Upgrading MYW tix to APs

[squirk]

My family of five has a mish-mash of MYW PH tickets we will be using in about 10 days. Some have a 6-day ticket, while others have a 7-day ticket. Some have WPF&M attached, some don't. Some were purchased using the DVC promotion earlier this year, some were not. Long story.

Annnnnyway, I might want to just upgrade everyone to an AP, but given that I have at least three different purchase prices among my five tickets, I don't know who or where to go to in order to calculate what the all-in cost to upgrade will be.

I would like to figure this out and (possibly) upgrade before we even leave for Orlando. I really don't want to go to a Guest Services window at one of the parks or Disney Springs and ask someone to try to sort out this mess when I might have 20 people waiting in line behind me.

Is there an authoritative one-stop-shopping resource, either telephonic or online, for me to price out the upgrade before we leave? Or must I do it on-site?

Thanks!

 

[Alesia]

My family of five has a mish-mash of MYW PH tickets we will be using in about 10 days. Some have a 6-day ticket, while others have a 7-day ticket. Some have WPF&M attached, some don't. Some were purchased using the DVC promotion earlier this year, some were not. Long story.

Annnnnyway, I might want to just upgrade everyone to an AP, but given that I have at least three different purchase prices among my five tickets, I don't know who or where to go to in order to calculate what the all-in cost to upgrade will be.

I would like to figure this out and (possibly) upgrade before we even leave for Orlando. I really don't want to go to a Guest Services window at one of the parks or Disney Springs and ask someone to try to sort out this mess when I might have 20 people waiting in line behind me.

Is there an authoritative one-stop-shopping resource, either telephonic or online, for me to price out the upgrade before we leave? Or must I do it on-site?

Thanks!

Just do the math yourself. Take the value of the ticket you have and subtract it from the cost of an AP. That's how much thecaserade will cost.

BTW, I'm assuming that all of the tickets are unused.

 

[Robo]

I would like to figure this out and (possibly)
1. upgrade before we even leave for Orlando.
2. I really don't want to go to a Guest Services window at one of the parks or Disney Springs and ask someone to try to sort out this mess when I might have 20 people waiting in line behind me.
3. Is there an authoritative one-stop-shopping resource, either telephonic or online, for me to price out the upgrade before we leave?
4. Or must I do it on-site?

1. Can't be done.
2. Sorry, but that's the only way to do it. If the CM is competent, it won't take very long.
All guests 18 and older must be present, and have a legal photo ID.
3. Nope.
4. Yup.

And, as Alesia said, all of your original tickets must have never been used in the past.

 

[squirk]

Just do the math yourself. Take the value of the ticket you have and subtract it from the cost of an AP. That's how much thecaserade will cost.

BTW, I'm assuming that all of the tickets are unused.

Thanks. Yes, unused. I had thought about just doing the math myself as you suggested, but I'd feel better hearing it from the horse's mouth vs. my estimate, y'know? Plus, I am lazy.

the CM is competent, it won't take very long.

Well, that is it in a nutshell. I've been stuck with some hapless CMs at the ticket counter in the past who struggled with far easier ticket issues than this.

 

[Robo]

Thanks. Yes, unused. I had thought about just doing the math myself as you suggested, but I'd feel better hearing it from the horse's mouth vs. my estimate, y'know? Plus, I am lazy.

I can't do the math, because you didn't provide the ticket info.
You just gave a laundry list of "some of us have X, some have Y with or without Z."

But, the math is easy.

The equation is this:

CURRENT PRICE of a ticket of the same type as you HAVE.
Subtracted from-
CURRENT PRICE of the kind of AP that you WANT.

Cost to upgrade is that difference price, plus 6.5% tax on that difference price.

CURRENT PRICES are found HERE.

 

[Alesia]

Thanks. Yes, unused. I had thought about just doing the math myself as you suggested, but I'd feel better hearing it from the horse's mouth vs. my estimate, y'know? Plus, I am lazy.

You wouldn't end up with an estimate, you would end up with the exact cost. You can either take 10 minutes and do the extremely easy math, or you can risk losing a significant amount of money if you get an incompetent CM.

 

[squirk]

I can't do the math, because you didn't provide the ticket info.
You just gave a laundry list of "some of us have X, some have Y with or without Z."

But, the math is easy.

The equation is this:

CURRENT PRICE of a ticket of the same type as you HAVE.
Subtracted from-
CURRENT PRICE of the kind of AP that you WANT.

Cost to upgrade is that difference price, plus 6.5% tax on that difference price.

CURRENT PRICES are found HERE.

Yes, that is easy enough. But here's an example of what I am talking about. You mention "CURRENT PRICE" (thanks for the all caps). One of my tickets was the DVC promotion where I got the free PH day plus free WPF&M. That promotion ended on 3/31. So, when I try to upgrade, is my starting price the dollar amount of what I paid, or the price of my ticket right now, as if I had not used the DVC discount? Another example - a few of my tickets were bought from Park Savers where I got three free PH days as part of a promotion for them. Same basic question - when doing the math, do I start with what I paid PS, or what the ticket really costs without the discount?

You wouldn't end up with an estimate, you would end up with the exact cost. You can either take 10 minutes and do the extremely easy math, or you can risk losing a significant amount of money if you get an incompetent CM.

Again, the haplessness of a CM is exactly what I am worried about here. If I do the math here at home, and then I show up at Guest Services with what I believe is the right number, and the CM disagrees with my calculations, they are not going to care what my own math is. And then we argue, and then we have to go get a manager, and then we're holding up a line, and I'd rather just pre-empt that.

 

[cvjw]

You need to know how much the upgrades SHOULD be before you get to guest services. I have had some really bad experiences lately when trying to upgrade tickets to either parkhoppers or to DVC AP's. I have been told that I was only allowed the amount that Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket - not what I paid them - towards the price of the upgrade. I was also told at MK that only tickets purchased in the last 30 days were eligible to be upgraded

Be prepared to politely take back your tickets and find another guest service location with a CM who knows how to upgrade tickets! I have always gotten the correct upgrade price and procedure - it can just take extra time to find a CM who knows what they are doing.

 

[Robo]

Yes, that is easy enough. But here's an example of what I am talking about. You mention "CURRENT PRICE" (thanks for the all caps). One of my tickets was the DVC promotion where I got the free PH day plus free WPF&M. That promotion ended on 3/31. So, when I try to upgrade, is my starting price the dollar amount of what I paid, or the price of my ticket right now, as if I had not used the DVC discount? Another example - a few of my tickets were bought from Park Savers where I got three free PH days as part of a promotion for them. Same basic question - when doing the math, do I start with what I paid PS, or what the ticket really costs without the discount?

You do not base anything on what you paid for the tickets.

That's why I put CURRENT PRICE in caps.

There is no such thing as a ticket with "three free days."
That ticket is just a regular ticket with the total number of days that you received (but you got it at a reduced price.)
(Example: "Buy 4 days, get 3 days free" is just a 7-day ticket.)

So, you look up the CURRENT PRICE of a 7-day ticket (with any other options that it may have -like Hopper or WPF&M) and that's the price you use in your math.

 

[nvrenoughdisney]

You do not base anything on what you paid for the tickets.

That's why I put CURRENT PRICE in caps.

There is no such thing as a ticket with "three free days."
That ticket is just a regular ticket with the total number of days that you received (but you got it at a reduced price.)
(Example: "Buy 4 days, get 3 days free" is just a 7-day ticket.)

So, you look up the CURRENT PRICE of a 7-day ticket (with any other options that it may have -like Hopper or WPF&M) and that's the price you use in your math.

Sorry to hijack but I've been searching for this answer as well, regarding whether to base the upgrade on what I paid vs. what the current ticket is worth. I've called 3 times and received different answers. My situation is a little different as it is a DVC AP that has already been used. I bought it as a regular annual pass (around $529) so it would now be considered a platinum pass (current price $649). If I want to upgrade to Platinum Plus (current price $729), do I pay $200, based on what I paid (which isn't worth it) or $80 based on the difference between current prices. Thanks!

 

[robinb]

Yes, that is easy enough. But here's an example of what I am talking about. You mention "CURRENT PRICE" (thanks for the all caps). One of my tickets was the DVC promotion where I got the free PH day plus free WPF&M. That promotion ended on 3/31. So, when I try to upgrade, is my starting price the dollar amount of what I paid, or the price of my ticket right now, as if I had not used the DVC discount? Another example - a few of my tickets were bought from Park Savers where I got three free PH days as part of a promotion for them. Same basic question - when doing the math, do I start with what I paid PS, or what the ticket really costs without the discount?

Again, the haplessness of a CM is exactly what I am worried about here. If I do the math here at home, and then I show up at Guest Services with what I believe is the right number, and the CM disagrees with my calculations, they are not going to care what my own math is. And then we argue, and then we have to go get a manager, and then we're holding up a line, and I'd rather just pre-empt that.

It doesn't matter how much you paid for the passes or what you got for free. All that matters what the passes are selling for NOW. I use All Ears for that information: http://allears.net/pl/ticketchart.htm.

For instance, your DVC pass is (IIRC) a 5-day PH with WP&M. That sells now for $463.23, so that is the amount that you will have to go toward your AP. A Gold AP is $584.69 so it would cost $584.69-$463.23 or $101.46 extra. It's definitely worth writing down each pass, the current value and what you think you should be paying to upgrade before you see the CM. Yes, you might have to wait for a CM who knows how to bridge properly. It's a pain, but again it's worth it.

Just be aware of TWO things when you upgrade your passes:

(1) Use your pass at least once to "clear" the promotional value from it. If you try to upgrade before using it at least once, the value on the pass will be what you paid for it (I wonder if that's what happened to @cvjw) and NOT The current gate price.

(2) If you want to upgrade to a GOLD or PLATINUM annual pass, DO NOT use any of your WP&M entitlements. Once you do, you can only upgrade to a Platinum PLUS annual pass.

 

[squirk]

There is no such thing as a ticket with "three free days."
That ticket is just a regular ticket with the total number of days that you received (but you got it at a reduced price.)
(Example: "Buy 4 days, get 3 days free" is just a 7-day ticket.)

Thank you. I was just using the verbage that PS used on their site. I know you know your stuff about tickets; I am just surprised that Disney would give us a break like that on the upgrades. If I paid only $385 to PS for a ticket that is CURRENTly selling for $425, and I use that current price as a starting point in my upgrade calculations, it's like getting a $40 discount off the upgrade, right?

You need to know how much the upgrades SHOULD be before you get to guest services. I have had some really bad experiences lately when trying to upgrade tickets to either parkhoppers or to DVC AP's. I have been told that I was only allowed the amount that Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket - not what I paid them - towards the price of the upgrade. I was also told at MK that only tickets purchased in the last 30 days were eligible to be upgraded

Be prepared to politely take back your tickets and find another guest service location with a CM who knows how to upgrade tickets! I have always gotten the correct upgrade price and procedure - it can just take extra time to find a CM who knows what they are doing.

Yes, thank you. That had been my experience in the past as well, especially with the DVC tickets. As big as DVC is, it still seems to throw CMs when you are looking to modify tickets with some kind of DVC wrinkle thrown in.

Just be aware of TWO things when you upgrade your passes:

(1) Use your pass at least once to "clear" the promotional value from it. If you try to upgrade before using it at least once, the value on the pass will be what you paid for it (I wonder if that's what happened to @cvjw) and NOT The current gate price.

(2) If you want to upgrade to a GOLD or PLATINUM annual pass, DO NOT use any of your WP&M entitlements. Once you do, you can only upgrade to a Platinum PLUS annual pass.

Thanks. Yes, that was going to be a follow-up question - do I need to use at least one day on the tickets before upgrading. I have heard that repeated on various podcasts, but I have never understood exactly why the first use clears out the promotional discount I received, and bumps the ticket credit up to full "retail" price for upgrade purposes.

 

[Alesia]

(1) Use your pass at least once to "clear" the promotional value from it. If you try to upgrade before using it at least once, the value on the pass will be what you paid for it .

This is no longer the case. A tiçket does not have to be used in order for it to be bridged.

 

[robinb]

This is no longer the case. A tiçket does not have to be used in order for it to be bridged.

When did that change?

 

[Alesia]

When did that change?

I'm not sure, but the info comes from ravenclawtrekkie, who is a ticketing CM.

 

[supersnoop]

When did that change?

We're being told that it was never the case. It's still safest.

You do not base anything on what you paid for the tickets.

That's why I put CURRENT PRICE in caps.

I don't think this is accurate, at least not for all the tickets. The OP mentioned the DVC special. I would not expect those tickets to be "bridged," so the price paid is important.

 

[robinb]

I'm not sure, but the info comes from ravenclawtrekkie, who is a ticketing CM.

We're being told that it was never the case. It's still safest.

I guess I would still use the tickets at least once to be on the safe side. I wouldn't want to be messing with tickets on the way into a park in any case.

I don't think this is accurate, at least not for all the tickets. The OP mentioned the DVC special. I would not expect those tickets to be "bridged," so the price paid is important.

I would expect those tickets to be bridged because they are not any different from the Undercover Tourist Buy 4 days, get 1 free tickets. Maybe it's a question for the DVC board. I'm sure that someone has tried to upgrade those tickets already, if even to a longer length ticket.

 

[supersnoop]

I would expect those tickets to be bridged because they are not any different from the Undercover Tourist Buy 4 days, get 1 free tickets. Maybe it's a question for the DVC board. I'm sure that someone has tried to upgrade those tickets already, if even to a longer length ticket.

Disney doesn't bridge tickets that they sell directly. The reason they bridge tickets is because they don't know how much you actually paid for the ticket. But with the DVC tickets, they know exactly how much you paid. I haven't seen any reports from anyone upgrading those tickets yet.

 

[squirk]

Thank you all for the replies. All this discussion highlights why I didn't necessarily want to rely on the "easy math".

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I am about 87% sure that the DVC promo tickets from the deal that ended in March-ish aren't something we price bridge. I'll check when I get off my lunch.

Promotional tickets are considered different from discounted tickets or "net rate" tickets (from places like UT/Parksavers/etc). Why, I don't know.