Annual Pass / Upgrade Question - Please Help!

[WendyTinkerbell]

Hello!

My WDW Annual Pass needs to be renewed in the next couple of days, but I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone can help me with:

1. Can I renew my AP and upgrade it for a Premier Pass (that is good at WDW and DLR)?

2. I have a one day ticket to DLR. Can I use that for an upgrade to a Premier Pass.

Essentially, I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to go to WDW and DLR this year. I have an AP for WDW (that needs to be renewed) and a one day ticket to DLR that my brother bought me for Christmas as an incentive to visit him.

Thanks!

 

[donsullivan]

Hello!

My WDW Annual Pass needs to be renewed in the next couple of days, but I have a couple of questions that I am hoping someone can help me with:

1. Can I renew my AP and upgrade it for a Premier Pass (that is good at WDW and DLR)?

2. I have a one day ticket to DLR. Can I use that for an upgrade to a Premier Pass.

Essentially, I am trying to figure out the cheapest way to go to WDW and DLR this year. I have an AP for WDW (that needs to be renewed) and a one day ticket to DLR that my brother bought me for Christmas as an incentive to visit him.

Thanks!

There is no upgrade pricing for the Premier Passport so no matter when you do it, you'll still pay the full price. Since your current AP expires in a few days, there really isn't any unused value on that passport so you would just purchase a new Premier and they would set the start date for use right after your current AP expires. They would likely let you apply the unused value of the one-day ticket to your purchase

Before you do that though, I would 'do the math' based on how you expect to actually use your AP in the next year. With the new price of the Premier being nearly $1,000 it's important to know that it's worth it for your visit pattern/plan. For example:

- How many days to you expect to spend at Disneyland in your upcoming visit. Take a look at the multi-day DLR ticket prices to see what the cost would be to cover your visit.
- Would you use the Water Parks/Disney Quest entitlements that are part of the Premium/Premier at Walt Disney World?
- Would you be staying at a Disney-owned hotel at a time of year where you might be able to take advantage of an AP discount that you would need the Premier for.

The Premier Passport has gotten so expensive you really need to evaluate all of the cost and benefit. I was able to renew mine at the 2012 price on Saturday but if I had to pay the 2013 price, there would have been no savings based on my DLR visit plan for this year.

 

[Monty]

Don has covered most of what I was going to answer...

Another factor to consider is that because there are no "renewal" savings to be had when buying a Premier Passport, it's worth waiting until you physically need it to get into a park [on whichever coast you visit first]. You actually have to purchase it in person anyway, there are no options to buy it over the phone or on-line. I think you would have to buy it at DLR to be able to get credit for your one-day DLR ticket [I'm not sure].

Some prices:

A 5-day Hopper for DLR costs $300.
A Premium Pass for DLR costs $669
A Deluxe Pass for DLR [some blackout dates] costs $499

A 10-day Hopper for WDW costs $424
A Premium Pass [includes Water Parks & Disney Quest] for WDW costs $777
An Annual Pass for WDW costs $649

A Premier Passport costs $979

In general terms, by my calculations if you do more than one multi-day trip to both coasts [2+ at each] you're likely better off getting a Premier Passport, otherwise it's worth doing the math on what your particular plans would be. If you're not sure what you would do specifically at each coast over the course of a year, then it becomes a gamble as to what your best course of action would be.

 

[WendyTinkerbell]

Thank you both!

We went to WDW three times last year on our AP. When you add on the savings with TIW and room discounts, I think the AP was the correct choice.

We will probably be going to DLR for just a couple of days, but was hoping for some sort of room discount if we did get a pass.

We will probably be going to WDW in May for 10 year anniversary, possibly staying at Grand Floridian, and dinner at V&A. Might just do one AP so we can get the TIW card and buy a park hopper since we will probably only be there for like 5 days.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

We will probably be going to WDW in May for 10 year anniversary, possibly staying at Grand Floridian, and dinner at V&A. Might just do one AP so we can get the TIW card and buy a park hopper since we will probably only be there for like 5 days.

Just a caveat about V&A and the TiW. You cannot use the TiW at either the Chef's Table or in Queen Victoria's Room! Only the main dining room will give you the 20% savings. Just an FYI!

 

[Shunasee]

Quick question on the premier pass..

I am supposed my DLR pass in September. We are going to WDW twice in 2014 for a total of 17 days, and we live in SoCal and have the premuim AP for as long as I can remember.

If I renew my AP here (we pay in full), after the first of the year to get the most benefit for the WDW trips), and we do the package at WDW, can I apply that ticket price to upgrading my pass to a premier?

Eek, does that make sense. Our trip in 02/2014 is 10 days. I dont mind shelling out for a 10 day park hopper, but with the second trip coming in Nov/2014, I keep thinking I should just get a Premier Pass.