Guest Relations at one of the Water Parks. I know the rules and procedures, it's part of my job.)

 

[seashoreCM]

Questions for CheshireFigment:

1. I was at Magic Kingdom and have taken the monorail over to Epcot where you are working at Guest Relations outside. My MYW ticket, non-expiring and used last year, does not have hopping and the turnstile CM has sent me over to you. What happens next?

2. There is one day remaining on my 7 day basic MYW ticket bought 6 days ago. I want to add water park fun. How many admissions do I get?

3. Is dollar value trade-up no longer allowed for MYW tickets too (those used more than 13 days ago)?

 

[ClemsonTigger2]

Thanks SnackyStacky and Cheshire Figment! Your info helped me understand (sorta ) what's going on. I think at this point I'm leaning toward just buying my husband an 8-day Park Hopper for this trip, and saving his no-expire ticket for a future trip in a year or so, when we bring the kids with us again. I may not be able to add "enough" days on his old ticket, and have to opt for this anyway... (because of the fare wars, we're suddenly, as of yesterday, able to fly as cheaply as drive, and we get two more days - or at least half-days - in the parks!!!)...so, thanks so much for helping me out - I'm fairly new at all of this!

By the way, Cheshire Figment, when I try to imagine what job at WDW I'd like if I ever had the opportunity to live near there, I always wonder about Guest Relations. I'm sure you have your share of headaches, but I'd think it would be rewarding to help people in all the ways y'all do!

 

[midas]

So, if I am reading this correctly, the 5 day park-hopper I bought in 2004 that has 1 day remaining cannot be increased 5 more days even though I was told they could by a person on the phone. (I guess technically they would give me a credit for the 1 unused day toward a new MYW ticket that would total a couple of bucks.)

 

[Cheshire Figment]

Questions for CheshireFigment:

1. I was at Magic Kingdom and have taken the monorail over to Epcot where you are working at Guest Relations outside. My MYW ticket, non-expiring and used last year, does not have hopping and the turnstile CM has sent me over to you. What happens next?

I would invite you to purchase a new ticket. The following is an exact quote (bolding included) from the Cast Portal section "General Ticketing Functional Procedures >> Upgrades: Business Rules & Procedures >> Upgrade Window": After 14 days from the date of first use, no ticket modifications or upgrades may take place.

2. There is one day remaining on my 7 day basic MYW ticket bought 6 days ago. I want to add water park fun. How many admissions do I get?

You would receive six WPF&M entries. Note that they will still expire 14 days after the original ticket was first used.

3. Is dollar value trade-up no longer allowed for MYW tickets too (those used more than 13 days ago)?

No. See answer to #1.

 

[seashoreCM]

I would invite ...
You would receive ...
No.

Thanks 3 times.