ticket upgrade question

[Bronte]

Upgrading a ticket is sooooooo confusing ...
If anyone can help I would be very thankfull ... I do not want to make a big decision on the spot at the gate and look stupid.
I will have a 7 day hopper w/water park fun ticket (Spring Deal.) This ticket will exp. 14 days after first use.
IF I only use 5 days at the park and two days at bizzard beach will I be able to "trade up" to a 10 day non-exp. ticket with hopping and the left over water park fun days? That means I would have 5 days at the park and 4 plus options left on a non-exp. ticket for use later ... right ???????
How much will that cost exactly ????

Thanks Again for any help,
Bronte

 

[Bronte]

Would you just pay the difference between the 7 day premium ticket and the 10 day premium non-exp. ticket?
$276 - $417 = $141 out of pocket to "up grade" the ticket just before we leave the park on the last day? Those are the dollar values on the disney web page.
thanks for ANY information ...

 

[Cmbar]

OK Not sure I undestand your question. Why are you doing this on the last day after you arrive? Do you know exactly what you are going to do and that you definitely will want a 10day non expiring hopper? Not sure I understand. As far as prices. I got messed up on this! We also had the spring deal in February when we got the free hopper and free water parks. So I ordered a 5 day when I booked with the package. I then went to Disney decided we would upgrade to a 8 day (non expiring) so that we could have three days and all the water parks (which we did not use because it was too cold). Well it wasn't anywhere close to what I calculated at home. I got hit with an increase that they did as of Jan 1st (remember I actually booked in Nov for a Feb trip) and they said I had to pay for the difference since I got the upgrades free. So basically they took what I paid in the package (evidently they could see that) and then compared it to what a 8 day hopper Plus (non-expiring) would cost and charged me the difference. It was like 100.00 more than I expected with my family of four. The CM in both cases said I should have done this when I orderd the package because it would have not included the price increase and it looked like it would have had the free options be really free. Hope I am making sense. I don't know if these to CM's did the right thing, but if you KNOW you are going to do this and you are getting something free, Upgrade now. You should be able to call them and say I want to know how much it would cost to upgrade my tickets on my package.

Good luck!

 

[Cmbar]

oops. Can see that you are headed to WDW in 10 days and I probably freaked you out instead of helping! Just keep in mind that the NON expiring OPTION really jumps on the 10 day ticket. That is where they get you. I really do think the easiest thing to do is to call and ask now before you go and if you don't want to committ then just ask at your hotel when you get there. The Guest Sevice CM will help you and tell you the price. You don't have to do it at the park. Maybe when some of you are at the pool you can walk over and just have them price it for you.

Good luck!

 

[seashoreCM]

OK Not we would upgrade to a 8 day (non expiring) so that we could have three days and all the water parks (which we did not use because it was too cold). Well it wasn't anywhere close to what I calculated at home. I got hit with an increase that they did as of Jan 1st (remember I actually booked in Nov for a Feb trip) and they said I had to pay for the difference since I got the upgrades free. So basically they took what I paid in the package (evidently they could see that) and then compared it to what a 8 day hopper Plus (non-expiring) would cost and charged me the difference. It was like 100.00 more than I expected with my family of four. luck!

8 day non-expiring is a terrible terrible buy. It's even worse if, when you finally use the remains, you have to buy another MYW ticket to finish that vacation.

Non-expiring really jumps in price on the 8'th day.

For about $25. you could have had the ninth and tenth days.

Get the upgrade cost for each ticket individually especially if some tickets in your batch are child tickets. If the price is more than you expect, feel free to step out of line and think about it. If all you get is one grand total, it is easy to get bamboozled.

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

 

[Ishy]

If your staying at one of the hotels, guest services at the disney hotel will help you. AND they can help you decide. I had 7 day hoppers with plus's, and guest services at the Beach Club helped me upgrade them to Non Expiry so I can use them across my next few trips. It was 55$ each then.

I am not a fan of guest services at the parks. They are more pressured to move the line.

 

[mrstbalt]

We booked a land/sea for next year, they come with a 7 day hopper only. They said we could upgrade them at our resort, but have to do it before we use them.

 

[Bronte]

I am asking because I am not sure how many days I will use ... I got the 7 day pass because tecnically we will be ther for seven days total but we might want a "day off" and the last day we leave at 1:00 in the afternoon so there is a good possiblity that I will only use 5 days. I do not want to upgrade now or at check in because what if I do use all seven days ... the three days plus water park visits just is not enough to pay the increase in order to have non-exp. tickets, plus not everyone in my room might want to do the exact same thing.
I do know that my husband and I will be returning to the world in November for a five day/four night visit and those tickets, if we upgrade would be used then.
Perhaps it is all just toooooo confusing ...

 

[Cmbar]

8 day non-expiring is a terrible terrible buy. It's even worse if, when you finally use the remains, you have to buy another MYW ticket to finish that vacation.

Non-expiring really jumps in price on the 8'th day.

For about $25. you could have had the ninth and tenth days.

Get the upgrade cost for each ticket individually especially if some tickets in your batch are child tickets. If the price is more than you expect, feel free to step out of line and think about it. If all you get is one grand total, it is easy to get bamboozled.

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

Yep you are right and I looked back and I did only upgrade to a 7 day because of that hike to go to the eighth day wasn't worth it. We only used four days on this past so we ended up with a three day left over. This isn't really an issue because next time we go we are going when it is hot and using the water parks and visiting seaWorld. Plus if I want to add dining to my package I will have to buy a one day ticket anyways so I was good with just a three day rollover because I got all the water parks! Thanks for the advice and I agree it would have been a bad deal. I just didn't want to go from 65 to 110.00 for a non expiring fee per ticket!

TO OP: I would just decide while at the resort when you decide if you want to upgrade. It really isn't any pressure at your resort, and you can then just upgrade which tickets you like and not for all. That is a good idea. Don't worry about taking your time. Hate to see you miss the opportunity to upgrade because someone in the line behind you is impatient. Have a great trip!!!

 

[lyzziesmom]

I actually had a similar question, and I don't feel like it was answered completely here. What I (and I believe the OP) need to know is:
If the original tickets were purchased during the Spring "free upgrades" promotion, will the upgrade cost be at the spring promotion rates, or at the current rates? Since the tickets were originally purchased with the hopper and the water park & more options for free, we essentially paid for a base ticket. In order to upgrade and add more days with non-expiration, now that the promotion is over, will we have to pay the difference in price for just adding the non-expiration, or will we have to pay for the non-expiration AND the options for the extra days? This is confusing, and I would love if anyone could answer this.

 

[pezpam]

I actually had a similar question, and I don't feel like it was answered completely here. What I (and I believe the OP) need to know is:
If the original tickets were purchased during the Spring "free upgrades" promotion, will the upgrade cost be at the spring promotion rates, or at the current rates? Since the tickets were originally purchased with the hopper and the water park & more options for free, we essentially paid for a base ticket. In order to upgrade and add more days with non-expiration, now that the promotion is over, will we have to pay the difference in price for just adding the non-expiration, or will we have to pay for the non-expiration AND the options for the extra days? This is confusing, and I would love if anyone could answer this.

The general policy, as a previous poster found out, is that you pay the difference between what you originally paid for the ticket you are holding and what the ticket you now want costs when you make the upgrade.

Disney's system knows what was originally paid for the ticket. That's the important number in this situation, not what it's 'worth'..... A similar example is this - if you buy a ticket from a discounter, Disney will see how much the discounter paid Disney for the ticket and *that* amount is what you'd get 'credit' for, not what you paid the discounter or how much it would cost to buy a similar ticket today.

I"m not 100% sure I was reading the other post correctly - it sounded like they had to pay for the options that were originally free when they upgraded the ticket. That may or may not affect whether you upgrade that particular ticket. It'll probably pay to crunch a few numbers on your various options.

 

[missmun52]

Most people dont use the tickets because they forget or lose them, if you plan to go more than once this year i would suggest the AP if you really want thme though i would just call 9if you got the package) and upgrade now, or do it at your hotel, not the gate when you get there.

 

[Cmbar]

The general policy, as a previous poster found out, is that you pay the difference between what you originally paid for the ticket you are holding and what the ticket you now want costs when you make the upgrade.

Disney's system knows what was originally paid for the ticket. That's the important number in this situation, not what it's 'worth'..... A similar example is this - if you buy a ticket from a discounter, Disney will see how much the discounter paid Disney for the ticket and *that* amount is what you'd get 'credit' for, not what you paid the discounter or how much it would cost to buy a similar ticket today.

I"m not 100% sure I was reading the other post correctly - it sounded like they had to pay for the options that were originally free when they upgraded the ticket. That may or may not affect whether you upgrade that particular ticket. It'll probably pay to crunch a few numbers on your various options.

I wasn't very clear earlier, but that is exactly what had happened to me. If I had choosen a longer day and added non expiring at the time of the promotion (so while I was still here in Md) I would have only paid for the NON expiring option and gotten all the other options "free" for a base ticket amount. But when we waited and did it while on our trip we had to pay the difference of the upgrades. And they did exactly what you said. They saw how much I paid for the tickets (base price) and then calculated the difference to what I now wanted. That is why it was more than I expected because I had to now pay for the hopper plus cost. In my case, I really messed up because my time frame crossed over the period of time that Disney raised prices and the cost to make a ticket non expiring really jumped last January. Hope that is clearer.

 

[GoldenOldie]

...I will have a 7 day hopper w/water park fun ticket (Spring Deal.) This ticket will exp. 14 days after first use.
IF I only use 5 days at the park and two days at bizzard beach will I be able to "trade up" to a 10 day non-exp. ticket with hopping and the left over water park fun days?

Yes you can.

That means I would have 5 days at the park and 4 plus options left on a non-exp. ticket for use later ... right ???????

Yes. They upgade you to a full new 10 day in the computer and then mark as used the number of admissions you have already used. So you would end up with 5 and 4 available under your scenario.

How much will that cost exactly ????

Only Guest Relations can give you a precise figure. It is my understanding that the free upgrade to the PH and WPF&M is not portable. You will pay for the options when you do your upgrade.

Think of it in terms of the way Disney has always done upgrades. If you bought a ticket and never changed that ticket, the terms of that ticket at the price you paid for it were good until the ticket was exhausted. But if you changed later to a different ticket (within allowable upgrade time frames, of course), you were credited for the price you paid for the original ticket and charged the difference. Same thing here. They won't allow you to carry the free additions forward. This is a transaction where they credit you what you actually paid for the ticket, not for the gate price of what's left unused on it.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Well darn it.

 

[lyzziesmom]

I am happy to report that I just got back from my trip with a 5-day ticket purchased during the spring deal with the free upgrades. I used all my 5 days, however, we did not use any of the extra options, so I still had 4 options remaining. On a whim, I brought my tickets to the ticket counter at MGM Studios on our last day to enquire about the cost of adding no-expiration. They were happy to help, but since I had the plastic ticket embedded in my room key, the CM directed me to Guest Relations (duh! I should've known that!) There, the CM simply "brought my ticket up to current value" in the system and I was able to add no-expiration, PLUS 5 more days with park hopper and 2 more plus options, for $155. per ticket. Needless to say, I was overjoyed!! Not only did my free upgrades remain free, but my new days also contained free options! So, now I have tickets with 5 park-hopping days, and 6 options on them just sitting at home, calling my name... Free Dining here we come!

Lesson (re)learned = It Never Hurts To Ask!!!
(This lesson has also gained me many free upgrades in hotels, including a free upgrade to a Preferred room at POP last week!)

 

[Ishy]

I am happy to report that I just got back from my trip with a 5-day ticket purchased during the spring deal with the free upgrades. I used all my 5 days, however, we did not use any of the extra options, so I still had 4 options remaining. On a whim, I brought my tickets to the ticket counter at MGM Studios on our last day to enquire about the cost of adding no-expiration. They were happy to help, but since I had the plastic ticket embedded in my room key, the CM directed me to Guest Relations (duh! I should've known that!) There, the CM simply "brought my ticket up to current value" in the system and I was able to add no-expiration, PLUS 5 more days with park hopper and 2 more plus options, for $155. per ticket. Needless to say, I was overjoyed!! Not only did my free upgrades remain free, but my new days also contained free options! So, now I have tickets with 5 park-hopping days, and 6 options on them just sitting at home, calling my name... Free Dining here we come!

Lesson (re)learned = It Never Hurts To Ask!!!
(This lesson has also gained me many free upgrades in hotels, including a free upgrade to a Preferred room at POP last week!)

Last year I purchased 7 day magic my way premiums non-expiry.
I have used 1 plus and 4 parks. I have 3 park visits left on each and 4 plus's.

Could I upgrade these to 10 day magic prems with plus's??? If I look at the price difference, it appears that I could do this for the cost of a one day admission each... Anyone do this? Or something close???
anything?

thanks.

 

[seashoreCM]

Lyzziesmom: YOu got a little extra pixie dust. "Bringing up to value" consists of converting the hidden price paid (you paid for a base ticket) to be the price of a ticket with hopping and water park fun before adding the cost of non-expiration. Normally you are charged for that when you attempt to modify the ticket after receiving it. You do realize that is is not the best bargain to use your newly expanded old tickets on your next vacation if you need 6 to 10 park days then, but rather you could order the required tickets that accompany a dining package to cover that vacation.

Izzy: Too late. Since your tickets were used more than 14 days ago, different rules apply for turning them in and getting back tickets with more on them. Unless you too get some extra pixie dust, you will have to add a lot more money than the cost of a one day ticket.

Just a wild guess of a hunch -- If you do the upgrade at a park as opposed to a resort you have a better chance of getting the extra pixie dust Lyzziesmom got. The dollar value for trade up on yours is now roughly 3/7'th of what you paid if you want another MYW pass, less if you want an AP.

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

 

[Matt'sMom]

The general policy, as a previous poster found out, is that you pay the difference between what you originally paid for the ticket you are holding and what the ticket you now want costs when you make the upgrade.

Disney's system knows what was originally paid for the ticket.

That is my understanding as well. OP needs to run the numbers and see if it is really worth it to upgrade to a 10 day non-expiry. It may actually be less expensive to just allow any unused days on these current tickets to expire, and purchase new tickets for your next visit.

Again, run the numbers to find out. Take the gate price for a 10 day non-expiry plus and subtract your original ticket purchase price from that--this is what I believe that you will need to pay to upgrade. Look at how many days & plus options total (those you'd actually be saving plus those you are adding on) youa re left with after the upgrade. Then check to see what a comparable, new ticket would cost (not necessarily at gate price, but an advance purchase ticket from a discount broker such as Ticketmania--these can save you a significant amount of $). It may or may not be worth it to upgrade.

 

[lyzziesmom]

Yes, I know I got covered in pixie dust that day! For our next trip, I have purchased a one-day base ticket in order to get the free dining package, and my parents will be joining us - but they have to buy the 6-day tickets at a much higher rate than I ended up paying. I was lucky enough to essentially be able to use two specials at once! I consider it karma's way of repaying us for returning a lost wallet that was loaded.