Suzanne O’Connor’s Bargains LA

How to Upgrade a Disneyland Pass for Almost Nothing

Webdude is posting this one:

This is a little secret that not many people know about. Not that it’s hidden away, but Disney just doesn’t promote it. I found it out thru online research about ways of saving money at Disneyland.

Are you ready: You can use the your current pass (either single day or multi-day) and apply it’s full value towards an upgrade for an annual pass! If that doesn’t sound like all that much consider those 4 day passes I bought at Costco for $200. After the $50 gift card the pass actually had a value of $151. On the last day left on the ticket (in my case the 4th day) you can go and upgrade to an annual pass and Disney will apply the full value towards an annual pass.

This link shows the various pricing on annual passes without special promos. Prices are Disney retail, but ask if promos are available. So based on this if I opted for the basic Disney annual pass, I would have to pay an additional……..drum roll…… $184-$151 =$33 bucks to extend my passes to one year!!!! We save if we go just once in the next year. Remember a one day pass is $97.

Caveats apply.

You must upgrade. You cannot go from a higher priced pass to a lower priced pass.

It must be done on the day of expiration whether or not it’s a one day ticket or a 4 day. You can’t come back later and say “now I want an annual pass”.

If an upgrade is made from a multi-day ticket, the annual pass will be backdated to begin on the first day that the multi day ticket was used, not when the annual pass was obtained. In our case we had a 4 day pass. We stayed 3 days starting August 01. In September we will use the last day and apply for annuals. That annual pass will be good starting August 01, not September.

I hear you can do this at the ticket booths but on our last visit we noticed an “Annual Pass/ Disney Vacations” store next to the Carnation Restaurant at the end of Main Street. We asked about this and all was confirmed.

We can now go whenever we want (blackout days apply) and not break the bank or feel rushed.