Better place to buy Annual Passes?

[Hayden's Dad]

We are going to buy APs this year and was wanting to know where the best place would be to buy them. I don't want to buy it and it be active a month before we even go down, but I would like to use the AP discount on the rooms. Thanks for your help. :mickey:

[faline]

You don't need to purchase the annual pass in order to get the annual pass discount on a room (if available). You will need the annual pass in your hand when you check in.

When you purchase an annual pass, you get a voucher. The voucher is activated when you go to guest relations at one of the parks or Downtown Disney and exchange the voucher for the annual pass. You can have the voucher for months and it will not affect your year of use. Your year of use is determined by the day you exchange the voucher for the pass.

[KylesMom]

Kyle, we usually purchase our A/P vouchers at The Disney Store. You actually can't activate them until you reach Disney. We usually activate them when we are ready to enter our first park at Guest Services. Now, I know that you are to have an active A/P at check-in, but we've never been asked to show our A/Ps for the room discount. As long as you have the vouchers in hand, I think you'll be safe. Many who have had their passes checked were able to bring back an active ticket later. I've never heard an experience where a CM flat-out denied your A/P discount with a voucher in hand. If that did happen, though, you would need to go to either a park or DTD to activate it.

It's nice to have the passes paid off before you go. Once less thing to have to worry about when you come home! :mickey:

[Hayden's Dad]

If you activate them at Guest Services, how do you get into the park before hand? Isn't Guest Services past the turnstiles? Thanks again for all of your help. :mickey:

[KylesMom]

No - for example, at the MK, Guest Services is on the right hand side about equal to the turnstiles before you actually enter the gate. I believe Epcot is in the same general location. At DHS, Guest Services is on the left hand side of the turnstiles before you enter the park.

We've always exchanged our A/P vouchers at MK. One really, really important thing to keep in mind - both Eva & yourself will need picture IDs to active your passes. I once forgot my license & had to go all the way back to W/L to get it!

[Hayden's Dad]

:mickey:THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE SO MUCH!!! We are really excited about our trip in Feb. We are going to the Disney Store in Raleigh on Thursday to get our passes, and emailing Magical Journeys tomorrow!!! Disney World here we come!!!!

[faline]

Another thing to keep in mind is that Guest Services can get quite busy in the morning - around park opening. If you arrive the day before you plan to begin park touring, it may be worth a trip to Guest Services to get your passes activated - unless that day will have an impact on your future travel plans and last planned date of usage.

[Melanie]

:mickey:THANKS AGAIN EVERYONE SO MUCH!!! We are really excited about our trip in Feb. We are going to the Disney Store in Raleigh on Thursday to get our passes, and emailing Magical Journeys tomorrow!!! Disney World here we come!!!!

Aren't you in Greensboro? Is there not a Disney Store at Four Seasons anymore? How depressing! :(

Have fun on your upcoming trip. You certainly deserve it! :mickey:

[Hayden's Dad]

Aren't you in Greensboro? Is there not a Disney Store at Four Seasons anymore? How depressing!

No not any more they closed the two closest the one here in Greensboro, and in Winston Salem. :shake: So the two closest are Raleigh and Concord Mills.

[irish1967]

Just wanted to mention, be sure to check your expiration date when you do receive the actual pass. The CM actually keys in the expiration date and when I activated my AP a couple of years ago, the CM entered the current date rather than the expiration date.

It was easily rectified but who wants to spend time messing around with pass problems when at Disney World!

[kakn7294]

We no longer have a Disney Store either so I bought my APs online at Disney's website. It was quick and easy. I just printed off the paperwork and took that with me to both the resort and to guest services at MK to validate the APs.

[Daisy'sMom]

Go to guest relations at DTD. The lines are not that long early in the morning. :mickey:

[mouseketeer mom]

KylesMom mentioned its nice to have the passes paid off before you go, as to have one thing less to worry about when you come home...I'm confused..don't AP's have to be paid in full before you use them?? Or does that just refer to your credit card bill?

[KylesMom]

I'm confused..don't AP's have to be paid in full before you use them?? Or does that just refer to your credit card bill?
I was referring to the credit card bill - or the money out of your checking account. It's nice not to have to come home to that bill. :mickey: A/Ps are a one-time lump sum purchase, it's not like you can pay part of it now, and part of it later.

[mouseketeer mom]

Gotcha! Thats what I thought. Thanks!

[Diz-Knee]

Go to guest relations at DTD. The lines are not that long early in the morning. :mickey:

I may be wrong, but I THINK you have to activate your passes outside of one of the 4 theme parks. I say this because we just activated our in December and I was reading up on where we could go. Someone correct me if I am wrong.

[KylesMom]

I may be wrong, but I THINK you have to activate your passes outside of one of the 4 theme parks. I say this because we just activated our in December and I was reading up on where we could go. Someone correct me if I am wrong.
Stephanie, as Faline mentioned at the beginning of this post, there is a location at Downtown Disney where you can activate your A/Ps. It does not have to be at one of the four parks.

[Fangorn]

Just a heads up: the Guest Relations desk in the Marketplace at DTD is currently closed due to the building being renovated. The GR kiosk in Westside is open, and they have opened a temporary GR kiosk at the Pleasure Island entrance.
We found this out the hard way.

Steve

[Hayden's Dad]

Thanks. How long is the Rehab supposed to take?