Official AP Graveyard Club (an AP memorial)

[CaptinEO]

Now that the AP program is officially over. I figure it would be fun (and depressing) to share what passes we had and what grandfathered benefits we have now permanently lost.

Parking Add On - This is a huge deal. If you had a high enough pass prior to 2016 you could keep your free parking as a paid add on to lower tier passes.

Photopass - A prior benefit of the Signature Pass, if you happened to have a signature pass after the benefit got taken away in 2018, your renewal would keep your photopass

MaxPass - Not a grand fathered benefit per say, but paying money to not have to walk around the themeparks to get fastpasses was a great add on.

 

[flutas]

I had all 3, but not as a grandfathered benefit (since I let my pass expire in 2016, then started again in 2018).

But all the perks were nice, I had a Sig+ since I would always spend a few days at the resort during the 2 week christmas blackout period.

Sad to see it go, but not sad to see my money being refunded finally.

 

[DavidDL]

RIP the Flex Pass I bought for Christmas before the pandemic.

Jan. 2020 to March 2020.

On second thought, I don't really care, hah. At least I got to ride Rise of the Resistance a few times before the shutdown!

 

[Rich T]

Way back when, I had the original annual pass when it waa an inexpensive experiment that hadn’t yet started to negatively impact the park.

If, indeed, this is a permanent change, I do feel bad for those who’ve really gotten a lot of good use from it, but I honestly believe that the park experience will be more enjoyable for everyone in the long run. A trip to Disneyland is supposed to be a special event. It’s not supposed to be like going to Red Robin or the Disney Store.

 

[Stevek]

We've had Deluxe & So Cal, the latter we let lapse a few years ago, before they stopped offering.

 

[misfitdoll]

My family (2 parents, 3 kids 14, 12, 10) spent January 2020 in Southern California as we were in the process of relocating from the Midwest. Bought an annual pass and went to Disneyland six times that month before flying home, all getting COVID in May, and then finally moving to Los Angeles in July. We’ve been waiting to see what would happen. At least I got my AP magnet!

I’ve been a regular lurker/rare poster here since I was a college freshman in 2001. We made trips to WDW 1-2 times a year when we lived in the Midwest and have been to Disneyland Paris and Tokyo Disneyland and Disneysea as well, so we aren’t new to the parks but the Disneyland community is a different animal. Tokyo Disney also feels very “locals club” but they cater to it there. Can’t wait to see how this plays out.

 

[Figments Friend]

I had a Deluxe Pass for a few years, 2015 through 2017 I think it was....

Put it to good use, and it did save me money on admission during those years.
I wasn't a local, so when I did the math in 2015 i discovered it made sense to just buy a AP instead of a multi-day ticket at the time since I would be returning within the next 12 months.
I would typically visit around the same time of the year and could squeeze in two or more visits within that time frame so the AP back then made a lot of sense to me.
Saved $100 on admission, plus merch and meal discounts.

It was nice back then as DLR was still holding the 'AP Days' events and special movie screenings.
Still use my straw jungle hat that the CMs gave me when I attended the screening of 'The Jungle Book' over at DCA one year. Every Park visit, on either coast, I bring that hat to wear on some of the days!
Really enjoyed those AP exclusive events, although the last AP Days I attended at DCA was a downgrade from the prior ones I had experienced.
Also rather enjoyed being welcomed to the Park by CMs greeting me by name at the turnstiles....felt nice being so 'personally' welcomed.

When the price increases hit in 2018 or so I didn't renew.
I remember getting a survey from Disneyland by email wanting to know WHY I wasn't renewing...and price was definitely the reason.
It just didn't save me anything now between two visits a year, and the special events had stopped a year prior.

Fun AP related memory -
Can I confess here that I was a little embarrassed when I met up with my boy Tony in 2019 and had to admit I no longer had a DLR AP?
He assumed I did, even though I live 2,400 miles away.
Probably had something to do with me using the back of my AP for the 'Tony Baxter Fan Club' Membership Cards, too.
Made it look so official looking, with the bar code and magnetic stripe.
Had to tell him I let my AP lapse though.......
( hides face )
But my Membership to the Tony Baxter Fan Club however is still fully valid and active!


-

 

[George Lucas on a Bench]

Nutjobs on this forum have wanted the AP program to end for years. Now that it has, are you happy? The parks are shuttered indefinitely. Congratulations. You got what you wanted. You Shut It Downers.

 

[SSG]

I'm an out-of-towner (Seattle) and generally do one trip per year, so a pass never made sense for me. Had a trip planned for February 2020 and family commitments were going to bring us to SoCal in May and September. So we bought the Flex passes, used them for the February trip and the park closed a month later. Ah, well, we paid up front so we should get a decent refund.

 

[Sailor310]

I have had passes on and off since the 90's (86?). Recently, I would go every Tuesday with two friends. One friend burned out and let his pass lapse so our trio broke up. I was burned out, too, so I let mine lapse in Nov. My sister and the poker girls (60s-70s) wanted me to be tour guide Feb 14th, 2020. I thought I might visit a few times during the year, so I got the cheapest pass.

Had to do an add-on--even this Feb, the thought of spending $120 for one day drove me to get the So Cal Select pass ($419?)

 

[Californian Elitist]

My first pass was a Deluxe and then eventually a Signature. I was an AP for years, but I let it lapse after it expired in 2018. I haven’t missed it.

 

[Disneyelisa]

We had the flex pass. It was perfect and all we needed for the time being.

 

[SuddenStorm]

Nutjobs on this forum have wanted the AP program to end for years. Now that it has, are you happy? The parks are shuttered indefinitely. Congratulations. You got what you wanted. You Shut It Downers.

This forum was an AP paradise when compared to Micechat circa 2015/16. It might be time for me to sign back in over there and see what the consensus is...

 

[Snoballego]

I grew up on Disney World (as a kid along with doing the WDW College Program).

Been working in Vegas for 8+ years now and met a significant other that loved growing up going to Disney World as well. For her last three birthdays, I gave her Signature Plus passes to Disneyland (along with getting an accompanying one for myself). It was set to expire next week anyways (we were optimistically looking forward to an extension that would be valid for the 300+ days when it reopened since I had paid in full for both passes back in January 2020).

We made the drive from Vegas to Anaheim at least one weekend a month and really enjoyed our visits to the parks. Our hearts were always comparing it to Florida (our preference) but it was still an incredible experience.

We had just had a long talk last weekend about since we were both having quite a bit of fortune in our careers and investments over the past few years that we should consider "doubling down" and try to join the wait list for Disneyland's Club 33.

For regional AP members, we loved the luxury of the AP inspiring us to just look at each other after getting off of work on 5PM on a Friday and just make the impromptu road trip 260 miles to Anaheim for Saturday and Sunday. She'd book us a random hotel room from her smartphone on the road and I'd queue up my iTunes playlist of Grizzly Peak music (stumbled on to a site one time where someone had shazaamed the entire 60 minute+ loop and it became our adventure/driving music).

Once we had the APs, our pace at the parks slowed down and our enjoyment rate increased vastly (from before when we would go and buy single day tickets). We didn't feel like we had to always be there for 12+ hours getting the most value out of our single day ticket. We could just go leisurely have drinks at DCA, catch an extra showing of Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln, or sit in Tomorrowland on a bench at night and enjoy the people watching and the atmosphere. The pressure was off because we knew to get the value out of the AP that we would be returning again soon for our next mini-adventure to the parks and it was OK to leave somethings for next time and not get anxiety about it.

 

[CaptinEO]

Nutjobs on this forum have wanted the AP program to end for years. Now that it has, are you happy? The parks are shuttered indefinitely. Congratulations. You got what you wanted. You Shut It Downers.

I want the park to open and I want APs to end, so thus far I'm happy because I know it will open one day and there will be no APs.

The talk of "membership' makes me think they are just rebranding APs and redoing the program.

If it's month to month payments (like 6 Flags is), expect it to be very overpriced.

 

[CaptinEO]

I had a Deluxe Pass for a few years, 2015 through 2017 I think it was....

Put it to good use, and it did save me money on admission during those years.
I wasn't a local, so when I did the math in 2015 i discovered it made sense to just buy a AP instead of a multi-day ticket at the time since I would be returning within the next 12 months.
I would typically visit around the same time of the year and could squeeze in two or more visits within that time frame so the AP back then made a lot of sense to me.
Saved $100 on admission, plus merch and meal discounts.

It was nice back then as DLR was still holding the 'AP Days' events and special movie screenings.
Still use my straw jungle hat that the CMs gave me when I attended the screening of 'The Jungle Book' over at DCA one year. Every Park visit, on either coast, I bring that hat to wear on some of the days!
Really enjoyed those AP exclusive events, although the last AP Days I attended at DCA was a downgrade from the prior ones I had experienced.
Also rather enjoyed being welcomed to the Park by CMs greeting me by name at the turnstiles....felt nice being so 'personally' welcomed.

When the price increases hit in 2018 or so I didn't renew.
I remember getting a survey from Disneyland by email wanting to know WHY I wasn't renewing...and price was definitely the reason.
It just didn't save me anything now between two visits a year, and the special events had stopped a year prior.

Fun AP related memory -
Can I confess here that I was a little embarrassed when I met up with my boy Tony in 2019 and had to admit I no longer had a DLR AP?
He assumed I did, even though I live 2,400 miles away.
Probably had something to do with me using the back of my AP for the 'Tony Baxter Fan Club' Membership Cards, too.
Made it look so official looking, with the bar code and magnetic stripe.
Had to tell him I let my AP lapse though.......
( hides face )
But my Membership to the Tony Baxter Fan Club however is still fully valid and active!


-

Great points. As recent as 2015-2016 Disneyland had events for passholders that were free.

There was an Indiana Jones event including a panel for the anniversary with Tony Baxter (but I could not attend due to a test the next morning).

I believe the most recent AP event was a few years back you could watch episodes of "Disneyland" in the lincoln theater (didn't get a chance to attend though).

Later on "AP Days" became about getting a sticker of the month and a picture with the character of the week in the "AP Corner" at the starcade (with a huge line). Later the AP corner changed to California Adventure and had photoprops and stickers for Pixar Fest.

I wish I had more free time and wasn't a student when they had real AP events. Now everything is a separate upcharge event.