Is there a way to pick up disney tickets early with a package?

[Carebee21]

I booked a magic your way package through AAA for our upcoming vacation. The first 3 days we are staying offsite (my husband is traveling for business and this is where he has to stay those nights) but me and my son were still planning on going to the park while he's busy. Then the next 9 days we are staying at Port Orleans. I told my travel agent this and she said it was fine.

Well, I just got my final package/travel documents from them and it says that I receive my 10 day myw tickets when I check in to the disneyworld resort. I assumed that I would just be mailed the tickets but I guess that's not the case. So is there a way to get the tickets early? I have a call into my travel agent but she's not in again until Tuesday, so just wondering if anyone else has any advice or knows if they can just mail the tickets to me, or do I have to stop by port orleans early to pick them up or??

 

[Monty]

I am pretty sure the tickets on a package are only issued on your KTTW when you check in.

Any way you can switch the off-site to the end? :shrug:

EDIT: I just found the definitive answer:

Officially...

Check-in is at 3 pm at most Disney Resorts (4 pm at Disney Vacation Club Properties) You may register as early as 7 am on your scheduled date of check-in, drop off your luggage with bell services and get your Key To The World Card (KTTW) with your ticket and other package entitlements encoded on it.

If a room is available, they will assign it to you early, otherwise you will be given the Resorts phone number. Call the number at check-in time to find out your room assignment. Your KTTW card will already be activated for your room so there is no need to return to the front desk.

When you are booked on a vacation package, you will NOT be able to claim your ticket or any other package entitlement prior to 7 am on your scheduled date of check-in.

 

[Carebee21]

Nope. My husband has to be at that hotel for business on those nights. This was a business trip for him that we have added onto and turned into a family trip.

I really hope that's not the case though because AAA was well aware of this. I have had nothing but problems with this booking with them and I hope this doesn't turn into another one!!!

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Unless you either leave with tickets in hand or are getting them somewhere other than Disney, you won't be able to claim package tickets early. Those tickets won't be available for use until you check in at the Disney resort.

 

[ToTBellHop]

you would need to purchase a separate 3-day park hopper. Honestly, it may be cheaper for you to consider getting Annual Passes...and less troublesome. Plus, you can then possibly get a discount on your stay at PO. I'm surprised AAA didn't know this...not cool.

 

[Carebee21]

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm furious now :fork: If I had known this we would have planned differently or flown out on a different day than my husband or something.

AAA should have known this and let me know when I told her our plans, but regardless I'm a little confused as to how disneyworld can get away with withholding my tickets from me when I've already paid for them. I understand they're part of a package, but at this point in time my package is all paid for and non refundable, so whether or not I show up, I don't get any money back so I don't understand what the problem would be with mailing tickets ahead of time. I could fully understand why you wouldn't if the package wasn't paid off or if it was a refundable package but that isn't the case here.

Oh well, guess I'll call a supervisor at AAA in the morning and see if complaining gets me anywhere and if not maybe we'll just buy tickets and try out Sea World or something different

 

[Rob562]

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm furious now :fork: If I had known this we would have planned differently or flown out on a different day than my husband or something.

AAA should have known this and let me know when I told her our plans, but regardless I'm a little confused as to how disneyworld can get away with withholding my tickets from me when I've already paid for them. I understand they're part of a package, but at this point in time my package is all paid for and non refundable, so whether or not I show up, I don't get any money back so I don't understand what the problem would be with mailing tickets ahead of time. I could fully understand why you wouldn't if the package wasn't paid off or if it was a refundable package but that isn't the case here.

Oh well, guess I'll call a supervisor at AAA in the morning and see if complaining gets me anywhere and if not maybe we'll just buy tickets and try out Sea World or something different

Unfortunately, AAA won't be able to do anything in terms of getting your tickets to you early. They might make some other kind of compensation for your troubles, but not your tickets.

The money that you've paid, even though on paper you can break it down into the individual components, was paid for a complete vacation package. Vacation Packages are booked with a set arrival date. That is the date of the commencement of your package, and unfortunately there isn't a way around getting part of that package early. It's just the way that the Disney system is set up, and I doubt it's an uncommon practice in the travel industry.

As for other options... Unless you're booked under one of the special offers that requires a package, or you have the Dining Plan that requires the purchase of a package, you should look into booking a Room Only reservation, either through AAA or through Disney directly.
You can then purchase tickets separately, which could then be mailed to you or picked up at a theme park ticket window when you first arrive in Florida. Then when you check into your hotel, the front desk can encode those tickets onto your room key for convenience.

And with your comment of your package being "non-refundable", how far away is your trip? I don't think I saw a specific date in your posts. Unless a booking through AAA is different, even if you've fully paid for your vacation, you can get a full refund until the 45-day mark. After that there are varying penalties depending on how close the trip is, but it's never non-refundable... If it's non-refundable because of AAA's policies, that's something you'll have to take up with AAA.

-Rob

 

[Pioneer Hall]

Wow! Thanks for the replies everyone. I'm furious now :fork: If I had known this we would have planned differently or flown out on a different day than my husband or something.

AAA should have known this and let me know when I told her our plans, but regardless I'm a little confused as to how disneyworld can get away with withholding my tickets from me when I've already paid for them. I understand they're part of a package, but at this point in time my package is all paid for and non refundable, so whether or not I show up, I don't get any money back so I don't understand what the problem would be with mailing tickets ahead of time. I could fully understand why you wouldn't if the package wasn't paid off or if it was a refundable package but that isn't the case here.

Oh well, guess I'll call a supervisor at AAA in the morning and see if complaining gets me anywhere and if not maybe we'll just buy tickets and try out Sea World or something different

When you book a package you agree to the terms of that package and basically sign a contract as such. Part of that says that the entitlements of your package don't begin until check-in. So while you may have paid for them already, you get them when your vacation starts. You could make the same argument about getting dining entitlements early if you book a plan or anything else. It would get too messy for Disney if they started letting you claim things earlier.

 

[Carebee21]

Unfortunately, AAA won't be able to do anything in terms of getting your tickets to you early. They might make some other kind of compensation for your troubles, but not your tickets.

The money that you've paid, even though on paper you can break it down into the individual components, was paid for a complete vacation package. Vacation Packages are booked with a set arrival date. That is the date of the commencement of your package, and unfortunately there isn't a way around getting part of that package early. It's just the way that the Disney system is set up, and I doubt it's an uncommon practice in the travel industry.

As for other options... Unless you're booked under one of the special offers that requires a package, or you have the Dining Plan that requires the purchase of a package, you should look into booking a Room Only reservation, either through AAA or through Disney directly.
You can then purchase tickets separately, which could then be mailed to you or picked up at a theme park ticket window when you first arrive in Florida. Then when you check into your hotel, the front desk can encode those tickets onto your room key for convenience.

And with your comment of your package being "non-refundable", how far away is your trip? I don't think I saw a specific date in your posts. Unless a booking through AAA is different, even if you've fully paid for your vacation, you can get a full refund until the 45-day mark. After that there are varying penalties depending on how close the trip is, but it's never non-refundable... If it's non-refundable because of AAA's policies, that's something you'll have to take up with AAA.

-Rob

I'm leaving Jan 22 so I'm past the 45 day mark and can't change my package around. And the date of commencment for my trip is Jan 22. That's the day I'm picking up my rental car booked with AAA and on the same travel documents as this whole package. But they're not telling me I can't pick that up until I check into Disney. :brick:

I'm just frustrated because I told the agent what we were doing and she was clearly aware of what I was doing and never said anything about not being able to get my tickets and I've booked other packages (including disneyland, san diego and las vegas packages) and I get all my tickets up front for all shows and amusement parks. I've never once had to wait until check-in.

I guess I should have researched it myself and not relied on a AAA agent and now I'll know for next time. :shrug:

 

[Carebee21]

Yay!!! So after speaking with a supervisor at AAA and they spoke with a supervisor at Disney, I'm able to pick up my tickets at a guest relations booth on Jan 22!!! Yay! I'm glad they got it all worked out! :sohappy::sohappy::sohappy:​

 

[RSD Part Deux]

Sorry to re-open an old thread. But just to update: you can pick up your Park package tickets up to two days before your resort arrival. Most CMs on the phone dont know about this, but if you escalate it, they will get the required info. However, you cant pick them up at your resort, only at the theme park guest relations office.

 

[CleveRocks]

Sorry to re-open an old thread. But just to update: you can pick up your Park package tickets up to two days before your resort arrival. Most CMs on the phone dont know about this, but if you escalate it, they will get the required info. However, you cant pick them up at your resort, only at the theme park guest relations office.

Correct on all points!

The ticketing/guest relations CM has to physically get on the phone to call the resort and confirm that you do, in fact, have an upcoming and fully-paid reservation. There is no guarantee, however. The cast member might not know how to do this; the cast member might not want to do this (it's quite labor intensive); the resort might not answer the phone or the cast member who answers might refuse to help.

But yes, it CAN be done within the parameters explained above by RSD Part Deux.