TiggerDaddy
New Member
WDoes anyone know when annual passes are activated? If you purchase one at a Disney Store now, does it start the moment you buy it or is it active from the first time that you use it?
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Annual Passes
- Thread starter TiggerDaddy
- Start date
Now, I might be wrong about this, but I THINK a new annual/seasonal pass expires a year from the day you activate at WDW. However, my last seasonal RENEWAL expired a year from PURCHASE/RENEWAL date. Anyone else can just jump all over me if I'm wrong! (be careful, you'll bounce! 
)
To explain...my pass expired in, say March. I'm not going until August. My new pass still expires next March, even though I won't "use" it until August. (I didn't renew my seasonal...I'll be buying an annual this year...) I believe I can buy the voucher for a FL resident at AAA or Disney Store locally, then activate it at WDW. It would then expire a year from activation date. Otherwise, I'll wait until I get there.
)To explain...my pass expired in, say March. I'm not going until August. My new pass still expires next March, even though I won't "use" it until August. (I didn't renew my seasonal...I'll be buying an annual this year...) I believe I can buy the voucher for a FL resident at AAA or Disney Store locally, then activate it at WDW. It would then expire a year from activation date. Otherwise, I'll wait until I get there.
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
your voucher that you purchased from the Disney Store is NOT your annual pass. You must exchange it at a guest services window at one of the 4 parks to get your pass. That is the day your pass starts from. See WWW.wdwig.com for more info on annual passes and a listing of some of the benefits!
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Mufasa_AC
New Member
An annual passport purchased from a Disney Store looks like an annual passport but is actually a voucher. It does not have an expiration date on it. You take that voucher to Guest Relations at any of the four parks or Downtown Disney. You present the voucher and a photo ID and they will activate it. The clock starts ticking at that point. Rumor has it that that the passes can be activated at the ticket counters now but I haven’t verified this.
Passport renewals now are exactly that, a renewal or extension of your existing passport. Therefore, no matter when you renew, the extension is one year from the expiration date of your current passport. So now you have to be careful when deciding whether to renew or wait and purchase a new AP.
Passport renewals now are exactly that, a renewal or extension of your existing passport. Therefore, no matter when you renew, the extension is one year from the expiration date of your current passport. So now you have to be careful when deciding whether to renew or wait and purchase a new AP.
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Thanks! I would rather purchase the passes before I go, so I have one less thing to worry about when I get there.
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I understand. The last time I renewed, I sent in my money and got a voucher. When I brought it to the gate a few months later, it was activated RETROACTIVELY to the time my payment was made. Had I known that in advance (I'd been doing this for YEARS, and it had never been activated until the first use, no matter when I had sent the money) I would not have renewed, and would have purchased a new pass with a later expiration date...the money saved by renewing was not worth the money I lost by having the pass expire too soon. Obviously, this is important for people who know at least a year in advance that they will only be going at certain times!
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wannabeBelle
Well-Known Member
I waited until I got there to buy the AP. I went to Guest relations on the day I got to Disney (afternoon) at EPCOT. Nice and quiet no lines or anything!!! Good luck!
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Mufasa_AC
New Member
If your AP is given a retroactive date when you turn in your voucher, it is an error and will be corrected by Disney. This has happened before. Just be sure to verify the expiration date they put on your AP at that time. Remember, the voucher has no expiration date and therefore your time starts when it is activated, not when it is purchased.
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I'm sorry... I wasn't clear. The voucher was for a renewal, not a "new" seasonal pass. However, in previous years, as long as you purchased your renewal voucher before your pass expired, you got it at the renewal rate....but your NEW expiration date was a year from your first USE of the pass. For example...I bought my first pass/voucher in April. I went to WDW and activated it May 1st 1989. My expiration date was then May 1st, 1990. I renewed the pass by mail/phone/at Disney store on April 30, 1990,got a new voucher, but didn't get to WDW until Oct 1st to turn in the voucher for a new pass. In the old days, my new pass would expire Oct 1st, 1991. Now it would be retroactive to May 1st, and expire May 1st, 1991, even though that is only 9 months away from the October visit. I used to be able to get around 18 months to actually use the annual pass. If someone lives really close by and goes to the park weekly, it doesn't matter. If you live further away and only go every few months, it makes a difference.
I understand why Disney did this...I was only buying 2 passes every 3 years instead of 3...they were losing money in the deal!
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Just so I understand this...When you purchase the initial AP by phone or at the DS, you will get a voucher that is not activated until you exchange it for a "real" pass. When you renew the AP a year later, the renewal is active from the expiration date of the previous pass? I guess it sounds more complicated than it actually is.
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disneyfamily
New Member
I know you have to be a Florida resident to be a seasonal pass holder, but is it a requirement for the Annual or Premium pass ?
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hellokitty1
New Member
no you can live anywhere and purchase an Ap
but the disney stores in dallas, tx did not sell ;them we had
to order them over the phone.
but the disney stores in dallas, tx did not sell ;them we had
to order them over the phone.
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