Converting Tickets To Passes

[BigTxEars]

Quick Question, well two really. We are now officially DVC members as everything is 100% complete. But since we bought secondary we do not have any points until 2015, April is our "use year" month. No worries as we have a non DVC package booked at the BW for 7 days from May 31st to June 7th this year

As part of that we have 7 day tickets with park hoppers added for this trip. Looking at going next year (2015) March 7th to March 15th using the DVC points.

So my questions are:

1. Since April 2015 is the first points we will recevie can I borrow my points from 2015 to use them in March 2015, its the same year of course but I guess it's different under the point allocation system. In short can I go in March 2015 using my DVC points even though April 2015 in my next use month/year, if we did we would not plan to go again until after April 2016. We have zero points right now, nothing booked or borrowed.

2. If we did go in April 2015 it would make sense to buy annual passes during our May 2014 trip. We could use them during the May 2014 trip as well as the March 2015 trip, and thus saving a bit of money as opposed to having to buy tickets those two trips. But since at this point we do not know for certain if we are going in March 2015 I do not want to mess with those May 2014 reservations. Can I just keep the tickets for the May 2014 trip, use them and then buy annual passes while there in May 2014, do they offer some type of "credit" for the ticket prices towards the annual passes for DVC members? I know a number of the local parks in Texas do as a incentive to get folks to buy the season pass while at the park.

Thanks for the info, Still new to DVC and now trying to convert from going to WDW the "old" way to the DVC way I need some pointers and advice!

 

[Rob562]

I'll let someone else answer question #1, but for #2:

You can upgrade the tickets you have now to Annual Passes while you're on your May 2014 trip. You just have to do it before the end of the last day on the ticket, or 14 days after first use of the ticket, whichever occurs first. You'll pay the difference between the price of the tickets and the price of the AP, and the expiration date will be back-dated to the first day you used the ticket.

A suggestion: If you bought the tickets at a discount from a reseller or from Disney before the recent price increase, make sure you use them to enter a park *before* you upgrade. It'll lock in the value as the current gate price of those tickets. If you don't, it's possible that you won't get full value.

-Rob

 

[BigTxEars]

I'll let someone else answer question #1, but for #2:

You can upgrade the tickets you have now to Annual Passes while you're on your May 2014 trip. You just have to do it before the end of the last day on the ticket, or 14 days after first use of the ticket, whichever occurs first. You'll pay the difference between the price of the tickets and the price of the AP, and the expiration date will be back-dated to the first day you used the ticket.

A suggestion: If you bought the tickets at a discount from a reseller or from Disney before the recent price increase, make sure you use them to enter a park *before* you upgrade. It'll lock in the value as the current gate price of those tickets. If you don't, it's possible that you won't get full value.

-Rob

Thanks for the info and the tip. We bought the tickets thru Disney as part of the Room/DDP/Ticket package. I understand your tip as well, makes sense. Thanks again

 

[lostpro9het]

You can borrow your April 2015 points for a March 2015 trip but this could be highly risky.

If for any reason you have to cancel your trip, you likely will end up losing those points. Someone get sick? Bad weather? Financial emergency? Too bad. Disney is pretty strict about borrowing points. You might be able to call and plead your case but don't count on it.

Be 100% sure of your trip before you do this.

Don't be afraid to wait until the last minute to book. SSR is nearly always available, even on short notice.

IMHO, it's much better to bank your points and have extra points available in 2016 than it is to risk losing points. Again, be 100% sure of your trip before doing this.

So are you saying if I were to book with borrowed points its really difficult to get the points back but if I were to book with banked points I could cancel and get the points back? We are close to buying resale and are trying to learn all we can.

thanks

 

[ParentsOf4]

So are you saying if I were to book with borrowed points its really difficult to get the points back but if I were to book with banked points I could cancel and get the points back? We are close to buying resale and are trying to learn all we can.

Banking and borrowing are one-way transactions. Once you bank or borrow points, you cannot "undo" that.

When you bank points, you have the entire 12 months to use them.

When you borrow points, you have only what remains of the year to use them.

If you borrow April Use Year (UY) points for a March vacation, you must use those points by March 31.

If for any reason you don't, you are out-of-luck and will lose those points. Those points will be thrown away. You will have paid Disney your annual Maintenance Fee (MF) for nothing.

If you are 100% certain about your March vacation, then it's OK. If you are less than 100%, then you are taking a risk of losing those points and wasting a lot of money.

I own more than one DVC and have 2 different UY exactly so I don't run into the situation you face. I always can book something and then cancel it up to 30 days before without any penalty. I just make sure to use the right DVC membership for that booking.

 

[slappy magoo]

So are you saying if I were to book with borrowed points its really difficult to get the points back but if I were to book with banked points I could cancel and get the points back? We are close to buying resale and are trying to learn all we can.

thanks

If you book using borrowed points and you need to cancel that trip, the borrowed points have to be used in the "use year" in which they were borrowed. If you booked a trip for, let's say, this June, using your borrowed 2015 points, and the had to cancel, you could book a trip with those borrowed points until March 31. But you intend to use those borrowed points in March, so if you cancel, your window to re-book those points is only till the end of that month.

 

[lostpro9het]

If you book using borrowed points....

Banking and borrowing ....

Sorry for the tangent, thanks for the responses!

One more, when is the last day you can bank your points? Is it the final day of the use year?

 

[ParentsOf4]

Sorry for the tangent, thanks for the responses!

One more, when is the last day you can bank your points? Is it the final day of the use year?

All banking transaction much be completed 4 months prior to UY.

For an April UY, points must be banked by November 30.

 

[BigTxEars]

OK great info so thanks! I do understand the points made. I guess we will see how things develop before making any moves. The March 2015 trip would be over Spring Break, the wife and kids would be out of school (wife works at school) and I can get it off at work. But I see the point on the unforseen occurring and us losing points. Maybe we would be safer just gong back in June of 2015 when school is out. Of course this would drive our decision on the annual passes as if we go the first week of June 2014 and then the second week of June 2015 an annual pass would not cover both trips. School gets out a week later next year (2015) so we could not do the same week in 2015 as in 2014.

OK well heck I guess if my biggest problem is what week I get to go to WDW next year and how that plays along with what week I am going this year then I really don't have much of a problem

 

[Phonedave]

OK great info so thanks! I do understand the points made. I guess we will see how things develop before making any moves. The March 2015 trip would be over Spring Break, the wife and kids would be out of school (wife works at school) and I can get it off at work. But I see the point on the unforseen occurring and us losing points. Maybe we would be safer just gong back in June of 2015 when school is out. Of course this would drive our decision on the annual passes as if we go the first week of June 2014 and then the second week of June 2015 an annual pass would not cover both trips. School gets out a week later next year (2015) so we could not do the same week in 2015 as in 2014.

OK well heck I guess if my biggest problem is what week I get to go to WDW next year and how that plays along with what week I am going this year then I really don't have much of a problem

I don't know where you live, but around here spring break has been cut into because of the snow days. They are being pretty strict about who they are letting use personal days during that week (my wife is a teacher as well)


-dave

 

[jlsHouston]

You can borrow your April 2015 points for a March 2015 trip but this could be highly risky.

If for any reason you have to cancel your trip, you likely will end up losing those points. Someone get sick? Bad weather? Financial emergency? Too bad. Disney is pretty strict about borrowing points. You might be able to call and plead your case but don't count on it.

Be 100% sure of your trip before you do this.

Don't be afraid to wait until the last minute to book. SSR is nearly always available, even on short notice.

IMHO, it's much better to bank your points and have extra points available in 2016 than it is to risk losing points. Again, be 100% sure of your trip before doing this.

Disney currently is offering DVC members a special limited-time Preferred Annual Pass discount of $245 off the regular price now through April 30. It's $150 off the non-water park Annual Pass.

Disney used to allow ticket upgrades as long as you had at least one unused day left. However ...

Did you buy your tickets from Disney?

I've recently read a discussion that Disney now is only allowing ticket upgrades to those who bought directly from Disney, although upgrades to Annual Passes still might be permitted for everyone.

The bigger issue is that Disney recently changed this ticket policy and the policy that allowed WDW tickets to be used at DLR.

The point is, just because Disney allows something today, I would no longer count on them offering it months from now. What's clear is that Disney continues to re-evaluate its ticket prices and policies and has few qualms about changing them.

Call Disney to find out more on both of your questions. I would advise against depending on information we post here, which might be out-of-date.

What do you mean you read a discussion that now Disney is only allowing upgrades for tickets bought through them and not through like MouseSavers?

 

[BigTxEars]

I don't know where you live, but around here spring break has been cut into because of the snow days. They are being pretty strict about who they are letting use personal days during that week (my wife is a teacher as well)


-dave

SE Texas here, ain't a snow day to be seen around here If is snows around here then we have bigger problems than WDW :0