? A/P verses Hopper's

[kellydizfan]

Hi,
We are a family of 5 - kids 12, 9, 6 going in August 06 possibly for 9 days if not 10 - trying to figure what to do. I am going to be using our points to stay at the Animal Kingdom Lodge as we all fell in love with the resort last year. I know use of points is alot of money but we are going to do it. My question is passes. I can't make my reservations until after the 1st of the year as I need to talk to my brother and his wife as they want to go with us and I need to finalize dates. We only go 1 time every 2 years and trying to make up my mind about what tickets to purchase. If one of us buys the annual pass, say an adult pass, with the DVC discount, what savings will it give me - and do I get say 7 day park hopper non-expiry for the other 4. I have read about buying a dining card with the A/P? Can someone please help with my decision - make it a little easier and looking for the most cost effective way. I figure if I buy the 7 day park pass for the 2 kids and other 2 adults off of ticketmania with the mousesavers letter, that gives me 5 passes to the water parks and disneyquest to take up the other days. I want to do the best I can and the lowest possible price. But if I purchase the 7 day for the other 4 then I will need to purchase tickets for say myself for the water parks and disney quest. Is it really cost effective? Any advise would greatly be appreciated.
Thanks,
Kelly

 

[JimMIA]

I'm not going to begin to do your math for you, because so much depends on exactly how you think you might use your tickets. But I do have two suggestions.

One is that you don't need No-expiration tickets. MYW tickets expire 14 days after the first use, so that will cover your entire trip without paying for no-expire.

The other suggestion is to consider buying one AP (of whatever variety suits your needs best) and the Disney Dining Experience card. The DDE is $50 and it gives you 20% off food and beverage at most Disney food outlets. The 20% also applies to alcoholic beverages, which are not covered by any other discount. It also covers up to 10 people per meal, provided you are dining together and are all on the same check. Even if you don't eat out much, I'm sure you'll have no trouble eating $250 worth of food & bev to break even. If your BIL/SIL go with you, you could do that in one meal.

The DDE card is good for a year, so if anyone thinks they may return within a year, get the card in that person's name. You'll actually receive two cards, so if you go one way and DH goes another on a particular day, you can both use the card for meals.

 

[DrTomorrow]

I'm too frazzled to do the comparison (FIVE DAYS TO GO ) but with the DVC discount, wouldn't an AP be better than a 7 day MYW? At least take a look.....

 

[tmt martins]

Also if your going 9 or 10 days I would get that many days ticket it's only acouple more dollars once you get pass the 6th day.
I would get the PAP with DVC discount and 4 10 day hopper +'s the price between the AP & PAP would get you into the water parks and DQ.