Annual Pass Resort Discount?

[Sue M]

Originally Posted by Bethany6537

I am following this thread because we are potentially looking to do the same thing . My question is about the dining plan. Can we add the dining plan to an annual pass room only reservation?

Yes. It's called AP + Dining. You will then be subject to the package rules.

[Sue M]

Originally Posted by Missyrose

Man, they really don't want to give out those 40% discounts anymore. 37%??!?! I mean, come on.

I know the AP rates have been pretty disappointing this year. When I checked out the AP rate for our AKL stay last Aug. I found the weekends weren't discounted, and were RACK rate. So made it more expensive then our BB offer with the same 35% discount. Glad we booked the BB.

[todd222222]

Originally Posted by chemnerd09

I wouldn't get the AP if you are just looking for a room discount. We have ours because we go down twice a year and its cheaper than buying tickets for both times. The room discount is an added bonus.

Is there a down side to having an AP?

Just looking at the math it seems to make a lot of sense for one member of our party to get an AP.

We will most likely end up getting 2 rooms at Pop standard view for 8 nights. The non-discounted rooms together is a total of $2812.

With the current 30% AP discount that goes down to $1968.40.

A savings $843.60.

I'm looking at the 10 day MYW w/park hopper from Undercover Tourist, which is $379.95.

The AP is $611.31

So the added cost between the 10 day ticket and the AP is $231.36

So while we are saving $843.60 there is an added cost of $231.36 for a final savings of $612.24

Plus we get the extra AP benefits. The savings is much higher if you start looking at moderate or deluxe rooms.

I know this may be thought of "gaming" the AP system, but it seems to be completely within the rules.

Since we don't have to show the AP until we check in (or within 24 hours of checking in) we can hold off on buying the AP until we get there, so in case a General Public discount comes we can rebook with that.....but I don't think this will happen for our time frame.

Am I missing something?

Originally Posted by fla4fun

With a room only discount, you don't get the discount for the entire trip by arriving on the last day of the promotion. That only works with packages. So either a GP or AP room only discount would have to be valid for every night of your trip. I ran into that last December, when the GP discount only covered half of my December trip, so when I booked it only half the vacation was discounted. Then they released the AP discount and all my dates were covered, so I switched over and got a discount for each night.

Thanks - I knew this at one time, but I had forgotten.

[1mama2three]

Originally Posted by todd222222

Is there a down side to having an AP?

Just looking at the math it seems to make a lot of sense for one member of our party to get an AP.

We will most likely end up getting 2 rooms at Pop standard view for 8 nights. The non-discounted rooms together is a total of $2812.

With the current 30% AP discount that goes down to $1968.40.

A savings $843.60.

I'm looking at the 10 day MYW w/park hopper from Undercover Tourist, which is $379.95.

The AP is $611.31

So the added cost between the 10 day ticket and the AP is $231.36

So while we are saving $843.60 there is an added cost of $231.36 for a final savings of $612.24

Plus we get the extra AP benefits. The savings is much higher if you start looking at moderate or deluxe rooms.

I know this may be thought of "gaming" the AP system, but it seems to be completely within the rules.

Since we don't have to show the AP until we check in (or within 24 hours of checking in) we can hold off on buying the AP until we get there, so in case a General Public discount comes we can rebook with that.....but I don't think this will happen for our time frame.

Am I missing something?



Thanks - I knew this at one time, but I had forgotten.

When we booked our AP rates back in May 2012, we were told that only one person in our family needed an AP to get the discount on up to three rooms.

Also, if you're buying your tickets through UT, make sure to go through the gates of one of the parks BEFORE you upgrade the ticket to the AP. This will lock in the discounted UT ticket at the Disney gate price, and so you will actually pay LESS than the $231 for the upgrade. You'll pay only the difference between Disney's charge of a 10-day PH ticket and the price of the AP. In order to do this you have to take the ticket through the gates first, and then take to to the guest services area inside the park. We stopped at EPCOT on our way to our hotel in May, we paid for parking, and then one of us went through the gates and then headed to member services. Once at member services it took only about 10 minutes for them to make the change, and they'll refund you for parking because it is free on the AP...just save your receipt for that! Obviously, not everyone will want to go through the gates...otherwise they'd be using one of their 10 days. It is also possible that you could go check-in at the hotel first, and THEN head over to a park to do the upgrade. I've heard that they'll allow you to check in without the AP, and they'll tell you you'll have to stop by the desk with the AP within a certain period of time.

I haven't found any downside to having the AP. We got several discounts on souveneirs, dining and otherwise...I never carried around the list...I just asked whenever we made a purchase, and I was told that they did accept the discount more often than not.

[1mama2three]

Oh, and the biggest PLUS to the AP, is being able to convince my husband that we should visit again in January before the AP expires.

[1mama2three]

Oops...I forgot to add one more thing...

Make sure to sign up for the www.mousesavers.com newsletter in order to get special discounted rates on already reduced UT tickets. If you sign up for their newsletter that link is included in the email sent out on/around the 15th of each month, I believe. When you click on the link it sends you to a special UT page for Mousesavers members.

Also, this might be too in-depth...but when we bought our tickets through UT, we bought the tickets that saved the most off the regular gate price. That way, we were getting the most savings before the lock-in at gate price. We all ended up getting APs, so I did this with all our tickets, and I believe we saved over $100 off of gate price by purchasing through the Mousesavers UT link. Which ticket is the BEST savings varies from time to time, so you'll just have to see what that is when you get ready to buy.

Last big tip...if you purchase your tickets from UT make sure to photocopy the backs of all of those passes right away. Those numbers on the back are invaluable in case the tickets are lost.

[todd222222]

Great info!
Thanks!
Todd

[Isbell5]

Can you stack an AP discount on top of other discounts?

[kat3668]

Originally Posted by Isbell5

Can you stack an AP discount on top of other discounts?

Nope... but that would be nice

[aaarcher86]

Originally Posted by Isbell5

Can you stack an AP discount on top of other discounts?

No. You can't stack any discount with another regardless of the type.