WDW Upgrading to Annual Pass

[Jane3865]

Hi all, hoping someone can help me out with a little query.

Hubby and I are all booked to go to Orlando for 18 days in Nov of this year and we have booked the 21 day ultimate ticket for Disney. Anyway hubby is now talking about us going back again in 2019 so my question is would it be worth upgrading our tickets to annual passes? And is this something we should do before we go or wait until we are out there? Also does anyone have a rough idea of what the cost would be?

Thanks in advance

[chmurf]

you can only do it in Florida

If you choose to do it, you must do so before your ticket expires.

Impossible to tell you how much it will cost. Nobody will be able to.
The only thing you can do is have a look at other threads and see what people have paid. But that won't be a guarantee.
it will depend on how much the Cast Member will give you for your tickets. So if you're not happy with the price, try another guest relations you will get a different price (higher or lower ... )

bottomline, just set yourself a maximum price, and if you're happy with what you're offered, then upgrade

also consider that an AP will only entitle you to a maximum of 7 days of FP+ over a 30 days period. So you'll be losing out on that front

upgrading to AP will be more beneficial if you stay onsite and get free parking at Disney parks with the AP

note that if you have used a waterpark entrance (or crazy golf) from your ultimate ticket, the Cast Member may require you to upgrade to the most expensive AP (including waterparks), even though some will allow you to upgrade to the non waterpark AP

[Jane3865]

Thanks Chmurf, that's all really useful. As we don't go till mid November it gives us plenty of time to think about what we will do next year and if the upgrade will be worth it for us.

Not overly fussed by the FP thing really. Are there any other perks to having an annual pass other than free parking?

[chmurf]

well you get memory maker, but so do you with ultimate tickets
you lose the free round of minigolf per day (included in ultimates)

note that you would also lose your ability to book the UK free dining deal, as you must purchase accomodation and tickets at the same time to enjoy free dining. But you could also be eligibile for passholder discounts on hotels (and sometimes free dining) through the US site (pay in US dollars)
have a look at historical data on discounts through the US site
mousesavers/historic...ort-discounts/


as a passholder you can enjoy discounts on merchandise and dining
disneyworld.disney.go/pa...and-discounts/

[Jane3865]

Originally Posted by chmurf

well you get memory maker, but so do you with ultimate tickets
you lose the free round of minigolf per day (included in ultimates)

note that you would also lose your ability to book the UK free dining deal, as you must purchase accomodation and tickets at the same time to enjoy free dining. But you could also be eligibile for passholder discounts on hotels (and sometimes free dining) through the US site (pay in US dollars)
have a look at historical data on discounts through the US site
mousesavers/historic...ort-discounts/


as a passholder you can enjoy discounts on merchandise and dining
disneyworld.disney.go/pa...and-discounts/

See more...

Thanks again, this is all really useful info. I think if we do return then we would probably be staying offsite again as we much prefer the flexibility of a villa but we are not completely against a hotel.

[mysteryjimbo]

Originally Posted by Jane3865

Not overly fussed by the FP thing really. Are there any other perks to having an annual pass other than free parking?

See more...

Upgrade price is somewhere around the difference in list price of your ticket in $ and the full price of an AP.

You get at least these discounts in addition to car parking.

See here

10%-20% off most shopping locations.
10% off most TS dining locations

We're staying offsite for 3 weeks next year so these discounts plus free parking are the main reasons we'll upgrade one ticket to AP. 14 days car parking, some dining and a couple of Dooney bags (for the wife) will more than cover the upgrade price.

$280 (parking)
$100 (dooney * 2)
$200 (approx for TS meals for 6 people)
------
$580

We'll spend a lot more on merchandise (Lego, Christmas, World of Disney, Art of Disney etc) but I fully expect to recover all of the cost the AP.

[Jane3865]

Thank you Mysteryjimbo.

So IF we did decide to do the upgrade and we did it on our first day in Florida would our 21 day pass automatically become an AP so we could get the discounts/free parking etc this year? If this is the case and we do decide to return next year then it would certainly be worth our while.

[chmurf]

Originally Posted by Jane3865

So IF we did decide to do the upgrade and we did it on our first day in Florida would our 21 day pass automatically become an AP so we could get the discounts/free parking etc this year?

See more...

yes, as soon as you upgrade, you no longer hold a 21 days ticket, you hold an AP
and you get the benefits associated with your being a passholder.

ETA : you'll still need to pay for parking on your first visit if you don't stay onsite
you could still be cheeky and produce the parking receipt and ask if you could be given credit for this, but don't hold your breath

you could try at Disney Springs (free parking) at guest relations

but remember that prices vary. you don't always get quoted the same price depending on where/when you ask

[Jane3865]

Originally Posted by chmurf

yes, as soon as you upgrade, you no longer hold a 21 days ticket, you hold an AP
and you get the benefits associated with your being a passholder.

See more...

Once again thank you chmurf. If I can get hubby to agree to another trip next year then I think that we will go for it.

[mysteryjimbo]

Originally Posted by Jane3865

Thank you Mysteryjimbo.

So IF we did decide to do the upgrade and we did it on our first day in Florida would our 21 day pass automatically become an AP so we could get the discounts/free parking etc this year? If this is the case and we do decide to return next year then it would certainly be worth our while.

See more...

Yes, absolutely. As soon as you're upgraded you're on the AP benefits. Also, you only need to upgrade one ticket to get the benefits so it may be worth working out if its cheaper to do that and buy an extra UK ticket for next year.

I think I read somewhere you can claim back your parking for the day you upgrade as well.