Upgrading UT tickets

[LAM378]

Hi everyone!

I purchased park tickets from Undercover Tourist for my trip next month. I used the e-ticket option, so I didn't (and won't) get actual ticket cards. I linked the tickets to MDE, no problems there.

I think I'd like to upgrade my ticket to an AP once I get to WDW, so I'm wondering what to expect. I know I should do it after I've entered a park at least once.

When they bridge the price between the ticket and the AP, do I also pay the difference between Disney's price and UT's price?

Also, is the fact that I don't have an actual hard ticket a problem? Last time I upgraded I didn't have a hard ticket but I had purchased directly from WDW as part of a package.

Thanks for any help!

 

[PinnySmart]

Yes you will pay the difference between UT and Disney. The cash value of what you paid will be applied to your AP.

 

[Rob562]

Regarding no actual ticket, are you staying on-site and will have Magic Bands? I'd never heard of a reseller offering an e-ticket only option before now. Without *something* to scan at the park entrance (whether a card or a Band) there's no way to access the ticket, so I'm not really sure why they would offer such an option.

If you're on-site and both the ticket and your Disney hotel reservation are linked to the same profile, they can access the ticket via your Band for park entrance and upgrading purposes.

As for the upgrade, unless the policy has recently changed the above poster is incorrect. After you enter a theme park, you'd only pay the difference between the current Disney gate price of that ticket and the current price of an AP. Where you start having issues of having to make up the difference between what UT paid and the gate price is when you upgrade *before* entering the park.

-Rob

 

[LAM378]

Regarding no actual ticket, are you staying on-site and will have Magic Bands? I'd never heard of a reseller offering an e-ticket only option before now. Without *something* to scan at the park entrance (whether a card or a Band) there's no way to access the ticket, so I'm not really sure why they would offer such an option.

If you're on-site and both the ticket and your Disney hotel reservation are linked to the same profile, they can access the ticket via your Band for park entrance and upgrading purposes.

Thanks! I was hoping you'd chime in, @Rob562 . I'm staying onsite and I'll have MBs. The ticket is linked to MDE already. That's what I was wondering about--whether the MB alone would be fine to bring to Guest Relations for the upgrade.

The e-ticket option has to be fairly new with Undercover Tourist...it wasn't available last time I bought from them in February 2015. It was pretty nifty, actually--no shipping charges and the email with the ticket codes to link to MDE arrived within 30 minutes. I just wasn't thinking ahead to upgrading to an AP when I chose the e-ticket option.

 

[Rob562]

And just for others looking in on this thread, here's what it says on the UT website about the e-tickets:

"E-Ticket: Add this E-Ticket to your MagicBand and go straight to the gate and onto the rides. (MagicBand not included with this purchase.) If you do not have a MagicBand, you must exchange this E-Ticket at a will call location for a RF-enabled ticket before admission. You may link this E-Ticket to My Disney Experience for FastPass+ reservations before will call exchange."

So once you link it, there's no need to do anything more if you have Bands, and would presumably also be OK if you have an RFID card from a previous trip that still lists as active in the MDE system. You'd only have to visit guest relations with a printout of the e-ticket if you didn't have any sort of media yet.

So I learned something today.

Edit: Realized this was the same situation as the Friends & Family e-ticket vouchers I got from a CM friend for my trip a couple months ago. I was able to link them to our MDE profiles and since we had multiple Bands from that trip and a previous trip, there was no need for anything more.

-Rob

 

[dreamfinder]

Make sure you know the current gate price for the ticket you own, and the ticket you want. Know what the cost difference between the two should be, as not all CMs handle the upgrade properly. They need to "bridge" the ticket you own, as that is what will get you current gate value. If they don't "bridge" it, you only get what UT paid for the ticket. If the price they are quoting you to do the upgrade doesn't match up with what you think it should be, ask them to make sure they are "bridging" the ticket, and ask to speak to a manager if needed.