Hiya, Marybeth, and welcome to planDisney!
As an Annual Passholder who recently upgraded her theme park ticket to an Annual Pass while visiting The Most Magical Place on Earth, I'm happy to provide a bit of guidance on the ins and outs of the process.
While your theme park ticket can be upgraded to an Annual Pass at any point during your vacation (as long as your theme park ticket remains valid for entry), any benefits, perks, or discounts associated with
your particular Annual Pass will not go into effect until you pay the price difference between the two and you officially become an Annual Passholder. Since you would have already paid the remaining balance of your vacation at this point and
Disney Resort hotel reservations cannot be modified less than 24 hours before arrival (
per the terms and conditions listed on the Walt Disney World Resort website), it is unfortunately not possible to apply discounts to a reservation for a vacation in-progress.
Of course, you can always upgrade your theme park ticket to an
Annual Pass prior to arrival (either by calling the
Existing Tickets line or through your
My Disney Experience account online) in order to take advantage of any
Special Offers available exclusively to Passholders. I also suggest perusing the Special Offers page to see if there are any other discounts available during your stay that might be beneficial to you. Discounts on Disney Resort hotels for Winter months have historically been released the Autumn prior, so I would suggest keeping an eye on
Disney Parks Blog beginning in September for announcements because Sorcerer Mickey typically has some type of magic up those red sleeves of his.
If you do choose to become an Annual Passholder, Marybeth, be sure to familiarize yourself with all of the
exclusive perks and discounts available to Mickey's besties. I've already saved so much on merchandise that my souvenirs are practically paying for themselves (or at least that's what I tell my husband)!
I hope this was helpful! If you have any additional questions as you plan, don't hesitate to
stop back by. I'm always happy to have a magical conversation!
Thinking Happy Thoughts,
Lizzie