my GF and I are moving down to FL in about a month and getting AP's is definitely on our list of things to do! It probably won't happen for a few months but I just wanted to get some advice from locals. Things like good/bad days to go, any discounts offered, etc.
Also, I researched this a little and couldn't find anything, are there any better times to buy an AP? Or is everything the same the whole year no matter when you buy?
Thanks everyone. Im so excited to be a mere 3 hours from the Magic :sohappy::sohappy:
It wasn't clear to me whether you were asking what discounts you get with your pass, or what discounts are available on the passes themselves. The former has been well covered. On the latter, I can tell you that I looked long and hard for ways to make the passes cheaper, and aside from the discount you get for renewing vs. buy a new pass (which is admittedly pretty attractive, and does it's job of preventing you from letting them lapse very well
), the only discount I've ever found on the pass itself is through AAA. It's not very much, something on the order of $12 per pass. But it's better than nothing, and can be used on renewals as well as new passes.
One thing I remember being bitterly disappointed to learn was that there are no discounts to be had if you're a passholder trying to get a break for someone else, like out-of-town family you'd like to take to WDW.
It makes no difference when you buy your pass, really. The only time it's ever made a difference in the 10+ years I've had them was about a year ago when they offered the 15-month for price of 12 promotion. But they structured it in such a way so that you had to buy your first pass during a particular period to get the benefit, but if you were already a passholder your next renewal qualified. If there's a particular time of year when it's better to spend money, such as if you get a yearly bonus at work, or maybe around the holidays so you can get them as Christmas gifts, you might want to do that, just to ease the pain of that sizable yearly transaction. Other than that, buy them any time you want.
More generally, you'll find that WDW is a whole different experience when you have an AP. Someone else said that the best time to go is in the morning. Personally, my wife and I prefer to go in the late afternoon or evening. We have no qualms about popping into MK for a couple hours to ride our one favorite attraction and catch Wishes, simply because we can. It is amazing how removing the pressure to do as much as possible every visit improves the experience. There are all kinds of things we never would have done if we didn't have APs. One example is the various concert series they have at the America Gardens Theater. We'll be there this weekend to see Slippery When Wet, and next weekend to see 2U. We probably won't show up much before the first show, and there's an better than even chance that we won't do another thing in the parks on either of those days.
My best advice is, once you have your passes, register on the web site to get email about passholder offers. Though we haven't taken advantage, some of the passholder room discounts are very attractive. And one of my favorite perks is being invited to previews for new attractions, which should come into play in a big way when the Fantasyland expansion starts to open.
Also, some may consider this blasphemous, but once you've been a "regular" for a while (and unless you're Donald Trump), you'll probably start wondering what there is in the way of dining outside the Disney parks and resorts. I can point you generally to where to look, and can make a specific recommendation about our favorite place to eat off-property if you're interested.
You will LOVE living that close! I grew up 3 hrs away from WDW but moved with my DH when I was 22. Now we have a 20 hr drive. 
