Determine if your ticket is eligible for an upgrade. Most tickets to Disney parks are eligible to be upgraded to an annual pass. Tickets are upgradeable if they have never been used for theme park admission, or have been partially-used but are not expired. Partially-used, expired tickets cannot be upgraded.
Locate the nearest guest relations booth. The only Disney cast members who are able to upgrade your ticket to an annual pass are those at the guest relations booths. Guest Relations is located just outside and just inside all the Disney theme parks, as well as at the two Walt Disney World water parks, Blizzard Beach and Typhoon Lagoon, and at Downtown Disney in both Florida and California. Tickets can not be upgraded anywhere else, including at the entrance turnstiles or at a Disney store location.
Choose the right annual pass. As of 2010 Disney offers several annual pass options. Walt Disney World in Florida offers an annual pass discount to Florida residents; a standard annual pass for admission to the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom; and a Premier annual pass with admission to the Florida water parks as well as other benefits. Disneyland in California offers an annual pass with admission to Disneyland and California Adventure, and a Premier annual pass, which includes free parking at the resort. The Disneyland annual pass is discounted for California residents. In addition, Hong Kong Disneyland, Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disney all offer their own annual pass programs.
Ask the cast member to upgrade your ticket. Provide the Guest Services cast member with your old ticket and tell him the type of annual pass you would like. He will complete the transaction and tell you the cost of the ticket upgrade. The upgrade cost is the difference between the full cost paid for your old ticket and the current price of the annual pass.
