Has anyone decided not to renew annual pass?

[sxeensweet]

yes, it helps that MM is included. unless you have a large family. I would paying extra per ticket, almost what the MM costs, but I would be paying it for each of my 6 family members. Not a good deal for us- we don't make 6 trips a year.

It's only about $75 more for the AP so if you make 3 trips then you break even not 6 because the AP is not an extra $160 since the change. But if you don't make 3 seperate trips for a family of 6 then yes it may not be worth it BUT if you go 10-14 days total in the parks it's still worth it just for park admission alone! Plus all the added bonuses after that like discounts, Mm, etc.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

I know last year it was like about $520 with tax to renew FL AP with no black out and just the 4 parks, this year they changed it and I think for the same plan was like 600+, but they made a black out plan that is like $500.

Personally, I think that because the crowds are up they are upping the FL AP to push them into seasonal plans..

After 911 2001 and the economy downturn in 2008, Disney gave FL AP 15 months on an AP renewal for those 2 years, because they wanted Fl people in there because the parks were empty.

 

[Sans Souci]

I let mine expire last August and that was because I wasn't sure at that point which side of the pond I was going to be living on. Now that I know I am staying here, I am thinking of buying one again. I am going with my family for a week in August, then a few days with friends in September and possibly a weekend here and there beyond that. I need to do some math to see if it makes sense. I run the other way when I see a camera, so I am not interested in MM.

 

[Cmdr_Crimson]

I'm on the fence with mine right now..But, when they announced that The Pro Bowl is coming to Orlando and since it was a great time to go around that time at the end of January I'm having second thoughts about it. Buying a Gold Membership and getting a tickets to go to the D23 Expo 2016 and DL Instead..

 

[raven]

I didn't renew mine last year as it was getting crazy expensive and they keep making changes to the AP passes. Strangely enough, I don't miss it at all.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I know last year it was like about $520 with tax to renew FL AP with no black out and just the 4 parks, this year they changed it and I think for the same plan was like 600+, but they made a black out plan that is like $500.

Personally, I think that because the crowds are up they are upping the FL AP to push them into seasonal plans..

After 911 2001 and the economy downturn in 2008, Disney gave FL AP 15 months on an AP renewal for those 2 years, because they wanted Fl people in there because the parks were empty.

Hmm, not entirely accurate. The renewal this year for the FL Platinum Annual Pass is only $549. No blackouts and now includes MM.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

We are purchasing APs for the first time because of two bigger trips within a year like @sxeensweet mentioned, plus a couple of smaller trips throughout the year. That compiled with memory maker, and free parking gives us a cost savings of about $750. My question is does the AP expire a year after purchase or a year after its first use? Was thinking of giving them as Christmas gifts for the family, but 1st trip would not be until February or later.

 

[MAGICFLOP]

Hmm, not entirely accurate. The renewal this year for the FL Platinum Annual Pass is only $549. No blackouts and now includes MM.

Perhaps when I looked it up I was looking at the non renewal price..

 

[ShoalFox]

I'm on my second AP right now, and there was a gap in between my first and current one simply because I wasn't sure when I would visit next. There's probably going to be another gap-- if I get another AP ever again-- because I'm going to college and will have even fewer opportunities to go to the parks. To me, the AP still holds its value.

 

[Phonedave]

There was a stretch there where I had one for 4 or 5 years straight - the whole family did.

Now, my wife and I get one every other year. We do a family trip every other year or so now, and my wife and I do a F&W long weekend about every other year. So we plan it so the AP is the cheaper way to go (we are DVC, so that discount helps make the break even point lower).

So why did we stop renewing APs every year - for the exact reasons the OP stated. The parks have become more expensive (mainy merch and food for us). The AP prices have climbed. The parks are now almost a chore, given the crowd levels, and honestly, I think Disney quality has slipped. I am not talking about attractions, or parades, I am talking about the level of care that is eveident in the resort. WDW used to be a resort - everything was well maintained and everything was for the guest. Now, I see garbage, overgrown landscapes, broken facilities, and slipshod repairs. We have really scaled back our WDW visits, and accordingly our purchasing of AP's.


-dave

 

[IanDLBZF]

I'm on my first AP right now, I do plan to renew in January before the start of the spring semester at my college. I feel the AP for me has more value than purchasing one-day or multi-day MYW tickets.

 

[CP_alum08]

Sadly yes. We had resident APs when we lived in Florida but decided it wasn't worth it when we moved back up to Michigan.

 

[FoodRockz]

I've been an AP holder on and off my whole life, and have had one the past 3 years, but I will not be renewing this December. $350+ for what has happened to the parks over the past few years does not add up to me.

 

[HurricaneHanna]

My question is does the AP expire a year after purchase or a year after its first use? Was thinking of giving them as Christmas gifts for the family, but 1st trip would not be until February or later.

If you buy an AP online, Disney sends you a voucher card. To activate it you have to turn it in along with showing your photo ID at a park ticket window. Your year begins on the day you do that.

 

[Much-Pixie-Dust]

Thanks @HurricaneHanna! I appreciate your response.

 

[MissM]

We're on the fence. We had the FL Resident Annual Pass. Now we need to "upgrade" it to the "FL Resident Platinum Pass just to keep the 365 day access that we had previously. The old "Gold" plan and the new "Gold" plan are not the same thing. All but two passes have blackout dates. That's unacceptable to us. But it's making our renewal more expensive. We'll be looking at $97/month for two passes vs $78 we pay now. Not sure it's worth it anymore. That's a lot of money every single month. I have never used the Photopass so that's not a benefit for us. I wish I could take that OFF and just keep my pass price as-is. We have until Aug 11th to decide.

 

[AMartin767]

copied from my own OP thread:

My wife and I will be celebrating our 20th wedding anniversary with a trip to Walt Disney World in September of this year. We traveled to WDW in 1996 on our Honeymoon (my wife's first visit to the parks) so it seems appropriate and fitting for us to make this trip. We will be staying at Port Orleans - Riverside for the first time and are very excited.

However, this trip will also be bittersweet for us both as we have decided to not renew our annual passes and will be planning this as our final goodbye to the resort and its parks. We have watched the decline in quality of the parks over the last decade (especially Epcot), the mishmash of direction in planning, the severe increase in pricing for everything from accommodations and tickets, to food and merchandise. It is clear to us that the new direction for the parks is one of wealth and exclusivity. The new pricing changes are leading to a single, inevitable conclusion: only the wealthy and those not so wealthy that are willing to shell out extravagant amounts of money will be the future customers of Disney parks.

With that said, we will be enjoying ourselves immensely on this trip and reveling in what was once a fully affordable, sensible choice for our vacations. Now, our money is MUCH better spent on other choices. Will we miss it all? Yes, terribly but what will we be missing really if all it amounts to is spending time and unreasonable amounts of money at a place that is, in so many ways, a pale shadow of its former glory?

I hope that somehow, someway, the parks and their management will see beyond the dollar bill and realize the legacy they are leaving behind in the name of profits alone. I don't hold much hope but I can't help myself. We are happy and looking forward to this final trip and I know we will have a wonderful time at Walt Disney World. I suppose, for the last time.

 

[BigRedDad]

Me!!! We bought APs for last year with the intention of renewing. However, when the price went to about $800 each, that idea went out the window very quickly. We did get 3 week long trips on ours which made it worth it. However, we will not do another set of trips like that again. The 3rd week, although probably the best of the 3, was a little bit of wearing out of Disney.

 

[note2001]

My DVC AP expires tomorrow and while I'll miss the Mickey monitor, they never sent one in my name anyway (it was always sent to my son who'd abscond with it.)

We just went three trips on our APs in the last year, so I'm a bit Disney'ed out and at this point I have no plans to return to Disney until 2018 for what hopefully will be a big family trip so it makes sense to "let it go".

I do have plans to hit up a trip to Universal Orlando in 2017 though.

However... if Disney would add some perks such as a 50% Disney.com sales event on expensive items, such as D&B or Coach, solely for AP holders, I'd consider renewing

 

[Seanual757]

Local resident with 4 kids DVC member so yes I have renewed it's still cheaper than going to the movies twice a month.