What are the advantages to getting an Annual Pass?

[bladerunner]

Living in South Florida with kids that love WDW it is a no brainer. We plan about 6-8 multi-day trips per year and throw in another 4 or 5 unexpected surprise weekend getaway visits when we feel like it. The great thing is being able to walk in and out of parks without feeling that we are missing something - there is always next time and the AP takes the pain out of budgeting for the trips.

 

[Master Yoda]

Iwe gave up our annual passes, when we could no longer make more than one trip in a year. Staying ten days a year, we just coudnt justify the AP. Break even , when staying in a Value is a lot more visits than if you add up the savings from a Moderate stay. And we have 6 in the family noe, so the only affordable place for us on property is the All Star suite, which, i dont remeber ever teeing much, if any, of a AP discount.

Disney has just recently started extending the AP rate to the Value suites. The price outs it in line with the AP rate of a single room at a moderate.

Good luck with that. My bf and I just got back 6 days ago (both of us are APers) and we searched high and low for that merch. We asked at pin locations, Mouse Gear (even a manager there didn't know what we were talking about), Exposition Hall, the Emporium and guest relations. Apparently, these things (besides the pins) do not exist anymore, because no one knew what we were talking about. We were dissapointed too, because we wanted a t-shirt. We each got a pin though.

You are right the places are hard to find and most CM's have no clue what you are talking about. From what I remember the locations are Town Square Exposition Hall in MK, Pin Central in Epcot, Island Mercantile in AK, the pin store under the hat in DHS and The Art of Disney at DTD.

 

[Rob562]

When we exchanged our AP voucher for the "paper" ticket, i asked why its paper, not more durable. The CM said hed give me $ if i could tear a ticket. Those thigs are way more durable than i though. Yhey are a high strenght TYVEK type material, not paper. I could barely get a dent in the edge. they take up a lot less room when theres 6 of them too, compared to the plastic counterparts.

Yeah, they're very durable. (And like the CM suggested, anyone who doubts it should try tearing one of their old tickets in half)
Their only nemesis is water. If one of the "paper" tickets gets wet, it curls up as it dries and becomes unusable. But the ink stays in-tact and it's very easy to get it replaced at a Guest Relations window.

-Rob

 

[DisneyDadof4]

Thanks to all! I-4 I think your advice is the best because we are from Connecticut and only come down once a year. I was think about AP vs DVC. If I where to get an AP I would be able to get discounts on rooms which would be cheaper than buying into DVC. This is my dilemma.

 

[KingStefan]

Thanks to all! I-4 I think your advice is the best because we are from Connecticut and only come down once a year. I was think about AP vs DVC. If I where to get an AP I would be able to get discounts on rooms which would be cheaper than buying into DVC. This is my dilemma.

I feel your pain! I have the same dilemma. DVC gives much more than just discounts. It's an investment in future vacations. For folks like us, the AP is here for a year if there's a good discount on something we want, and then gone. The DVC is in a way a hedge against inflation, the AP is brief and temporary and is not.

It's very complicated. I really can't afford either right now, so I've put off thinking about it.. But when it comes up again, I'll be in the same boat.

As a side note, I have a friend who's a DVC member and uses his points to rent villas for friends from time to time. I've done it with him once, was able to swing a nice stay at SSR for cheaper than a moderate even with AP discount. In fact, he had made the reservations for another friend who had to cancel and it just happened to be the week I wanted to go, so I got it even cheaper than he normally would have charged me.

When you have access to a friend with points, it makes the whole situation even more complicated!

 

[sknydave]

How much are tickets for DVC members?

 

[PintoColvig]

Thanks to all! I-4 I think your advice is the best because we are from Connecticut and only come down once a year. I was think about AP vs DVC. If I where to get an AP I would be able to get discounts on rooms which would be cheaper than buying into DVC. This is my dilemma.

One more thing to consider about the AP before you make up your mind. If you plan accordingly, an AP can make sense even for someone who only makes a once a year trip. The AP lasts one calendar year from the date of first use. So, if you always go in June, for instance, you can buy and use your AP in the fourth week of June this year and then use it again the following year say in the second week of June. If you will spend at least five days at WDW for each trip, the AP may be the best option. We bought APs in June of 2005 and returned in May of 2006. Not only that but since we had the APs, we were able to go for a few hours each day during a business trip to Orlando in Aug. of that year plus we found a way to return at Christmas time (getting a $59 rate at the AS Sports with the AP discount). All told, we spent 26 days at the parks. Not bad for living 750 miles away from the magic! :king:

 

[Crazy4WDW1]

How much are tickets for DVC members?

DVC prices for AP:

10+ $370.62

3-9 $326.96

 

[sknydave]

Do those annual passes include the water parks and Pleasure Island?

 

[MIDisneyFamily]

Just trying to figure my family's own break even point on this AP thing for our visit. A discount at the Family suite would make them a definate break even. Does anyone have anymore info for aa AP rate for the All Star Family Suites in July or August. We have 6 in our family, and are not paying more than $220ish rate for the family suite to stay in a room big enough to legally ut all of us in on site.
I did the math, and we need to save $1,073 ($839 if it was a renewal) in discounts for the AP to make it to break even. (10 day stay) Thats not counting if Just one in our party gets the AP for a room discount, and the rest of us get MYW tickets , if thats legal and allowabel. Now Im even more confused about all the pricing options. It looks like an AP might be the way to go. The savings in discounts must be there if we get a Family Suite discount.

 

[Master Yoda]

Just trying to figure my family's own break even point on this AP thing for our visit. A discount at the Family suite would make them a definate break even. Does anyone have anymore info for aa AP rate for the All Star Family Suites in July or August. We have 6 in our family, and are not paying more than $220ish rate for the family suite to stay in a room big enough to legally ut all of us in on site.
I did the math, and we need to save $1,073 ($839 if it was a renewal) in discounts for the AP to make it to break even. (10 day stay) Thats not counting if Just one in our party gets the AP for a room discount, and the rest of us get MYW tickets , if thats legal and allowabel. Now Im even more confused about all the pricing options. It looks like an AP might be the way to go. The savings in discounts must be there if we get a Family Suite discount.

From what I remember we paid around $160 per night for the value suite at an AP rate but it was during value season. I am also not sure about weather you can expect an AP rate to come out in July or August. Here is the good news. You need only 1 adult AP holder per room to get an AP rate also you do not need an active AP to book a room at an AP rate. So if an AP rate comes out you can book it without having an AP. If you can not get an AP rate for that time no harm no foul just buy MYW tickets.

 

[KingStefan]

And don't forget to include the price of a MYW ticket for the AP holder in the equation as savings.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

A few posts back, someone had said that APholders can get the Disney Dining Experience for $65. I purchased mine a couple of weeks ago (in 2008) and was charged $60 + tax.


I've already saved $31.... best purchase I ever made.

 

[Rob562]

Just trying to figure my family's own break even point on this AP thing for our visit. A discount at the Family suite would make them a definate break even. Does anyone have anymore info for aa AP rate for the All Star Family Suites in July or August. We have 6 in our family, and are not paying more than $220ish rate for the family suite to stay in a room big enough to legally ut all of us in on site.
I did the math, and we need to save $1,073 ($839 if it was a renewal) in discounts for the AP to make it to break even. (10 day stay) Thats not counting if Just one in our party gets the AP for a room discount, and the rest of us get MYW tickets , if thats legal and allowabel. Now Im even more confused about all the pricing options. It looks like an AP might be the way to go. The savings in discounts must be there if we get a Family Suite discount.

Not everyone in your party needs an AP to get the hotel discounts. The only requirement is one adult AP-holder per room. (It used to be 3 rooms per AP-holder, but that was changed last year). So if you reserve a suite, you only need one AP, as it's considered a single "room". If you stay somewhere and get two rooms, that would require two AP holders. It doesn't even have to be one AP-holder staying in each room. As long as "#rooms = #APs", you're OK. So if the kids were in one room and the parents in the other, that's fine.

When people are weighing out their options of AP vs non-AP, I suggest they write it all down. Make two columns. In one, write the prices for rack-rate hotel (or publicly-available discounted hotel), MYW tickets, etc Then in the second column, write down the same hotel with the AP rate, 1 or 2 APs as necessary, MYW tickets for everyone else.

If you plan on eating at a lot of Table Service restaurants, you could carry the calculations even further and bring your food budget into it. Look at the menus for the places you plan on going to. Come up with a rough estimate on what you'd spend, both paying regularly, and then using the 20% DDE discount. Then add those numbers to the appropriate columns. Don't forget to add the price of the DDE to the AP column.

Add it all up, see which is cheapest and then go with that. Simple as that!

Of course, there aren't any AP discounts out beyond March, so some of this will have to wait until discounts are announced (if they're announced.)
And if you're worried about not getting a particular room type, make a room-only reservation now, and if/when AP rates come out, you can call and they can apply the discount.

-Rob

 

[KingStefan]

Rob562 is right. Organizing the costs in columns is the way to go.

There is a very good discussion on the topic over at MouseSavers.com:

http://www.mousesavers.com/packagevsap.html

Of course, you have to tailor the example to fit your personal needs.

A few additional things I'd point out that their example doesn't consider: One is, if the comparison is close, then consider the additional savings of DDE. You can also compare "components booked separately" with "components booked separately using AP discount"; you don't have to use the DDP to compare.

Also, if you're like us, the DDP doesn't always work well. This really depends on the individual family or group. Some trips we eat mostly CS meals and snacks, with a few TS meals mixed in when we feel like it, and maybe some meals off-site or in the room with groceries that we've bought. If that is the case, the meal cost of the components booked separately option is going to be less, but then again, you're not comparing apples to apples, so there is some intrinsic value that doesn't get considered.

In any case, my point is, an organized system of comparison is essential to see clearly where you are.

 

[WDWRLD]

We usually travel only once a year and in the summer and find that the APs save a bunch of money. They are good for 365 days so we like to go say the first week of July one year and then the second year we go the last week of June....all within the 365 days. It really saves us money for the in between trips like at christmas or Easter.
It also gets you the DDE which can also be a great money saver. The room discounts were great for a few years but here lately nothing has been offered during our travel dates so dont count on them.



But the number one reason to get a AP.....to see the look on peoples faces here in Virginia when they find out we are AP holders for Disney World in Florida...

 

[Mikester71]

Any fellow Canadians on here find the AP worth the investment? We are going March 2009 during the kids Spring Break (peak season rates) for 10 days and this thread caught my eye. Was wondering if it would be worth looking in to. We stay at Pop Century and I like having the water park and DTD and DisneyQuest option too.We usually only go every 2 years, but if we had the AP, it might motivate us to make another trip before they expire. Heck, it doesn't take much to make me start thinking about WDW :ROFLOL:

 

[Kman101]

Can't you get discounts at shops in the parks and Downtown Disney? I never remember and always forget to present my pass.

 

[Master Yoda]

Can't you get discounts at shops in the parks and Downtown Disney? I never remember and always forget to present my pass.

There is a 10% discount at WOD. If I am not mistaken some of the resturants also will give you an AP discount.

 

[PigletIsMyCat]

There is a 10% discount at WOD. If I am not mistaken some of the resturants also will give you an AP discount.

Yes you can. Although I think they just changed it all because Disney's website says something different than my pass. Here's a link - allearsnet has the same info the AP holder site does. It's far down the page.

http://allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm

$25 off the Disney Dining Experience (ah, now the $60 they charged me makes sense!), 10% off at a bunch of restaurants (hmm...they took Biergarten off the list), 10% off at a bunch of stores.