Annual Pass

[StoneCutter589]

I have a couple of questions...

I usually go to WDW every August for a least a week. Is it worth it for me to buy an annual pass?

More importantly, how much does it cost to renew a standard annual pass each year?

 

[Tom]

Unless the two weeks both fall completely within a 365 day period, an Annual Pass would not do you any good. For example, if you go the same week each August, they wouldn't fall in the same 1-year period, and thus an AP would only cover one of the trips.

 

[Monty]

If you only do one trip per year and it's for less than 10 days, chances are it's not worth it based solely on ticket prices. But there's a lot to consider:

• do you stay on- or off-site?
• are there room-only discounts?
• do you shop a lot?
• do you eat a lot of table-service meals?

If you stay off-site but drive to the parks, an AP saves you $15/day [or more, it's been a while]. If you stay on-site you can get AP discounts and depending where you stay that can save a lot more than the cost of the AP. There's a 10% discount on virtually all shopping at WDW. If you eat at Table Service a lot, a TiW card can save a lot as well and it's available to AP holders.

 

[Tiggerish]

If you only do one trip per year and it's for less than 10 days, chances are it's not worth it based solely on ticket prices. But there's a lot to consider:

• do you stay on- or off-site?
• are there room-only discounts?
• do you shop a lot?
• do you eat a lot of table-service meals?

If you stay off-site but drive to the parks, an AP saves you $15/day [or more, it's been a while]. If you stay on-site you can get AP discounts and depending where you stay that can save a lot more than the cost of the AP. There's a 10% discount on virtually all shopping at WDW. If you eat at Table Service a lot, a TiW card can save a lot as well and it's available to AP holders.

Excellent synopsis, @Monty !!

 

[Rob562]

Expanding on what @Tom was getting at, I used to go for a week in early December every year. I'd alternate between the second week and the first week of December. The first year (second week of the month) I would buy an Annual Pass, then the second year the AP would still be valid for the first-week-of-the-month trip and typically be expiring on our departure day or our last full day. Then the following year the cycle would repeat again with a brand new AP.

In addition to a trip every December, I'd usually also work in a trip during the year that the AP was active, either in the spring or fall.

If you can adjust your annual trips like that, an AP might be worth it.

-Rob

 

[disney4life2008]

If you get an AP you will likely end up taking more trips to disney. On my renewed pass from this past May I will end up going to disney world 6 times lol

 

[kels650]

Even if we plan only one trip in a year, usually one of us will buy an annual pass for the room savings and the saving on shopping/food. We usually end up saving far more than the extra cost of the annual pass. You can also get discounts on activities while you are there.