The easiest way to save cash on a Walt Disney World Annual Move is a technique referred to as value or “ticket bridging” from common admission. This information explains how the approach works, official coverage, issues you may encounter, and the low cost you’ll obtain from upgrading to an AP. (Up to date Might 10, 2025.)
To be able to value or ticket bridge, you’ll wish to begin by buying the Walt Disney World park ticket with the deepest low cost from a certified third occasion reseller. What this implies is that you would be able to buy discounted tickets by way of our pals at Get Away In the present day, after which convert these commonplace discounted tickets to an AP.
We hold our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit up to date with what’s at present the very best deal on the prime of the submit. Saving cash on this first step is necessary since you obtain the face worth of this ticket, not what you paid for it, when upgrading.
Within the means of ticket bridging, you’re credited for the total gate value worth of the common Walt Disney World park ticket. This “bridges” the hole (therefore the identify) between what you paid and the ticket’s present worth. You then pay out of pocket for the distinction between your ticket’s present worth and the price of a Walt Disney World Annual Move.
The subsequent step goes to a Visitor Companies window together with your unused or partially used (regardless of what you may learn, it makes no distinction) ticket, and requesting to improve it to an Annual Move, with the worth utilized in the direction of your Annual Move. The rationale we advocate Visitor Companies is that it is a pretty unusual request, and Visitor Companies is the place you’re almost certainly to discover a Solid Member with expertise in value bridging.
If, for some purpose, the Solid Member at Visitor Companies is unable to cost bridge on the present (full) gate value of your Walt Disney World ticket, ask if a supervisor can help. Don’t get confrontational or say, “however the web informed me this works!” Neither will get you wherever. For a lot of Solid Members, the web is a verboten place of tomfoolery and lies about fifth gates and monorail enlargement. Failing that, attempt once more at a distinct window.
You may as well ticket bridge by calling (407) 939-7277 and going by way of the very same course of. And unsurprisingly, you may need precisely the identical outcomes. Typically it’ll work, generally it gained’t. Different choices are utilizing the Annual Passholder Assist Type to e mail Walt Disney World’s devoted Assist Group or contacting DVC Member Companies if you happen to’re a Disney Trip Membership Member.
Failing all else, the finest in-person location for any of these things is Visitor Companies at Disney Springs. We’ve discovered that every time we’ve a fancy query or drawback, simply reducing to the chase and going to Disney Springs is the most suitable choice. In our expertise, the Solid Members there are sometimes probably the most seasoned and educated, and so they often have extra time to determine points–and higher willingness to take your query ‘up the meals chain’ in the event that they don’t know the reply. On the parks, there appears to be extra of a want to maintain issues transferring, which could imply extra of a rushed decision. Your mileage could fluctuate.
Might 10, 2025 Replace: This information was initially written a number of years in the past, and to the very best of my information, has remained 100% correct for all of those years and thus hasn’t actually been in want of an replace. Nonetheless, I’ve lately acquired a couple of questions on ticket bridging and needed to do a deeper dive into the subject for Magic Keys at Disneyland, which led me to do some investigating at Walt Disney World.
The web has been sending loads of combined messaging about whether or not ticket bridging nonetheless works at Walt Disney World. To settle issues as soon as and for all (or at the least till the subsequent coverage change), I dug into the high-quality print of the official Walt Disney World Annual Move phrases & situations. The next two paragraphs include Walt Disney World’s official guidelines for upgrading from single and multi-day tickets to Annual Passes:
UPGRADES: Upgrades could also be out there occasionally or at no time, as decided in Disney’s discretion. A visitor wishing to improve to a Move from one other type of eligible Walt Disney World® Resort theme park admission media should improve on the identical day by which the unique type of theme park admission media is legitimate, and should select a Move of equal or higher worth than the retail value of the unique theme park admission media when it was bought. The distinction in costs should be paid in full on the time of the improve.
If an improve to a Move is created from a multi-day ticket, the Move will likely be backdated to start on the primary day that such ticket was used. If an improve to a Move is created from a decrease degree Move, the brand new Move can have the identical expiration date as the unique Move. Every visitor wishing to improve their theme park admission media to a Move should be current on the time of the improve transaction. Totally used ticket media, partially used and expired ticket media, complimentary ticket media, particular occasion ticket media, water park ticket media and ticket media stating its ineligibility for an improve might not be upgraded to a Move. Upgrades are topic to Move availability as decided by Disney, and extra restrictions and guidelines. Downgrades aren’t allowed.
Do you wish to know the mildly amusing or irritating factor, relying upon your perspective? The insurance policies for Walt Disney World and Disneyland are virtually similar, save for a few verbiage adjustments, capitalization variations, and one added sentence. The sentence in query? The very first one: “Upgrades could also be out there occasionally or at no time, as decided in Disney’s discretion.”
Whereas upgrades are so standardized at Disneyland that the entire course of is streamlined by way of a button within the app, the identical is simply generally true with Walt Disney World tickets. (At the least, that’s what this official web page claims. The title of the web page is “Improve your Florida Resident Ticket to an Annual Move,” so it will stand to purpose that it’s distinctive to that ticket kind, however the precise textual content suggests it’s extra expansive.)
To the very best of my recollection, I’ve by no means seen this button within the My Disney Expertise app, however then once more, I don’t typically have common Walt Disney World tickets loaded in there.
Anyway, the underside line is that Walt Disney World’s official coverage on bridging common tickets to Annual Passes is “if we really feel prefer it.”
This beautiful a lot tracks with on-line reviews and, frankly, explains loads! From my expertise with this course of during the last decade-plus is that it extra comes right down to getting an skilled Solid Member who is aware of easy methods to bridge, as a result of it doesn’t appear to be a simple course of, and who’s prepared to do it.
That principally means it’s the luck of the draw with a touch of whether or not the Solid Member likes the “reduce of your jib” thrown in for good measure. Talking from firsthand expertise, we’ve at all times discovered that Sarah has a better success charge at stuff like this than me, until the Solid Member is an older girl, by which case, I outperform. So, uh, good luck!
One other bizarre quirk on this complete system is that the Solid Member doing the ticket bridging is seemingly doing the maths on the improve if you’re upgrading from a 3rd occasion ticket. That means that you simply actually, actually ought to double-check their numbers earlier than you proceed with the transaction. None of that is automated, for no matter purpose.
It solely works this manner with third occasion tickets, not these bought instantly from Walt Disney World. Whereas all tickets are able to being upgraded if you happen to pay the distinction, these tickets bought instantly from Disney obtain credit score for the gate value of the ticket on the time the ticket was bought.
Against this, third occasion tickets are credited the present gate value of the ticket on the time of the improve. This can be a identified loophole in Disney’s system and I’m unsure why. Maybe there’s some form of breakdown within the suggestions loop with the third occasion sale or another, unknown purpose why full, present value is credited. Regardless of the case, it’s a “identified challenge” that advantages the patron.
Variations of value bridging have been round for at the least 15 years, and this loophole has but to be closed. (Let’s name it a “Disney Hack” since loophole has a damaging connotation…) I doubt this weblog submit will change that as this data has been broadly out there by way of boards and different websites for some time.
I bear in mind utilizing the approach–albeit not within the precise method–within the early days of Free Eating to improve tickets (again in 2008 or 2009), and the identical rules are being utilized right here. Theoretically, you possibly can “make investments” in park tickets now that you simply’ll use to improve to Annual Passes years down the highway and watch the worth of your tickets climb.
It might principally be like investing in GOOGL at its IPO and cashing out immediately. Effectively, perhaps not that good of an funding, however ticket value will increase have method outpaced inflation. Nonetheless, we don’t advocate this as a long-term plan as a result of there’s no telling when Disney revise this coverage.
A couple of last notes:
- You’ll obtain a credit score for the present gate value after-tax when upgrading. Make sure that to verify this quantity earlier than finishing the improve transaction.
- You should utilize value bridging on Annual Move renewals.
- You should utilize value bridging on Disney Trip Membership-discounted Annual Passes.
- You should utilize value bridging on different, dearer tickets that aren’t Annual Passes.
That ought to about cowl it by way of pricing bridging your discounted Walt Disney World tickets to…discounted Annual Passes! It’s a pleasant strategy to save a bit extra money that you would be able to then put in the direction of Vinylmation or novelty hats–you understand, the requirements.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study lodges on our Walt Disney World Motels Evaluations web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Evaluations. To economize on tickets or decide which sort to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets submit. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys submit takes a singular take a look at intelligent objects to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, the very best place to begin is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the things it’s good to know!
Your Ideas
Do you have got any questions on value or ticket bridging? Have you ever tried it earlier than? Any issues value bridging? Successes? Want this method had been referred to as “WDW Ticket Trojan Horsing” as a substitute? Agree or disagree with our recommendation about ticket bridging? Share any questions, suggestions, or extra ideas you have got within the feedback!
