Magic Key Upgrade

[amyg1975]

We have a 2-day park hopper for our daughter and we want to upgrade it to a Dream Key, which we just bought for ourselves. I know that we can upgrade it on the second day in the app, as to not lose her reservation, but I have a few questions. Can I upgrade it first thing in the morning on the second day? I ask because we want to go to the Starcade for AP/MKs. Also, is there a way to upgrade the ticket and still make payments (we are Californians)?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Hi. I upgraded my ticket yesterday and was told that I might lose my reservation, which meant that I wouldn’t b able to go into the parks. Luckily, my reservation did transfer. I would recommend waiting until later in the day just in case the reservation doesn’t automatically transfer to the Magic Key.

I had a gift card to apply also so I went to the ticket booth where they asked if I was doing monthly payments or paying in full. If you have time you can handle it at the ticket booth.

 

[amyg1975]

Hi. I upgraded my ticket yesterday and was told that I might lose my reservation, which meant that I wouldn’t b able to go into the parks. Luckily, my reservation did transfer. I would recommend waiting until later in the day just in case the reservation doesn’t automatically transfer to the Magic Key.

I had a gift card to apply also so I went to the ticket booth where they asked if I was doing monthly payments or paying in full. If you have time you can handle it at the ticket booth.

Thank you so much! Were the ticket booth lines long?

ETA- just saw your other post about waiting 20 minutes.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I realized that I had posted the following in the regular Magic Key thread instead of here, but going to leave it there, too.

Here's my experience upgrading my ticket yesterday. I had two unused valid tickets - one 1-day/1-park and one 1-day hopper tickets. I also had a gift card, Disney Visa Rewards, and a $25 car parking voucher that I wanted to use for my Magic Key Dream pass.

I made a reservation yesterday morning, and the only availability was for DCA, so I made one for DCA.

I had to go to the park to use my ticket before upgrading it, so I went to the Toy Story parking lot and took a shuttle to the parks. I hadn't parked there in a long time, so the shuttle loading zone and restrooms were new to me. Got to DCA around 12:30pm, and found out that I didn't finish the reservation process so there was no reservation for me. The cast members were super helpful, and there were still reservations available so they helped me make a reservation and scanned me in to the park. Once in, I tried to upgrade my ticket since that was the main purpose for going. There were no options to use my gift card or Disney Visa Rewards, so I went to the ticket booths. I stood in line about 20 minutes or so and when I got to the ticket booth the cast member processed my payments for me.

• Used my gift card
• Used my Disney Visa Rewards / I scanned the card through the reader
• Paid the balance with my Disney Visa

What I could not use:

• My other unused park ticket. Since I had used the 1-day/1-park ticket she told me I could switch to the hopper and apply more $ to the Magic Key, but I declined
• The parking cost (this is different than what we were able to do with annual passes when renewing)

So, I have this other unused valid ticket. The CM said that I could get a refund on it, but I want to gift it to my brother and treat him to a day at Disneyland/DCA. He hasn't been since around 2009. I'm on hold right now to talk to a CM on the phone to see if I can change the name on the ticket to my brother or get a refund because he's going to use it to upgrade to an Imagine or Enchant Magic Key. I'll edit this post with my findings.

UPDATE: I was able to transfer the 1-day hopper to my brother, and it now has his name. I could not get a refund, so looks like the CM at the booth would have been doing something special (magical moment?) if she had refunded my ticket. So, if you have two tickets, better to use the higher value one towards your Magic Key and give the other one to someone, or save it for next year's renewal. You don't have to lose it. Even if the ticket expires you can use the value of the ticket to a future Magic Key pass, just need to enter the park so you can upgrade it (I'd go to the booth, though).

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I realized that I had posted the following in the regular Magic Key thread instead of here, but going to leave it there, too.

Here's my experience upgrading my ticket yesterday. I had two unused valid tickets - one 1-day/1-park and one 1-day hopper tickets. I also had a gift card, Disney Visa Rewards, and a $25 car parking voucher that I wanted to use for my Magic Key Dream pass.

I made a reservation yesterday morning, and the only availability was for DCA, so I made one for DCA.

I had to go to the park to use my ticket before upgrading it, so I went to the Toy Story parking lot and took a shuttle to the parks. I hadn't parked there in a long time, so the shuttle loading zone and restrooms were new to me. Got to DCA around 12:30pm, and found out that I didn't finish the reservation process so there was no reservation for me. The cast members were super helpful, and there were still reservations available so they helped me make a reservation and scanned me in to the park. Once in, I tried to upgrade my ticket since that was the main purpose for going. There were no options to use my gift card or Disney Visa Rewards, so I went to the ticket booths. I stood in line about 20 minutes or so and when I got to the ticket booth the cast member processed my payments for me.

• Used my gift card
• Used my Disney Visa Rewards / I scanned the card through the reader
• Paid the balance with my Disney Visa

What I could not use:

• My other unused park ticket. Since I had used the 1-day/1-park ticket she told me I could switch to the hopper and apply more $ to the Magic Key, but I declined
• The parking cost (this is different than what we were able to do with annual passes when renewing)

So, I have this other unused valid ticket. The CM said that I could get a refund on it, but I want to gift it to my brother and treat him to a day at Disneyland/DCA. He hasn't been since around 2009. I'm on hold right now to talk to a CM on the phone to see if I can change the name on the ticket to my brother or get a refund because he's going to use it to upgrade to an Imagine or Enchant Magic Key. I'll edit this post with my findings.

UPDATE: I was able to transfer the 1-day hopper to my brother, and it now has his name. I could not get a refund, so looks like the CM at the booth would have been doing something special (magical moment?) if she had refunded my ticket. So, if you have two tickets, better to use the higher value one towards your Magic Key and give the other one to someone, or save it for next year's renewal. You don't have to lose it. Even if the ticket expires you can use the value of the ticket to a future Magic Key pass, just need to enter the park so you can upgrade it (I'd go to the booth, though).

Another note. I got a paper ticket along with the pass in my app. I asked if I would get a plastic one in the mail, and was told no, this was it, and if I wanted to I could get it laminated. There is a cost (I thought it was $5? not sure) to replace the paper ticket.

 

[crystal1313]

Hi. I upgraded my ticket yesterday and was told that I might lose my reservation, which meant that I wouldn’t b able to go into the parks. Luckily, my reservation did transfer. I would recommend waiting until later in the day just in case the reservation doesn’t automatically transfer to the Magic Key.

I had a gift card to apply also so I went to the ticket booth where they asked if I was doing monthly payments or paying in full. If you have time you can handle it at the ticket booth.

oh wow. We had read that if you went to the ticket booths there was no option to have monthly payments if you were upgrading a tickets, you would have to pay in full. That’s really good info to know!

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

oh wow. We had read that if you went to the ticket booths there was no option to have monthly payments if you were upgrading a tickets, you would have to pay in full. That’s really good info to know!

This was my experience, so I hope that that is the norm. I think she worked with me because I had so many payment types that I couldn't do it online, via phone, or from the app.

 

[longboard55]

We went about noon and the ticket booth line was short, buy every party took a long time so it was still a wait. I would not ever do a booth evening hours after people get off work.

 

[DharmaLou]

Once in, I tried to upgrade my ticket since that was the main purpose for going. There were no options to use my gift card or Disney Visa Rewards, so I went to the ticket booths. I stood in line about 20 minutes or so and when I got to the ticket booth the cast member processed my payments for me.

Where inside the park can you upgrade without having to go to the ticket booth? I have a 4 day single park ticket I'm using in a couple weeks and plan to upgrade our last day. We have a reservation for DLR that day.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

Where inside the park can you upgrade without having to go to the ticket booth? I have a 4 day single park ticket I'm using in a couple weeks and plan to upgrade our last day. We have a reservation for DLR that day.

You can use the app to upgrade from anywhere in the park. I just went to a shady spot, and then opened my tickets. Once in the park my ticket now had a link to upgrade. I think I scrolled down a bit.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

This was my experience, so I hope that that is the norm. I think she worked with me because I had so many payment types that I couldn't do it online, via phone, or from the app.

If you are not trying to upgrade a ticket, the website does allow you to buy a Magic Key using a gift card, Disney Visa Rewards Card, and a credit card. We were able to do this without any problems.

 

[amyg1975]

If I upgrade in the morning of the second day, after entering the park, will the reservation disappear?

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

If I upgrade in the morning of the second day, after entering the park, will the reservation disappear?

The answer is - It might disappear.

When I upgraded my ticket, before processing anything the cast member told me that reservations had run out and if I upgraded at that time I probably would lose my reservation. I asked if that meant that I wouldn't get into the park, and she said yes. She also said that usually by the end of the week there are available reservations for Magic Keys and my reservation MIGHT be transferred. Since I specifically went to the park to upgrade my ticket this was fine with me. As it turned out, my reservation did transfer to my Magic Key.

My recommendation would be to wait until later in the day, and only if you are okay with possibly not being able to get back into the park. I would hate to tell someone not to worry and then they lose the ability to reenter the park early in the day.

 

[amyg1975]

Thanks!

 

[roxy72]

Hi all,

Can anyone advise if you were able to upgrade a 2-day park hopper to a Magic Key, AND use the monthly payment plan??

My husband and I arrived at the parks yesterday. We have unused 2-day park hoppers, so we waited in line at the ticket booth for help, but the lady mostly showed my husband how to do this on his phone (we're in our 30's and clueless about the app). After we entered the park, he upgraded to a Magic Key ticket BUT he wasn't able to find an option for the monthly payment plan.

I plan to upgrade mine to a Magic Key soon but I really want to find a way to do the monthly payment plan. We were sorta scrambling through the checkout process on his phone so maybe we missed a step? Any help would be appreciated!!

 

[amyg1975]

In order to do monthly payment plants, you have to do it at the ticket booths (if you are upgrading a ticket).

 

[Gaugersaurus]

At the top of the page once you click upgrade there’s an option to change between residency types. The default is out of state so you have to change that option to be able to see the payment plans. It’s pretty easy to miss and I wish they would code some way so it defaults to the options based on where you live.

 

[roxy72]

At the top of the page once you click upgrade there’s an option to change between residency types. The default is out of state so you have to change that option to be able to see the payment plans. It’s pretty easy to miss and I wish they would code some way so it defaults to the options based on where you live. View attachment 605033

THANK YOU so much! This worked perfectly- I'm so glad that I was able to upgrade to a Magic Key and use monthly payments. Thanks again!!

 

[lindyv321]

The answer is - It might disappear.

When I upgraded my ticket, before processing anything the cast member told me that reservations had run out and if I upgraded at that time I probably would lose my reservation. I asked if that meant that I wouldn't get into the park, and she said yes. She also said that usually by the end of the week there are available reservations for Magic Keys and my reservation MIGHT be transferred. Since I specifically went to the park to upgrade my ticket this was fine with me. As it turned out, my reservation did transfer to my Magic Key.

My recommendation would be to wait until later in the day, and only if you are okay with possibly not being able to get back into the park. I would hate to tell someone not to worry and then they lose the ability to reenter the park early in the day.

I’m planning on upgrading when we go in November. Do I just need to do it prior to the parks closing on our last day? I’m afraid of missing the window to upgrade and/or losing my reservation and ability to access the parks that day

 

[wisheruponstars]

I realized that I had posted the following in the regular Magic Key thread instead of here, but going to leave it there, too.

Here's my experience upgrading my ticket yesterday. I had two unused valid tickets - one 1-day/1-park and one 1-day hopper tickets. I also had a gift card, Disney Visa Rewards, and a $25 car parking voucher that I wanted to use for my Magic Key Dream pass.

I made a reservation yesterday morning, and the only availability was for DCA, so I made one for DCA.

I had to go to the park to use my ticket before upgrading it, so I went to the Toy Story parking lot and took a shuttle to the parks. I hadn't parked there in a long time, so the shuttle loading zone and restrooms were new to me. Got to DCA around 12:30pm, and found out that I didn't finish the reservation process so there was no reservation for me. The cast members were super helpful, and there were still reservations available so they helped me make a reservation and scanned me in to the park. Once in, I tried to upgrade my ticket since that was the main purpose for going. There were no options to use my gift card or Disney Visa Rewards, so I went to the ticket booths. I stood in line about 20 minutes or so and when I got to the ticket booth the cast member processed my payments for me.

• Used my gift card
• Used my Disney Visa Rewards / I scanned the card through the reader
• Paid the balance with my Disney Visa

What I could not use:

• My other unused park ticket. Since I had used the 1-day/1-park ticket she told me I could switch to the hopper and apply more $ to the Magic Key, but I declined
• The parking cost (this is different than what we were able to do with annual passes when renewing)

So, I have this other unused valid ticket. The CM said that I could get a refund on it, but I want to gift it to my brother and treat him to a day at Disneyland/DCA. He hasn't been since around 2009. I'm on hold right now to talk to a CM on the phone to see if I can change the name on the ticket to my brother or get a refund because he's going to use it to upgrade to an Imagine or Enchant Magic Key. I'll edit this post with my findings.

UPDATE: I was able to transfer the 1-day hopper to my brother, and it now has his name. I could not get a refund, so looks like the CM at the booth would have been doing something special (magical moment?) if she had refunded my ticket. So, if you have two tickets, better to use the higher value one towards your Magic Key and give the other one to someone, or save it for next year's renewal. You don't have to lose it. Even if the ticket expires you can use the value of the ticket to a future Magic Key pass, just need to enter the park so you can upgrade it (I'd go to the booth, though).

May I ask what kind of tickets you had? Regular tickets? CA resident ticket?