Upgrading tickets - Use them first?

[proud_canadian]

Hi there,

We got some tickets using our airmiles, and are planning to upgrade them at the park. Someone mentioned that they should be used first, before upgrading to get full value? Why is that?

Also, is it possible to upgrade them over the phone?

 

[mrsR123]

The thinking is that if you have purchased tickets at a discount, usually from an authorized reseller, like Undercover Tourist, etc., then you can preserve those cost savings by using the ticket at least once and then having Disney "bridge" your discou ted ticket to that day's price at gate rates before the upgrade.

I have done this multiple times with success.

The catch might be the specific tickets you have. Some kinds of promotional tickets are ungradable-- Run Disney tickets for instance. I have no experience with redeeming miles for tickets, so I couldn't tell you for sure. Your tickets will say they cannot be upgraded on them if that is the case, however.

 

[proud_canadian]

I'm confused though.

Say I have a 7 day park ticket I got for free with air miles, and I want to make it a 10 day non expiring ticket.

If I hadn't used the ticket, and went to upgrade it, wouldn't they take the current value of the 7 day ticket, subtract it from the current price of a 10 day non expiring ticket, and that would be how much I pay?

Why would using it first make a difference, if I've used it, wouldn't they still take the current value of the 7 day ticket and subtract that from the current price of a 10 day expiring ticket and ask me to pay that much?

I am trying to figure out why using it first changes how much it costs?

Also, can it be done on the phone?

 

[mrsR123]

In theory, if you presented a ticket that had not been used before, Disney might expect you to pay the difference between what the company who bought it from them paid and the price of the new ticket you want. Again, when people talk about upgrading tickets it's usually because they are trying to save money; they by the ticket with the greatest savings they can find, so long as the cost isn't higher than the one they actually want. Then they upgrade from the "gate price" of the ticket they bought at a discount to the new price one they really want while maintaining the original savings.

There is really good info on the ticket sticky at the top of this forum, too.

As for the telephone transaction, I don't know if you can do that over the phone or if it would be a monetary disadvantage.

Finally, you have to make sure that you have tickets that are able to be upgraded.

 

[proud_canadian]

Thanks, I guess I still don't understand why using a day off of the ticket would change the value the Disney sees the ticket at?

 

[ashprincess]

Thanks, I guess I still don't understand why using a day off of the ticket would change the value the Disney sees the ticket at?

I haven't personally done this but from what I read it goes like this

I buy a 5 day ticket from somewhere for a discount saving me $xx

I need a 10 day ticket but if I just upgrade that ticket I will be paying the upgrade price plus $xx

If I enter a park first then my ticket has been recognized as full value.

Now when I upgrade I only have to pay the upgrade price and my $xx stays in my pocket....

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks, I guess I still don't understand why using a day off of the ticket would change the value the Disney sees the ticket at?

Disney's policy is once a third-party ticket has been used at least once, they bridge the value of the ticket from whatever the third party paid Disney to what the current gate price is and then you pay the difference between the gate price of your current ticket and the ticket you want.

 

[francie57]

To expand on how one pp stated it - putting values to each ticket may make sense to you.

If you buy a 5 day ticket from Undercover Tourist it would cost - $309
(Disney price is $323 minus the change) so you have saved - $14.

If you update the ticket before going into the park you would have to
pay the difference at Disney of the 10 day ticket ($377) - $68 PLUS the
$14 (savings by buying discounted ticket).

However, if you take the discounted ticket and go through a park entrance, Disney's computer will recognize that ticket then as being full price ($323)
so to upgrade you would only have to pay the $68.

We did this last year when we bought discounted tickets at AAA. We went through the gate to make the ticket full price and then just went out to the ticket window and upgraded to annual passes.

 

[proud_canadian]

Thanks, that helps, but seems kind of silly to me!

I wonder what happens if you get the tickets for free via airmiles though! I guess I will try calling them and see. Thanks!

 

[Missyrose]

Thanks, that helps, but seems kind of silly to me!

I wonder what happens if you get the tickets for free via airmiles though! I guess I will try calling them and see. Thanks!

The principle remains exactly the same, even if you could upgrade tickets over the phone that were not purchased directly from Disney (which you can't), you would vastly overpay for the upgrade because Disney wouldn't credit you the gate value of your ticket.

 

[mickey1968]

It works the same way on tickets bought from Disney if they raise the prices. Say you bought tickets for one price, then before you take your trip Disney raises ticket prices. Using the ticket locks in the ticket at the current/higher price so you are not expected to pay the increase in ticket prices.

I don't know if that helps or not.

However, I do know you CAN NOT upgrade via phone. I called a couple of times last year to ask about the same thing.

 

[POOHsie]

It works the same way on tickets bought from Disney if they raise the prices. Say you bought tickets for one price, then before you take your trip Disney raises ticket prices. Using the ticket locks in the ticket at the current/higher price so you are not expected to pay the increase in ticket prices.

I don't know if that helps or not.

However, I do know you CAN NOT upgrade via phone. I called a couple of times last year to ask about the same thing.

Price-bridging doesn't work for ALL tickets bought from Disney.

Not eligible for Price-Bridging: Tickets bought at full price from a WDW Parks ticket outlet. Tickets bought at full price from a WDW Guest Relations facility at the Parks or DTD. Tickets bought online at full price from Disney website for MDE, Will Call pickup or Mail Order.

Eligible for Price-Bridging: Tickets bought in conjunction with a Disney Resort package reservation. Tickets bought at The Disney Store. Tickets bought from an authorized third party reseller such as AAA or UCT.

If you have an upcoming Disney Resort reservation with tickets, you can call and add additional days to your package tickets. But if you bought tickets-only from the Disney website online, you could not call later and add to the ticket you bought. You would have to wait to do that upgrade in person at WDW.

 

[Minniekins]

Nothing like making it confusing and difficult, right?! ai yi yi!

 

[purple figment]

Thanks, that helps, but seems kind of silly to me!

If you don't want to use the tickets at least once, you don't have to, but chances are then you'll pay more than you need to when you upgrade. Posters here are just trying to explain how you can save some money.

I wonder what happens if you get the tickets for free via airmiles though! I guess I will try calling them and see. Thanks!

If you don't use the tickets at least once it's possible you'll only get the wholesale price the airline/airmiles program paid Disney for them.

 

[CookieGVB]

The OP wasn't saying the explanation was silly - just the WDW policy.

 

[proud_canadian]

Hi everyone,

OP'er here.

Yes, I wasn't saying your explanations were silly! Just the policy!!!

Like it should be either always get full value for the tickets, or you never do. Not you only do if you use one day. That seems silly to me.

However, I did email Disney on the weekend to ask if you could still buy or upgrade to non expiring tickets and they said you could over the phone or in person at wdw. So I may try calling them tonight and see what they say.

I will let you all know