AP questions

mikewdw

Active Member
planning on buying first AP so a few nuts & bolts kind of questions
1. what is best way to purchase, read something about upgrading on last day of trip to AP, how to do & advantage of it
2. how are wristbands & FP+ handled
3. how often are rooms discounts for AP issued & how much are they usually
4. other discounts
5. is spur of moment trip now just get room & go?\
anything else I need to know
2 adults, 3 kids (11, 9, 9)
been numerous times
thanks
mikewdw
 

brifraz

Marching along...
Premium Member
Assuming you are visiting for a minimum of 10 days in the next year...

1. we always have bought in advance and then picked up on arrival. never done the upgrade thing, but have heard that it is a good way to go
2. wristbands and FP+ are just like for everyone else. If you are staying onsite and have booked a room (with AP), you have access to MyMagic+ same time as everyone else. If you are just showing up without a room reserved, you are a regular day visitor and FP+ is on site.
3. room discounts happen all the time for AP holders. Check mousesavers.com for a list of current room-only discounts. Once you have the AP, you'll have access to the AP website which is decent.
4. other discounts include getting the Tables in Wonderland card which is GREAT! Other benefits include shopping discounts around the World - check the websites again for details, but that is why we always get ours in advance and haven't done the upgrade (we use TiW right away for dining discounts)
5. since we are 950+ miles away never done any spur of the moment trips...

We enjoy the AP greatly. Our usual process involves getting the AP toward the end of one summer and then going to the World end of that summer and beginning of the next summer. Same thing the following year. It means we are buying our AP only every other year, but getting a decent trip each summer (and sometimes between). Tables in Wonderland is really worthwhile if you are doing most of your dining in parks...usually pays for itself in the first few days and then the savings really start!
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
Assuming you are visiting for a minimum of 10 days in the next year...

1. we always have bought in advance and then picked up on arrival. never done the upgrade thing, but have heard that it is a good way to go
2. wristbands and FP+ are just like for everyone else. If you are staying onsite and have booked a room (with AP), you have access to MyMagic+ same time as everyone else. If you are just showing up without a room reserved, you are a regular day visitor and FP+ is on site.
3. room discounts happen all the time for AP holders. Check mousesavers.com for a list of current room-only discounts. Once you have the AP, you'll have access to the AP website which is decent.
4. other discounts include getting the Tables in Wonderland card which is GREAT! Other benefits include shopping discounts around the World - check the websites again for details, but that is why we always get ours in advance and haven't done the upgrade (we use TiW right away for dining discounts)
5. since we are 950+ miles away never done any spur of the moment trips...

We enjoy the AP greatly. Our usual process involves getting the AP toward the end of one summer and then going to the World end of that summer and beginning of the next summer. Same thing the following year. It means we are buying our AP only every other year, but getting a decent trip each summer (and sometimes between). Tables in Wonderland is really worthwhile if you are doing most of your dining in parks...usually pays for itself in the first few days and then the savings really start!
One item I want to clarify about AP holders NOT staying onsite can do FastPass+ at 30 days out and get a free magic band for park entry use. AP holders staying onsite get to book FP at 60 days out. AP's do not have to wait to do FP onsite at the kiosk like regular day visitors.
 
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lazyboy97o

Well-Known Member
The discounts are not too great. If they are how you plan to break even then it may be better for only one person to get the pass.

One item I want to clarify about AP holders NOT staying onsite can do FastPass+ at 30 days out and get a free magic band for park entry use. AP holders staying onsite get to book FP at 60 days out. AP's do not have to wait to do FP onsite at the kiosk like regular day visitors.
All ticket holders have access to FastPass+ reservations 30 days out.
 
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sxeensweet

Love a little Disney every day!! ;)
The discounts are not too great. If they are how you plan to break even then it may be better for only one person to get the pass.


All ticket holders have access to FastPass+ reservations 30 days out.
Yes sorry I meant to clarify the people that buy their tickets the very day they go to the park not ahead of time, are the ones that have to use the kiosks. Thanks for catching that. :)
 
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dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
planning on buying first AP so a few nuts & bolts kind of questions
1. what is best way to purchase, read something about upgrading on last day of trip to AP, how to do & advantage of it

You can buy the AP outright up front, or you can upgrade a different ticket. The benefit of upgrading a ticket would be that if you buy it, use it once to enter the park, they will credit the gate value of the ticket. If you try to upgrade before use, they would only credit you what the reseller paid for it. You would need to buy the ticket from a 3rd party that charges less than WDW for this to be beneficial. You would want to purchase a ticket that has the greatest discount, without costing more than the AP. So the current gate price for an AP is $675.21. Undercover Tourist currently sells a 6day hopper + WP&M & No Expire for $577.47, which is $72 savings off the gate price of $649.75 (tax makes the numbers funny). If you that ticket from UT and use it to enter a park once, and then upgrade it, you should be credited the $649.75 towards the AP. You would need to pay the $26ish difference between the two tickets, but you still end up saving a chunk of change. You may need to ask the CM at Guest Relations to "bridge" the ticket, as some may not automatically credit you gate cost. Know what the numbers should be, and don't be afraid to ask them to double check if they sound off. If you buy a ticket that has WP&M on it, and use that feature, you would need to upgrade to a PAP, so just keep that in mind.

2. how are wristbands & FP+ handled

AP holders are able to order a free MB via MDE after they activate the AP. If you are staying on property, you can use that MB, or you can buy one in the stores if you need to have the MB right now, Otherwise the card they give you when you purchase/upgrade to the AP will be RFID enabled and would work for FP+.

If you buy an AP online, you will get a number you can enter to book the 7 days of FP+ online up to 30 days in advance. If you buy tickets to do the upgrade, you can book FP+ for as many days as the ticket allows you. Some people choose to save less money to be able to book more days worth. For instance, the numbers I referenced above were for a 6 day ticket. So you could only make 6 days worth of FP+ bookings in advance. Once you convert your ticket to an AP you can only book up to the 7 days an AP holder is entitled to. So you may choose to buy a 10 day ticket, and then upgrade on the last day allowing you to make 10 days of FP+ reservations the 30 days in advance.

3. how often are rooms discounts for AP issued & how much are they usually

All over the place. You can see past release dates here -> http://www.mousesavers.com/historical-information-on-walt-disney-world-resort-discounts/ They may be only 5% off, or they may be 35% off. Depends on how many rooms WDW wants to fill. It may be slightly better than the discounts offered to Visa holders to the general public, but may be released on a later day.

4. other discounts

Some. You can get an idea of what may be offered here -> http://www.wdwmagic.com/other/annual-pass.htm I do strongly advise against counting on any discounts, room or otherwise when running breakeven on the AP. As evident by some of the recent postings about mini golf and boat rental discounts for APs being slashed, they may disappear at any moment.

5. is spur of moment trip now just get room & go?

For the most part. The only other thing to keep in mind is going to be FP+. You can definitely go down and enjoy some rides, but if you want to get on 7DMT, well you would more than likely need to wait in the standby line as the FP+ may be long gone.
 
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brifraz

Marching along...
Premium Member
One item I want to clarify about AP holders NOT staying onsite can do FastPass+ at 30 days out and get a free magic band for park entry use. AP holders staying onsite get to book FP at 60 days out. AP's do not have to wait to do FP onsite at the kiosk like regular day visitors.

All ticket holders have access to FastPass+ reservations 30 days out.

Thanks for clarifying. :)
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Annual passholders will get a Magic Band, which you can customize once it shows up in your MDE account. Along with the MB, Disney will ship a slider for the band which recognizes you as an AP (will still have to show your pass/discount card for discounts) and the discount card. If you have an annual or premium pass, your discount card will be a different color to reflect this since annual and premium passes (as opposed to seasonal or weekday) include free parking at the resorts. Don't know if this is true (or the CM on the phone just wanted to get me off the phone), but there's been talk about developing a MB for annual passholders that is very distinctive from the other MBs. Hope their solution wasn't the slider...

You get 10% discount on merchandise and some dining as an AP. Along with discounts on tickets for special events, like MNSSHP and MVMCP and some of the backstage tours.

And as other posters mentioned, there are room discounts all the time (except for the holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas) for annual pass holders.

If you visit the parks at least twice a year, I would recommend purchasing an annual pass. I am sure, as others mentioned, you can upgrade regular tickets to an annual pass - I would call Disney just to make sure, since you don't want to have stood in line at Guest Services to only find out you cannot.

If you are a Florida resident, you will get a discount on both the cost of your AP and the convenient monthly payment plan.

And you save about $70-$80 when you renew your annual pass.

You will still have to go to Guest Services to make sure your MB is functioning, get your RFID card (yes, you still get one) and activate the pass.

Just like every other MB, you can use the one you get as an AP for your resort room key, DDP, charging, etc. Just make sure it is properly linked in your MDE account.

Since you in essence have a year-long ticket, you can make FP+ reservations 30 days out for a maximum of 7 days. For example, if your 30 day window is Monday, you can make FP+ reservations for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, etc., for up to 7 days. I hope I remember that correctly.

Since we have been APs for several years now, we do a LOT more trips to WDW, and yes, I've done spur of the moment trips since all I need is a resort room. And have stayed at several of the Deluxe resorts, like GF, because the AP room discount made it more reasonable.

And if you like the DDP, you don't need to purchase a MYW package to get it. Just go through the AP section of your MDE account to make your reservations or call Disney.

Hope this and the other responses help.
 
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Heather F.

New Member
Annual passholders will get a Magic Band, which you can customize once it shows up in your MDE account. Along with the MB, Disney will ship a slider for the band which recognizes you as an AP (will still have to show your pass/discount card for discounts) and the discount card.

If I purchase an AP voucher and do not want to activate it until I get to the park, will I still received a MB before my trip? Also, can you still take advantage of any AP room discounts if you have an AP voucher that has not been activated yet? Thanks!
 
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Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
If I purchase an AP voucher and do not want to activate it until I get to the park, will I still received a MB before my trip? Also, can you still take advantage of any AP room discounts if you have an AP voucher that has not been activated yet? Thanks!
You can register your voucher on your MDE account and make FP+ bookings. You don't need a voucher or an AP to book AP room discounts, you just have to get an AP while you're there.

I honestly don't know if they'll register you for AP MBs until you have a physical MB or not.
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
If I purchase an AP voucher and do not want to activate it until I get to the park, will I still received a MB before my trip? Also, can you still take advantage of any AP room discounts if you have an AP voucher that has not been activated yet? Thanks!

As long as you confirm the address once the band appears in the bands & ticket portion of your MDE account, yes.

And yes, you should be able to take advantage of any resort discounts since your MDE account will include your passholder status. Taking your voucher to Guest Services will give you a pass holder card (some people don't want a magic band) which you can show to get the passholder discounts for merchandise, dining and tickets for special events and tours.

The main thing is to make sure EVERYTHING is linked in your MDE account.
 
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dreamfinder

Well-Known Member
If I purchase an AP voucher and do not want to activate it until I get to the park, will I still received a MB before my trip? Also, can you still take advantage of any AP room discounts if you have an AP voucher that has not been activated yet? Thanks!

As long as you confirm the address once the band appears in the bands & ticket portion of your MDE account, yes.

Was this a recent change? It had been they wouldn't issue an AP holder a MB until after the AP had been activated in park.
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
Was this a recent change? It had been they wouldn't issue an AP holder a MB until after the AP had been activated in park.

Mine appeared in my MDE account, so I confirmed the address customized the band and it arrived in the mail.
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
As did mine, but only after I had used the AP in park.

Interesting. Mine was waiting for me to customize within 24-48 hours of me purchasing my AP. But it was a renewal, so may be that is the difference.

Don't know why Disney makes the distinction between a MB for a resort stay and a MB for the purchase of an AP in terms of access to customize and shipment of the band. It's not like an AP band looks different from a resort stay band, other than the slider that comes in the box. Which means nothing since you still have to show either the AP card or the supplied discount card to get the AP discounts on meals, merchandise and special event tickets. If Disney is worried about payment - which would only apply to Florida residents since we get the monthly payment plan - your pass is suspended if you don't make those monthly payments.

See, this is what bugs me about the whole MM+ experience. Disney tells you, repeatedly, to LINK EVERYTHING - resort room, tickets, etc. - in your MDE account so it will all work. So other than those who don't want a MB to avoid the massive amount of data mining Disney does through the magic bands which means those folks have to go to GS to get their AP card, why does an AP buyer HAVE to go to GS to activate their pass if they chose the MB route? The box contains not only your customized band, but a discount card (color varies depending upon whether your pass includes free parking) and the slider. If you are a non-passholder staying at a resort and you purchase a MYW or whatever the package with tickets is called, you get a band that covers room, tickets and dining. Those folks don't have to wander over to GS to "activate" their tickets. Why the difference for AP purchasers, other than the aforementioned folks who don't want a MB. Surely Disney can update that portion of the website with a box to check yay or nay for a MB. In fact, Disney needs to have that option for resort stays. Since I have 19 bands or more now in my MDE account and have to go through the hassle of reading the small numbers on the back to deactivate those bands I won't use because I don't customize them (and they are then waiting at the resort for me), this is a colossal waste of time (all those e-mails I get reminding me to customize my resort band before the deadline) and money. Disney, please explain. I really don't want a band in every color, unless you are finally going to have one in purple.....
 
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Monty

Brilliant...and Canadian
In the Parks
No
Interesting. Mine was waiting for me to customize within 24-48 hours of me purchasing my AP. But it was a renewal, so may be that is the difference.

Don't know why Disney makes the distinction between a MB for a resort stay and a MB for the purchase of an AP in terms of access to customize and shipment of the band. It's not like an AP band looks different from a resort stay band, other than the slider that comes in the box. Which means nothing since you still have to show either the AP card or the supplied discount card to get the AP discounts on meals, merchandise and special event tickets. If Disney is worried about payment - which would only apply to Florida residents since we get the monthly payment plan - your pass is suspended if you don't make those monthly payments.

See, this is what bugs me about the whole MM+ experience. Disney tells you, repeatedly, to LINK EVERYTHING - resort room, tickets, etc. - in your MDE account so it will all work. So other than those who don't want a MB to avoid the massive amount of data mining Disney does through the magic bands which means those folks have to go to GS to get their AP card, why does an AP buyer HAVE to go to GS to activate their pass if they chose the MB route? The box contains not only your customized band, but a discount card (color varies depending upon whether your pass includes free parking) and the slider. If you are a non-passholder staying at a resort and you purchase a MYW or whatever the package with tickets is called, you get a band that covers room, tickets and dining. Those folks don't have to wander over to GS to "activate" their tickets. Why the difference for AP purchasers, other than the aforementioned folks who don't want a MB. Surely Disney can update that portion of the website with a box to check yay or nay for a MB. In fact, Disney needs to have that option for resort stays. Since I have 19 bands or more now in my MDE account and have to go through the hassle of reading the small numbers on the back to deactivate those bands I won't use because I don't customize them (and they are then waiting at the resort for me), this is a colossal waste of time (all those e-mails I get reminding me to customize my resort band before the deadline) and money. Disney, please explain. I really don't want a band in every color, unless you are finally going to have one in purple.....
The difference is between vouchers for APs and APs themselves. You renewed your AP so you automatically had a valid ticket on your MDE account [renewal extends your ticket as a continuous AP with the expiry date one year later than before]. A voucher doesn't start being a valid ticket until it is activated. A voucher holder doesn't have to activate it right away, they can keep the voucher to lock in current prices for future years. Issuing a MagicBand to a voucher holder before they activate the voucher could theoretically result in the AP MB batteries running out before it's ever used.
 
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LAKid53

Official Member of the Girly Girl Fan Club
Premium Member
The difference is between vouchers for APs and APs themselves. You renewed your AP so you automatically had a valid ticket on your MDE account [renewal extends your ticket as a continuous AP with the expiry date one year later than before]. A voucher doesn't start being a valid ticket until it is activated. A voucher holder doesn't have to activate it right away, they can keep the voucher to lock in current prices for future years. Issuing a MagicBand to a voucher holder before they activate the voucher could theoretically result in the AP MB batteries running out before it's ever used.

True, but I still had to take the voucher printout to GS to "activate" my pass when I renewed. The batteries are supposed to last several years. I doubt someone purchasing an AP is going to wait 1 year or more to activate it. I have a MB from the initial testing done in 2013 - I bet that battery still works.

Still not a valid reason to make someone who purchased an AP and wants the MB rather than the card having to go to GS to (1) activate their pass and (2) get a MB AND then have the one to customize in their MDE account after they've activated the pass. It's a waste of time and money for both Disney and the AP.

Like I said, a guest staying on site with tickets gets a MB in their MDE account within 24-48 hours to (1) confirm shipping address and (2) customize with color and name. THAT guest doesn't have to go to GS to "activate" their ticket. Before the days of the magic bands, your Key to the World card included your tickets - and that was handed to you at check in at the resort. And when you purchase a multiday ticket, the clock starts the first time you use it, correct?

All I'm really talking about is giving new AP purchasers the ability to get the customized MB, if they want it, BEFORE they visit the parks. If Disney still wants an AP to have to activate their pass at GS, that's something different. Like I said, even though I renew each year and get my new MB within a week or two, I still have to go to GS to activate the pass for the new year. And once you have an AP, the date is going to be the date you activated it the first time, no matter if you renew 30 days after the expiration.
 
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