1st time annual pass

[DisneyPhD]

Hello, my hubby and I are going to buy annaul passes for the 1st time for our next trip to WDW Feb 28 - March 7. We plan to go back Dec 2003 so we will use it again then.

In the past we have always gotten park hoppers at the frount desk of our resort and put them on the room key. How different our the annual passes now from that? Should we wait until we get to WDW to buy them, or get them in advance and activate them when we get there? Are the AP lounges still open? Any other good perks we should know about. We are DVC members so room discounts don't help that much. Since we will have a young en in tow we won't be going to water parks or PI so we are not going to get a premium one.


Thanks in advance, Mrs. PhD.

 

[LongballMG]

Don't bother with the AP's they aren't worth it!

Just get one day one park passes

LongballMG

 

[vanryan]

I too, was considering the AP, but for room discounts. I thought I read on mousesavers that it was worth it for at least one person in your party to get an AP for the room discounts.

 

[Frank4669]

AP's are most deinately worth it. It doesn't matter when you buy them because the clock starts when you activate them. Not only can you get up to a 40% discount on Disney resorts, but many other perks. If you aren't staying on site your parking is free. I believe that after 8 days you are in the black so go for it! Have fun.

Frank

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

AP are great. We have made 3 trips on ours already and will be using it again in February before it expires in March. I am not sure how many days you have to go for the AP to be cheaper than the 7 day hopper, etc. However, 2 trips should do it. I like knowing if I only want to go to the park for 3 or 4 hours I can and not worry about wasting a day.

The room discounts are good for us but not you. We love that mini-golf is 50% off. They have some great mini-golf courses.

You can go to mousesavers.com and look at the 2003 AP benefits. Several restaurants have discounts and Rainforest cafe gives you a discount on merchandise too.

I bought my AP at the Disney store at the Orlando airport. That saved us alot of time standing in line at the parks.

That's all I can think of now...but I don't think you will be sorry for buying them!!!!! Have a great trip.

 

[frazierle]

We were first time AP buyers last Feb and more than received our money's worth. We ended up going back in October and just got back from a New Years trip. When we went in Feb I question a CM at the front desk about when does it become cheaper to get an AP. He told me about 8 days. We were staying for 7 so I upgraded my lenth of stay passes to AP. I ended up paying right over 100 bucks to upgrade 3 passes. So to us for the 100 buck upgrade we were able to pack in another 12 days since then. We received discounts to the hotels and if the parks are crowded you can hang out at the pool and not feel like your wasting a days ticket. I will be renewing mine, actually 4 AP's, my daughter turned 3, in Feb.

 

[Michael72688]

Originally posted by LongballMG
Don't bother with the AP's they aren't worth it!

Just get one day one park passes

LongballMG

What the heck are you talking about, AP's are definentally worth it, we've had them for 2 years (and hopefully will renew in April) I have gone so many times I cant count, they are definentally worth it!!!

 

[diegorivera2]

I agree with frazierle; the break even is between 7 and 8 days.

We organized a six day trip this past June for a pary of 20 and saved *big* bucks using our AP discounts for lodging at OKW. By our accounts, we saved close to 40% on the regular rates for that time of year. We use our 10% discount for lunch at Epcot every trip and appreciate the Mickey Monitor magazine every few months. Also, the AP does open some doors such as the AP lounge in the Land pavilion in Epcot and one in the AK. It also helps when talking to CRO and sometimes provides you with extra magic from wonderful CMs.

We purchased ours from CRO in March of last year. Disney sent to us in the mail vouchers which we activated upon arriving at the park. You must activate the vouchers and turn them into active AP tickets at guest relations at the front of one of the four parks. There has been some confusion as to whether or not you must have activated APs before checking into a resort hotel booked on an AP discount. We did not find this to be true -- OKW checked us in based on looking at our vouchers.

You will need to use the finger scan turnstiles when entering the parks.

Have a great time using them!!

 

[mousecar]

We got a pair in 2000 because we knew we were going back within the year. Turns out we went two more times for a total of almost 2 weeks admission to the parks. Definitely saved us a ton on admission! If I lived closer I'd get them every year!

 

[Grumpy56]

Well, OK that's the only real problem with an AP, once you have them you are even more likely to go again and again. So in the long run you spend more money...........(let's face it admission is just the tip of the iceberg) but you have more fun!:hammer:
So I guess it's a question of what you want at the end of the day, more money in the bank or more magical memories?

 

[tiggerlover1971]

the annual pass is worth it if you are staying more that 8 days or plan to go again within the year I live in south florida so every couple of months we decide to go up for a weekend or we can even go up for a day Its nice to think that when you go you just need hotel money ( or if like me try and pay off the hotel before you go) and spending money for food and soveniers and not have to worry about money for passes into the parks

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

I agree that the AP sometimes makes you want to go more than you normally would but.....it's fun to know all you have to pay for is food and hotel. Plus, the more you are familiar with the parks the better you enjoy them, or that is the way we feel.

I know Disney is not losing anything because we spend on concessions, souvenirs, etc.....but it has been a great year for us!!!!!! For us a 5 day hopper is enough money to make us stop and think but a annual pass is not that much more and you know you get unlimited fun for a year!!!

 

[mickeyfanatics]

Originally posted by Grumpy56
Well, OK that's the only real problem with an AP, once you have them you are even more likely to go again and again. So in the long run you spend more money...........(let's face it admission is just the tip of the iceberg) but you have more fun!:hammer:
So I guess it's a question of what you want at the end of the day, more money in the bank or more magical memories?

I would have to disagree. I paid about 1400 for my 4 passes (2 adult premium AP, and 2 child premium AP) and after visiting WDW 8 times, I was going on them. We go often for one day, or even one evening. Parking is included at all Theme Parks ($7 per day) and I can go for a few hours without thinking I "wasted" a hopper day. One more thing, just because you go to Disney does not mean you have to spend money there. I once went there for 4 hours and spent $0.00. We ate lunch before leaving Tampa, brought a few drinks in a pack into AK, and left and ate at McD's in Haines City on the way home. The whole trip cost me 25.00 for 5 people.

 

[Grumpy56]

Originally posted by mickeyfanatics
I would have to disagree. I paid about 1400 for my 4 passes (2 adult premium AP, and 2 child premium AP) and after visiting WDW 8 times, I was going on them. We go often for one day, or even one evening. Parking is included at all Theme Parks ($7 per day) and I can go for a few hours without thinking I "wasted" a hopper day. One more thing, just because you go to Disney does not mean you have to spend money there. I once went there for 4 hours and spent $0.00. We ate lunch before leaving Tampa, brought a few drinks in a pack into AK, and left and ate at McD's in Haines City on the way home. The whole trip cost me 25.00 for 5 people.

If you are that close (Tampa) no doubt it is well woth it. We spent 18 months in St Pete and used our annual pass all the time. Once my DH and I got a sitter for our two young ones, drove to WDW, had dinner at the CA Grill and went to MK, rode Splash Mt. and went home. It was a hoot! Too bad I'm stuck in Virginia now, it's not so easy to indulge my Disney desires!

 

[Michael72688]

Thats the thing, I live in Oviedo (about 20 mins from Orlando) and sometimes after school we'll just go over for the night and not have to worry about getting your $52 worth out of a ticket!

 

[frazierle]

Our last trip for example - The kids were out of school and I had taken a couple of days off of work. On 12/31 we are trying to figure out what we are going to do for next couple of days. My kids are pressuring us to go to Disney (not that it takes much), I call get a 79.00 dollar rate at POR (because of the pass), spent the rest of the afternoon packing heading out on the morning of 1/1. Returned on the morning of the 5th. Trip cost us about 600.00 after figuring 350 of that was the hotel. I can honestly tell you the trip would not have happen if we did not own the passes. It was a nice way to start the year off.

 

[Buzz Lightyear]

I agree 150%. AP are great. Yes they do make you want to go back alot more but I can think of alot of other worse ways to blow money. We normally went 1 time a year but with our APs we went 5 times last year. From Knoxville, that over 1300 miles round trip. Besides the lodging expenses, you can control how much you spend.


That's a good question (thread drift). For those of us who has APs, who lives the furthest away? Do you drive or fly?

 

[disneydentist]

Purchasing and validating your tickets at Guest Services is no big deal. We've hit longer lines for ice cream in the parks than Guest Services usually has. If you have to validate them anyhow, then why not wait to purcase them until you get there? It's the same line either way. BTW, you renew via mail or phone but still have to validate and exchange passes at Guest Services. Just allow a few extra minutes the first day to get them. WDWIG will give you all the current discounts, but the biggest discount is how much you save per day after the 7th or 8th day of use. Renewal are at a decent discount, too.

 

[KathyG/poohbear]

I live near Greensboro, NC and my family usually flies. Delta offers a commuter flight that is non-stop and is usually around $130 round trip. Last year we got bumped and got $400 flight vouchers each so we have been flying this year. There could not have been a better year for us to have flight vouchers than the one we had AP.

 

[aim]

Well, I think AP's are AWESOME! I live in southern Ohio and have an AP since I think 2000. If you plan on going more than once in a year, AP's are well worth the money! Also if you plan on staying for more than 7 days! You get so many benefits from bein an AP holder too. The lounges are no more...but you save money on other neat stuff. Something that we did that was a BLAST, was we went to the Winter-Summerland and play mini-golf. It normally costs like $10 to play, but with the AP, you get in for only $5! So, I would say go for the AP!

Oh yeah! We usually go down there about 3 times a year (summer, winter and spring) and two times we drive. At Christmas we fly! :animwink: