Out of state annual pass holders

[mitchk]

Hello… It’s been a while since I’ve been able to jump back on the boards. Hope everyone is doing well… I had a question about annual passes ..Now Of course I’ve read all about it. But I would like to hear from someone who actually has an out of state annual pass. .. I live in New Jersey, I like to get down to the world at least twice a year… My wife was talking to one of her coworkers and they have an annual pass… And go down like every other month… It’s me my wife and my kid and I believe they cost $1600 apiece… My question is… Is it worth it… Basically if you were to go nine days out of the year, the annual pass would pay for itself so that sounds good to me. We were thinking about just getting it to go go down for a few days maybe 2 to 3 nights and then fly back home… Like I said, I was just wondering if any of my fellow members here have one, and I’d like to know your experience with it.. thank you so much and have a magical weekend..

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Hello… It’s been a while since I’ve been able to jump back on the boards. Hope everyone is doing well… I had a question about annual passes ..Now Of course I’ve read all about it. But I would like to hear from someone who actually has an out of state annual pass. .. I live in New Jersey, I like to get down to the world at least twice a year… My wife was talking to one of her coworkers and they have an annual pass… And go down like every other month… It’s me my wife and my kid and I believe they cost $1600 apiece… My question is… Is it worth it… Basically if you were to go nine days out of the year, the annual pass would pay for itself so that sounds good to me. We were thinking about just getting it to go go down for a few days maybe 2 to 3 nights and then fly back home… Like I said, I was just wondering if any of my fellow members here have one, and I’d like to know your experience with it.. thank you so much and have a magical weekend..

We go a couple of times a year from the Jerz

Here’s where I’m at: we have the pass now ( vacation club…so we may have to bump it for the holidays this year) and it’s a total of about $4,600…let me breath for a second …
We had annuals (from a party of 2 to 4) from 2004 through 2018. This is the first time we have had one since. They tried to force us out…obviously…so I didn’t bother to try and make the “new math” work. Personal circumstances kind made me reevaluate and we are heavy on trips this year…so I caved.

You have to go 10 for it to make sense…more than that to get real “value”. The point of the AP was to get you there to buy the high profit stuff…pure and simple. But they got too far out over their skis and thought no one could resist the logo and would pay a fortune and flood parks. But they are and they are lagging the economy and it’s not even bad…yet. Now they’ll beg for an annual pass. Now giving gift cards if you buy one? That’s fairly desperate for them.

I will say this. I hate paying for expiring tickets…and they’re a fortune. Plus a bad deal. They altered them before they jacked the AP prices. You used to get cheap park hoping and significant discounts the more days you bought. Now it’s minor discounts after 4 days and an offensive park hopper fee.

Giving them the price of the AP makes me ill (I bought one yesterday for my son who was not with us when we went a few months back)…but once you “swallow” it…it relaxes that you’re not thinking about diminishing value each day that you get on a normal multi day.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[Ayla]

I had an out of state AP from 2017-2019, when it was around $850. I used it 4 times one year and 3 the other, so it was worth it to me at that price.

But, my situation was different and I was the only one in our house with an AP. I was able to travel at a moment's notice and I only had one child at home, who was almost an adult.

I don't feel the AP is worth it now at the current cost, but only you and your wife can make that decision for your family. $5000 could buy a very nice vacation somewhere else.

 

[mitchk]

We go a couple of times a year from the Jerz

Here’s where I’m at: we have the pass now ( vacation club…so we may have to bump it for the holidays this year) and it’s a total of about $4,600…let me breath for a second …
We had annuals (from a party of 2 to 4) from 2004 through 2018. This is the first time we have had one since. They tried to force us out…obviously…so I didn’t bother to try and make the “new math” work. Personal circumstances kind made me reevaluate and we are heavy on trips this year…so I caved.

You have to go 10 for it to make sense…more than that to get real “value”. The point of the AP was to get you there to buy the high profit stuff…pure and simple. But they got too far out over their skis and thought no one could resist the logo and would pay a fortune and flood parks. But they are and they are lagging the economy and it’s not even bad…yet. Now they’ll beg for an annual pass. Now giving gift cards if you buy one? That’s fairly desperate for them.

I will say this. I hate paying for expiring tickets…and they’re a fortune. Plus a bad deal. They altered them before they jacked the AP prices. You used to get cheap park hoping and significant discounts the more days you bought. Now it’s minor discounts after 4 days and an offensive park hopper fee.

Giving them the the price of the AP makes me ill (I bought one yesterday for my son who was not with us when we went a few months back)…but once you “swallow” it…it relaxes that you’re not thinking about diminishing value each day that you get on a normal multi day.

Good luck with your decision.

Thank you for all the information, I truly appreciate it… this is gonna be a hard decision but once again, thank you ..word to the Jerz

 

[mitchk]

I had an out of state AP from 2017-2019, when it was around $850. I used it 4 times one year and 3 the other, so it was worth it to me at that price.

But, my situation was different and I was the only one in our house with an AP. I was able to travel at a moment's notice and I only had one child at home, who was almost an adult.

I don't feel the AP is worth it now at the current cost, but only you and your wife can make that decision for your family. $5000 could buy a very nice vacation somewhere else.

Thank you it’s gonna be a tough decision. I’m just worried about the cost of flights and hotel stays. I mean it’s nice to know that we won’t have to buy tickets when we go but at the same time like you said $5000 to buy a really nice vacation somewhere else… Once again thank you and have a magical day

 

[mkt]

I'm not the expected answer here.

I was an out of country AP from 2007-2010, but kept my FL resident rate, since I was a Florida resident when I left. I'd fly to Orlando whenever I found cheap airfare, would rent a car and stay with friends and family. So not counting food/bev, I'd only be out a few hundred for airfare and car rental.

 

[WallyWorld]

I will get flamed for this....but I have been looking also.

Uniiversal Annual pass is $425 (some blackout dates)....and it gets you a really good discount at their hotels all year.

$1200 difference would be left to quench any Disney jones......

 

[mitchk]

I'm not the expected answer here.

I was an out of country AP from 2007-2010, but kept my FL resident rate, since I was a Florida resident when I left. I'd fly to Orlando whenever I found cheap airfare, would rent a car and stay with friends and family. So not counting food/bev, I'd only be out a few hundred for airfare and car rental.

See that that’s nice. That’s the way to do it. Unfortunately, I only have family in Fort Lauderdale… And Homestead… So that’s a pretty far ride for me lol thank you for the info. Have a magical day.

 

[mitchk]

I will get flamed for this....but I have been looking also.

Uniiversal Annual pass is $425 (some blackout dates)....and it gets you a really good discount at their hotels all year.

$1200 difference would be left to quench any Disney jones......

I’m assuming the universal annual pass is for Florida residence because that’s really cheap… I’m from Jersey so mine would be 1600 for Disney

 

[networkpro]

I will get flamed for this....but I have been looking also.

Uniiversal Annual pass is $425 (some blackout dates)....and it gets you a really good discount at their hotels all year.

$1200 difference would be left to quench any Disney jones......

I don't see why you'd be flamed, other than not doing both. Everybody has their own personal situations and perceptions of value. Neither of these choices are necessities.

 

[WallyWorld]

I’m assuming the universal annual pass is for Florida residence because that’s really cheap… I’m from Jersey so mine would be 1600 for Disney

Kinda what I thought....check it out.

If Disney is getting as expensive as it is....it's time to go a different way.

 

[WondersOfLife]

No.

 

[mkt]

I will get flamed for this....but I have been looking also.

Uniiversal Annual pass is $425 (some blackout dates)....and it gets you a really good discount at their hotels all year.

$1200 difference would be left to quench any Disney jones......

No flaming.

We find that our UO APs are a better value overall, and Universal seems to value their APholders far more than Disney.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

I’m on the opposite coast but was an out of state DL AP for 12 years, until this year when we didn’t renew.

A decade ago it was a no brainer because the break even point was about 5 days, unfortunately as the AP price increases have outpaced the day ticket price increases it’s become a harder question, break even is now about 10 days, if you go a lot I think it’s still worth it but the last few years we found ourselves planning trips in part to get our monies worth out of our passes.

The primary problem for us is even with APs it’s still an expensive vacation, $150-350 a night for a hotel (depending on the date), flights (or gas), high food costs, extras like LL, ILL, etc… since everything else has gone up in price also we found even with our passes we spent about $1000 a day between the 2 of us, what used to be a “cheap” trip because we had APs is now an expensive trip even with them.

The math can still work if you go enough but for us the final straw was Lightning lane, paying $1500 each for APs, only to then pay $50 each every day to get the same experience we used to enjoy, tipped the scales against renewing.

If I lived within an hour of the park I think it would still be a no brainer, as an out of state visitor who requires travel, hotels, restaurants, etc it becomes a lot harder to justify.

 

[mitchk]

I’m on the opposite coast but was an out of state DL AP for 12 years, until this year when we didn’t renew.

A decade ago it was a no brainer because the break even point was about 5 days, unfortunately as the AP price increases have outpaced the day ticket price increases it’s become a harder question, break even is now about 10 days, if you go a lot I think it’s still worth it but the last few years we found ourselves planning trips in part to get our monies worth out of our passes.

The primary problem for us is even with APs it’s still an expensive vacation, $150-350 a night for a hotel (depending on the date), flights (or gas), high food costs, extras like LL, ILL, etc… since everything else has gone up in price also we found even with our passes we spent about $1000 a day between the 2 of us, what used to be a “cheap” trip because we had APs is now an expensive trip even with them.

The math can still work if you go enough but for us the final straw was Lightning lane, paying $1500 each for APs, only to then pay $50 each every day to get the same experience we used to enjoy, tipped the scales against renewing.

If I lived within an hour of the park I think it would still be a no brainer, as an out of state visitor who requires travel, hotels, restaurants, etc it becomes a lot harder to justify.

Thank you so much that’s what I’ve been trying to tell my wife. I would love to get the passes but for $1600 and then as you stated hotel rooms food all the other perks that you have to pay for. I just don’t see it being worth it.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

Thank you so much that’s what I’ve been trying to tell my wife. I would love to get the passes but for $1600 and then as you stated hotel rooms food all the other perks that you have to pay for. I just don’t see it being worth it.

If you currently go 9 days every year (or more) it may still make sense, if you start “adding” trips though your pass will ultimately cost you more in the long run than you currently spend now.

Another thing I didn’t mention above is an AP mentally turns Disney into your primary travel destination because you’ve already prepaid for a big part of it, if you currently take 2 trips to Disney and 2 trips elsewhere you may find you take 3 trips to Disney next year and 1 elsewhere, or all 4 at Disney simply because you have an AP and the tickets are ”already paid for”. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t regret any of our hundreds of days at Disney over the last decade but I think we’ve had far more fun this year exploring than simply going to DL every month or 2.

Over the last decade with an AP nearly all our small trips were to DL, we’d still take major vacations overseas or cruising, but I’d say 90%+ of our weekend trips were to DL, since we let our passes go we’ve explored Kentucky, Death Valley, Yellowstone, northern Utah, and have trips planned to Alaska, Zion NP, etc… without the ease of going to DL all the time we’ve found other destinations far more appealing.

 

[mitchk]

If you currently go 9 days every year (or more) it may still make sense, if you start “adding” trips though your pass will ultimately cost you more in the long run than you currently spend now.

Another thing I didn’t mention above is an AP mentally turns Disney into your primary travel destination because you’ve already prepaid for a big part of it, if you currently take 2 trips to Disney and 2 trips elsewhere you may find you take 3 trips to Disney next year and 1 elsewhere, or all 4 at Disney simply because you have an AP and the tickets are ”already paid for”. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t regret any of our hundreds of days at Disney over the last decade but I think we’ve had far more fun this year exploring than simply going to DL every month or 2.

Over the last decade with an AP nearly all our small trips were to DL, we’d still take major vacations overseas or cruising, but I’d say 90%+ of our weekend trips were to DL, since we let our passes go we’ve explored Kentucky, Death Valley, Yellowstone, northern Utah, and have trips planned to Alaska, Zion NP, etc… without the ease of going to DL all the time we’ve found other destinations far more appealing.

If you currently go 9 days every year (or more) it may still make sense, if you start “adding” trips though your pass will ultimately cost you more in the long run than you currently spend now.

Another thing I didn’t mention above is an AP mentally turns Disney into your primary travel destination because you’ve already prepaid for a big part of it, if you currently take 2 trips to Disney and 2 trips elsewhere you may find you take 3 trips to Disney next year and 1 elsewhere, or all 4 at Disney simply because you have an AP and the tickets are ”already paid for”. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t regret any of our hundreds of days at Disney over the last decade but I think we’ve had far more fun this year exploring than simply going to DL every month or 2.

Over the last decade with an AP nearly all our small trips were to DL, we’d still take major vacations overseas or cruising, but I’d say 90%+ of our weekend trips were to DL, since we let our passes go we’ve explored Kentucky, Death Valley, Yellowstone, northern Utah, and have trips planned to Alaska, Zion NP, etc… without the ease of going to DL all the time we’ve found other destinations far more appealing.

Thank you so much.. I’m taking all that into consideration. Stay Magical.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

If you currently go 9 days every year (or more) it may still make sense, if you start “adding” trips though your pass will ultimately cost you more in the long run than you currently spend now.

Another thing I didn’t mention above is an AP mentally turns Disney into your primary travel destination because you’ve already prepaid for a big part of it, if you currently take 2 trips to Disney and 2 trips elsewhere you may find you take 3 trips to Disney next year and 1 elsewhere, or all 4 at Disney simply because you have an AP and the tickets are ”already paid for”. That may be a good thing or a bad thing, I don’t regret any of our hundreds of days at Disney over the last decade but I think we’ve had far more fun this year exploring than simply going to DL every month or 2.

Over the last decade with an AP nearly all our small trips were to DL, we’d still take major vacations overseas or cruising, but I’d say 90%+ of our weekend trips were to DL, since we let our passes go we’ve explored Kentucky, Death Valley, Yellowstone, northern Utah, and have trips planned to Alaska, Zion NP, etc… without the ease of going to DL all the time we’ve found other destinations far more appealing.

Thank you so much.. I’m taking all that into consideration. Stay Magical.

To be fair…

Since we travel somewhat “frequently” to California now…I totally see the differences in the weekend/frequented crowd at Disneyland…that’s why they’re like half passes.

But in New Jersey…wdw almost becomes our “local”…there is no more Disney obsessed state - per capita. When dvc published a map in their newsletter umpteen years ago of where the “members” were…new Jersey was third in raw numbers…behind Florida and New York…way below the population sizes.

We also have a ton of covenient flight options…less so now but still…every airport from the east flies the most flights to Orlando.

So in a way…we kinda make it like our Disneyland in usage often times.

If you have the means…costs have risen 300% in 20 years…and I don’t exaggerate. People here will tell you “everything has! ”

Nope…that’s a stupid stance…the products and means aren’t all the same. It’s expensive. So that really has to be where your comfort level is.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Thank you for all the information, I truly appreciate it… this is gonna be a hard decision but once again, thank you ..word to the Jerz

No problem. Glad to give you my take. And I’m 20 miles from you as the Bird flies

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Just generally speaking…wdw passes are enough to get people from mid to long distances there frequently…universals are not.

And the instate discounts changes the math on the comps a good bit