Annual Pass start date

[Disneyfreak Jen]

I've been reading different things online and can't seem to find a straight answer. I'm thinking of getting the Platinum AP, but my question is what the start date is.

My 60 day FP+ window date is August 2nd, for my arrival date of October 1. I have to decide relatively soon if I want to do this. Lets say I purchase it on July 20th from the Disney website…..does that mean that it's considered active July 20th even though I won't be in the World until October 1?

Is there any advantage to buying the pass at a brick and mortar Disney Store location? I think I read somewhere (I may be wrong) that if you do it that way that it's not active until the day I arrive in Disney. If that's the case, can I still book in the 60 day FP+ window?

Any advice is appreciated, thank you!

 

[RockNation18]

Your AP would be activated the day you purchase it. The best thing to do is to wait until the end of your vacation to upgrade your tickets to an AP.

 

[ShoalFox]

The pass should be active for a year after the first time you use it to enter a park, not the date of purchase.

 

[Monty]

If you buy online you'll get a voucher, not an AP. The voucher allows you to book FP+ before you go. The start date of your AP will be the day you exchange your voucher at WDW for it.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

We always get AP's as well and they don't "activate" until you use them to enter the park. They are then active until a year from that very date. Since you are getting the Platinum one it might not even have blackout dates. We get the DVC one and it actually has about 15 days or so a year that you can't go. That doesn't bother us because we never go in the high volume times anyway. If you're a DVC member I would highly recommend that version of the AP because it also comes with a free Annual Photopass and at a pretty big discount. But with any AP you can make your FP reservations 60 days in advance and that's regardless of whether you have actually used that AP or not.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Your AP would be activated the day you purchase it. The best thing to do is to wait until the end of your vacation to upgrade your tickets to an AP.

This is incorrect. It's not activated until you enter a park with it. It is then good for the next year except for certain blackout dates with some of the AP's. The Platinum one doesn't have any blackout dates I don't think and if it does it has the least amount of them.

 

[Master Yoda]

The start date will depend on when and how you purchase it.

If you get it online or a Disney store, you will receive a voucher which you will exchange at the park for a your AP. It will the first time you use it. I believe the same is also true if you purchase it at guest service at Disney Springs, but you will receive the actual ticket and not a voucher..

If you purchase at the park it is my understanding that it will be active at the time of purchase and not first use. This might have changed in recent years.

If you upgrade a ticket, your start date is the first day you used the ticket. So if you first used it on say 7/1/2016 and then upgraded it to an AP on 7/8/2016 your renewal date would be 7/1/2017.

If you are renewing an AP your renewal date will be the same as your previous AP regardless of when you renew.

You can book fastpasses 60 days out with any of the aforementioned media in hand.

 

[ABQ]

If you buy online you'll get a voucher, not an AP. The voucher allows you to book FP+ before you go. The start date of your AP will be the day you exchange your voucher at WDW for it.

The start date will depend on when and how you purchase it.

If you get it online or a Disney store, you will receive a voucher which you will exchange at the park for a your AP. It will the first time you use it. I believe the same is also true if you purchase it at guest service at Disney Springs, but you will receive the actual ticket and not a voucher..

Regarding the voucher exchange. My experience last December was peculiar. I exchanged my voucher at the MK ticket window and my pass began ticking on that date. Even though I did not and was not planning to enter the park that day. It was late evening, the day I arrived and my first day with plans in a park was actually the following morning. So be aware, I know it's 1 day, not the end of the world, but still, my plans tend to include a trip down 51 weeks after activating my pass, and these dates can matter. So it's not the day you enter, it is the day you exchange, if you're dealing with the whole voucher exchange process.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Regarding the voucher exchange. My experience last December was peculiar. I exchanged my voucher at the MK ticket window and my pass began ticking on that date. Even though I did not and was not planning to enter the park that day. It was late evening, the day I arrived and my first day with plans in a park was actually the following morning. So be aware, I know it's 1 day, not the end of the world, but still, my plans tend to include a trip down 51 weeks after activating my pass, and these dates can matter. So it's not the day you enter, it is the day you exchange, if you're dealing with the whole voucher exchange process.

No it is not. It is the date that you first enter the park. That's what activates it. We buy AP's every year and that's how it works. I think that CM gave you some bad info.

 

[ABQ]

No it is not. It is the date that you first enter the park. That's what activates it. We buy AP's every year and that's how it works. I think that CM gave you some bad info.

As do I which is why I found it odd. However, typically, I am entering the park the same day I pick it up. This was an unusual situation.

 

[Monty]

Regarding the voucher exchange. My experience last December was peculiar. I exchanged my voucher at the MK ticket window and my pass began ticking on that date. Even though I did not and was not planning to enter the park that day. It was late evening, the day I arrived and my first day with plans in a park was actually the following morning. So be aware, I know it's 1 day, not the end of the world, but still, my plans tend to include a trip down 51 weeks after activating my pass, and these dates can matter. So it's not the day you enter, it is the day you exchange, if you're dealing with the whole voucher exchange process.

That's exactly what I said. Your pass starts when you exchange the voucher, not when you use the AP. Otherwise, they would do away with the vouchers and just sent you the AP since it wouldn't start until you used it. The voucher has no start or end date, if you bought a voucher now and didn't exchange it for five or ten years, it would still be valid for exchange when you chose to exchange it. The voucher technically never has to be exchanged at all, you could use it to get FP+ 60 days in advance and then buy MYW tickets when you get to the parks to actually enter the parks and use the FP+ you booked.

No it is not. It is the date that you first enter the park. That's what activates it. We buy AP's every year and that's how it works. I think that CM gave you some bad info.

Absolutely not. MYW tickets start counting the 14-day window for use when they are used to enter a park for the first time. Annual Passes are activated when they are printed. Your memory is playing tricks on you.

If you're renewing your APs every year, they retain the same expiry date as the original pass you purchased. If you're not renewing, but buying a new AP every year, you're either spending a lot more for passes or very carefully managing your downtime between passes to have an ever-shifting window between APs that you don't visit WDW to find the sweet spot that makes not renewing fiscally viable [and means you're not actually renewing every year].

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

That's exactly what I said. Your pass starts when you exchange the voucher, not when you use the AP. Otherwise, they would do away with the vouchers and just sent you the AP since it wouldn't start until you used it. The voucher has no start or end date, if you bought a voucher now and didn't exchange it for five or ten years, it would still be valid for exchange when you chose to exchange it. The voucher technically never has to be exchanged at all, you could use it to get FP+ 60 days in advance and then buy MYW tickets when you get to the parks to actually enter the parks and use the FP+ you booked.

Absolutely not. MYW tickets start counting the 14-day window for use when they are used to enter a park for the first time. Annual Passes are activated when they are printed. Your memory is playing tricks on you.

If you're renewing your APs every year, they retain the same expiry date as the original pass you purchased. If you're not renewing, but buying a new AP every year, you're either spending a lot more for passes or very carefully managing your downtime between passes to have an ever-shifting window between APs that you don't visit WDW to find the sweet spot that makes not renewing fiscally viable [and means you're not actually renewing every year].

My memory is absolutely not playing tricks on me. We buy the DVC AP every year and it is good from the moment you walk in the park. Not from the moment you "purchase" it. If that were the case no one would ever buy an AP in advance.

 

[Monty]

My memory is absolutely not playing tricks on me. We buy the DVC AP every year and it is good from the moment you walk in the park. Not from the moment you "purchase" it. If that were the case no one would ever buy an AP in advance.

Your post didn't say anything about DVC. If DVC APs are handled differently from general public APs, then providing the information you gave is misleading to the OP who never said anything about purchasing APs through DVC.

 

[lostpro9het]

My memory is absolutely not playing tricks on me. We buy the DVC AP every year and it is good from the moment you walk in the park. Not from the moment you "purchase" it. If that were the case no one would ever buy an AP in advance.

So you don't renew every year? You buy a whole new pass each year? becasue if you renew each year then your start date is the same day of the month as your previous AP regardless when yo purchase the voucher or activate it at the park.

 

[mergatroid]

That's exactly what I said. Your pass starts when you exchange the voucher, not when you use the AP. Otherwise, they would do away with the vouchers and just sent you the AP since it wouldn't start until you used it. The voucher has no start or end date, if you bought a voucher now and didn't exchange it for five or ten years, it would still be valid for exchange when you chose to exchange it. The voucher technically never has to be exchanged at all, you could use it to get FP+ 60 days in advance and then buy MYW tickets when you get to the parks to actually enter the parks and use the FP+ you booked.
.

Not being argumentative or pedantic but just don't want people getting the wrong info. We have AP's and it's only 30 days in advance that you can book FP+'s unless of course you're staying in Disney itself (which we don't).

 

[Monty]

Not being argumentative or pedantic but just don't want people getting the wrong info. We have AP's and it's only 30 days in advance that you can book FP+'s unless of course you're staying in Disney itself (which we don't).

Sorry, you're right [and not pedantic at all]. You do need ticket media of some kind on your MDE account as well, I was mixing the two together.

ETA: Reading back, the reason I mentioned the voucher giving access to the 60 day window for FP+ was the OP's saying that their 60 day window opens on 2 August.

 

[LSUxStitch]

Just went through this, this year year.

Purchased AP through Disney's website. Received vouchers in mail a few weeks later, with receipt of payment. We then booked our trip (room only), and even though our AP wasn't "activated", since we bought through the website, it already showed in our MDE. At our 60 day mark, we were able to book fast passes, no issues.

We received our magic bands for our room only reservation through mail, but was unable to use them as our tickets, until we went to the window to exchange our voucher. Immediately after, we were able to use our AP and resort stuff through our magic bands. Our AP year, began on the first day we exchanged and entered the park.

Something I worried about and maybe others: I was unable to select my Disney AP magic bands before my trip. It was only until after I redeemed the voucher, that I was able to log into MDE and design my band. Which we received a week or so after submitting it.

Edit: If not staying on property, 30 days in advance FP+

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

So you don't renew every year? You buy a whole new pass each year? becasue if you renew each year then your start date is the same day of the month as your previous AP regardless when yo purchase the voucher or activate it at the park.

We have renewed before but mostly just when they had a really good deal to do it. The reason is because the renewal dates might conflict with how much money we have at the moment or depend on our points situation.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Your post didn't say anything about DVC. If DVC APs are handled differently from general public APs, then providing the information you gave is misleading to the OP who never said anything about purchasing APs through DVC.

I said that to the OP in an above post. I was saying that I didn't know if they were DVC members or not and was saying if they were that I highly recommended the DVC pass instead of the Platinum one.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

Just went through this, this year year.

Purchased AP through Disney's website. Received vouchers in mail a few weeks later, with receipt of payment. We then booked our trip (room only), and even though our AP wasn't "activated", since we bought through the website, it already showed in our MDE. At our 60 day mark, we were able to book fast passes, no issues.

We received our magic bands for our room only reservation through mail, but was unable to use them as our tickets, until we went to the window to exchange our voucher. Immediately after, we were able to use our AP and resort stuff through our magic bands. Our AP year, began on the first day we exchanged and entered the park.

Something I worried about and maybe others: I was unable to select my Disney AP magic bands before my trip. It was only until after I redeemed the voucher, that I was able to log into MDE and design my band. Which we received a week or so after submitting it.

Edit: If not staying on property, 30 days in advance FP+

Hm. That's odd about the Magic Bands. I always get my bands early and Disney always tells me they are loaded with our AP's as well.