Upgrading to annual pass on blackout day?

[mjlum]

We are considering upgrading a 3 day hopper to so cal select annual passes on a blackout date. If we upgrade on the 2nd day of using our pass can we still get into the parks on the 3rd day if it’s a blackout day?

Should we wait until the last day of our hopper to upgrade? It would be nice to take advantage of the ap discounts while we’re in the park.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

If we upgrade on the 2nd day of using our pass can we still get into the parks on the 3rd day if it’s a blackout day?

No, you cannot. You should be able to upgrade anytime on the 3rd day though even if it is a blackout day and still enter or re-enter the park that day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Don't forget to use your MM before upgrading. APs do not come with a MM.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Nope. You only get a blackout exception for the day the AP is issued. Also allow lots of time for the upgrade. Ours took well over an hour at the ticket booths because the CM didn’t have a clue what they were doing and the supervisor was too busy to help her very much. It’s dumb luck if you get a vet or a new CM processing you so give yourself lots of time at some point during the day. (We did it around 10:30am. I told everyone it was a horrible idea but they insisted they wanted to start getting AP discount by lunch. Huge mistake but live and learn for them. Go in the afternoon or early evening to the ticket booths to do the upgrade.)

 

[mjlum]

Thanks for the good tips! It's always great to get additional info- even if I don't know what to ask! Much appreciated.

 

[MonocularVision]

A few warnings:

• When we called the ticketing office and asked about this, they said we should upgrade at the end of the day as the policy is to not allow entry after upgrade
• We were told differently through the online chat.
• In person when we bought our park hoppers, we were told again to upgrade near the end of our last day as we weren’t guaranteed re-entry on upgrade day if it was a blackout
• When we actually did the upgrade on the last day at around 11pm(!) the CM was incredible and even offered to get us in the next day (this was during Christmas blackouts). We didn’t need to but she was the best. She even got us MaxPass refunds for all 3 days since we out it on our APs

So ultimately: just know that you get different answers regarding blockout days and plan accordingly. I recommend you buy 4 day park hoppers just in case so you can upgrade the next morning if you need to.