Tables in Wonderland Questions

I just have a few questions about Tables in Wonderland that I am hoping someone might know the answer to.

  1. Membership Card - I had heard that if you order TiW over the phone and have it mailed to you, you receive a fairly nice sturdy membership card, whereas if you purchase it from guest relations at the park you receive an easily damageable paper card. Is this correct?

  2. Start Date - Does the start date for the year begin when TiW is purchased or when it is first used or activated?

  3. Annual Pass Not Yet Active - We recently purchased APs for our upcoming trip, so they won’t actually be activated for a few more months. I have received the cards that I am supposed to take to guest relations to get our actual APs. Can I purchase TiW in advance of our trip or do I need to wait until our APs are active?

We’re trying to time this right so that we can use the TiW within the same year as our APs.

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  1. Although you will get a paper card at the park you can call after and they will send you a plastic one.

  2. The start date is the date you buy it. If you buy it today it usually is good until the end of the month 13 months away. So if you bought it today it will be good until November 30, 2019.

3.i believe since your MDE account will show your passholder affiliation you could call today , but the clock would start running. I heard on a podcast it can take a couple of weeks for it to be delivered.

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Thanks, as always, for your expertise on the subject of WDW!

I can understand the start date being when you purchase TiW, but it doesn’t seem fair for the clock to start ticking while you’re waiting for them to ship it to you.

At any rate, it sounds like it would be best for me just to purchase it after we arrive to be on the safe side.

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Although you can activate your AP at a will call or ticket booth, you need to go to Guest Services to get a Tables in Wonderland (my experience last weekend at EP front gate).

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This is true. However, the “paper” card is really a plastic-y paper which is resistant to ripping. What usually happens is that the ink smears. If you call when you get home, they will send you a plastic card for free. I had no problem using the paper card for about a week. I got a plastic card for the second trip.

As @PrincipalTinker said, it begins the day you purchase it and ends on the last day of the 13th month…

I would wait until I got to the parks, or at least close enough…

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I just called and ordered my TIW on Monday. My annual pass is not activated yet and won’t be until we arrive in November, but they told me my card is good as soon as I receive it. They told me that because I was having it mailed to me, mine will be good until Nov. 30, 2019, so they give you extra time to make up for the mailing. I did not know I would get a nice plastic card, but VERY happy to hear that, I was so worried I would tear up my paper one on my last trip and it stopped scanning half way and we had to get a replacement!

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As I think someone already stated above, the “paper” card isn’t actually paper but Tyvek. It’s very strong and difficult to damage. I’ve had them for over ten years (from back when it was the DDE) and have never managed to damage one. If the card stopped scanning that would have been due to the magnetic strip being damaged or scrambled (e.g. from contact with something magnetic). This can happen with any card that has a magnetic strip. I’ve had it happen a couple of times, but never with the TiW. :slight_smile:

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Thanks for the note. That might be the way for me to go as well - to place my order maybe three weeks before our trip to allow time for it to arrive. I could receive the nicer card, plus it would remove one more thing I would need to do that would cut into my vacation time. I’m going to make a note on my calendar right now to remind me to do this.:thinking:

Please be sure to post when you receive your TiW card, so we can get an idea of how long it takes.

absolutely. Also, you may want to do 4 weeks. They told me it could take 3 weeks to arrive, you don’t want to miss it by a day!

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Oooo. Good call. I have adjusted my calendar.:grinning:

So, for the benefit of others who might have the same question, I just called Tables in Wonderland, and they told me that they couldn’t sell me a membership because my AP has not yet been activated. :disappointed:

I will need to activate it first at Guest Relations, and then Guest Relations can sell me the TiW. They noted that I would receive a paper card but that I could call them after I receive it and they could send me the nicer plastic card.

Oh well. This will work out better for us anyway because then our TiW dates will exactly overlap our AP dates.

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