At some point in the last year, the process for renewing DVC APs changed. MS now connects the DVC member to Ticketing and confirms to Ticketing that the member qualifies for a DVC AP. Ticketing then takes the payment and links the AP renewal to the member’s
MDE account. That allows the member to enter the parks without having to activate the new AP as we had to do in the past.
It seems this same process has now been implemented for new DVC APs. Member eligibility is confirmed during purchase, so no need to activate at GR before first use.