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Thread: Annual Pass questions

  1. #1
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    Annual Pass questions

    Annual pass prices and policies change a bunch, and while I have read up on stuff on the DL Website, I wanted to see what some "tricks" were that you recommend, and whether or not what I'm reading online from old articles still works.

    I'm thinking of getting an AP at the end of this month, even though I live out of state. My family still lives in Irvine, and I'm planning on running the DL Half over Labor Day as well as Light Side in January if that gets going (but even if not, I plan on coming still).

    I think it's on the cusp of value for an annual pass, but what makes the price easier to swallow is the fact that it pays for parking. I usually stay with my parents which means I'm driving any day I choose to come. I'm probably getting the 2nd tier one, the one that allows for most days except for the 2 weeks

    Anyways... to the actual questions.

    - If I show up without an annual pass and then purchase one, do I get parking reimbursed for that day?
    - I know I can "upgrade" a ticket to an annual pass and pay the difference, but I read if I buy a discounted ticket (say from a 3rd party vendor), and then upgrade to the AP, will it treat the ticket as the "full value" of that ticket for upgrade purposes? (If not, no reason to buy the discounted ticket if I already know I'm getting an AP)
    - If I buy a 3 day pass, I can wait until the 3rd day to upgrade to the AP. I know it will "backdate" the AP to the first date I used the 3 day pass, that makes sense. But, if I know I'm going to get an AP, why should I do that and lose out on 2 days of parking and discounts? This option seems like it makes the most sense for people who aren't sure.
    - What's the current status of using a Target card/Target gift card to buy Disney gift cards to get more discounts?

    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

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  3. #2
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    1) yes they reimburs the parking.
    2) most vendors you get the price paid towards upgrade, GAT advertises that they give you full value on their tickets, not the discounted price.
    3) upgrading a park hopper. 2 reasons, only one may apply to you. First is to get around block out days. IE, use the hopper for a blockout in the middle of your trip, like the second day is blocked out, then upgrade. Passes bought on a blockout day gives you that day. The second is MM. Use your MM, then upgrade. Whether you value that or not is your pervue.
    4) My Target still allows Target gift cards for Disney gc, but doesn't apply the 5% off. Example: I had $15 in Target gc and bought a $25, it only took 5% off the $10 I used my red card for. There have been reports in other areas of Target not allowing gc for gc. You can always use your red card.
    Sam's Club carries discounted Disney GCs.


  4. #3
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    Thanks!

    (What's GAT?)

    (Also I realize this was probably the wrong subforum for this question, mod, please move if you care).

    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  5. #4
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    Get Away Today (.com). Authorized travel agent. They often have buy 3 days get the 4th free or adults at kid's price hoppers.


  6. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    Get Away Today (.com). Authorized travel agent. They often have buy 3 days get the 4th free or adults at kid's price hoppers.

    Thanks. I'll check it out. Worst case is that I have to pay the full upgrade price anyways.
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  7. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    1) yes they reimburs the parking.
    2) most vendors you get the price paid towards upgrade, GAT advertises that they give you full value on their tickets, not the discounted price.
    3) upgrading a park hopper. 2 reasons, only one may apply to you. First is to get around block out days. IE, use the hopper for a blockout in the middle of your trip, like the second day is blocked out, then upgrade. Passes bought on a blockout day gives you that day. The second is MM. Use your MM, then upgrade. Whether you value that or not is your pervue.
    4) My Target still allows Target gift cards for Disney gc, but doesn't apply the 5% off. Example: I had $15 in Target gc and bought a $25, it only took 5% off the $10 I used my red card for. There have been reports in other areas of Target not allowing gc for gc. You can always use your red card.
    Sam's Club carries discounted Disney GCs.
    I crunched the numbers on the GAT tickets, and the discount for a 5 day PH is $18, which is comparable with a 5% discount on the normal $350 5 day PH ticket which I would get anyways if using my RedCard at Target to buy Disney GCs to pay for the pass which is what I'd be doing ultimately. So it looks like a wash, unless I use my regular credit card to get 1% back on the GAT tickets, then get full value of the GAT tickets when I upgrade to a AP.

    Sigh.... This is a lot of math.
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  8. #7

    Sorry to slightly sidetrack, but are you saying Disney gift cards purchased with a Target red card are discounted?? I always thought gift cards were exempted, but I'm totally getting on board that train if I'm wrong there.


  9. #8
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shortpix77 View Post
    Sorry to slightly sidetrack, but are you saying Disney gift cards purchased with a Target red card are discounted?? I always thought gift cards were exempted, but I'm totally getting on board that train if I'm wrong there.
    Yes. Use the red card get 5% off.

  10. #9
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    Quote Originally Posted by Shortpix77 View Post
    Sorry to slightly sidetrack, but are you saying Disney gift cards purchased with a Target red card are discounted?? I always thought gift cards were exempted, but I'm totally getting on board that train if I'm wrong there.
    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    Yes. Use the red card get 5% off.
    The original method I heard (and was trying to verify) was getting a discounted Target Gift Card (I use Raise.com), then using the Target Gift Card to buy a Disney Gift Card, but with your red card, you would get the 5% Target discount + the Raise.com discount you used to purchase the Target gift card.

    Apparently that doesn't work. I tried it online, the order was mysteriously "cancelled" several times before I just called to see what was going on. You can't buy a Disney Gift Card with a Target Gift Card it seems. (online anyways).

    However, a straight up Disney Gift Card purchase with a Target Red Card (not a gift card) seems to work for 5% off. That's what I'm going to do before I get my AP.
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  11. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    Yes. Use the red card get 5% off.
    I'M SO EXCITED ABOUT THIS IT'S STUPID. Thank you, candles71 and timl33 :-)

  12. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by timl33 View Post
    ... Apparently that doesn't work. I tried it online, the order was mysteriously "cancelled" several times before I just called to see what was going on. You can't buy a Disney Gift Card with a Target Gift Card it seems. (online anyways).

    However, a straight up Disney Gift Card purchase with a Target Red Card (not a gift card) seems to work for 5% off. That's what I'm going to do before I get my AP.
    Target stopped allowing gift card for gift card purchases on line at some point last year. You can still use gift cards to purchase gift cards (NB we're talking actual gift cards here, e.g. Disney or Starbucks, etc., not VISA or AMEX gift cards) in store (despite what the team members may tell you -- just have them scan the bar code on the gift card to see if it goes through on the register -- it should). But all gift card for gift card purchases on line will go through immediately, then get cancelled later.

  13. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by tea4two View Post
    Target stopped allowing gift card for gift card purchases on line at some point last year. You can still use gift cards to purchase gift cards (NB we're talking actual gift cards here, e.g. Disney or Starbucks, etc., not VISA or AMEX gift cards) in store (despite what the team members may tell you -- just have them scan the bar code on the gift card to see if it goes through on the register -- it should). But all gift card for gift card purchases on line will go through immediately, then get cancelled later.
    Yeah, that's a bummer. At least we can still use Target GCs to buy Disney GCs at the register, but it seems like I won't get the full 5% discount, just 5% off of the part I didn't use with the Target GC.

    Anyways, I think the easy answer is for me to simply get a bunch of GCs from Target using my red card (Probably $1000 worth is my guess) at 5% off to cover the cost of the AP and the stuff I'm inevitably going to buy when I'm in town later this month. I don't think Pharmacy Rewards work anymore, now that it's CVS.
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  14. #13
    Quote Originally Posted by timl33 View Post
    Yeah, that's a bummer. At least we can still use Target GCs to buy Disney GCs at the register, but it seems like I won't get the full 5% discount, just 5% off of the part I didn't use with the Target GC.

    Anyways, I think the easy answer is for me to simply get a bunch of GCs from Target using my red card (Probably $1000 worth is my guess) at 5% off to cover the cost of the AP and the stuff I'm inevitably going to buy when I'm in town later this month. I don't think Pharmacy Rewards work anymore, now that it's CVS.
    A few thoughts - we did this many years ago and we had to pre-pay our Target card in order to keep buying gift cards. I always forget how low my credit balance is on the Target Card until I hit the limit due to Disney card purchases. You might want to check your limit and know what else you've bought before you go in planning to buy that much in gift cards. Also, I think there is a limit on how much you can buy in gift cards in a single purchase ($500?) so factor that you may need to pace your purchases over several days.

    Second, disneygiftcard.com lets you set up an account and transfer balances. You can only have so many in the account at a time, but you can log in a card, transfer the balance, then delete the empty card from your account. If you know how much you are going to need and you aren't going to get the annual pass on day one, I would put that much onto one card and then maybe have a second card that you use for your in-park purchases. That way if something bad happens, the bigger balanced card is secure (although you could also log-in to the gift card site and transfer the balance to a new card immediately if your wallet was lost/stolen). When we bought 2 Premier passes they didn't have this site yet and we literally just stood at the ticket window as they ran $50 card after $50 card. It was annoying to have such a giant stack of gift cards on me and just as annoying to have them process them one at a time. If I recall (and it may have changed) you had to transfer the full balance from one card to the next so keep that in mind especially if you decide you want more than one card with a balance when you're done.

  15. #14
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    You no longer have to add the card you are transferring from to Disney Gift Cards. Just register the one you are transferring to.
    I take all the gift cards I get for various things, pre-ordering movies or gc with purchase, and make them Disney GC so I'm not worried about saving 5% on those ones as I see that as bonus money anyway. I have a couple of apps that I cash out for Target gcs as well. Large amounts of Disney cards I usually buy at Sam's. The discount is about equal to the 5% at Target. My red card is the debit one not the cc so that is a good point that I wouldn't have thought of Currence.


  16. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by currence View Post
    A few thoughts - we did this many years ago and we had to pre-pay our Target card in order to keep buying gift cards. I always forget how low my credit balance is on the Target Card until I hit the limit due to Disney card purchases. You might want to check your limit and know what else you've bought before you go in planning to buy that much in gift cards. Also, I think there is a limit on how much you can buy in gift cards in a single purchase ($500?) so factor that you may need to pace your purchases over several days.

    Second, disneygiftcard.com lets you set up an account and transfer balances. You can only have so many in the account at a time, but you can log in a card, transfer the balance, then delete the empty card from your account. If you know how much you are going to need and you aren't going to get the annual pass on day one, I would put that much onto one card and then maybe have a second card that you use for your in-park purchases. That way if something bad happens, the bigger balanced card is secure (although you could also log-in to the gift card site and transfer the balance to a new card immediately if your wallet was lost/stolen). When we bought 2 Premier passes they didn't have this site yet and we literally just stood at the ticket window as they ran $50 card after $50 card. It was annoying to have such a giant stack of gift cards on me and just as annoying to have them process them one at a time. If I recall (and it may have changed) you had to transfer the full balance from one card to the next so keep that in mind especially if you decide you want more than one card with a balance when you're done.
    Ahhh, good point. I don't usually buy thousands of dollars of stuff at Target, so I've never hit what my max is. I'll have to check it out. I'll check out disneygiftcard.com as well!

    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    You no longer have to add the card you are transferring from to Disney Gift Cards. Just register the one you are transferring to.
    I take all the gift cards I get for various things, pre-ordering movies or gc with purchase, and make them Disney GC so I'm not worried about saving 5% on those ones as I see that as bonus money anyway. I have a couple of apps that I cash out for Target gcs as well. Large amounts of Disney cards I usually buy at Sam's. The discount is about equal to the 5% at Target. My red card is the debit one not the cc so that is a good point that I wouldn't have thought of Currence.
    Wait, I'm not sure I understand this. You get Disney GCs for other things, or are you working with other gift cards?
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  17. #16
    At home in the hills candles71's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by timl33 View Post
    Wait, I'm not sure I understand this. You get Disney GCs for other things, or are you working with other gift cards?
    Target gift cards. Sorry that wasn't clear. You know how Target will have buy this get a Target gc. Like pre-order this movie get a $5 gc. I save all of those. I also use various coupon apps or survey sites that don't pay out in Disney gc but do pay out in Target cards. I take all of those and turn them into Disney gift cards for our trips.

  18. #17
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    Quote Originally Posted by candles71 View Post
    Target gift cards. Sorry that wasn't clear. You know how Target will have buy this get a Target gc. Like pre-order this movie get a $5 gc. I save all of those. I also use various coupon apps or survey sites that don't pay out in Disney gc but do pay out in Target cards. I take all of those and turn them into Disney gift cards for our trips.
    Oh gotcha. So you get bonus Target GCs, and just buy Disney GCs with it (or anything else really). Thanks for the info!
    In the year leading up to my 40th birthday, I successfully ran 40 races ending with Ironman Lake Tahoe! Follow me on Facebook!

  19. #18

    When I bought a pass I was able to go on blocked out days by buying a 3-day pass and upgrading at the end of the trip. I bought the pass on orbitz or expedia, there was some deal with fat wallet or ebates where they were giving cash back on Disney ticket purchases. I also used a credit card with points so I think it was about the sane as the target deal without having to deal with gift cards. Not sure if it's still available as I did that two summers ago and lay tube I got a pass they didn't have that particular deal so I just bought a pass.


  20. #19

    So, apparently you can no longer buy an annual pass gift card at any Disney Store or grocery store? I haven't seen one at any of my local grocery stores lately, and I just called my local Disney Store and they said the only way to buy an annual pass now is either online or at the parks. is this correct? I bought our last gift cards almost 2 years ago from our local Disney store when the Premium passes had just been discontinued and the Signature/Signature plus passes were announced. I'm thinking the prices might be going up soon, and was hoping to buy a couple cards at the current price that we could activate later. If you buy online the "activate by" date is 1 year from the voucher purchase date, and not the end of the next year (2018 in this case) like it used to be. (So I've been told from the Ticketing Department by email)

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  21. #20

    Hmmm... that's interesting. We're coming up on our renewal window, so I'd like to know more about this, too.


  22. #21

    Adding on to this thread: we recently renewed, and the website and app are still showing our old expiration dates. Is this normal? Will the dates automatically change when the old expiration date passes? Or do we need to pay a visit to Guest Services? Normally, I don't think I would have noticed. But we got the 13 month offer, so I want to make sure that the new expiration date has the extra month added.


  23. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by tea4two View Post
    Adding on to this thread: we recently renewed, and the website and app are still showing our old expiration dates. Is this normal? Will the dates automatically change when the old expiration date passes? Or do we need to pay a visit to Guest Services? Normally, I don't think I would have noticed. But we got the 13 month offer, so I want to make sure that the new expiration date has the extra month added.
    We went through the exact same concern for the same the same reason as you. I did go to Guest Services and they looked it up and it was correct. The dates don't change on the app and online until the old pass expires and the new pass becomes effective.

  24. #23

    Thank you for alleviating my worries!


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