1 person in group with annual pass - UPH for others?

[nuzmom]

Ok, first time posing, hope this goes right....

We're planning a WDW vacation in September (10 days, 9 nights - 4 adults, 2 children). I'm THINKING that one of us will buy the annual pass so we can get the discounts that come with it and possibly get a good "room-only" rate.

We're going to be staying at the Fort Wilderness Cabins and we like to eat 2 meals at cabin and one meal per day on site (sometimes at a NICE restaurant so even 10% off meal ticket is good).

My question is..

If one member of the party has the annual pass, it is ok to buy the UPH for everyone else?

I'm asking because I thought I "heard" that if you buy the UPH, then everyone in party has to have it.

Also, I would be interested in your opinions of having one person going with the annual pass. There isn't any way to purchase the pass at a discount is there (only way to purchase is through Disney?).

Thanks so much for the help.
We've been to WDW before, but like to get the best deal for our money - don't we all?

 

[RoyalCanadian]

IMHO, you would be better off purchasing Annual Passes for the entire party as there is a good chance your 10 day/9 night UPH is going to exceed the cost of the AP. Check the numbers and go to http://allearsnet.com/pl/breakeven.php to check out the break-even comparisons.

 

[nuzmom]

Thanks so much for your reply.

I have definitely considered AP's for all, but here's what I come up with...
UPH for 10 days is $410 (adv purchase)
AP is $379, but doesn't include the waterparks or DisneyQuest.
We'll definitely do at least one water part and DisneyQuest at least once. That would add $28 (x2) to the AP cost, Total cost with AP = a minimum of $435. And that's if we only go to one water pack and one time to DQ.
The PAP is $499, so it's $89 more than the UPH.

Right now, the way I see it, if one member buys the PAP, it MAY pay for itself with a discount on the room.

The PAP for all would be nice, just don't know if we'll be back within a year to justify the cost. Oh, who knows, we just might do it and get the PAP's for all. That would be a good reason to "have" to go back within a year!!!

Also, the special that's on right now with the buy 5 get 2 makes the UPH very attractive, but you have to get the dream maker package. With that, I don't think we can have someone on the PAP. ???

Here's my real dilemia. The 5/2 special right now seems good, but the PAP does too. The 5/2 special is for reservations made by 6/28 and the AP rates for September aren't out by then. So, I need to figure out if I want to gamble that we'll get a better deal with the AP rates or not.

IF the AP rates gives us the cabins at $154 per night and I have 1 PAP, then we save about $240 over the 5/2 rate. That would pay for the PAP's for everyone!!!

Phew. That's it in a nutshell (or two). What do you WDW veteran's think? 5/2 special now, or take a chance that the AP rate later will give us cabins at $154 per night?

THANKS!!!!!

 

[bigbabyblues]

I *think* you can buy a UPH without the package, but I'm not 100% sure. If you get a package, I was told that everyone in the room has to be on the same package, and everyone has to be on the package. If you can get a UPH without a package, that would be what I'd do.

You might check out Disney's site to see if you can buy just a UPH, or call CRO

 

[Bojangles]

Sometimes you have to be flexable with your travel dates or resort choice in order to get AP rates. It's not guaranteed that they will release them at all, or if they do, that you will get one.

In the past, there have been room only discount codes specifically for the FW cabins. Maybe something like that will come up soon and you won't have to worry.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

You can get much better DQ prices through other sources -- please consider signing up for the e-newsletters at both ticketmania.com and mousesavers.com -- you should be pleasantly surprised with the amount of money you will be able to save on DQ tickets. Even the regular price through ticketmania.com is $24 -- and additional discounts are available for newsletter readers.

 

[JennyDrake]

I MAY be able to help here <grin>--or not! If one person gets an AP, then they can get AP rates for the rooms, but all rooms must be booked in their name and paid for by them. If your UPH are part of a package deal, then the AP will NOT help you with those rates If you ARE considering a package deal, please look carefully, they are rarely worth it, but there are some exceptions.
We have found the AP to be worth it in room savings alone (but we don't travel at peak times), especially if you can be flexible about where you stay.

 

[HaleyB]

Yes, if you want a AP for the room rates they are room only. So you would not be able to get the 7 for 5 deal and an AP rate on top of that (you can never get two discounts at the same time).
If you book while you can the 7 for 5 for everyone might be a good deal. Make it a better deal by adding a room only night before and after so you get full use from the UPH's.
OR you could get one AP and use it to try to get a Room only code discount for your room. Then get UPH's for everyone else (This you can do). The cabins often get great AP rates.
OR Book the best non-AP room only rate (maybe AAA?) and get everyone 7 day PHP with the pluses for water parks- and I think one of the discount ticket sellers will give you DQ tickets as a bonus w/ 7 day PHP's. With any luck a room only code for everyone will come out and you can apply it to your resservation! If you love DQ and need to go twice Ticketmania is local and so you can still buy discount tickets after you get there.

Will you take me? I am neat and don't take up much space.

 

[HaleyB]

Can you book the 5+2 now and change it later if an AP rate shows up? I am 99% sure you can...

 

[nuzmom]

I spoke with WDW reservations and they said that I would have to book the 7 for 5 and then if I wanted room only later, would have to cancel the reservation, get deposit back, and start a new reservation (with new deposit and everything). They said that if the resort had overbooked, planning on cancelations, then when I canceled the reservation, I won't be able to rebook.

Still not 100% sure what to do and the deadline is 6/28 on the 7/5 deal.

Right now I think we're leaning towards getting PAP for everyone (and going again next year) and waiting to see what happens with the rates. I'm hoping that there will be AP rates for the cabins for September or that they extend the 7 for 5 special.

What do you think of making the 7 for 5 and then cancelling and starting over? I'm wondering if the AP rates for September don't come out until August, it might be a problem?????

Thanks for all of your comments and help!!!! I think I've pretty much figured out that one person can have AP and everyone else get the UPH. But, to get the 7 for 5 deal, everyone has to get the package which includes the UPHs.

 

[Taja]

Historic probability for AP discounts in September is good, as it traditionally is a slower time at WDW. However, as others have mentioned, there is no guarantee of a discount, as WDW bases their offers on advance bookings. If reservations are brisk, it's possible they won't offer discounts or smaller ones might be available. At one time, the only discounts WDW offered were about 10% to specific groups, as tourism was brisk and they usually were at 90%+ capacity.

I'm also looking for a September AP discount, although not counting on it.

For your tickets, I don't think the PAP cover DisneyQuest (could be wrong, though!), just the water parks and PI (also general admission to that sports complex for "non-events"). I don't do water parks, so it's less expensive for me to purchase the odd PI ticket with my AP discount or through a discount ticket broker. Would your group go to the water parks or PI often enough to make them worthwhile?

We found the UPH tickets to be a waste, as we weren't interested in all of the extras, altlhough the Summer 2003 FTP was a terrific value overall (and the only reason we had UPH tickets).

Just another opinion!


__________________
Taja

 

[nuzmom]

Thanks, Taja, for your response.

I'm hoping that there will be AP discounts for September, but if not, I think we'll save enough with the 10% off certain restaurants and by going back within a year (also renewing at a cheaper rate and going back for the third year would be nice!!!).

I did check on Disney's web page and DQ is included in the PAP. We're only going to go to water parks once or twice, but at least twice to DQ. We may not "break even" on the PAP vs AP this year, but in the long run, I think we'll be better off.

Do you know if you buy 1 PAP, are there discounts on buying other PAP's? I figure there's probably not, but if there are, I'll buy the passes at two different times.

Thanks again.