Should I buy Annual Passes?

[DisneyworldDave]

We are taking our first DVC trip in three weeks. We are staying five nights at AKL. There is a good possibility we will go again sometime next November. Even if we were only going to enter the parks for a total of five days spread between the two trips, it looks like it would make sense to buy annual passes. In the 25 times I've been to WDW, I've never purchased annual passes. Any advice would be appreciated!

 

[brandip22]

I've heard the break even point was 10 days, but I could be wrong as I have not done the math- and that may be for non-discounted APs. However, for ease of use, I would buy the AP anyway. Then you can park hop without worrying about or paying extra for that anyway! Welcome Home

 

[ccigliano]

Since we get $100 off the annual pass price, 10 days is about the break-even but they're are other factors. Did you plan to do 1 park per day or park hop. If you want to park hop then the annual pass wins but if it's a one park per day that may change things. If you get the pass then you can go to any park you'd like at any time and enter Epcot just to eat dinner. It really is a convenient way to tour the parks. And then when you see roundtrip airfare to Orlando for $99 - you already have you annual pass so its a no brainer - just book the flight and go. There are always rooms at SSR or OKW and now AKV is picking up the slack too. Good luck planning.

 

[DisneyworldDave]

I have heard 10 days is break even. But.....if I bought a 2 day (non-hopper) pass then a 3 day pass on a later trip, it looks like 5 days would be the break even. Does that make sense?

 

[Sandisw]

I have heard 10 days is break even. But.....if I bought a 2 day (non-hopper) pass then a 3 day pass on a later trip, it looks like 5 days would be the break even. Does that make sense?

Yes, it does. We got AP's last summer and booked our 2010 trip so that it fell 1 week earlier. This way, we got two trips out of one pass.

If you go with the AP, you know that you have them and once you are down there, you may find you want to enter the parks more than originally planned. This way, you can, without worrying about it. And, if you decide to take an unexpected trip, you will have the pass.

The only other option is to get a 5 day, no expiration ticket. At Undercovertourist.com, that is only $308, about $100 less than an DVC AP. Good luck!

 

[erionm]

I have heard 10 days is break even. But.....if I bought a 2 day (non-hopper) pass then a 3 day pass on a later trip, it looks like 5 days would be the break even. Does that make sense?

Another thing to consider is that the price of the Magic Your Way tickets is front loaded. The more days the ticket is for, the lower the price per day is.

 

[ford91exploder]

Break even is about 10 days BUT AP's have other advantages
10/20 percent discount on merchandise at most Disney shops - not all and always pays to ask, 20% discount at some Disney restaurants and access to the Tables in Wonderland program 75 bucks for a year but is a 20% discount at all property restaurants which accept the dining plan which may be a better deal than the dining plan in some cases and only one of you needs to have a TIW card.

On Cash ressies AP is good for 40% pct off at Value and Moderate and 45% at Deluxe and Villa resorts which is better than our DVC discount at same.

If you eat at disney restaurants and buy Disney products you may break even on the passes even without including park admission.

Also if you LOSE your AP Disney will reissue it for free with a photo ID.

So yeah an AP is worth it in many cases.

 

[DisneyworldDave]

Thanks for all the help!

 

[saintstickets]

Sample ticket prices (adult theme park admittance only - no water parks or DisneyQuest) ...

Undercover Tourist @ MouseSavers.com (Price includes tax + free shipping) -
6 day MYW(No Exp) - $307.95
7 day MYW(No Exp) - $355.95
8 day MYW(No Exp) - $394.95
10 day MYW(No Exp) - $452.00

6 day PH(No Exp) - $371.95
7 day PH(No Exp) - $402.00
8 day PH(No Exp) - $446.95
10 day PH(No Exp) - $501.00


1st year AP - $520.79 less $100 DVC discount = $420.79
(unlimited admission to 4 major parks)

Assuming my numbers are correct (prices subject to change) then the choice would depend on whether you wanted the Park Hopper option. If you do NOT, then the AP is not beneficial unless you will spend 9 days or more in a year at the parks. If you want the Park Hopper option, then the AP is better if you will spend 8 days or more in a year at the parks. Prices are different if you wish to include the water parks and DisneyQuest.

In my case, I will be at the parks for 3 days in May, 2010, 4 days in Nov, 2010 and 3 days in Nov, 2011 so I am getting the 10 day Park Hopper with the No Expiration option.

Of course, ticket prices will change in a year or so and we'll have to recalculate the choices all over!

 

[photobob]

We have tried to plan around the use of AP's. The first time we bought them we had a late June trip one year and then a February trip and early June trip the next. We got 14 days of use that 12 month period. It really does add another element into planning.

We have struggled with trying to decide what to do for upcoming trips. We have thought about getting the 10 day non-expiring hoppers with waterparks. They are very expensive but you could make them last several trips with decent planning. The downfall to these as opposed to the AP is that you don't really want to use a day for a couple of hours at a park. With the AP you can go to a park just for dinner if you want to and you don't have to worry that you won't have enough days left for your next stay. There are pros and cons for both, you just have to find what will work best for you vacation patterns.

 

[Tracyplus5]

Don't mean to hijack, but just to clarify...the AP is not a family pass- it is PER PERSON?
If so, at what age do they start charging for park admission? (would I need to get a pass for my 3 yr old?)

So, in addition to the 17k for the dvc, the 1k+ maintenance fees, there's another $2500+ for our family to actually go to the parks? Just checking...

 

[erionm]

Don't mean to hijack, but just to clarify...the AP is not a family pass- it is PER PERSON?
If so, at what age do they start charging for park admission? (would I need to get a pass for my 3 yr old?)

So, in addition to the 17k for the dvc, the 1k+ maintenance fees, there's another $2500+ for our family to actually go to the parks? Just checking...

Each person age 3 or older will need to have their own ticket or annual pass.

 

[Sandisw]

Don't mean to hijack, but just to clarify...the AP is not a family pass- it is PER PERSON?
If so, at what age do they start charging for park admission? (would I need to get a pass for my 3 yr old?)

So, in addition to the 17k for the dvc, the 1k+ maintenance fees, there's another $2500+ for our family to actually go to the parks? Just checking...

Yes, a DVC purchase just covers your accommodations. You will always have to purchase tickets, food, transportation, etc. on top of that.

AP's are a great deal (with the discount we currently get--but don't buy because of this perk as perks can come and go and are not guaranteed to continue) if you can work your trips so that you will get about 9 - 10 days of parks from it. We buy one and then schedule our trips 51 weeks apart. This way, we will buy every other year.

If your plan is not to visit WDW every year, but every other, then the AP is not as great a deal. But, even a 7 day MYW, park hopper ticket is going to run around $300 - $350 per person in 2010 (a little less for 3 - 9 year olds).

 

[rkwier]

We have tried to plan around the use of AP's. The first time we bought them we had a late June trip one year and then a February trip and early June trip the next. We got 14 days of use that 12 month period. It really does add another element into planning.

We have struggled with trying to decide what to do for upcoming trips. We have thought about getting the 10 day non-expiring hoppers with waterparks. They are very expensive but you could make them last several trips with decent planning. The downfall to these as opposed to the AP is that you don't really want to use a day for a couple of hours at a park. With the AP you can go to a park just for dinner if you want to and you don't have to worry that you won't have enough days left for your next stay. There are pros and cons for both, you just have to find what will work best for you vacation patterns.

We had this same dilemma and decided to go with 7-day, non-expiring park hoppers. We usually got to WDW twice a year for ~4 days each, basically a nice long weekend. We typically only spend one of those days at a park. For us, we can spread the 7-day passes out over the course of several years. They are expensive, but they would be more expensive if we bought them at a later date. As others have said, I think the real key is how many days you plan to spend in the parks each year. If you know that it will be 10+ days, I would go with the AP.

 

[DisneyMama27]

We never bought APs before joining DVC, but now we always talk ourselves into it. We usually go for 12-14 days in the summer, and sometimes take other trips. I agree with pp that it is a no-brainer when you find a cheap flight. We have taken our kids on trips by themselves that we wouldn't have done w/o the AP. You can always find a studio somewhere, AP covers tickets, and food for 2 is not bad (we've even done DDP last minute since it's not hard to get ADRs for 2 and is pretty cheap for one adult and one child).

We also love that we can go to a park for dinner, or just for a couple hours, and not feel that we have burned a day on our tickets!

We have also learned that it's not always cheaper to renew your ADR. If you don't have another trip planned right away, wait until the trip - then you still have 12 months from then. The discount for renewing isn't helpful if it means you'd have to renew twice. (We let ours expire in September because we aren't going again until July. We can then go again in June 2011 on the same pass. If we renewed in Sept '09, we'd have to pay again before June '11.)

I don't think we'd get the passes if we just were coming for 5 days in the year, but you can always upgrade to an AP if you decide you want the flexibility, park-hopping, and more days to use.

 

[DisneyworldDave]

Great info! Thanks for all the insights!

 

[ccigliano]

Just to add a little more info - I buy my annual pass when I go to Disney in the second week of December and I make sure I go back right after Thanksgiving to following year thereby by getting at least two trips out of the annual pass. I won't purchase another annual pass until the following December when I go the 2nd week again so I really only purchase an annual pass every other year but still visit Disney every year. The year I have the pass though I try to squeeze in an extra trip for a special occasion and/or when I see great airfare even if its just for a long weekend.

 

[Torgue]

We are looking at getting AP this year for the first time but will doing a DLR trip again. Wondering if there is anyway to get an AP for both?

 

[erionm]

We are looking at getting AP this year for the first time but will doing a DLR trip again. Wondering if there is anyway to get an AP for both?

Disney does not offer a global AP.

 

[edk35]

But BE CAREFUL.....those AP's have a way of MAKING IT EASY to go A LOT more during the year when you are DVC members. We got AP's ONCE!!! We bought them in Aug. of 07 for our first DVC trip. We used them for 8 days on that trip. THEN we went back in Nov. and used them again for 7 days. THEN.....we decided to go in Jan. and even though we didn't stay DVC for that 6 night trip..WE USED THEM AGAIN. THEN....we went back in July 08 and used them for our 14 day trip that we stretched our POINTS stay out with 4 days of discounted cash ressies. SO AP BUYER BEWARE!!!!!!!!!!! There is something about wanting to get YOUR USE OUT OF THAT AP..and especially if you have good airfare deals like we had at the time on SW and Airtran. Our poor dog was booked at the PUPPY HOTEL so much during that time that she started to panic when she saw us get those suitcases out ONE MORE TIME.