Annual passes and TiW

[jazzzz]

Hello all, it's been a long time since I posted anything, I'll try not to make this too long winded. I want to book a trip last week in April 2016. My wife, myself and 2 kids 11 and 9. We've always done the dining plan and it's worked really well for us. My concern this time around is that my 11yr old will certainly not eat what it would cost for him. So I'd like to do Tables in Wonderland, which means getting 1 annual pass. My question I guess is can you book a package with 1 annual pass? Can I upgrade to an annual pass when I get there? Or do I just have to piece meal it?

 

[Jaly05]

If you're not going to purchase a dining plan then you can purchase a room only and in fact may get a discount on the room for ap holders You can add tickets and even get a small discount for certain tickets though not sure how much. I'd purchase the pass before to take advantage of the discounts that come with it. We are going during off season and opted not to do the dining plan for the same reason. My 10 yr old still eats kid size meals and we will be using our TIW card instead. We got the boardwalk inn for the same price as a moderate during peak season with our AP discount. April is spring break so prices will be higher but still worth it.

 

[bigorangeandy]

Yes that will work. One thing to be careful about is when I did this a few years ago we ended up at the end of the trip upgrading the rest of the family to APs, so the savings didn't materialize like we thought. On the plus side we made two more trips that we might not have made without upgrading everyone, so that was priceless.

 

[jazzzz]

Can you book an AP discount even though initially you only get a voucher? Also, how does it work with the magic bands and MDE and fastpass+ if you don't book a package.

 

[Jaly05]

Can you book an AP discount even though initially you only get a voucher? Also, how does it work with the magic bands and MDE and fastpass+ if you don't book a package.

Are you asking if you can get an AP discount if you already booked a room? I think you can take advantage of a discount once you qualify. I know when I booked the AP discounts weren't available yet and it was easy to get them when they came out so i imagine it's the same. As long as you have a reservation you get all the perks. I booked my adrs at 180 and 60 days for fastpass+. Keep in mind you get magic bands for annual passes AND for your room. I didn't realize you could start declining the magic bands until after our newest ones were sent. We all now have 4 each. 2 for the last 2 years of aps and then 2 for our split stay coming up.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Can you book an AP discount even though initially you only get a voucher? Also, how does it work with the magic bands and MDE and fastpass+ if you don't book a package.

Not sure about the voucher, but there will be no difference with MDE or FP+. As long as you have a resort reservation, regardless of whether it's a package or room only, you will be able to book FP+ at 60 days out, provided you also have park tickets for each person in your party (an AP would satisfy that requirement).

 

[jazzzz]

So, with 4 tix (1 AP, 3 regular) do they send magic bands for those, and magic bands for the four of us for the resort reservation. If that's the case you must be able to combine everything into 1 set.

 

[jazzzz]

Are you asking if you can get an AP discount if you already booked a room? I think you can take advantage of a discount once you qualify. I know when I booked the AP discounts weren't available yet and it was easy to get them when they came out so i imagine it's the same. As long as you have a reservation you get all the perks. I booked my adrs at 180 and 60 days for fastpass+. Keep in mind you get magic bands for annual passes AND for your room. I didn't realize you could start declining the magic bands until after our newest ones were sent. We all now have 4 each. 2 for the last 2 years of aps and then 2 for our split stay coming up.

When you buy the AP online, don't they mail you a voucher that you redeem once you arrive. Can you take advantage of AP perks if you haven't redeemed your voucher yet?

 

[Tuvalu]

So, with 4 tix (1 AP, 3 regular) do they send magic bands for those, and magic bands for the four of us for the resort reservation. If that's the case you must be able to combine everything into 1 set.

One MagicBand is sent for each person on the resort reservation; there is no additional band sent for tickets.

After you activate an AP, you will have the option in MDE to customize another MagicBand (which is sent out separately.) But the band sent for your resort reservation will work just fine for your AP.

 

[Tuvalu]

When you buy the AP online, don't they mail you a voucher that you redeem once you arrive. Can you take advantage of AP perks if you haven't redeemed your voucher yet?

The exchange certificate will have a number that you can put into your MDE account so that you can make your FP reservations at 60 days (since you are staying onsite). The number is also
necessary to access the Passholder page (for possible room discount.) You will not be able to purchase TiW until you have activated your AP (but that is easily done at Guest Services.)

 

[Jaly05]

When you buy the AP online, don't they mail you a voucher that you redeem once you arrive. Can you take advantage of AP perks if you haven't redeemed your voucher yet?

Ahh...sorry I was confused! Tuvalu answered it better than I could.

The person with the AP will get 2 magic bands and everyone else will get 1 unless you purchase them additional. Both bands for the ap holder will work interchangeably for room and the parks

When we bought our 1st aps it was when magic bands were only available to those staying onsite and we stayed off site with family. I totally forgot about having to redeem the vouchers our first day. I don't even think the MDE was available as I remember my brother and husband thinking I was crazy when I took off running to get fps for TSMM. We've just renewed since then and haven't had to redeem anything.

 

[jazzzz]

Thanks for the help everyone!!!

 

[Monty]

If you phone, you can book a resort room with AP discount without having bought an AP. You'll have to show an AP at check-in [or later that day]. If AP discounts haven't been released yet, you can book the room now and apply the discounts when they are announced [sometimes the class of room you have won't have an associated discount, but an upgraded room will still be cheaper].
MDE requires tickets on your account to book FP+ 60 days in advance, so you'll need your voucher and other tickets purchased by then.
TiW can be purchased at Guest Relations at the same time as you activate your AP.
You will get Magic Bands for each person on the room reservation and an additional one for the AP [with a rubber attachment the shows you're an AP Holder].

 

[jazzzz]

Thanks @Monty, can they combine the AP and room reservations to one magic band.

 

[Monty]

Thanks @Monty, can they combine the AP and room reservations to one magic band.

All of what is on your DME account is accessible from any Magic Band on the account. So, short answer: Yes.

Each person on the reservation will have their own MDE account. They can all link to the same room reservation and they can all have individual or grouped FP+ reservations. Each guest will have their ticket, FP+ and room key on their Magic Band(s) and can use any Magic Band that's associated with their DME account interchangeably, including Magic Bands from previous visits.