Flex Pass Superthread: Disneyland Resort Introduces New Annual Passport that Combines Value and Flexibility

[AndrewC]

If you are going to get the FP with MP, then why not buy it now, so you can go ahead and lock in reservations for 10/20 and 10/26 (they are currently open to reserve for both parks, but saturdays in October have been intermittently unavailable for reservations for one park, as you can see in yesterday’s posts here). This way, you will for sure have a park hopper FP with MP for 10/20 and 10/26, AND you will be able to hopefully reserve 10/27 as soon as you scan in on 10/20 ( because then you go down to one reservation for 10/26 only and are eligible to book 10/27). That will still be a full week before 10/27, so it increases your chances of getting that day reserved, versus buying a 5 day PH with MP, then upgrading to FP on 10/26 and trying to get both 10/26 and 10/27, which at that point will be same-day and next-day reservations.

If for whatever reason you decide to do the 5 day PH with MP, and you buy the tickets from Disney with MP already included on the PH when you purchase the ticket, the value of the MP WILL be applied to your FP with MP purchase, per others on this thread. But I still think it makes the most sense to get the FP right now and book those two dates and then hope you can get 10/27 on 10/20.

The only reason I'm holding out on this is because the chance I'll visit during the year again is fairly low, though might happen and will be a bonus.

However, previous years (last four in a row) I've done an October trip down there and that is much more likely for next year. I normally aim to go as close to Halloween as possible, without actually being there during Halloween. Next year I wouldn't mind moving my trip up by one week or so to make use of the FlexPass, but if I buy it now and make reservations, wouldn't it expire around now (September 23th 2020)?

 

[Canadian Harmony]

So it seems that the weekends in October are heating up for capacity. Now I'm worried. Due to the exchange rate, the only reason I can afford an AP is because I can get it partially paid for by upgrading my 5 day PH. I arrive around 3 on the 17th, so at the ticket booth, I should check FIRST before upgrading to a FP?

I really appreciate the AP perks I get during the Halloween Party and for savings on merch, etc, so I am hoping to make one reservation for the 18th (DLR day) and one for the 19th (DCA day). On the 18th I can then reserve for the 20th (DLR day again). Is this correct? My WIWF Tour is the 18th, so I really need my AP for that day as I've booked it as an AP already (I currently hold a Signature pass).

I guess it's a crapshoot, eh? I wish there was a way to upgrade PH tickets over the phone without having to go to the booths.

 

[AndrewC]

Wait a second, If I purchase a FlexPass online today and make my first two reservations today, will it expire 9/23/20 or does my one year clock start the first time I scan into the gates at Disney? (In this case that will be 10/20/19 and one year would be around 10/20/20....)

 

[kristensideaoffun]

Wait a second, If I purchase a FlexPass online today and make my first two reservations today, will it expire 9/23/20 or does my one year clock start the first time I scan into the gates at Disney? (In this case that will be 10/20/19 and one year would be around 10/20/20....)

When the pass first came out, a few people reported their expiration dates as the day they made their first reservations. But I have recently read on this thread that quite a few people have been able to get their expiration date updated to the first day they entered the park when they picked up their plastic pass from the ticket booth.

 

[clb79]

Can you add the Maxpass option for 100.00 at anytime while you have the pass or does it have to been done when initially purchasing the Flex Pass?

 

[AmazonMama]

I did a search and did not see anything regarding this....I'm reasonably sure I read this somewhere that you can buy a regular ticket, and during your day of use, convert it to an AP? Is this still true? Can you convert it to a Flex Pass? Three of the 4 of us have AP Flex Passes, but we hadn't bought our youngest son's yet and now we want to, but the only day we want to go is now sold out. Grrrr! I'm thinking since he doesn't have a pass yet, we could buy him a regular ticket and just convert it thereby bypassing the "sold out" barrier we face if I were to buy him the AP right now.

Help! Does that make sense? And should I buy him a 2-day, 2-park pass and can that total amount be applied to the Flex Pass and can we convert it on the second/last day of use? Since we wanted to go Sat/Sun of that weekend, if I wait to convert a one-day ticket to a flex pass on the day of, the next day may also get sold out in the meantime, and then we're back where we started.

Thanks! I now see my post was moved into this thread which I didn't see when I did my search! My answer is probably here but if someone wants to let me know anyway that'd be great, otherwise Imma be reading a very long thread! ))

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I did a search and did not see anything regarding this....I'm reasonably sure I read this somewhere that you can buy a regular ticket, and during your day of use, convert it to an AP? Is this still true? Can you convert it to a Flex Pass? Three of the 4 of us have AP Flex Passes, but we hadn't bought our youngest son's yet and now we want to, but the only day we want to go is now sold out. Grrrr! I'm thinking since he doesn't have a pass yet, we could buy him a regular ticket and just convert it thereby bypassing the "sold out" barrier we face if I were to buy him the AP right now.

Help! Does that make sense? And should I buy him a 2-day, 2-park pass and can that total amount be applied to the Flex Pass and can we convert it on the second/last day of use? Since we wanted to go Sat/Sun of that weekend, if I wait to convert a one-day ticket to a flex pass on the day of, the next day may also get sold out in the meantime, and then we're back where we started.

Thanks! I now see my post was moved into this thread which I didn't see when I did my search! My answer is probably here but if someone wants to let me know anyway that'd be great, otherwise Imma be reading a very long thread! ))

Yes, you can buy a 2-day, 2-park pass and upgrade to the flex pass. You must upgrade before the park closes on your second day of use, but you will want to wait until you are done for the day since the moment you upgrade you will be required to have a valid reservation to enter/re-enter the parks. You should be able to upgrade the ticket within the app but you still need to visit a ticket booth to receive the physical card. I have heard that you no longer necessarily need to pick up the physical card the day of upgrade though.

 

[twodogs]

I did a search and did not see anything regarding this....I'm reasonably sure I read this somewhere that you can buy a regular ticket, and during your day of use, convert it to an AP? Is this still true? Can you convert it to a Flex Pass? Three of the 4 of us have AP Flex Passes, but we hadn't bought our youngest son's yet and now we want to, but the only day we want to go is now sold out. Grrrr! I'm thinking since he doesn't have a pass yet, we could buy him a regular ticket and just convert it thereby bypassing the "sold out" barrier we face if I were to buy him the AP right now.

Help! Does that make sense? And should I buy him a 2-day, 2-park pass and can that total amount be applied to the Flex Pass and can we convert it on the second/last day of use? Since we wanted to go Sat/Sun of that weekend, if I wait to convert a one-day ticket to a flex pass on the day of, the next day may also get sold out in the meantime, and then we're back where we started.

Thanks! I now see my post was moved into this thread which I didn't see when I did my search! My answer is probably here but if someone wants to let me know anyway that'd be great, otherwise Imma be reading a very long thread! ))

Yes you should be able to upgrade either of those tickets to the FP via the app, but you have to do it before the last night of the ticket. So I think your best and safest option is to buy the 2 day PH, and then convert it to the FP Sunday night. Make sure you are either done in the parks for the night (but before they close) or you are in the final park you want to be in, because others have posted that after converting, you can no longer enter the park if a same-day reservation is not able to be immediately booked with the new FP, even though you had a valid park ticket for that day before you upgraded.

My understanding is that if you buy the 2 day ticket with MP included (not purchasing it day by day as you enter the parks), the entire value will be applied to the purchase of your FP via the app upgrade. You will still need to go to a kiosk to pick up the plastic FP at some point.

 

[twodogs]

Ok @longtimedisneylurker and I were posting at the same time!!

 

[kristensideaoffun]

I did a search and did not see anything regarding this....I'm reasonably sure I read this somewhere that you can buy a regular ticket, and during your day of use, convert it to an AP? Is this still true? Can you convert it to a Flex Pass? Three of the 4 of us have AP Flex Passes, but we hadn't bought our youngest son's yet and now we want to, but the only day we want to go is now sold out. Grrrr! I'm thinking since he doesn't have a pass yet, we could buy him a regular ticket and just convert it thereby bypassing the "sold out" barrier we face if I were to buy him the AP right now.

Help! Does that make sense? And should I buy him a 2-day, 2-park pass and can that total amount be applied to the Flex Pass and can we convert it on the second/last day of use? Since we wanted to go Sat/Sun of that weekend, if I wait to convert a one-day ticket to a flex pass on the day of, the next day may also get sold out in the meantime, and then we're back where we started.

Thanks! I now see my post was moved into this thread which I didn't see when I did my search! My answer is probably here but if someone wants to let me know anyway that'd be great, otherwise Imma be reading a very long thread! ))

Yes, you can purchase any amount of days ticket and upgrade to a Flex Pass. We did this. Just make sure you are either done for the day or in your final park for the day (if upgrading through the app) before you upgrade. You will need a valid reservation to re-enter.

 

[taaren]

Questions on FlexPass upgrade. I purchased 5-day tickets with Maxpass for my family. We intend to upgrade to FlexPass on the last day of our trip. 1) If we upgrade to FlexPass with MaxPass, will the entire value of our 5-day tickets be applied; and 2) If we upgrade to FlexPass without MaxPass, will the entire value of our 5-day tickets be applied, or only that portion not attributable to the MaxPass already purchased?

I upgraded to FlexPass w Maxpass with our 3 day hoppers with Maxpass weekend before last at the booth since the app wouldn't let me upgrade it with monthly payments. The ticketing CM at first rang it up as if it was FlexPass with no Maxpass and credited me the amount paid for the the hopper plus Max. He did tell me that it should not have given me the Maxpass part as a credit unless I was upgrading to Flex+Max, and that was a software glitch that would be going away at some future time.

 

[EmJ]

I upgraded to FlexPass w Maxpass with our 3 day hoppers with Maxpass weekend before last at the booth since the app wouldn't let me upgrade it with monthly payments. The ticketing CM at first rang it up as if it was FlexPass with no Maxpass and credited me the amount paid for the the hopper plus Max. He did tell me that it should not have given me the Maxpass part as a credit unless I was upgrading to Flex+Max, and that was a software glitch that would be going away at some future time.

Thanks for the heads up! I’ll make another spreadsheet breaking down the potential total cost depending on whether they credit the MaxPass portion or not, and whether we buy the FlexPass + MaxPass, or buy the MaxPass separately.

I love spreadsheets

 

[azdisneylover]

On the AP website, are the days shown for Flexpass up to date, (as if Saturday, Oct 5 reservation needed), or, do you have to be logged in to see the correct information?

 

[emchen]

On the AP website, are the days shown for Flexpass up to date, (as if Saturday, Oct 5 reservation needed), or, do you have to be logged in to see the correct information?

No, and I briefly searched for a "live" calendar without success.

My bad...here's the link: https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/dlr-flex-annual/

I had two reservations already when I wanted to modify one to another date. The best work-around I came up with was canceling a family member's reservation to see availability before cancelling everyone else's to change reservation date.

Now I know where to go to look at the up-to-date calendar no matter how many reservations I have.

 

[azdisneylover]

No, and I briefly searched for a "live" calendar without success.

I had two reservations already when I wanted to modify one to another date. The best work-around I came up with was canceling a family member's reservation to see availability before cancelling everyone else's to change reservation date.

Thank you. I was curious on how this pass works and my sister asked me questions about it too. I wish anyone could pull up the calendar and see at a glance if a day is blocked or not. To me, it seems pretty deceiving.

 

[Cookiemonster156]

This gives you up to date listings as to what is available:
https://disneyland.disney.go.com/passes/blockout-dates/

 

[bwvBound]

On the AP website, are the days shown for Flexpass up to date, (as if Saturday, Oct 5 reservation needed), or, do you have to be logged in to see the correct information?

You are seeing the correct info. It is “real time” w/out requiring authentication (log in).

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Thank you. I was curious on how this pass works and my sister asked me questions about it too. I wish anyone could pull up the calendar and see at a glance if a day is blocked or not. To me, it seems pretty deceiving.

As noted by the the posters above, anyone can view the calendar.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Right now, four days are blocked - this Saturday (9/26), two Saturdays in October (5 and 19), and Monday, October 7 (Mondays, man...) **ETA: It’s been pointed on that the 7th is a glitch - DCA is “good to go” and DL is available.

I am liking all of this movement and fluidity because it’s working out the way I hoped/expected this pass would - even if a day goes blocked, there’s still a good chance it will open up because people change their plans. And since there’s an incentive to cancel days you won’t use, people aren’t just going to hoard unused reservations.

It will be very interesting to see how this pass pans out over time.

 

[bwvBound]

Right now, four days are blocked - this Saturday (9/26), two Saturdays in October (5 and 19), and Monday, October 7 (Mondays, man...)

I am liking all of this movement and fluidity because it’s working out the way I hoped/expected this pass would - even if a day goes blocked, there’s still a good chance it will open up because people change their plans. And since there’s an incentive to cancel days you won’t use, people aren’t just going to hoard unused reservations.

It will be very interesting to see how this pass pans out over time.

Thanks for making me look! 10/12 was, previously, sold out for DL and now reopened. I canceled my DCA reservation for that day and rebooked as both parks. Yippie!