rtguy007 74 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 I am getting some conflicting information so I am turning to the fort fiends clan for help. Can someone help me clarify the following questions about annual passes? Does the renewal date match the day of purchase or the first day of use? Wanting to purchase them ahead of time to get fast passes but dont want to lose almost 2 months on the tickets if I purchase early. Is there anything special about the annual pass magic band other than the slider it comes with? Do you find the food discount is beneficial? Is the resport discount good on the cabins? Any help would be appreciated. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DisneyVampire 45 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 Resort and food discount equals up to 20%. Food is depending on where you go because it is not offered everywhere. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
DisneyVampire 45 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 I have to check on the AP purchase. But I think it matters where you buy it. IE - Disney store or online. Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Travisma 1,317 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 I just (December) renewed our FL Silver passes. The current ones were good until the end of Feb 1, but I wanted to renew before the extra month offer went away. Our passes now expire March 1 with the extra month, so even if you renew early, it keeps the original expiration. But, if you are on the payment plan, you will end up paying extra the month you renew, but they told me that means there is no payment the last month. And this is on the passholder page Renew Your Annual Passes Save up to 15%* when you renew and stay part of the Annual Passholder family, enjoying perks like discounts on dining, merchandise and more. Compare Passes Passes are eligible for renewal 60 days prior and up to 30 days after their expiration date. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rtguy007 74 Posted March 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 Also should have put this in there, this will be our first time with annual passes and. Ot renewals. Thats why I am having issues getting a good answer on when the actual start date is. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 To specifically answer your question about the active date on a renewal- if you're renewing an AP, the date that you actually renew the pass is irrelevant- the expiration date on the new pass will be exactly one year (or 13 months under the current deal) from the expiration date of the old pass- you cannot extend the expiration date by renewing it in the 30 day window following the expiration. Likewise, if you renew early- you don't lose anything- your expiration date doesn't change based on the renewal date. As Travisma quoted above- you have a period of 90 days - 60 days before, and 30 after- to renew a pass. No matter where the renewal happens in that 90 day window, there is no impact on the expiration date of the new pass. As for discounts, they are better than they used to be, with 20% off at a lot more food locations, and 20% of merchandise (it has always only been 10%). The resort discounts vary, but there seems to be some kind of deal being offered on resort rooms including the cabins (never campsites). The discounts aren't that substantial, maybe 10% off rack rates, but it's better than paying full price. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 1 hour ago, rtguy007 said: Also should have put this in there, this will be our first time with annual passes and. Ot renewals. Thats why I am having issues getting a good answer on when the actual start date is. Purchasing a NEW AP is a different story. If you purchase online ahead of time, you get a voucher, and the AP starts at first use. (I don't know if an AP voucher will allow you to make FP+ reservations) If you purchase in FL at the parks, then it starts right then. Another option is to purchase standard tickets closest to the price of your AP from Undercover Tourist. Then you can make online FP+ reservations for the number of days on your ticket without any worry of start date, because those DO NOT start until first use. Then when you arrive, go through the gate with those standard tickets, then go to a ticket window at the TTC and upgrade to APs. You will save a few dollars on each AP due to the discount on the standard tickets. You will have the ability to make FP reservations for some of your trip. Hope this helps. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 2 hours ago, rtguy007 said: I am getting some conflicting information so I am turning to the fort fiends clan for help. Can someone help me clarify the following questions about annual passes? Does the renewal date match the day of purchase or the first day of use? Wanting to purchase them ahead of time to get fast passes but dont want to lose almost 2 months on the tickets if I purchase early. Is there anything special about the annual pass magic band other than the slider it comes with? Do you find the food discount is beneficial? Is the resport discount good on the cabins? Any help would be appreciated. 1 hour ago, rtguy007 said: Also should have put this in there, this will be our first time with annual passes and. Ot renewals. Thats why I am having issues getting a good answer on when the actual start date is. I'm confused about what you're confused about. In your first post you asked about the renewal date. I'm guessing that "Ot" in your second post was supposed to be "Not"? If you're not renewing a pass, then what Carol said is correct. An AP purchased in advance becomes active the day it is first used. An AP purchased at WDW becomes active on the purchase date. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 I meant to add: An AP Magic Band is no different from the "free" MB's that you get with a resort reservation. You can pick the color and the inscription, but the band is the same. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 Also, only Florida residents have the option of the payment plan mentioned. I've found the discounts on hotels to be pretty significant if you stay moderate or deluxe. We saved $50 a night at Caribbean Beach on our last stay. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rtguy007 74 Posted March 23, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 3 hours ago, Tri-Circle-D said: I'm confused about what you're confused about. In your first post you asked about the renewal date. I'm guessing that "Ot" in your second post was supposed to be "Not"? If you're not renewing a pass, then what Carol said is correct. An AP purchased in advance becomes active the day it is first used. An AP purchased at WDW becomes active on the purchase date. TCD Ok i see the confusion now. Sorry about that. I meant would the renewal (or expiration) date be the day of first use or the day of purchase. Sorry about that. So going with what Carol said, i should purchase something like the 10 day through mousesavers and just upgrade the ticket after I use it once. Is that correct? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 19 minutes ago, rtguy007 said: Ok i see the confusion now. Sorry about that. I meant would the renewal (or expiration) date be the day of first use or the day of purchase. Sorry about that. So going with what Carol said, i should purchase something like the 10 day through mousesavers and just upgrade the ticket after I use it once. Is that correct? I will have to defer to Carol on that question, as I've never price-bridged a ticket like that. As a Florida resident, I have taken advantage of the monthly payment deal since its inception. TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
kadancer 82 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 We purchased new annual passes to take advantage of the extra month and were told that the expiration date of the of the passes will be established at first use. Additionally, we were told we could use the vouchers to link the annual passes to our My Disney Experience account to make fast pass reservations. Haven't tried it yet because we are not in our window, but have been able to do it in the past. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mouseketab.....Carol 1,261 Posted March 23, 2017 Report Share Posted March 23, 2017 40 minutes ago, rtguy007 said: Ok i see the confusion now. Sorry about that. I meant would the renewal (or expiration) date be the day of first use or the day of purchase. Sorry about that. So going with what Carol said, i should purchase something like the 10 day through mousesavers and just upgrade the ticket after I use it once. Is that correct? You are correct. Go to the TTC ticket windows for the upgrade. They have the most knowledge on doing the upgrade correctly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rtguy007 74 Posted March 24, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 24, 2017 Thanks for all of the help you guys. I really appreciate the clarification. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
shoreline99 137 Posted March 24, 2017 Report Share Posted March 24, 2017 17 hours ago, mouseketab.....Carol said: You are correct. Go to the TTC ticket windows for the upgrade. They have the most knowledge on doing the upgrade correctly. We bridged ours in February and have done this before in the past. Both times we've waited and done it in City Hall at the MK. The first time, a few years ago, we purchased multi-day tickets in advance and upgraded to an annual pass on our last day; the annual pass start date was the first day of USE of the multi-day pass. They credit the full tare amount for the multi-day pass against the annual pass (we are not Florida residents so it's a lump sum). Again, as far as I know the purchase date does not matter for the multi-day pass, it's the first day of usage. This year we had to do it on our first day into the parks as we had heard rumours of price increases, which turned out to be correct - the next day the price increases went into effect. Same deal - they credited the amount of the multi-day pass and the start date was, in this case, the same day as it was the first day we used the multi-day ticket. So, we saved a few bucks and got to use the passholder entry lines for the rest of our trip. A couple of other notes - -The break-even point is roughly 11 days (plus or minus) -Current annual pass benefits are 10% on food and nonalcoholic beverages as well as 20% on merchandise. -Look into the Tables in Wonderland card if you are not doing a dining plan and like to eat at table service meals. For $150 You get a 20% discount INCLUDING alcohol at most table service restaurants, and one card is good for up to 10 people. I think this paid for itself for us going to the Hoop dee doo with a large group. More info: http://tablesinwonderland.com/ Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Tri-Circle-D 2,059 Posted March 24, 2017 Report Share Posted March 24, 2017 2 hours ago, shoreline99 said: -Current annual pass benefits are 10% on food and nonalcoholic beverages as well as 20% on merchandise. One small correction- there are a bunch of restaurants, both full and quick serve, where Passholders get 20% off food and non-alcoholic beverages. This is new for this year only, and ends in September. Here's the list of all the resort venues where the discount is 20%: In honor of the Walt Disney World 45th Anniversary, the following venues offer Passholders a 20% discount through September 30, 2017: Jiko—The Cooking Place at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge The Mara at Disney's Animal Kingdom Lodge Sanaa at Disney's Animal Kingdom Villas Kidani Village Beach Club Marketplace at Disney's Beach Club Resort Cape May Cafe at Disney's Beach Club Resort Boardwalk Bakery at Disney's BoardWalk Boardwalk Pizza Window at Disney's BoardWalk ESPN Club at Disney's Boardwalk Flying Fish Cafe at Disney's BoardWalk Contempo Cafe at Disney's Contemporary Resort The Wave… of American Flavors at Disney's Contemporary Resort Trail's End Restaurant at Disney's Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground Citricos at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Grand Floridian Cafe at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Gasparilla Island Grill at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Narcoossee's at Disney's Grand Floridian Resort & Spa Olivia's Cafe at Disney's Old Key West Resort Capt. Cook's at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Kona Cafe at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Disney's Spirit of Aloha Dinner Show at Disney's Polynesian Village Resort Boatwright's Dining Hall at Disney's Port Orleans Resort – Riverside The Turf Club Bar and Grill at Disney's Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa Artist Point at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Roaring Fork at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Whispering Canyon Cafe at Disney's Wilderness Lodge Captain's Grille at Disney's Yacht Club Resort There are several restaurants in the parks where it's 20% too- like Skipper Canteen in the MK, Electric Umbrella in Epcot, Flame Tree in AK. It's a pretty nice perk for once, and depending on how much alcohol you drink, impacts the value of the TIW card. The complete list is here: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/passholder-benefits-and-discounts/dining-discounts/ TCD Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rtguy007 74 Posted March 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 11 hours ago, shoreline99 said: The break-even point is roughly 11 days (plus or minus) We are planning on a week in May (would have bought 4 day passes) and 2 weeks at the end of November/beginning of December (would have purchased 8 or 10 day passes). If we get season passes, we will also push for a trip in march or may next year to get the most out of our passes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted March 25, 2017 Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 9 hours ago, rtguy007 said: We are planning on a week in May (would have bought 4 day passes) and 2 weeks at the end of November/beginning of December (would have purchased 8 or 10 day passes). If we get season passes, we will also push for a trip in march or may next year to get the most out of our passes. Yep... that's how they getcha Quote Link to post Share on other sites
rtguy007 74 Posted March 25, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 4 minutes ago, twiceblessed....nacole said: Yep... that's how they getcha Yep. It isnt all bad though. We atill enjoy disney regards of some of the stupid things they are doing these days. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
twiceblessed....nacole 433 Posted March 25, 2017 Report Share Posted March 25, 2017 27 minutes ago, rtguy007 said: Yep. It isnt all bad though. We atill enjoy disney regards of some of the stupid things they are doing these days. Yes... that's where we're at too however, we can't help but wonder if our days are numbered. Our new AP starts in Oct and expires in November (they had a 13 month offer), but we're not sure past that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ImDownWithDisney 342 Posted March 26, 2017 Report Share Posted March 26, 2017 On 3/24/2017 at 10:02 PM, rtguy007 said: We are planning on a week in May (would have bought 4 day passes) and 2 weeks at the end of November/beginning of December (would have purchased 8 or 10 day passes). If we get season passes, we will also push for a trip in march or may next year to get the most out of our passes. That's the way we do it when we purchase AP's. We purchased again this year. We hope to get about 20 days on them. The thing I like most about having them is you don't feel rushed to do things in 3 or 4 days. Also I don't feel like we wasted a day ticket if we just go for a few hours.....plus park hopping is cool. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023 Posted March 27, 2017 Report Share Posted March 27, 2017 The resort room/cabin discount can sometimes be significant, depending on the resort and time of year. We snagged one night at the Contemporary back in February for what amounted to about 30% off rack rate. On 3/26/2017 at 9:14 AM, ImDownWithDisney said: That's the way we do it when we purchase AP's. We purchased again this year. We hope to get about 20 days on them. The thing I like most about having them is you don't feel rushed to do things in 3 or 4 days. Also I don't feel like we wasted a day ticket if we just go for a few hours.....plus park hopping is cool. Ditto to all that! That's been our m.o. for a long time now - just means we plan our annual trips out ahead so that we can finagle 2 inside of 12 months. We usually manage to get about 20 days on them too - well, sometimes I get more than DH, but then that's the whole "that's where they get you" thing again. It sometimes leads to ridiculous things like "hey, why don't we drive 1400 miles down to WDW for a couple of days" or "sure I'll come play tour guide for you on your vacation, I've got an annual pass!" :) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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