PDA

View Full Version : New AP Observations



Pages : [1] 2

Tinkermommy
06-15-2011, 09:41 AM
Renewed our PAPs on Saturday, and they arrived yesterday (Tuesday). I noticed a couple things - first, they're sturdier. They're more like a credit card instead of that flimsy plastic our last passes were made from. Other observations:

-The new passes have Donald, Mickey and Goofy on them. There was no design choice when I renewed, and a CM I spoke with confirmed that there is currently only one design available whether you renew online, by mail or at the resort.

-There is a photopass ID imprinted right on the back of each pass. No need for a separate photopass card, apparently. That's a great idea, methinks!

-As mentioned in other threads, no more pictures. The Tinkerteen and I have the same name, so we're going to have to start paying attention at the gate...:p

Teddi
06-15-2011, 09:47 AM
They sound like the new main gate passes CMs get, those are also thicker like you said and have photo pass # on the card. I wonder if they will always ask you for ID since there is no photo anymore.

Tinkermommy
06-15-2011, 09:49 AM
I'll tell you tomorrow...:p

Drince88
06-15-2011, 09:58 AM
They shouldn't ask for ID at the gate, because your picture should still pop up on the screen. But be prepared to show it if you use it for a discount. A few people with Premiers (which don't have pictures) have to show it every time - I've not had to a percentage of the time.

So how will the expiration of Photopass pictures work? As it is now, you have 30 days to link the card number to your account, then 30 days after linking to order stuff without buying an extension. So now you just have the 2nd 30 day period?

MammaSilva
06-15-2011, 10:01 AM
I've been thinking about that part of the passes as well Drince and have decided to not offer up my AP but ask for a photopass card so I can control when the 30 day count down starts. They'll have to offer them because there are still so many people visiting with hoppers.

Teddi
06-15-2011, 10:05 AM
Cathy, I am wondering about the photopass too. I used the silver pass/photo pass for the first time ever the last week of April. I forgot about it for weeks, in fact just last week I finally added the photo pass # in, and the pictures were and still ARE there. It was 47 days after the pictures were take when I added the photo # in. I'm gonna keep checking every few days and see if I get the email reminders, I'm hoping I can squeeze the trip we have in two weeks and get all the pictures on disk that way.

torquedork
06-15-2011, 10:14 AM
-There is a photopass ID imprinted right on the back of each pass. No need for a separate photopass card, apparently. That's a great idea, methinks!

this was the first thing that I actually had noticed when I had renewed my pass several months ago.

Malcon10t
06-15-2011, 10:39 AM
Youngest was not asked for ID at the gate, but then like has been said, her pic pops up on the CMs machine.

Mermaid
06-15-2011, 10:44 AM
I was asked for ID almost every time I used it for food discounts. We used the pp feature as well. Funny thing, the Visa photos from my previous trip were still on there (and on the CD) but none of the other ones were. It had been more than 30 days, so I wasn't expecting any of them.

candles71
06-15-2011, 10:52 AM
Mixing up your passes, perhaps a small mark in sharpie on one of them to help? A hidden mickey or something.

wwomant
06-15-2011, 10:54 AM
When we got new brand new APs a couple of weeks ago, there were no photos in the system of our family. We were told that when we got home we would need to upload our own photos on the AP holder website, or if we wanted to we could get them taken at the AP processing center. We chose to wait until we got home. Over 4 days we used our APs to go into the parks several times with no photos in the system of us, but were only asked to show our IDs once or twice at the gates.

We did used them to put our photopass photos on, and it worked well with no problems.

wwomant
06-15-2011, 11:00 AM
I've been thinking about that part of the passes as well Drince and have decided to not offer up my AP but ask for a photopass card so I can control when the 30 day count down starts. They'll have to offer them because there are still so many people visiting with hoppers.

This is a little derail...but for future knowledge MS, how does this work? I'm new to the photopass thing. Is there a way to make your window in which you can photos longer than 30 days?

currence
06-15-2011, 11:00 AM
So how will the expiration of Photopass pictures work? As it is now, you have 30 days to link the card number to your account, then 30 days after linking to order stuff without buying an extension. So now you just have the 2nd 30 day period?

Yes, anyone can use an older photopass card. If it is already registered to you, the pictures immediately show up in your account and you have 30 days to buy them. I have an older card that I like to use because it's prettier than the current offerings. I usually use it for Disney Visa photos as I will often pick up my free photo but rarely/never buy them online.

For our recent trip to WDW, I temporarily set-aside "my" photopass and picked up a new one (or three) for the photos there. Since we've come back, I got a new DL photopass and have been using that one for our new photos. I am almost in my first 30 days to register window, and once I reach that, I will go back to using my pre-registered cards because then it won't mater.

3Princesses1Prince
06-15-2011, 11:11 AM
This is a little derail...but for future knowledge MS, how does this work? I'm new to the photopass thing. Is there a way to make your window in which you can photos longer than 30 days?

You have 30 days to register your photopass card to your account from the time the first picture us taken. Then once you register it you have another 30 days to edit photos before you have to order or loose the pics. If you reuse a registered card you typically only have the one 30day window to edit and order. Having the longer window is especially useful if you have more than one trip in a short period of time. We were able to get Halloween and Christmas on one CD since the trips were 2 weeks apart. We registered the Halloween trip card at the end of November and added the Christmas trip one as soon as we got home. I think I paid for a 7 day extension just to have the extra week to edit our Xmas pics before ordering the CD.

MammaSilva
06-15-2011, 11:20 AM
This is a little derail...but for future knowledge MS, how does this work? I'm new to the photopass thing. Is there a way to make your window in which you can photos longer than 30 days?

Ok here's photopass 101

the first photo taken starts your 1st 30 day window, all the photos you take and have put on a card or even multiple cards as long as they are NOT pre registered....they have to be 'clean/new' cards. When you go home you have 30 days from the first photo to register the card/cards, then you have 30 days from THAT date to do all the edits, add borders and the like before they will expire. By doing it this way you get a total of 60 days after your trip to purchase the CD which lets you keep an eye on specials or discounts that happen from time to time and to push the expense of the cd a bit further from the cost of the original trip. Clear as mud?

If you use your pre registered cards or AP then the 30 days will start the moment they load the photo onto your card instead of giving you the grace period the new card does.

wwomant
06-15-2011, 08:53 PM
Ok here's photopass 101

the first photo taken starts your 1st 30 day window, all the photos you take and have put on a card or even multiple cards as long as they are NOT pre registered....they have to be 'clean/new' cards. When you go home you have 30 days from the first photo to register the card/cards, then you have 30 days from THAT date to do all the edits, add borders and the like before they will expire. By doing it this way you get a total of 60 days after your trip to purchase the CD which lets you keep an eye on specials or discounts that happen from time to time and to push the expense of the cd a bit further from the cost of the original trip. Clear as mud?

If you use your pre registered cards or AP then the 30 days will start the moment they load the photo onto your card instead of giving you the grace period the new card does.

Thanks MS! I wish I had known that! I could use some more time to get my edits done. Oh well.

Tinkermommy
06-17-2011, 07:50 AM
I wonder if they will always ask you for ID since there is no photo anymore.

I didn't have to show ID at the parking structure, or at the gate. I did have to show it everywhere else for my AP discount.

I asked a CM what minors do. My daughter isn't old enough for a drivers license yet, but is allowed to roam the parks with her minor friends. They carry their APs for food discounts. The CM advised that now even minors have to show a student ID or some other form of photo identification in order to receive the discounts.

currence
06-17-2011, 08:31 AM
Great, so if I let my 3/5 year olds go to the park with someone who doesn't have their own pass I'll have to get them an ID card so that they can get discounts. Granted, it's only happened once, but it does happen. Of course, since California ID cards cost $26 and my kid's don't have need for a passport yet, I suppose I'll just forgo the discounts until my kids are old enough for school IDs.

Tinkermommy
06-17-2011, 11:09 AM
...if I let my 3/5 year olds go to the park with someone who doesn't have their own pass I'll have to get them an ID card

One consideration -- one CM (who hinted that it's an annoyance for them to have to ask for ID every time) said a minor doesn't need it as long as their pass says "Child." My daughter's pass doesn't say "child;" I looked back at a few expired passes, and they don't say "child" either. There's no child discount on the price of an AP, so I'm not sure why they would be stamped with the designation in the first place, unless it's new and they're doing it because of the ID issue.

Does anyone have a small child with a recently renewed pass? If so, does it say, "child?" Maybe they have some sort of an age cutoff, and figure anyone over 12 or 13 will have some sort of school ID. Just a theory.

MidwayManiac
06-17-2011, 11:17 AM
Does anyone have a small child with a recently renewed pass? If so, does it say, "child?"

We purchased new annual passes a week ago. There is no "Child" designation on either of my kids' passes. They're 4 and 6 years old, btw.

Aside from serial numbers the passes have nothing on them that distinguishes them from my wife's and my pass.

Tinkermommy
06-17-2011, 11:23 AM
Well, that blows that theory out of the water!

currence
06-17-2011, 11:24 AM
I will be getting a pass for my daughter sometime in August so I will know then whether they have revised the passes to say child. Without a price differential I'm not sure why they would be marked child (other than the aforementioned lack of ID). Now that Premium APs in California cost $500 - I wish they would consider child's pricing like they do at WDW.

Maus
06-18-2011, 03:46 PM
It may say child in the system when they swipe the card.

I have not carried photo ID, other than my AP, into the park in several years. When I ask for discounts or use my Visa card with my photo-less pass I am asked for ID. Since I now usually forget to bring it they just say "it's okay" when I tell them I don't have it with me.

Tan Da Man
06-18-2011, 04:02 PM
the POS system used in the park doesnt have a designation of whether the passholder is a child or adult. Its really just a button they press that says AP 15% or something like that. When I worked I never asked kids to see an ID, thats just kinda silly, there are not many little kids trying to cheat the system. None of you should really have a problem unless you run into a CM thats uptight and a little too serious, unfortunately there is alot of them like that lol

Maus
06-18-2011, 04:23 PM
I don't know when you worked there and I don't dispute what you're saying but they currently swipe your AP to apply the discount.