Upgrade to Annual Pass...did I receive the correct information?

[bangzoom6877]

I called the WDW reservation line and spoke to a ticket agent recently. They told me that since I already have my park ticket, in order to upgrade to an AP, I have to go to Guest Relations either at a park or DTD. However, the CM on the phone also told me that he doesn't think the DVC Member $100 discount on the AP is available at a park when I bring my current ticket to upgrade it. He said I might have to do that at BWV (where I am staying). However, this contradicts what he originally told me, that I have to do the upgrade at Guest Relations at a theme park or DTD.

So...if I walk to the International Gateway of Epcot (closest place from BWV), will I be able to bring my DVC Member ID, photo ID, and my current 7-day ticket and upgrade it to an AP WITH the DVC Member discount and pay $100 less than I would have without the DVC membership? And then I am planning to also purchase the TIW card once I become an AP holder. Am I correct? I need to buy the TIW card when we arrive since we are going to an early dinner at Chef Mickey's that day and they accept the TIW card there, and I am trying to do this as smoothly as possible. Thanks!

 

[erionm]

The resorts can't sell APs. You have to go to a theme park ticket window or guest relations window. You can get the member discount at any of these locations. You need your member card and photo ids for all adults showing the same address as the member.

As for the ticket upgrade, if the ticket has been used any upgrades must be done within 14 days of first use. If the ticket is unused, you can upgrade it at any time.

 

[bangzoom6877]

The resorts can't sell APs. You have to go to a theme park ticket window or guest relations window. You can get the member discount at any of these locations. You need your member card and photo ids for all adults showing the same address as the member.

As for the ticket upgrade, if the ticket has been used any upgrades must be done within 14 days of first use. If the ticket is unused, you can upgrade it at any time.

Thank you so much, that's what I thought!

It's just me upgrading my ticket to an AP so I will walk over to the Int'l Gateway by myself. If we are lucky enough to get into the room early, DH will wait in there with the boys. I am not counting on that though! So if not, he will take them over to the community hall or walk around the boardwalk with them. Not planning to take them with me because I bought my ticket from UT and have to enter the park first before upgrading so I can just pay the different between Disney's ticket price and the AP price. The plan is to maybe go to the bakery in France and surprise everyone with some treats while I am in there!

 

[Sunshine22]

Although I've never made an exchange myself, I've read some emails on the boards on this topic.

If your park ticket was purchased with a discount (e.g. Maple Leaf) or was part of a cash package deal, you may need to use the ticket first at one of the parks so that it will be counted as a full value ticket prior to exchanging it for an annual pass. This will save you more money. I hope that others who have actually done this will respond you give you additional tips.

 

[bangzoom6877]

Although I've never made an exchange myself, I've read some emails on the boards on this topic.

If your park ticket was purchased with a discount (e.g. Maple Leaf) or was part of a cash package deal, you may need to use the ticket first at one of the parks so that it will be counted as a full value ticket prior to exchanging it for an annual pass. This will save you more money. I hope that others who have actually done this will respond you give you additional tips.

Thanks a lot for the tip, I already knew this! I will enter through Int'l Gateway then exit and upgrade!

 

[anbouk]

Although I've never made an exchange myself, I've read some emails on the boards on this topic.

If your park ticket was purchased with a discount (e.g. Maple Leaf) or was part of a cash package deal, you may need to use the ticket first at one of the parks so that it will be counted as a full value ticket prior to exchanging it for an annual pass. This will save you more money. I hope that others who have actually done this will respond you give you additional tips.

Just curious, never heard this before.

Last year when we purchased a package with a one day tix, we then went to DTD Guest Relations and they upgraded our Park Tix to our AP's and received a one day credit, plus of course our $100 Discount for DVC.

 

[pixie921]

Along similar lines, if one has an (unused) annual pass voucher waiting at will-call that was (stupidly/mistakenly) bought without the DVC discount, does anyone know if they will refund the difference?

 

[castleri]

Just curious, never heard this before.

Last year when we purchased a package with a one day tix, we then went to DTD Guest Relations and they upgraded our Park Tix to our AP's and received a one day credit, plus of course our $100 Discount for DVC.

It is only if you purchase from a ticket discounter like undercover tourist or maple leaf that you need to do this. Once the ticket is used they give you the credit for the amount that you would have paid if you bought it through Disney to begin with. If it is not used first you only get the credit for what you paid from the discounter.

 

[bumbershoot]

It is only if you purchase from a ticket discounter like undercover tourist or maple leaf that you need to do this. Once the ticket is used they give you the credit for the amount that you would have paid if you bought it through Disney to begin with. If it is not used first you only get the credit for what you paid from the discounter.

It would also count if you, say, booked a package deal (or bought a ticket directly from disneyworld.com), and then the ticket prices changed. If you change the ticket before using it, you don't get the current value as a credit towards the upgrade. If you use it, the price is "bridged" between what you paid and what it's worth "now", so you pay less. If the prices have changed after you paid for the tickets.

 

[CarolMN]

........(snip).....It's just me upgrading my ticket to an AP so I will walk over to the Int'l Gateway by myself. If we are lucky enough to get into the room early, DH will wait in there with the boys. I am not counting on that though! So if not, he will take them over to the community hall or walk around the boardwalk with them. Not planning to take them with me because I bought my ticket from UT and have to enter the park first before upgrading so I can just pay the different between Disney's ticket price and the AP price. .......

We did this almost exactly as you propose last November. Entered EPCOT with the discounted MYW tickets. Then walked to the Guest Relations booth outside the IG and upgraded to DVC APs. We got the DVC price and gate price credit amount. Didn't even have to ask (but I knew how much more I would have to pay just in case the CM wasn't skilled, lol). She was perfect, though.

We also bought a TiW card at that same location right after the ticket upgrade was completed/

Had no problems at all with either transaction and since we did this mid-morning, no lines for the ticket/Guest Relations booth.

 

[bangzoom6877]

We did this almost exactly as you propose last November. Entered EPCOT with the discounted MYW tickets. Then walked to the Guest Relations booth outside the IG and upgraded to DVC APs. We got the DVC price and gate price credit amount. Didn't even have to ask (but I knew how much more I would have to pay just in case the CM wasn't skilled, lol). She was perfect, though.

We also bought a TiW card at that same location right after the ticket upgrade was completed/

Had no problems at all with either transaction and since we did this mid-morning, no lines for the ticket/Guest Relations booth.

Sounds great!! Before we go to Disney, we're going to be spending a few days in Boca visiting relatives, the same as we did on our last trip. We're staying at the same hotel in Boca as last time, and it took exactly 3 hours from that hotel to Pop Century on our last trip. We will leave Boca after breakfast, which for me and DH and the boys can be very early, but for my sister I am not sure. We may be leaving more like 9 or 10AM, putting our arrival time at WDW at around 12 or 1PM. I hope the line isn't too long at that point!

 

[Disney Princess]

Just a note of caution . . . We purchased park hoppers through UCT (loved their service) in November. We used those tickets on our December trip and then went to Guest Relations to get the DVC AP. The upgrade was not a problem or hassle at all, but we did not get "credit" for the ticket price through Disney. The computer system "knew" how much we paid for our ticket and did not give us the difference. Now, it wasn't a big deal as we paid the exact amount that a DVC AP would have cost anyway, but we didn't "save" the difference on our tickets. We even went back to a second GR CM to see if they could find out what happened, and they verified that the computer knew we only paid $X for our PH, so we had to pay the exact difference for our AP.

We weren't really prepared for that possibility, but luckily it wasn't that much money in the difference. Still, I want everyone to be aware that as of December, the computer knew how much we paid even though we had already entered the park. Maybe we were unlucky. We are still happy to be AP holders!!

 

[yitbos96bb]

Just a note of caution . . . We purchased park hoppers through UCT (loved their service) in November. We used those tickets on our December trip and then went to Guest Relations to get the DVC AP. The upgrade was not a problem or hassle at all, but we did not get "credit" for the ticket price through Disney. The computer system "knew" how much we paid for our ticket and did not give us the difference. Now, it wasn't a big deal as we paid the exact amount that a DVC AP would have cost anyway, but we didn't "save" the difference on our tickets. We even went back to a second GR CM to see if they could find out what happened, and they verified that the computer knew we only paid $X for our PH, so we had to pay the exact difference for our AP.

We weren't really prepared for that possibility, but luckily it wasn't that much money in the difference. Still, I want everyone to be aware that as of December, the computer knew how much we paid even though we had already entered the park. Maybe we were unlucky. We are still happy to be AP holders!!

That's wierd... I did the same thing in January, used the first two days and got credit for the full ticket gate price toward my AP. You used the tickets first before upgrading, correct?

 

[yitbos96bb]

To OP... Just a reminder... if you have the Waterparks and more option and use any of the options, you HAVE to upgrade to a premium AP.

 

[Disney Princess]

That's wierd... I did the same thing in January, used the first two days and got credit for the full ticket gate price toward my AP. You used the tickets first before upgrading, correct?

Yes, we used the tickets first. We upgraded to the APs at the GR location in the park. We thought it was strange too since we had read the reports on the DIS that stated the opposite. We wish it had worked out for us, but we survived. It was just a shock when the CM told us our total. It was more than we were expecting. Maybe it was just our "lucky" day, but I wanted everyone to be aware that sometimes it doesn't work out like that.

 

[doconeill]

Its a shame, but Disney is becoming more and more inconsistent. And it seems like if a CM does something not exactly right, thy will get backed up by others...

We know from very knowledgeable CMs on the boards here that the proper procedure is that if a ticket is used and is then getting upgraded, and that ticket is shown to have been purchased at a discount, they are supposed to "bridge" the price to the gate price through an intermediate step. It is a bit more work for them, but it is in general what they are supposed to do.

At AK, when I went to upgrade DD#1's Disney-purchased park hopper to a DVC AP, I knew what the cost would be as I had run the numbers several times to see if it made sense for what were were doing. When the CM then quoted me a higher than expected number (especially since it was not a discounted ticket), I asked her to check. She said I must have purchased it at a discount...and then I realized I purchased it a few days before the price increase. Regardless, I asked her, "So, the ticket was used already - shouldn't the price be bridged?" She said, "Yes, it should..." and proceeded to do it. I had a feeling she was just hoping to not have to or something. But I also don't like to tell the CMs what their procedures are supposed to be, even though I know - I'm afraid they'll turn against me

Unfortunately, the weird stories continue. Not only Disney Princess' story, but there was another recently that when someone upgraded their pre-purchased UT (or some other agent) MYW to an AP, the expiration was backdated to the DATE OF PURCHASE, not first date of use. After the error was discovered, they went back and were told that it was correct...

 

[furyion5]

So if I use my 8 day parker hopper on April 1st and then on April 8th upgrade to an AP, is the AP good until April 1 or 8 of next year?

 

[bangzoom6877]

To OP... Just a reminder... if you have the Waterparks and more option and use any of the options, you HAVE to upgrade to a premium AP.

I didn't purchase that option, I only have the base ticket. But thank you for that information! It's good to know for future trips. I think we will just continue to buy one AP for me, at least for now, but in case we do this same thing for a future trip I will not add the water park & more option. I know you can upgrade tickets to include this at WDW anyway, so I will continue buying the simple base ticket.

I will make sure I know the exact price different between what I paid and what the AP costs with the DVC discount. I will also make sure I know the difference between Disney's ticket price and the AP. If the CM quotes me the higher difference and tells me it is because I bought the ticket at a discount, I will do what the above poster said and remind him/her that the price is supposed to be "bridged" and I am only supposed to pay the difference between Disney's price and the price of the AP. I will of course ask them this very nicely! And I will enter the park first so I do it correctly.

Thanks so much for all these tips!!

 

[doconeill]

So if I use my 8 day parker hopper on April 1st and then on April 8th upgrade to an AP, is the AP good until April 1 or 8 of next year?

April 1st.

 

[Disney Princess]

Its a shame, but Disney is becoming more and more inconsistent. And it seems like if a CM does something not exactly right, thy will get backed up by others...

We know from very knowledgeable CMs on the boards here that the proper procedure is that if a ticket is used and is then getting upgraded, and that ticket is shown to have been purchased at a discount, they are supposed to "bridge" the price to the gate price through an intermediate step. It is a bit more work for them, but it is in general what they are supposed to do.

At AK, when I went to upgrade DD#1's Disney-purchased park hopper to a DVC AP, I knew what the cost would be as I had run the numbers several times to see if it made sense for what were were doing. When the CM then quoted me a higher than expected number (especially since it was not a discounted ticket), I asked her to check. She said I must have purchased it at a discount...and then I realized I purchased it a few days before the price increase. Regardless, I asked her, "So, the ticket was used already - shouldn't the price be bridged?" She said, "Yes, it should..." and proceeded to do it. I had a feeling she was just hoping to not have to or something. But I also don't like to tell the CMs what their procedures are supposed to be, even though I know - I'm afraid they'll turn against me

Unfortunately, the weird stories continue. Not only Disney Princess' story, but there was another recently that when someone upgraded their pre-purchased UT (or some other agent) MYW to an AP, the expiration was backdated to the DATE OF PURCHASE, not first date of use. After the error was discovered, they went back and were told that it was correct...

Thanks for your story. This makes me feel like I wasn't crazy in December. I felt like maybe we had done something "wrong". It seems like we just didn't know enough information to tell the CM what we needed in order to get it done. We are okay, but at least I know in the future what we need to say.

It is sad though that they have these inconsistencies. And your post reminded me - they backdated our AP to the day we purchased, not the date of our first use. This happened to be several weeks/months before the trip. We definitely knew that was wrong, so we had to visit yet another GR agent to get the date fixed. At least she knew what she was doing!