Annual Pass start date

[Monty]

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.

The DVC pass you recommended is the Gold Pass, which is only available to Florida residents. The OP isn't eligible to buy that [they live in NJ]. The Platinum Pass [whether DVC-discounted or not], which the OP referred to, when purchased online the buyer gets a voucher in the mail. When the voucher is redeemed for an AP, the AP expires 365 days from redemption. See https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/discounts-perks-offers/ticket-tour/walt-disney-world-pass/

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.

The poster was referring to their AP Magic Bands, which are not available to customize until you purchase an AP or redeem the voucher for the AP. You get Magic Bands associated with resort stays early, Disney doesn't send AP Magic Bands until you have an active AP.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

I talked to Disney directly about this very thing today when I called to book our Animal Kingdom After Hours DVC thingy for September and they said, unequivocally, that an AP DOES NOT start until you WALK THROUGH THE PARK WITH IT FOR THE FIRST TIME. That goes for any AP.

 

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I think a lot of people (and even Disney CMs) are failing to realize that most of the time the day you activate an AP is the same day you first use them, so people don't pay attention to the distinction between the dates in Disney ticketing rules. There are 3 dates which may or may not be the same:
1st is purchase of a voucher (which gets you FP+ access)
2nd is "activation" at a ticket window or guest relations
3rd is first use to enter a park

For an annual pass, the date of activation starts the expiration timer, not the date of first use. The only exception to this is if you are upgrading a previously used ticket to an AP, only then do they go by the first use date.

Think about it this way, if an activated annual pass didn't expire until you started using it to enter a park, you could activate one but never use it to enter a park and would have lifetime access to free parking, merchandise discounts, room discounts, PhotoPass downloads, and all other benefits of an annual pass, but without the annoying expiration date.

No doubt about it, APs start their expiration timer at activation. But you would only notice a difference if you activated your pass on a day sooner than you enter a park (such as activating at Disney Springs on your arrival day, but not entering a park until the next morning, then the pass would start expiring at Disney Springs).

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

I will say it again. I literally just talked to Disney about this today and they said it only activates upon park entry. I would highly suggest that you people call them if you can't understand that. Maybe you can enlighten them because it is really obvious that they can't enlighten you.

 

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I will say it again. I literally just talked to Disney about this today and they said it only activates upon park entry. I would highly suggest that you people call them if you can't understand that. Maybe you can enlighten them because it is really obvious that they can't enlighten you.

The Internet is full of posts about things people have been told over the phone by a Disney CM that turn out to be wrong. My information comes from the experience of doing exactly what I describe above (activating at Disney Springs a day earlier) and before the CM started the AP activation process she very explicitly explained to me that if I activated the pass today that the expiration would be one year from today, and she explicitly said that was the case even though I had not nor would not use the pass on that date.

 

[IanDLBZF]

AP activation occurs when you redeem the voucher at Will Call, that's when the 366 day timer begins to tick. As a reminder, in addition to the voucher, you must have a photo ID, and in some cases proof of Florida residency, with you at the time of activation.

 

[Goofy4TheWorld]

I think a lot of the confusion comes from the fact that regular MYW tickets do expire based on "date of first use" and that only APs expire based on a different set of rules.

 

[FrostyNaples]

AP activation occurs when you redeem the voucher at Will Call, that's when the 366 day timer begins to tick. As a reminder, in addition to the voucher, you must have a photo ID, and in some cases proof of Florida residency, with you at the time of activation.

This is correct.

Having purchased our first original AP's in 2014 - we had the exchange certificates redeemed for the actual AP cards in Disney Springs (formerly Down Town Disney). We did not enter a park that day, but due to the redemption of the exchange certificates, that day became our expiration date.

Subsequently, that same day is now our forever renewal date / expiration date, etc.