Ticket Upgrades

[Mic]

We just returned home, and I am up to my eyeballs in laundry, even though I managed to wash a few loads at OKW during the week. I thought I should post my experience with ticket upgrades as soon as posssible in the hopes it helps someone else. We arrived Saturday(5/31), and I immediately went to the Guest Relations booth at the International Gateway entrance to Epcot to upgrade our 6 AP's to Premium AP's. The male castmember informed me that I could only get a "credit" of what was left on the passes, and could apply that to a new PAP. In the case of my 2 children's passes, it would cost @ $300 each to upgrade, and even more for the adults! The castmember did not even mention the waterpark/DQ AP for $131 for DC members that would have been good for 1 year...he insisted there was nothing else to do since I purchased the AP's more than 7 days prior. The next day, on my way into MK, I decided to go ahead and upgrade a 5-day hopper plus with 4 options I had purchased in March for my husband at Wal-Mart for $256. I was only credited $222 towards the PAP, even though the pass had never been used, and I had the receipt to prove what I had paid. The upgrade had been done before I realized I was losing $34, so I just paid for it. I was also quoted a price to upgrade my older daughter's adult AP to a PAP that seemed to match what I had been told over the phone and on this board. However, when the castmember checked with her supervisor, she came back and apologized for misquoting the price. It seems AP upgrades are not pro-rated at all. Instead, I paid the full $122.50 cost difference between the AP and PAP, even though I kept the same expiration date in October. Again, the castmember did not suggest I purchase the waterpark/DQ AP for $131 that would have been good for 1 year. Luckily, I had printed the ticket info from Deb Wills' site before leaving, so I could consider all options. In the end, I paid the $122.50 for the upgrade instead of the $131 for a separate pass for the waterparks and DQ for the convenience of having to keep up with 6 passes instead of 11. I am not posting this to start a debate or complain, I just wanted everyone to be aware that what Disney is actually doing is contrary to what we are being told, and it put a slight dent in my budget. Everyone here is so kind to share info, and I thought this would be good info for someone planning to upgrade from an Annual Pass to a Premium Annual.

 

[dcfromva]

Mic,
Thanks for the info. I had heard that they were not pro-rating the upgrades a while back and it looks like you have first hand experience.... (makes you wish for the "olden days" )

The next day, on my way into MK, I decided to go ahead and upgrade a 5-day hopper plus with 4 options I had purchased in March for my husband at Wal-Mart for $156. I was only credited $222

I am a little confused with your 5-day hopper upgrade, though--do you have those figures listed backwards or did they credit you $66 more than you paid?

-DC

 

[chaoskids]

I think she paid $256 for the pass from Walmart. 256- 222 would be the $34 difference she was talking about.

Terri

 

[Mic]

Thanks, Terri, for clarifying my error. I did pay $256 for the pass from Wal-mart, and I have edited my post. I have always been told that you will be credited the full amount you pay for a pass, even if it is not purchased from Disney directly, so I was a little saddened to lose that much on my 5-day hopper. In retrospect, that 5-day hopper with 4 plusses was a good deal if used as a 5-day hopper with the 2 bonus plusses,so I should have just purchased the PAP for $500, and held onto the hopper for later use, but I had completed the transaction when I realized I lost money. Also, my husband thinks I should have just purchased the waterpark/DQ annual passes for the kids instead of upgrading their AP's, and now that I think about it, that was a better deal. But at the time I was fumbling around with 6 passes, I did not want DQ and the waterparks on a separate ticket, so I paid $122.50 to add the waterparks and DQ to an annual pass that expires in Oct. Since we visited DQ only once, and both waterparks only once each, I am not sure upgrading was wise for my family, so I have until Oct. to decide whether to renew the PAP or to go with the regular AP again. I just want everyone to be aware that what Disney tells you on the phone and what they actually do in person can be very different.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by Mic
...I did pay $256 for the pass from Wal-mart, and I have edited my post. I have always been told that you will be credited the full amount you pay for a pass, even if it is not purchased from Disney directly, so I was a little saddened to lose that much on my 5-day hopper.
What you say is true when the tickets have been purchased from Disney. You will get full credit for what you paid. But when the tickets come from a wholesaler, you will only get credit for the wholesale price that Disney sells to them at. Disney is not going to give you dollar credit for the amount that the wholesaler added on for their profit.

In retrospect, that 5-day hopper with 4 plusses was a good deal if used as a 5-day hopper with the 2 bonus plusses,so I should have just purchased the PAP for $500, and held onto the hopper for later use, but I had completed the transaction when I realized I lost money.
You are right. The four plusses used at water parks are worth nearly $130 by themselves.

Also, my husband thinks I should have just purchased the waterpark/DQ annual passes for the kids instead of upgrading their AP's, and now that I think about it, that was a better deal. But at the time I was fumbling around with 6 passes, I did not want DQ and the waterparks on a separate ticket, so I paid $122.50 to add the waterparks and DQ to an annual pass that expires in Oct.
I agree with your husband on this one. To spend nearly the same amount on an upgrade to a PAP for 5 months use versus having almost the same admissions (less PI) for a whole year is certainly worth having 6 extra tickets to most people.

Since we visited DQ only once, and both waterparks only once each, I am not sure upgrading was wise for my family, so I have until Oct. to decide whether to renew the PAP or to go with the regular AP again. I just want everyone to be aware that what Disney tells you on the phone and what they actually do in person can be very different.
If I had been in your shoes, I would have thanked the CM for their help and moved on. Disney is notorious for getting different answers from different CM's. I would have tried another Guest Relations location or two.

If after doing that I couldn't get what I had originally wanted, I would have sat down and considered my options (DQ/WP AP vs PAP).

Yes, I know. Hindsight is 20-20 and it wouldn't have been easy to do with the family right there. But when it comes to spending that kind of money, you have to be able to make the best informed decision you can.

You did the best you could under your circumstances.

 

[dcfromva]

You did the best you could under your circumstances

I agree with GoldenOldie. It is very confusing when you are doing these transactions, so I think you did the best you could under the circumstances (and hindsight does has 20-20 vision )

Thanks for the information.

-DC