Upgrading to an AP

[jstbcuz94]

I plan on buying one AP to get a discount at PC. After thinking that AP only cost approximately $76 more than our PHP, we thought we might upgrade the other 3 tickets to AP too. I can almost pay for the four of us to get AP with the savings I got on rooms.

We dont live near by, but thought this would be a super cheap way to come back and visit. We take a vacation every year, usually to somewhere different each time.

My question is this: If I were to upgrade the PHP passes when should I do that? I still want to be able to take advantage of the water parks on my PHP. Can I do it on the last day or so and still only pay the difference between the AP and the PHP tickets?

Thanks in advance!

 

[TLinden16]

I believe that they only give you credit for the unused days on your PHP. So, if you have a seven day pass, and you use two days before upgrading, your upgrade will be from the value of five days.

Karen

 

[SnackyStacky]

Be VERY careful in using your park hopper passes before upgrading! You mentioned using one of the plusses before upgrading. If you do that, you will ONLY be allowed to upgrade to a premium annual pass, which is a LOT pricier than the standard annual pass.

Karen's right. If you use admission to the 4 major theme parks, they will prorate the value of the hopper pass for credit towards the upgrade.

 

[GoldenOldie]

SnackyStacky is correct about the use of the plus options but there's a qualifier he didn't mention. That only applies if you are doing the upgrade within 7 days of the first use of your PHP.

If you have used any plus options during that time period and attempt to upgrade, you will only be allowed to upgrade to the PAP, not to an AP. They will credit the entire price you paid for the PHP towards the AP and will back date the starting date of the AP to the day you first used an admission on the PHP.

If the seven day window has passed, you cannot apply the entire amount you paid for the PHP, you will only be able to apply the credit for the unused major park admissions towards the price of the AP or PAP. You will be able to upgrade it to an AP at that point but you will lose any unused plus options.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Ah, the intricacies of the Disney ticketing system. LOL!

 

[jstbcuz94]

Let me get this straight. If I DONT use the Plus part of the ticket, I can upgrade at anytime for the difference in the price? Is this right?

But if I DO use the plus part of the ticket, I can only upgrade to a Premium Annual Pass?

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by jstbcuz94
Let me get this straight. If I DONT use the Plus part of the ticket, I can upgrade at anytime for the difference in the price? Is this right?

You can upgrade for a prorated amount. (If you go to the 4 major parks on one day, you'll be credited for one less day)

Originally posted by jstbcuz94
But if I DO use the plus part of the ticket, I can only upgrade to a Premium Annual Pass?

Yes, if you try to upgrade within 7 days after using a plus option.

(Did I get that right GoldenOldie??)

 

[PirateFan]

We have upgraded before and this is the way it worked for us. The PHP was exchanged for an AP within the first 7 days of use. 2 of the days had been used, but no pluses were used. We were given credit for the entire purchase amount of the PHP, but the AP was dated back to the first day of use of the PHP. I was told that if we have used a plus that we would only have been able to upgrade to a Premium AP.

Is that clear as mud?

 

[SnackyStacky]

Clear enough for me!

Like I said - the intricacies of the Disney ticketing system! LOL

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by PirateFan
We have upgraded before and this is the way it worked for us. The PHP was exchanged for an AP within the first 7 days of use. 2 of the days had been used, but no pluses were used. We were given credit for the entire purchase amount of the PHP, but the AP was dated back to the first day of use of the PHP. I was told that if we have used a plus that we would only have been able to upgrade to a Premium AP.

Is that clear as mud?

Hmmm, isn't that what I said above?

The way they handled this is absolutely correct. Amazing, huh?

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by jstbcuz94
Let me get this straight. If I DONT use the Plus part of the ticket, I can upgrade at anytime for the difference in the price? Is this right? But if I DO use the plus part of the ticket, I can only upgrade to a Premium Annual Pass?

No, that's not right. You can only apply the entire amount you paid for the PHP when you do the upgrade prior to any use of the PHP or within the first 7 days of using any part of the PHP. If you used any of the plus options during this 7 day window, you will only be able to upgrade to a PAP.

After the 7 day window has passed, you can apply the remaining unused dollar value of the PHP towards an AP and you will lose any unused plus options you have left on the ticket. You are NOT required to buy a PAP when doing this. In Disneyspeak, this is NOT upgrading. It's applying the dollar value of an old ticket to the purchase of a new one.

 

[PirateFan]

GoldenOldie

Sorry, I didn't mean to repeat what you said. I guess I didn't read the posts closely enough.

That's why I just read the boards instead of posting. I usually end up misspeaking.

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by PirateFan
GoldenOldie

Sorry, I didn't mean to repeat what you said. I guess I didn't read the posts closely enough.

That's why I just read the boards instead of posting. I usually end up misspeaking.

Oh lord, don't apologize. You did nothing wrong. It was a feeble attempt at humor on my part (notice the at the end).

I was just surprised that someone posted that a Guest Relations CM handled a transaction the way it was actually supposed to be done. Sometimes that alone is cause for rejoicing.

 

[JoeThaNo1Stunna]

I will be staying next month with the 5+2 Dreammaker Package with a 7 day UPH pass. Can I upgrade this to an AP?

 

[GoldenOldie]

Originally posted by JoeThaNo1Stunna
I will be staying next month with the 5+2 Dreammaker Package with a 7 day UPH pass. Can I upgrade this to an AP?

No you can't. Disney does not allow UPH's that are part of one of their package plans to be upgraded. Unfortunately for you, you are on a package.

 

[KCMiller]

OK, so to be sure:

1. If you have a PHP with Pluses, you can upgrade to an AP

2. If you do this BEFORE you use any pluses, you LOSE all the plusses.

3. If you do this AFTER you use any of the pluses, you have to upgrade to the PAP.

4. The cost of the upgrade is prorated, and depends on how many days you have left on your PHP.

My questions are these - how to they determine the per day cost of the PHP (do they just divide by the gate cost?), and do you REALLY lose the Plusses? That seems unfair.

KC

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by KCMiller
OK, so to be sure:

1. If you have a PHP with Pluses, you can upgrade to an AP

2. If you do this BEFORE you use any pluses, you LOSE all the plusses.

3. If you do this AFTER you use any of the pluses, you have to upgrade to the PAP.

4. The cost of the upgrade is prorated, and depends on how many days you have left on your PHP.

My questions are these - how to they determine the per day cost of the PHP (do they just divide by the gate cost?), and do you REALLY lose the Plusses? That seems unfair.

KC

Yes - you really lose the plusses.

When you're upgrading, the Plusses retain no value. So if you have a 5 day pass, and paid $100 for it, then each day is worth $20. So if you had 3 days left, the pass would be valued at $60.

Does that make sense?

And there's a caveat to number 3. The only time you HAVE to upgrade to a PAP after using a plus is if you attempt to upgrade within 7 days of using that plus. So if you use a plus, and 3 months later upgrade, no - you don't have to get the PAP.

Now we have to wait for GoldenOldie to check my work - but I think I got it this time!!!!

 

[LisaZoe]

Wow, I hadn't even thought an upgrade was a possibility. In my excitement, I bought a 7 day PHP and then started thinking maybe I should have waited to see if AP rates would make getting one a good deal.

I'm not intentionally being dense but I want to be sure I understand this also before I go. Assuming I used no major park days or pluses on the PHP when I go to upgrade, I will get the full amount I paid for that pass applied to an AP purchase? As an example, I paid $316 for the PHP and an AP is $403.64 so I would then owe $87.64 (plus any applicable sales tax difference).

Now, where would I go to handle such an upgrade? I don't know that I'll make such an upgrade since I got a good rate with the AZZ code but I want to consider all the options - and I also like that it would allow me to go to a park on my last day which I wouldn't do with the PHP since I'll be leaving for the airport around noon.

 

[SnackyStacky]

Originally posted by LisaZoe
Wow, I hadn't even thought an upgrade was a possibility. In my excitement, I bought a 7 day PHP and then started thinking maybe I should have waited to see if AP rates would make getting one a good deal.

I'm not intentionally being dense but I want to be sure I understand this also before I go. Assuming I used no major park days or pluses on the PHP when I go to upgrade, I will get the full amount I paid for that pass applied to an AP purchase? As an example, I paid $316 for the PHP and an AP is $403.64 so I would then owe $87.64 (plus any applicable sales tax difference).

Now, where would I go to handle such an upgrade? I don't know that I'll make such an upgrade since I got a good rate with the AZZ code but I want to consider all the options - and I also like that it would allow me to go to a park on my last day which I wouldn't do with the PHP since I'll be leaving for the airport around noon. [/B]

For the part in bold: Yes. That's absolutely correct.

For the part in italics: Anywhere on Disney property that sells an annual pass should be able to do the upgrade for you. (The only places that sell admission but NOT an annual pass, as far as I know, are the resorts. All major ticket windows and any Guest Relations window - either at the parks, or at Downtown Disney.

I don't know if you can upgrade at places like the Ocala Information Center, or the Earport Store at MCO.

Good luck!

 

[KathyTX]

I know you cannot upgrade at the Earport location; I'm not sure about the Ocala ticket office.

Each park has a Guest Relations window that can handle the upgrade, or you can do it at one of the Downtown Disney Guest Relations locations.

(The math in this thread is giving me a headache! )

So, what have we learned?

Within the first seven days of use
If you have a Park Hopper, and you are within the first seven days since its first use, you can have the *entire* price paid for the Park Hopper applied to the purchase of an Annual Pass. The activation date of your Annual Pass will be backdated to the first day that you used the Park Hopper.

If you're using a Park Hopper PLUS, and if you have used ANY of the Plus options, you can only upgrade to a Premium Annual Pass.

More than seven days since first use
If it has been more than 7 days since the first time you used the Park Hopper, you will be granted credit for any unused major park days, and this amount of money will be applied toward the purchase of your Annual Pass. In this case, the plus options will be assigned no value, and it doesn't matter whether you've used any or not. The value will be calculated as total purchase price divided by number of major park days.

The value of the ticket will be determined by what Disney actually SOLD the ticket for. If you purchased the ticket you're trading in from a third party ticket broker, be aware that Disney is not going to give you credit for the full price you paid- only for the wholesale price that they received from the broker. In other words, any markup or profit that the ticket broker built in will be lost.

(Whew. Did I get all that correct? )