When to buy AP?

[Feralpeg]

I am considering buying annual passes for my daughter and myself. We are planning a trip in June. I'd like to try getting AP rates at an onsite hotel. Since the APs are only good for a year from date of purchase, I'd like to wait until closer to our trip to buy them. Can I book a room with AP rates if I've yet to purchase the actual passes? I'm afraid to wait too much longer to book the hotel for fear of them not having anything available where we want to stay.

 

[erikthewise]

Go ahead and make your reservation -- you need only present an AP at checkin. I suggest not buying it in advance at all. Rather when you arrive at WDW, go to the entrance of any convenient theme park and buying your APs before going to your resort. I've heard there is someplace at Downtown Disney you can buy them but don't know precisely where.

 

[WebmasterKathy]

Peg,

I've been looking at this, too. I have an AP rate reservation, and am planning to pick up my AP before checkin.

On Deb Wills' site (http://www.wdwig.com/apass.htm), she lists the following as some of the off-property places you can purchase an activated AP (rather than a voucher):
- Disney's Flights Fantastic at Orlando International Airport
- Disney's EarPort at Orlando International Airport
- The Magic of Disney at Orlando International Airport
- The Ocala Information Center on I-95 in Ocala, FL

There are others, too. Since we're flying, I'm planning to stop at one of the airport shops to get mine. Then I'll be all set as soon as we hit WDW property!

(If anyone else has done this, I'd like to know how it went. Thanks!)

 

[s&k'smom]

This is a funny thread for me Ferelpeg as I was just thinking the same thing. OK now I have the AP so when can I call CRO looking for the discounts? What I mean is do I need a code or should I just ask for AP rates? I hope that didn't sound to dumb!

 

[CrzyforPiglet]

Hello there!! Just a quick comment regarding your original post - APs are valid from the date they are exchanged for a ticket not from the date the voucher was purchased. I purchased an AP 3 weeks ago from our local DS and got the voucher yesterday. I still need to exchange it for an actual ticket when I get to WDW in Dec. We were sure to ask the CM when the year started and she verified that it begins when we exchange it. We're staying at YC so I'll probably just pop on over to the Int'l Gateway.

We bought in advance to get a DC discount before my membership expires and to help budget the costs!

Good luck!

 

[justhat]

We got our APs 12/27/02 at one of the Disney Stores in the Orlando airport. I'm not sure which one it was, but we flew on Delta so it was the store in the same area as our gate, before we took the monorail to baggage claim. It took awhile to get them because the only cashiers there couldn't sell APs, so they had to call a cashier from one of the other Disney stores. That cashier took a very long time to arrive, but was pretty quick once he got there. After we got the APs (and they are activated APs, ready to use at the turnstiles) we went to baggage claims and our bags were already there and were taken off of the carousel and stacked against a wall and our Tiffany driver was there waiting for us too. So that should give you an idea of how long it took to get off of the plane, buy the passes, and get to our bags. Also, we used our Disney Club discount to buy the APs at the airport. You might be lucky and have a cashier who can sell you the APs right away, but then again you might not, so if you know you'll be in a rush when you arrive (like a PS at a certain time) then I would get them either before you go or at the gates. Also, if you get them before you go, it's no longer a voucher. Our Disney Store gives you a thin plastic card (your AP) and then you take the card and the receipt with you and they activate it at WDW.

But to answer your question about booking a room, you don't need to AP to get the AP rates. You will need to have it when you check-in at your resort, but not when you call to make reservations. You sometimes need the code, but other times you can just ask for the AP rate, it depends on the CM you get when you call CRO. First time we called they gave us the AP rate when we asked, the 2nd time (when we actually made the reservations) the CM told us she didn't know what we were talking about and that any discounts need to have a code. We gave her the rate the previous CM gave us and told her it was with an AP, but she said she couldn't find it anywhere. So we called back with the AP code and got the AP rate the 1st CM gave us even though we didn't have a code.

 

[s&k'smom]

OK just to be sure (forgive me for being dumb but I haven't had a solid nights sleep in weeks-the kids have been getting up) I have my AP voucher. Now I need the actual pass to check in at WL not the voucher? And I'm guessing that the Disney Store at the airport would be the closet place to exchange it. Now if I'm at WL where is the closet place to exchange the voucher, I'm guessing the ticket booths at the TTC? I'm hoping to actually switch to BC so I'll do like CrzyforPiglet and go the the turnstyle at the Epcot entrance. Lord do I need a nights sleep!

 

[justhat]

Ha, I know what you mean about sleep, s&k'smom! Good news for you though, you can check in with the voucher. Sometimes they will make you come back to the front desk later in your stay to show that you did in fact exchange the voucher for the actual AP, but they most likely will not, and accept your voucher as proof. In fact, whenever we have checked-in with an AP rate, we have never even needed to show the AP. Even when a trainee checked us in, neither he nor his supervisor asked about it. And you'd think a new person would be on top of rules like that when he's being watched by a superior.

If you do stay at WL and choose to activate it before you check-in, I would just take the boat over to MK and activate it there. It'll be the closest place to your resort (a little closer than ttc). Oh yeah, you can't exchange them at the airport, only on property officially. That is what the CM told us when we bought our APs at the airport store, but he said that they've done it in the past, but you're really supposed to go to WDW and have that done. I had never heard much about this so I'm not sure if it's true, but that's what he told us.

 

[BONZO]

Can I just confirm that you can just turn up at one of the airport Disney shops, present your Disney Club Card and buy the activated AP's?

 

[justhat]

Yes you can

 

[ktglads]

Does anyone know the hours that the Disney stores are open in the Orlando airport? Are they open 24/7 or do they close at like 9? I was wondering since we most likely will not be getting into Orlando until about midnight and then going straight to the hotel so we will need the passes before then. Thanks!

 

[s&k'smom]

Thanks for the info. I didn't want to have to worry about that. We will be at MK that evening but my DD will only be two so I don't want to rush the parks until the evening when she's had a little rest from the plane ride.

 

[Dalpal]

I just bought my AP and we are not going until July, because I read on one of these boards that the prices for passes are going to go up. Most likely in the spring. I called and asked the CM. She said she doesnt know, but all the other parks prices have gone up, so there is a good chance its true. with what I am spending for the resort I dont want to spend more for the APs if I dont have to. I have to get them anyway I might as well get them for less. Didnt anyone else hear about this?