Hi Margaret, and welcome to planDisney!
With an exchange certificate, you are ready to step into the magic at the Walt Disney World Resort. Sometimes exchange certificates are issued to Guests who have to take an extra step to validate their tickets. This could be because the Guest has bought a theme park ticket as a military member or a theme park ticket or annual pass as a Florida resident or Disney Vacation Club (DVC) member.
The exchange certificate is almost like a theme park ticket in itself, so it is as important as honey is to Winnie the Pooh. Depending on your certificate, there are a couple of ways that you can activate it.
First, if your certificate has a barcode, go ahead and link it to your My Disney Experience account via the Walt Disney World Resort website or the My Disney Experience App. You can use
this link to connect your certificate to your account.
Margaret, if that does not work, you can also take a photo of the front and back of the exchange certificate and email it to Ticket.Usage@disneyworld.com. Be sure to include your name, when you purchased it, and the form of payment with which you purchased it. You should hear back from a friendly Cast Member within 14 business days. From there, you should be able to link your confirmation to your
My Disney Experience account.
Once you’ve converted your certificate to a theme park ticket, you’ll want to make a
theme park reservation. Until January 9, 2024, a theme park reservation is required to visit the Walt Disney World Resort theme parks. For example, if you plan on visiting my favorite theme park, Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park, you’ll want to select the date and that theme park to use your theme park ticket. If your ticket has a
Park Hopper option, after 2 p.m. you can then park hop (move on) to another theme park without needing a reservation that day (subject to capacity).
AN EXTRA GEM: Also, don’t forget to bring your exchange certificate with you when you visit the theme park. A Cast Member at a ticket window or
Guest Relations may still need to exchange it for a ticket once you arrive.
Margaret, please
visit us again here at planDisney if you have any other questions as you plan your most magical vacation. Any one of us would love to help!
Magic always,
LeAndra