Should we purchase an annual pass?

[jgperkin]

Hi All!

We are leaving in 9 DAYS!!! for Disney. We are returning aug. 9- 20 for our 10 year anniversary. 4 nights will on the disney dream! Should we purchase an annual pass? If so, where should we purchase it? We already have our current package paid for. I had read somewhere we could use our ticket money in that package toward the annual pass price?

Our biggest concern is the dining issue! We LOVE free dining and we are not sure if the annual pass will work for us. We are using free dining in Feb. but not in August. Just curious how the dining works when you have an annual pass. Sorry so many questions, but we are trying to make a decision on this before we leave!

THANKS!

 

[vicki_c]

you can't get free dining without buying tickets. But you can use the tickets in your current package to upgrade to an AP. If you already know you won't be looking for free dining in August, and it looks like you have 10-11 days this trip, plus a future trip in the works, it seems like an AP would make sense for you.

You can buy your AP at the parks or DTD.

 

[larryz]

Absolutely. Multiple visits per year really make the AP a good deal. I'm a big fan of the Premium Annual -- you get all the benefits of the regular annual plus the water parks, DisneyQuest, and special bennies using the non-park attractions.

 

[jgperkin]

does anyone know what discounts have been released for the annual pass holders? anything into the summer yet?

Oh one more thing... is there normally black out dates on room discounts? Just curious because I am a teacher and we normally travel during breaks and summer. THANKS!

 

[4myprincesses]

My DD is in the CP. I took her down the end of Jan. and stayed for 5 days. I had already booked a week at POFQ for the end of Feb. so the whole family can visit her. I'll also be going down again in May to bring her home. With all that Disney time I bought an AP for $531. When I got home I called about my Feb. ressie and saved an additional $210 off the discount rate I was already getting. Plus we have a couple of tours booked and saved another $64 for the Segway Around the World. Wild African Trek was not discounted, but we did get the intro price. Add to that the discount on shopping and eating and it was a no brainer.

 

[GiGi30]

We upgraded last year because we went on 3 trips within a year. It was very much worth it to us. I'm 4-and-a-half months pregnant, so we won't be back for a couple of years, but we will probably get the AP again. Plus, the discount is nice in the stores that offer them, too!

 

[Cheshire Figment]

You cannot get "free" dining with an AP. However, generally the savings on room plus the savings due to having an AP will more than make up the cost of the DDP. Additionally, you can purchase a Table in Wonderland discount card for dining discounts.

If you go to the locked sticky Everything About WDW Tickets in this Forum, especially Post #7, you can get a lot more information about upgrading to an AP. An easy way to get to the sticky is by clicking on the link in my signature.

 

[jgperkin]

You cannot get "free" dining with an AP. However, generally the savings on room plus the savings due to having an AP will more than make up the cost of the DDP. Additionally, you can purchase a Table in Wonderland discount card for dining discounts.

If you go to the locked sticky Everything About WDW Tickets in this Forum, especially Post #7, you can get a lot more information about upgrading to an AP. An easy way to get to the sticky is by clicking on the link in my signature.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

 

[jmay]

Also in DD there are certin stores that give you discounts with an annual pass

 

[SOnotLayuh]

We have saved an awesome amount of money since we decided to go for APs. We had always been going twice within a calendar year, so we finally just took the plunge and did it.

The AP discounts are awesome - I'm a graduate student and can only travel during peak times, too, and have never NOT had a discount to choose from.

We would have never been able to afford starting Deluxe if we hadn't gone the AP route... it also has made us take more trips within the year (we are lucky enough to be able to go for a 3day weekend - the drive is only 10 hours each way).