Advice on Buying AP Just to Get Room Discount??

[Bill From PA]

My trip is off in the future, but I like to get my ducks lined up early. In the event that AP discount rates for my WDW resort of choice is the best option, a few questions:

Can I book the rate without already having the AP in hand?

Are APs available through web based discounters?

APs have no plusses (I assume) but I've got those galore from old Hoppers. Does the AP offer unlimited hopping, or is there an add-on for that as with the new Magic passes?

FINALLY, What would be the cost for one adult AP that included hopping?

Thanks for your patience and for any info offered.

Bill From PA

 

[Ilovestitch]

You can book the AP rate w/out having an AP, you just need one at check in. They do give unlimited hopping, which is nice. -Steph

 

[ciera321]

I wouldn't buy an AP just for room discounts since sometimes there are no discounts....You can always book a room with AP rates before you buy one, as long as you have the voucher or the AP when you check in. We were staying for 10 days and the AP just made better sense for us. There are other benefits, dining and retail discounts, discounts at water parks and DQ. You can park hop as much as you'd like. The price of basic AP is $420.68 (10+) Premium is $546.49 and includes admission to water parks and DQ......Hope this helps

 

[goofy4tink]

Hi Bill...have to say that I love your posts. But I digress. I'll try to answer some of your questions.
You don't need to have the AP in hand to book at the AP rate. There has been much discussion about whether or not you have to actually show it when you check in. I always have mine in hand, just in case.

The beauty of an AP is that if you have been in MK for most of the day and you want to eat at LeCellier, you just hop on over to WS for dinner. It makes life much nicer for the more seasoned WDW traveler. We don't seem to stay in one park all day.So, you do not have to add-on anything in order to hop on an AP.

I believe the most recent cost for an adult AP is in the area of $403. May not be exact but it should be close.

We get ours basically for the ability to go to the parks whenever we want. Yes, we do book a few nights using the AP rate but that's not what we have it for. When I get home from our trip in June, we will have used our AP this year for 24 days....that comes to about $17 a day. And that is two parks usually a day. The AP rate doesn't seem to save much on the values but the moderates are a little better. And you can save big time with the deluxes.

 

[jcanary]

do you have any children in your party? If you do what about purchasing a childs AP, I would assume it would be cheaper. I don't recall seeing these on the discounted ticket websites. May only be available thru Disney.

 

[Chuck S]

Standard APs do allow hopping. AP cost, for non-resident or non-DVC is $420.68 (adult, incl. tax).

Current policy does allow you to book an AP rate room without having the pass, but you will need to show the pass or a voucher at check-in. However, other programs, like DDE, do require a code from the back of your voucher or AP before they will process it. I would never advocate buying an AP for the sole purpose of discounts, buy APs because you will have the number of park days to at least break even...that way you won't be disappointed if discounts are not available.

 

[doodlebug]

I am going to be purchasing an AP for my trip coming up in mid April because it will save me over $600.00 on my hotel rate and then I will be able to get discounts on eateries, stores and whatnot during our trip.. So spending the extra $$ for the AP is worth at least a $400.00 savings on my hotel..

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I agree. Make your reservation and then when an AP rate comes out apply it. Then when you arrive, just go buy your AP, checking and your done.

 

[Gillian]

Just be careful, because once you have an annual pass you will do everything in your power to get to WDW as many times as possible before it expires!!

 

[Tinkaroo]

It's also my understanding that the only way to purchase AP's is through Disney - they are not offered by discounters. If you want to purchase in advance, you can do it through their website.

 

[lisareniff]

Can I book the rate without already having the AP in hand?

Yes. Offically you need the AP at check-in but they often allow check-in with a voucher and have you come back later to verify that you had it activated. I reserved a room with a AP rate, however in the end I wish I had stayed with the general public code. It was only a $40 difference and once the MYW ticket structure came out it really didn't save us any money.

Are APs available through web based discounters?

No.

APs have no plusses (I assume) but I've got those galore from old Hoppers. Does the AP offer unlimited hopping, or is there an add-on for that as with the new Magic passes?

The AP includes hopping to the 4 major parks (no pluses). Look into a Premium AP (PAP) if you are interested in having the pluses included. I would just use your old hoppers - they're already paid for!

FINALLY, What would be the cost for one adult AP that included hopping?

What Chuck said.
Allears web page
With the MYW prices it is a higher break even point. An AP would be equilivent to 11.9 days of a 10day MYW hopping non-expiring pass (no plusses). If you are just going on one large trip you wouldn't need the non-expiring option and could almost buy 2 10 day MYW tickets for the price of one AP. So make sure you would really be saving money first.

 

[Bill From PA]

Wow, help was sure fast in coming! Thanks, all and thank you, goofy4tink, for the personal mention. We're planning on 9 days in a WDW resort next March. I'm not optimistic about getting a Teacher's rate at S/D and paying $149 rack rate for a Moderate would pain me, but I'd do it. I'm a AAA member but apparently 10% - 15% off is the best they offer. The AP rate for March of this year for a Mod seems to be $104. If I can save $405 by buying an AP at $420 vs the $258 for a 10 day with hopping, I'm ahead enough to make it worth the effort, PLUS, I've got a reason to get there again in less than a year.

Thanks,
Bill From PA

 

[kirbsam]

I would book where i wanted to stay and if ap rates come out and you can snag one, then buy an ap. if ap rates do not come out or do not make it worth the money, then do not buy one. i am waiting for ap rates for my ocotber trip. different than what others may think, i would only get ap for the discounts at the resort. anything else would be gravy.

 

[swilphil]

Bill--Swan/Dolphin also has AP rates. They aren't as cheap as the teachers' rate, but someone posted they were able to use the AP rates on nights when a teachers' rate wasn't available. If you are looking at Mods, you might check out POR (mansions) or POFQ. We've stayed Swan/Dolphin and Port Orleans seems to be the most similar of the mods. The others are way too spread out.

 

[n2mm]

I wouldn't buy an AP just for room discounts since sometimes there are no discounts....You can always book a room with AP rates before you buy one, as long as you have the voucher or the AP when you check in. We were staying for 10 days and the AP just made better sense for us. There are other benefits, dining and retail discounts, discounts at water parks and DQ. You can park hop as much as you'd like. The price of basic AP is $420.68 (10+) Premium is $546.49 and includes admission to water parks and DQ......Hope this helps

I agree with this poster. I never recommend buying an AP for the room discounts. However, you did mention you would only think of getting one if you could get a discount at your resort of choice.

That being said, I pulled the room discount wording from the passholder website (something you will have access to if you become an AP holder).

Room Discounts

Discounts are valid for purchases made by the Passholder only and valid Pass ID is required for redemption.

Periodically, a limited number of rooms may be made available at select Walt Disney World® Resort hotels and select Disney Vacation Club Resorts at discounted rates for Passholders. Visit Disneyworld.com/passholder or see your Mickey Monitor newsletter for special offers.

so as you can see by their website, room discounts are neither guaranteed to be available for certain timeframes nor certain resorts. yes I have seen times where there are blackouts and have seen times when certain resorts are not offering discounts.

There are lots of other perks to being a passholder too. Previews, discounts on lunches, the new discount on the DDE card, 50% off mini golf. I'm sure this site WDWinfo.com should have a section on AP holders. Don't get confused with Florida AP holders, sometimes their discounts are a little different.

But you should still check if out as long as you're getting all of your ducks in a row, it's good you know all the possibilities. good luck!

 

[STEPHILL]

I booked an AP rate. We were there last week. The first night between my room and my parent's room, it paid for itself. They never asked for it at check in, but it may have been in the system that I had purchased it, because the CM never asked if I needed tickets. You can book up to 3 rooms with the AP. They did let my parents pay for their room with their credit card and me with mine. I had paid the deposit and they applied the entire deposit to my bill. If there is an AP code that comes out, book it. If something better comes along, you can always cancel. I ordered my AP about 3 weeks before we left. They sent me a voucher and I redeemed it at guest services my first day at the parks.

 

[Hawk]

Just be careful, because once you have an annual pass you will do everything in your power to get to WDW as many times as possible before it expires!!

What Gillian said! You know it.

Tim

 

[Mainebound]

Wow, help was sure fast in coming! Thanks, all and thank you, goofy4tink, for the personal mention. We're planning on 9 days in a WDW resort next March. I'm not optimistic about getting a Teacher's rate at S/D and paying $149 rack rate for a Moderate would pain me, but I'd do it. I'm a AAA member but apparently 10% - 15% off is the best they offer. The AP rate for March of this year for a Mod seems to be $104. If I can save $405 by buying an AP at $420 vs the $258 for a 10 day with hopping, I'm ahead enough to make it worth the effort, PLUS, I've got a reason to get there again in less than a year.

Thanks,
Bill From PA

Bill,

I just bit the bullet and bought an AP for myself for our trip in two weeks for a WL stay. Since we need two rooms (Grandma comes along) we saved enough on the rooms alone to make it worthwhile for this one trip. But it also allowed me to purchase the Disney Dining Experience card (at a discount no less), will save me about $80 in parking (we are offsite part of the trip), get me and DH 50% off PI tix, and a host of other goodies which already make it very worth the extra cost (about $220 over the park pass I would have bought).

Now... of course I am not calculating the cost of the SECOND trip to WDW this year which I am SURE I am going to talk myself into because "I already have the AP". LOL!

Have a good trip!