Tickets and Annual Pass Questions - Please add your ticket questions to this thread

[golfer1903]

Hello my family of three just got our ap
Now tell me some good things
We’re from out of state

Do they give you a physical card at some point or only a scan on phone or on wrist band like I thought a seen for gift shops you need show card and license?

Any special ap only gifts given or can be bought and if so all the time or just on occasion

Do u need a code to see hotel rates in parks and swan

Any good perks you wanna share
Or even bad things

Thanks

 

[voxparse]

We're from out of state as well and picked up APs when they finally went back on sale. The best part for us has been the change in the way we attend the parks. Because we know we have the passes and more freedom with the ability to hop we take it slower and if we don't get to do some particular thing we know we can just prioritize it next time. We probably could have done that before but when we were buying tickets and setting up trips it always felt like we didn't know when the next trip might be.

They don't give out the cards any longer, they want you to just use a magic band or digital pass on your phone. You can get discounts in a lot of the shops on property as well as the restaurants just make sure to ask when you are checking out. Also, as long as your AP is loaded into your disney account, you'll see the discounted rates as an option when you go to book a resort. Swolphin you need a code but I always forget what it is and just google annual pass booking. They have a page for it on their site.

Last but not least, the festivals at EPCOT and the parties at Xmas and Halloween will usually have AP only merchandise you can buy.

 

[CarolynFH]

Do they give you a physical card at some point or only a scan on phone or on wrist band like I thought a seen for gift shops you need show card and license?

You don’t have to get a card, but you can pick one up at GR or any ticket booth and use it for admission as well as discounts (usually need ID as well for discounts). Disney would love for you to use your phone (show AP in MDE) and MB all the time, but they understand that not everyone has a smartphone. The card won’t have the AP expiration date on it, but the CM can scan the card to see it.

 

[anniemae]

Do you have to buy Disney tickets in advance or can you buy at the gate? We don't know our plans and will have to see about weather so we don't want to pre-book for a specific date at this point. Wondering if it's possible to just show up and get them at the gate anymore.

 

[erionm]

Yes, they still sell tickets at the gate.

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

I'd say yes, but you will still need a park reservation. This summer, outside of the holidays, reservations have been plentiful. If you are going to go now, it's likely a non-issue.

However, as you get closer to Oct, Nov, Dec, you should plan in advance and you may run into issues getting a park reservation.

 

[Aurora_Disney]

Is anyone else having issues buying an AP today? I have been trying the last hour sporadically and keep getting page is under maintenance pages. I am a bit nervous because the last time I went to buy an AP, the same exact thing happened and then they stopped selling them. I have tried different browsers and devices. No luck.

 

[BarlowFamily]

I tried searching and couldn't find the answer. If it's out there, feel free to post the link to the post.

We are very familiar with how to use the Military Salute Park Hopper Plus tickets. However, the blackout dates are new to us. Are "plus visits" also excluded on blackout dates? Could we visit a water park, foot golf, or mini golf on a day that is part of our ticket blackout dates for parks? NOT intending to visit the 4 parks on these days, just a water park and maybe foot golf. Thank you for any help!

 

[Newbie500]

I'm going in October for 6 days in the parks. I'm buying my first AP because I'll be back next January and probably a couple more times before October 2024.

Can I buy my October 2023 tickets from say UT at a discount and upgrade to an AP at GS when I get to the parks? Will my "trade in" value be Disney's price of the tickets or the price I paid UT?

 

[starry_solo]

It will be Disney's prices as of the date the the ticket was minted. So, whatever price Disney would have sold the tickets for on that date.

 

[musicguy856]

Waiting is risky because Disney may quit selling APs at any time.

 

[Jenny-momof3]

I purchased 5 Incredipass AP's with water parks the first day they started selling them again in April of this year. I stopped by guest services at Disney Springs in July to get the AP cards and have them linked to MDE. We have not activated them yet by going into a park.

Here is my question.... we had originally intended to start using them in Dec. We will now not be able to use them until June 2024. I've heard others mention they expire a year from purchase if you don't activate them. I don't want to lose the $8K I put into these AP's. Is there anything I can do?

 

[starry_solo]

I purchased 5 Incredipass AP's with water parks the first day they started selling them again in April of this year. I stopped by guest services at Disney Springs in July to get the AP cards and have them linked to MDE. We have not activated them yet by going into a park.

Here is my question.... we had originally intended to start using them in Dec. We will now not be able to use them until June 2024. I've heard others mention they expire a year from purchase if you don't activate them. I don't want to lose the $8K I put into these AP's. Is there anything I can do?

keep copies of everything. they may fall off MDE but they will still have the value that you paid

 

[lanejudy]

I've heard others mention they expire a year from purchase if you don't activate them. I don't want to lose the $8K I put into these AP's. Is there anything I can do?

Yes, the vouchers expire 1-year from date of purchase. If your June 2024 dates are later than that, you will need to use the credit from the expired vouchers to buy new tickets; hopefully new APs if available at that time.

 

[Llama mama]

Soon to renew some annual passes.
I have a ticket on my account I would like to apply toward my renewal. It will cover approximately 575 of my incredi-pass renewal. I was wondering if I will still get the 15% renewal discount if I am also applying an unused ticket too. Has anyone done something similar and did you get the renewal discount too?

 

[Jenny-momof3]

Yes, the vouchers expire 1-year from date of purchase. If your June 2024 dates are later than that, you will need to use the credit from the expired vouchers to buy new tickets; hopefully new APs if available at that time.

Thank you! I'll be in Orlando in March for a day. Would I be able to use the vouchers ( that expire in April) to buy new AP's then? Or do I have to wait until they expire then use the credit?

 

[hilltopper152]

Maybe the topic exist but I do not see it. Family of 4 with 2 paying adult tickets and 1 youth ticket. We considered the only annual pass option for our DVC stay which was the highest level pass. Expensive. We often do 5 park days and maybe come twice within 365 days but never sure.... So probably not great candidate but if we were to plan to come say twice it would allow us to maximize our say 10 night and another 5 night trip. In the end the passes still felt costly for that available premier level pass.... Not able to buy cheaper pass not being local and not a direct DVC owner.

Idea came to mind to buy annual pass for say my daughter only or maybe me so we could access discounts or other benefits if I could validate the price point being close to our cash ticket cost. Is this a benefit, possible, reasonable, or even logical? Seems like something many may have done but also brings up the idea why not just buy the pass for everyone also.... Cash tickets are pricey but 5-6 day passes arent that bad in Jan and Sept for example when we may visit so just seemed like annual passes priced out most logical scenarios for families. Obviously having it would allow us frequent short day visits and change our habits but our kids are young and I like the 50-70% park day trips we do now.

Just long post about my thoughts and looking for any comments. Thanks

 

[trishadono]

I have often had an AP when my dh and ds did not. I use it for hotel discounts, food and merch discounts too.

For us the savings adds up.

Dd also has an AP. She’s 28 now but her and I get one for mom n me trips.

We also get discounts on party events which we tend to do.

Oh and we often buy exclusive AP merch ! They usually have something you’d really want.

With that said I would not buy one unless you go at least 2 times in the year. Otherwise stick with regular tickets.

 

[PolyRob]

IMO 2018 was the last year where a Platinum Pass would have been able to help a family of 4 save enough during one trip to consider an AP depending on length of stay, if you wanted trip photos, spent enough on TS meals, and intended on buying merchandise. 2019 saw the only out of state AP price jump to over 1k and the math on two trips didn't always work out if you didn't stay long enough or plan to hop. The post 2020 APs got even more expensive and removed PhotoPass+ and put it behind an additional up charge. I agree with @trishadono about APs not being worth it without a second trip planned, especially as DVC members that will not use room discount.

 

[lanejudy]

Thank you! I'll be in Orlando in March for a day. Would I be able to use the vouchers ( that expire in April) to buy new AP's then? Or do I have to wait until they expire then use the credit?

If you are there in March and the vouchers won't expire until April, you can simply activate what you have. The AP will then expire 1-year from activation (so March 2025). However, I'm not sure if only you will be there in March or the whole family -- you can't activate for anyone not present because that occurs on first use. If the rest of the family won't be there until June, you'll need to wait and use the credit. You can probably due that in late April or May before the June trip.