AP holders...are you bumping to premium for renewal?

[EvilQueen-T]

We've had regular annual passes for several years and just hit our renewal dates but with the new tier system it certainly jumped our per ticket cost to continue to have no black out dates. So I was wondering if this new plan of Disney's is working how they wanted in terms of AP holders. Did you renew at the equivalent to the current general annual passes or opt for one with black out dates now that the new tier system is in place?

 

[NearTheEars]

We've had regular annual passes for several years and just hit our renewal dates but with the new tier system it certainly jumped our per ticket cost to continue to have no black out dates. So I was wondering if this new plan of Disney's is working how they wanted in terms of AP holders. Did you renew at the equivalent to the current general annual passes or opt for one with black out dates now that the new tier system is in place?

Honestly we are kind of torn right now. We will either bite the bullet and pay more for the premium or just downgrade to what used to be the seasonal pass and just find something else to do in the summer. It's unfortunate that after 5 years of having the passes we're getting hit with blackout dates, but such is life.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I just purchased the Platinum Pass today..I found it better since they are removing Disneyquest out of the Water Park & More option I felt that wasn't worth the extra bit if it's going to be gone by Next year...

 

[KeeKee]

We won't be renewing. Time for a Disney break. Somehow paying more and receiving less just doesn't sit well. Especially with the crowd levels and the amount of construction across the parks.

 

[TpaBrad]

We won't be renewing. Time for a Disney break. Somehow paying more and receiving less just doesn't sit well. Especially with the crowd levels and the amount of construction across the parks.

My renewal was up shortly before the announcement was made. We downgraded to seasonal this year and kept one full pass for parking. I felt like we were paying too much and when I looked at the blackout dates I found we never went during those times anyways. I wish I could have moved to the new tier because at least I would save money and get the parking included. Construction hasn't been an issue for me but the crowds have really sucked. There seems to be no slow periods at all these days.

 

[Fingal O'Flahertie]

Certainly a hard decision. My wife and I just decided to take some time off from the annual pass. Most likely, that will culminate with us starting over fresh next October. I think we will most likely get the most inclusive pass at that point. She will be done running (pro runner trying to make the Olympics) and i will be done moving around the country for a few years. With life settling down a little, as much as it can in the military, we will get back to our 3 times a year routine and the annual pass will be cost effective again.

 

[rucifee]

We're taking a break, the crowds are already terrible without us being there according to the reports so why pay even more for so much less? We'll stick to Universal instead for a few years.

 

[Minthorne]

My current pass expires in June. I'll be taking a hiatus.

 

[Disneyhead'71]

I have heard a lot more folks say they aren't buying any over downgrading or upgrading.

And I believe Disney is going to be shocked at the reaction. Stunned that people would actually say "enough".

I bet they will do a little back peddling next year.

 

[mergatroid]

We never renew but try to be a bit clever with it. We buy one every two years and that allows us to go every year. For instance this year we bought ours to start this October 2015 and went regularly over our three week stay, next year we'll take our three weeks in September 2016 just before it expires. Then in October 2017 we buy one again and the process starts over.

On a related note we had some issues with our AP this year. We'd bought two Premium AP's in July over the phone and was told they'd only start after we visited on the first day in October, this allowed us to book FP+'s. When we arrived to collect them from Will Call the lady issuing them didn't tell us the AP system had changed and just gave us AP's that covered the four main parks and not the water parks even though when I'd purchased them I'd purchased Premium AP's that covered everything. We only discovered this had happened after queuing at Typhoon Lagoon and trying to enter only to be told that our tickets didn't cover that. A trip to Customer Services and a twenty minute conversation eventually got our passes upgraded to what we'd originally paid for and an apology though ruined our day's trip to the water park as we;'d lost our place in the queue so wouldn't get the shaded areas which Mrs Merg craves.

 

[KeeKee]

I have heard a lot more folks say they aren't buying any over downgrading or upgrading.

And I believe Disney is going to be shocked at the reaction. Stunned that people would actually say "enough".

I bet they will do a little back peddling next year.

When we were at Epcot yesterday discussing this issue with friends, someone said that the only way to convey the message that you are unhappy with the prices is to stop paying them. Seemed like simple logic to me. Besides, as someone in this thread has mentioned, maybe a little exploration of what Universal has to offer wouldn't be a bad thing.

 

[Foolish Mortal]

I'm undecided about renewing. Very disappointed with resort discounts and more importantly availability. Was looking forward to getting the Osbourne lights merchandise only to find out it's been sold out for WEEKS and they weren't sure when or if it would be restocked. Maybe I'll just go back to waiting for the pin code offers. Plus my company owns the guys up the road, maybe I should take advantage of employee discounts.

 

[draybook]

It's hard to say for us, because the Disney site is very poorly done in regards to showing all of the passes' benefits and such. From what I could find, there are really limited black out dates for the Gold pass, and none of them are when we go. So, we'll probably go with that.


/nevermind. I just saw that the Gold is only for state residents. Really undecided on if we're going to renew next September.....

 

[WhatJaneSays]

I have heard a lot more folks say they aren't buying any over downgrading or upgrading.

And I believe Disney is going to be shocked at the reaction. Stunned that people would actually say "enough".

I bet they will do a little back peddling next year.

I feel that the reduction of total pass holders is what WDW wants.

Local pass holders tend to think that they put more money into the Disney machine than others. And while that’s often true over the course of a year from a per person vs. dollar spent basis it’s not generally true from a resource use vs. dollar spent basis. By upping the cost of the pass they get a better return on their resource usages by eliminating a percentage of pass holders while getting more of a guaranteed return on the resources the returning pass holders use.

Disneyland has a fairly critical problem with pass holder overcrowding. WDW is probably trying to avoid that while they still can.

 

[MaxsDad]

Our APs Started in September. Then the new tiers rolled out. When I got the passes I had planned to go back to wdw in April then renew our passes by converting hoppers from our bounce back offer next September 2016.

With the new tiers and the associated cost increase, we will likely bail on the September 2016 trip altogether. We are definitely going back in December 2016, but to get passes that would be valid for that trip our cost would increase significantly! Renewing to the "Black Pass"(that's what we should call it really!) does me no good and even that had a mild price increase.

So, no. I do not plan to renew. Best case scenario, I keep the bounce back offer, eat their "free" food, enjoy their resort, and spend my money and days at Universal et al, then use that hopper ticket when I go back in December to visit their parks.

 

[TheGuyThatMakesSwords]

We will be going to Platinum when our regular AP expires, in April 2016.

 

[jensenrick]

Platium? $700?! No way!
Frankly if prices go up again next year- even Silver might be out of my range.

Unless I buy one every other year (which is not a bad idea)

 

[draybook]

Weren't the original regular APs about 620ish? So the 700 for the Platinum wouldn't be too much more. If that's the case then we probably will renew next September.

 

[Wildflower]

Probably not going to renew next October and paring down our trips to one week a year. We had already gone from 5-6/year to two this year. I'll have to see how our June trip goes and how much renewal is versus a package price once we get closer to renewal time. Part of this is pricing, part is kids getting older and we're expanding our vacations to other places (Caribbean, etc) and with only so much time I can take from work....

 

[ford91exploder]

We won't be renewing. Time for a Disney break. Somehow paying more and receiving less just doesn't sit well. Especially with the crowd levels and the amount of construction across the parks.

Same here