You can no longer purchase APs at your hotels concierge desk. You must purchase them (or pick them up) from guest services at any park entrance.
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Small Operational Update - APs
- Thread starter RSD Part Deux
- Start date
Rob562
Well-Known Member
Well that didn't last long. (Couldn't have been more than a year or so that I remember hearing that APs could be done at the hotels)
I wonder if they found that they were replacing too many demagnetized APs that were on the plastic hotel room key card stock and it just didn't make sense to keep issuing them on those. (Anecdotal evidence suggests that the plastic card stock is much more prone to demagnetization than the "paper" ticket stock)
-Rob
I wonder if they found that they were replacing too many demagnetized APs that were on the plastic hotel room key card stock and it just didn't make sense to keep issuing them on those. (Anecdotal evidence suggests that the plastic card stock is much more prone to demagnetization than the "paper" ticket stock)
-Rob
dreamscometrue
Well-Known Member
We got our APs in March of this year at the desk in Jambo House (AKL). I guess we won't get them there next time. 
Rasvar
Well-Known Member
This is exactly the reason. The key stock just was not holding up and needed replacement. That commercial stock was never designed to hold the info as long as the paper tickets were. Plus, with the new RFID keys, the cost of the key stock gets increased even more. The paper ones are more economical.
lostpro9het
Well-Known Member
Sorry for the tangent and my ignorance, but are you saying APs are a paper ticket? We were planning to upgrade our package tickets in September to APs and just assumed we'd get a room key type card for the AP.
Rasvar
Well-Known Member
Yes, they actually hold up well. It is the normal ticket stock. The last year or two, you could get it on a room key but they are moving back to the paper ones only. What they will do is have you go to guest services at one of the parks and have you do the physical upgrade.
bethymouse
Well-Known Member
Annual Passes.
Have they ever asked to see proof of being an AP-holder? I had a situation where I checked my resort, but had yet to purchase the AP (it expired, but I didn't visit within the renewal period so I was getting a new one). I was never asked to verify.Wait... I made a trip all the way to the parks to get my AP before I checked in with an AP discount just on the off chance they actually asked to see it (which they didn't). Guess I could have just gotten it at the hotel.
Oh well... 5 years ago now. Ancient history.
Rob562
Well-Known Member
Back when I regularly had an AP, I was asked to see it about 40-50% of the time.
For Kiff, who said they went all the way to the park to get the AP 5 years ago (and thus implied they felt it was an unnecessary trip), it's only been the last year or two that they had been issuing APs at the hotels, so 5 years ago that would've been the needed procedure. And now it's back to just the parks and Downtown Disney Guest Services.
And for those who are worried about getting "paper" tickets, they're not just paper. They're a layered cardstock that includes a Tyvek-like plastic layer. In terms of durability, they're superior to the plastic room keys in all respects except one: water. The paper tickets tend to curl when they get wet, but the printing stays and the ticket is easily replaced.
Next time you have an old paper ticket, try to rip it in half. You'll find it quite difficult.
-Rob
Zummi Gummi
Pioneering the Universe Within!
The "paper" tickets are a whole lot more durable than the room keys. I'm always puzzled when I hear of posters going to the concierge to change their tickets over to room key type tickets because they think they're better. That isn't the case, and the paper ones almost never demagnetize and are a lot less bulky.
AEfx
Well-Known Member
Wait... I made a trip all the way to the parks to get my AP before I checked in with an AP discount just on the off chance they actually asked to see it (which they didn't). Guess I could have just gotten it at the hotel.
Oh well... 5 years ago now. Ancient history.
Actually, this is a new occurrence that you could - before you had to do exactly as you said, it was only a year or two ago that it changed for the first time. Now it's going back to how it always was. So you didn't miss out.