Bridging Parksavers tickets to AP - is this correct?

[Rash]

Parksavers currently has a 5 day + 2 day free ticket which is about $75 less than gate price for a 7 day. I am interested in purchasing 4 of those and upgrading to a DVC AP, but want to be sure that the following statements are true:

- Guest services at Disney will see the ticket as a 7 day ticket.
- I will pay the difference between the current gate price of the 7 day ticket and the the cost of the DVC AP.
- I won't need the physical ticket when upgrading as long as it shows in my MDE account.
- My wife and I will need to physically be at guest services to do this, but our kids will not.
- If I purchase the Parksavers tickets now and link them to my MDE account before Dec 31, 2016, I will still be able to bridge them to the DVC AP in April 2017 even if I don't use them until then. (The Parksavers site says that the tickets expire Dec 31, 2016, but I'm pretty sure tha just refers to redeeming or linking to MDE).
- The AP start date would be the date I first use the tickets (before upgrading). So if I use the tickets on April 1, 2017, then go to GS on April 3, 2017 and upgrade to the AP, the AP would be valid from April 1, 2017 to April 1, 2018.

Also - is there a way to upgrade an unused ticket to an AP voucher? It would be great if I could buy the Parksaver tickets now, upgrade them to an AP, and not use the AP until April 2017 and have the the start date be April 2017. Hope that makes sense.

TIA

 

[Rash]

Anyone? Appreciate the help.

 

[supersnoop]

Almost everything you typed is correct. The common statement that you need to use the ticket first has been debunked recently. So, that's not technically necessary.

But, no, I don't believe there's any way to upgrade a ticket to a voucher. Purchasing an AP at guest services activates it immediately.

 

[Robo]

- is there a way to bridge an unused ticket to an AP voucher? It would be great if I could buy the Parksaver tickets now, upgrade them to an AP, and not use the AP until April 2017 and have the the start date be April 2017. Hope that makes sense.

Well, no, it doesn't seem to make sense.
Why upgrade them before you want to use them?
Just wait to do the upgrade to the AP on whenever date you want to buy/begin the AP.

 

[Rash]

Well, no, it doesn't seem to make sense.
Why upgrade them before you want to use them?

To lock in the current price of the AP - avoid future increase. Alas, it can't be done.

 

[pooch]

Almost everything you typed is correct. The common statement that you need to use the ticket first has been debunked recently. So, that's not technically necessary.

But, no, I don't believe there's any way to upgrade a ticket to a voucher. Purchasing an AP at guest services activates it immediately.

So you no longer have to use a ticket to "lock in" current pricing before upgrading?

 

[Robo]

So you no longer have to use a ticket to "lock in" current pricing before upgrading?

No need.
You CAN use the ticket before upgrading, but it's not necessary.

 

[jo-jo]

Well, no, it doesn't seem to make sense.
Why upgrade them before you want to use them?

Perhaps they are planning a longer trip and want the AP so they can book FP for the entire trip? I don't know, just throwing the thought out there.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

We can sell AP certificates at the ticket booths, so I don't see why we couldn't upgrade an unused ticket to one. I've never tried it (I've only ever sold AP certs a couple of times at all, it's not a hugely demanded option) but they're in the same 'level' of the computer as the regular active APs...

EDIT: Just saw that this is DVC... I don't know if we have DVC certs in the system or not. I can check tomorrow?

 

[Minniekins]

No need.
You CAN use the ticket before upgrading, but it's not necessary.

This week is the first time I'm hearing you don't have to use the tickets first, so I guess I'm behind. That used to be one of the biggest rules, lol. So, do you just have to pay the difference between what you paid for the discounted ticket and the newest price, and lose your discount if you bought at somewhere like UT or Parksavers? Not understanding how it works anymore. I thought that was part of the point of bridging. Seems like you have to pay more now and get no benefit out of buying before a price hike if you need to upgrade tickets later, is that right?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

This week is the first time I'm hearing you don't have to use the tickets first, so I guess I'm behind. That used to be one of the biggest rules, lol. So, do you just have to pay the difference between what you paid for the discounted ticket and the newest price, and lose your discount if you bought at somewhere like UT or Parksavers? Not understanding how it works anymore. I thought that was part of the point of bridging. Seems like you have to pay more now and get no benefit out of buying before a price hike if you need to upgrade tickets later, is that right?

No. If the cast member doing your upgrade knows what they're doing, they'll see a very obvious indicator that your ticket wasn't purchased at gate price and will perform a simple computer function to bring it to gate price. This has to be done whether or not the ticket has been used. If they don't know what they're doing, they'll fail to do that step and you won't get the right price.

One of my co-workers tried to charge someone $128 to add park hopper to a partially used ticket the other day. I had to stick my head over to her side and tell her how to fix that.

 

[Rash]

No. If the cast member doing your upgrade knows what they're doing, they'll see a very obvious indicator that your ticket wasn't purchased at gate price and will perform a simple computer function to bring it to gate price. This has to be done whether or not the ticket has been used. If they don't know what they're doing, they'll fail to do that step and you won't get the right price.

One of my co-workers tried to charge someone $128 to add park hopper to a partially used ticket the other day. I had to stick my head over to her side and tell her how to fix that.

Is this official Disney policy? If a CM is doing it wrong, am I right to ask for someone to confirm the policy in order to do it correctly? I'd hate to do that without knowing I am rock solid certain.

 

[Shroog]

No. If the cast member doing your upgrade knows what they're doing, they'll see a very obvious indicator that your ticket wasn't purchased at gate price and will perform a simple computer function to bring it to gate price. This has to be done whether or not the ticket has been used. If they don't know what they're doing, they'll fail to do that step and you won't get the right price.

One of my co-workers tried to charge someone $128 to add park hopper to a partially used ticket the other day. I had to stick my head over to her side and tell her how to fix that.

So, is this not having to use the ticket first, apply to adding a day to regular MYW tickets? I thought you had to use like a day of a 5 day MYW ticket before you could bridge it.

 

[OrangeCountyCommuter]

No. If the cast member doing your upgrade knows what they're doing, they'll see a very obvious indicator that your ticket wasn't purchased at gate price and will perform a simple computer function to bring it to gate price. This has to be done whether or not the ticket has been used. If they don't know what they're doing, they'll fail to do that step and you won't get the right price.

One of my co-workers tried to charge someone $128 to add park hopper to a partially used ticket the other day. I had to stick my head over to her side and tell her how to fix that.

And this is why I have given up on this "upgrade" savings game! It took two hours and two trips to Guest Services to get mine right.

1. First they tried to charge the difference between what Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket and the AP price. Forget "bringing to gate". Finally got them over that.
2. Walked away, looked at the back of AP. They activated it as of the date Undercover Tourist got the ticket. MONTHS before I first used it.. Back to Guest Services.

I am over it!

 

[momtwoboys]

And this is why I have given up on this "upgrade" savings game! It took two hours and two trips to Guest Services to get mine right.

1. First they tried to charge the difference between what Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket and the AP price. Forget "bringing to gate". Finally got them over that.
2. Walked away, looked at the back of AP. They activated it as of the date Undercover Tourist got the ticket. MONTHS before I first used it.. Back to Guest Services.

I am over it!

So Sorry that sounds like a mess and waste of vacation time! I wish this process didnt seem like such a gamble on who is trained vs/ who isnt on this subject

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Is this official Disney policy? If a CM is doing it wrong, am I right to ask for someone to confirm the policy in order to do it correctly? I'd hate to do that without knowing I am rock solid certain.

Usage is not mentioned at all in the standard documentation about price bridging, nor is it mentioned in the extremely short period of time that CMs are trained on price bridging.

So, is this not having to use the ticket first, apply to adding a day to regular MYW tickets? I thought you had to use like a day of a 5 day MYW ticket before you could bridge it.

Upgrades all work basically the same, whether you're adding a day, an option (PH/WPF&M), or going to an AP.

1. First they tried to charge the difference between what Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket and the AP price. Forget "bringing to gate". Finally got them over that.
2. Walked away, looked at the back of AP. They activated it as of the date Undercover Tourist got the ticket. MONTHS before I first used it.. Back to Guest Services.

They didn't do the "quick upgrade" to bring to gate price and then they did the upgrade on the wrong 'level' of the computer software. Happens all the time. I've made the level error myself - I absolutely panicked until a coordinator showed me how to fix it.

This stuff is really simple - I think most cases of CM errors on it aren't people who weren't trained right, but rather people who aren't paying attention or they're distracted. That doesn't make it OK, of course.

 

[Rash]

Usage is not mentioned at all in the standard documentation about price bridging, nor is it mentioned in the extremely short period of time that CMs are trained on price bridging.

Sorry for the confusion - I meant is bridging from the gate price, instead of the actual discounted price paid, official Disney policy? That's a make or break issue for me. I either save about $300 or zero.

 

[MommaBerd]

And this is why I have given up on this "upgrade" savings game! It took two hours and two trips to Guest Services to get mine right.

1. First they tried to charge the difference between what Undercover Tourist paid for the ticket and the AP price. Forget "bringing to gate". Finally got them over that.
2. Walked away, looked at the back of AP. They activated it as of the date Undercover Tourist got the ticket. MONTHS before I first used it.. Back to Guest Services.

I am over it!

This exact thing happened to me. I addressed it with Guest Services via e-mail after our trip.

I think next time I try this I will do it at the end of the day so that I am not exactly wasting park time.

 

[wilkeliza]

Are the parksaver tickets even up-gradable? There are some tickets that can not be used to upgrade to an AP or even add extra days. Also the expirration dates listed on those do in fact usually mean first use by. I would make sure you have confirmation you can even upgrade them before buying.

 

[mistysue]

This exact thing happened to me. I addressed it with Guest Services via e-mail after our trip.

I think next time I try this I will do it at the end of the day so that I am not exactly wasting park time.

I had the same thought about end of the day and ended up having to go through 5 different guest services locations before somebody did it correctly. Calling later if they got it wrong is a good move- I also lucked out with a crazy CM who actually made a note telling the other locations not to let me upgrade. After that I had a manager giving me a lecture on not coming to Disney if I am so cheap I can't pay the real price for my tickets! At the next places I went the CM made a face and immediately called the first CM to get their story and tell me the upgrade wasn't available to me personally. All I have to say is if you get a first person who doesn't get it, don't ask for their manager, don't call anybody, just silently walk away before they embark on a quest to ruin your vacation. DH and I tried to stop by as part of date night, end result was we spend over $100 on a babysitter so we could run around to different locations and I could sit on a bench bawling my eyes out because a group of CM's were bullying me and even called me names. All I wanted was to add days to our tickets before they expired. It took multiple calls to guest services after the trip for anybody to even acknowledge that they may have been rude to me.
My DH and I were thinking about adding days to our trip this year and honestly I don't think Disney could pay me enough to trust them to upgrade a ticket again.