Newbie with a ?

[Disneyfreak]

I have just recently joined DVC & have not yet received my pin # to access the DVC website yet (any day now I should get it), so this ? would probably be answered if I had the site access.

The question is: Can the discounted AP be purchased from several different locations or is it through the website only? Like can it be purchased through a local Disney Store? :idontgeti

[brandip22]

I do not think you can get them at a local Disney Store.


I have just recently joined DVC & have not yet received my pin # to access the DVC website yet (any day now I should get it), so this ? would probably be answered if I had the site access.

The question is: Can the discounted AP be purchased from several different locations or is it through the website only? Like can it be purchased through a local Disney Store? :idontgeti

[idratherbeinwdw]

I have just recently joined DVC & have not yet received my pin # to access the DVC website yet (any day now I should get it), so this ? would probably be answered if I had the site access.

The question is: Can the discounted AP be purchased from several different locations or is it through the website only? Like can it be purchased through a local Disney Store? :idontgeti

I know you can buy an ap at the disney store, but I am not sure if they will do DVC discounted aps. Hopefully someone else here can answer that.

I thought I would mention that you can buy the AP over the phone by calling the DVC Member's Services 800#. To me that's the easiet way to go since, if you didn't already know this, when you get an AP you don't actually get the pass. It's only a voucher which you turn in for a "real" ap at any Disney Park guest services (there's also a place in Downtown Disney).

[tjkraz]

You can also wait until you arrive at WDW to buy the AP. The on-site price is the same as the web order price.

In fact, even if you order the APs from home, all you will receive is a voucher. You still need to wait in line at Guest Relations to turn the voucher into an actual pass.

If you wait to buy the pass when you arrive, care to guess where you go? Guest Relations! Basically you need to wait in the same line at WDW regardless of which approach you take.

You can buy the pass or redeem the voucher at any of the 4 theme parks or at Downtown Disney. It cannot be done at a resort.

I can only think of two reasons to buy the vouchers in advance:

1. If you want to buy the Disney Dining Experience discount card. In order to get the card, you need to have an AP or AP voucher in-hand.

You COULD wait until you arrive to buy the AP and then get the DDE card, but there are a lot of limitations involved in getting the DDE on-site. The DDE office is only open M-F, 9am-6pm. The only place you can pick-up a temporary DDE ID is at the Epcot main gate.

Long story short, if you want to get the DDE, you'll probably need to order at least one AP voucher in advance.

2. Prices will probably go up right after January 1st. If you're visiting early next year, you might want to buy vouchers before the end of the year to avoid a price increase.

That's about it. If neither of those apply, just wait until you arrive to buy the passes. Put that money to good use elsewhere.

[Disneyfreak]

Thanks guys for the info!!! My wife & I are heading down there the end of Sept. (booked before we were DVC members) with the free Dining Plan.
To get the free dining plan we had to stay on property & buy at least a one day pass to the parks, we are staying 6 nights but only bought the one day pass since we had left over non expiring passes from a previous trip.

Today, we booked the LeCellier for a dinner reservation the day we arrive & did not want to waste one of our non expiring days so I guess we will wind up using the one day pass. I guess we will then buy the AP & just hold on to the non expiring tickets (since the kids are not going this time & they have the same amount of days left on their non expiring passes).

If you have any other suggestions, please let us know!!!:kickingco

[tjkraz]

FYI, Disney will give you credit for unused days on most passes toward the purchase price of a greater (more expensive) pass. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to trade-in the unused non-expiring days and get their original (pro-rated) value applied to an AP purchase.

If you are still resigned to holding those tickets, you could instead try to upgrade the one-day passes that you will be receiving when you arrive. I'm not sure if they will let you do this because they are a required purchase as part of the package, but it's worth a shot.

The one thing you CAN'T do is trade in BOTH your hopper tickets and the one day passes (4 total tickets) toward 2 APs. It has to be a one-to-one transaction.

Just make sure you try the upgrade before you enter any park. You'll still get the DVC discounted price, but they'll credit you back the face value of any unused days on those tickets.

[tjkraz]

FYI, Disney will give you credit for unused days on most passes toward the purchase price of a greater (more expensive) pass. I don't see any reason why you wouldn't be able to trade-in the unused non-expiring days and get their original (pro-rated) value applied to an AP purchase.

If you are still resigned to holding those tickets, you could instead try to upgrade the one-day passes that you will be receiving when you arrive. I'm not sure if they will let you do this because they are a required purchase as part of the package, but it's worth a shot.

The one thing you CAN'T do is trade in BOTH your hopper tickets and the one day passes (4 total tickets) toward 2 APs. It has to be a one-to-one transaction.

Just make sure you try the upgrade before you enter any park. You'll still get the DVC discounted price, but they'll credit you back the face value of any unused days on those tickets.

[Disneyfreak]

Thanks Tjkraz,

I was wondering if they would give us credit for our non expiring tickets toward the purchase of the AP. now to decide if I want to use the one day pass for credit or our non expiring for credit toward the AP.:headscrat Decisions, Decisions!!!

[jnrrt]

This is heresay from one cm, but when we were looking into a package, we were told we could upgrade the one-day pass we were going to buy to get the package to a DVC discounted annual pass when we got there. The cm we talked sounded like that was no problem. We didn't end up doing it, but that is what we were told.

[mousehouse]

this got me thinking...very dangerous.

If I do a split stay Coronado 4 nights and then DVC and I have bought PAP, is it possible to get the DDP(Free) during the Coronado stay?(assuming I sacrifice the PAP discount)

Have to crunch numbers would 3-10yrs old and 2 adults save more money with an AP discount on 2 one bedrooms at Coronado or with the free dining?
Then if we bought those tickets, we can just save them for use in the future(long as we don';t use one now...right?) Wouldn't we have to buy 5 tickets per person staying in the room to qualify for free dining?

[tjkraz]

If I do a split stay Coronado 4 nights and then DVC and I have bought PAP, is it possible to get the DDP(Free) during the Coronado stay?(assuming I sacrifice the PAP discount)

Have to crunch numbers would 3-10yrs old and 2 adults save more money with an AP discount on 2 one bedrooms at Coronado or with the free dining?
Then if we bought those tickets, we can just save them for use in the future(long as we don';t use one now...right?) Wouldn't we have to buy 5 tickets per person staying in the room to qualify for free dining?

Dining is only offered FREE during certain promotional periods. They had a free dining promotion for about 6 weeks running from mid-August through September, but those trips had to be booked weeks ago. You can no longer book a trip with the free dining, nor is there any guarantee of it being offered again.

The dining plan was introduced as an incentive to get people to book entire trips through Disney rather than going to least-cost route for things like the room (AAA or AP discounts) and tickets (3rd party vendors.) In order to book the dining plan for non-DVC trips, you normally must pay the full rack rate for the room, buy tickets of some duration, and you are also charged $38 per adult and $11 per child, per night for the dining plan.

Disney may well take a loss on the dining portion of some of these packages (depending upon how heartily people choose to eat), but that loss is mitigated by higher prices paid for the room and tickets.

The "Free Dining" offer was simply a promotion to get people to fill the WDW rooms during a typically slow period. The only times it has been offered are 6-8 week blocks in the Fall of 2005 and 2006. It may re-appear in '07, or it may never be seen again.

When using DVC points at DVC resorts, there is no ticket purchase requirement, but the fees above still apply.