Am I the only one wanting Flex/EZ pay for Disney AP'S?

[eeyoregon]

Why doesn't Disney offer Flex or EZ pay plans for their annual passes like Sea World and Universal do ?

I don't have credit cards and only have one income so it's tough to budget for a big purchase like WDW tickets.

I love using the interest free monthly payment plans that the "other" theme parks offer. I usually pay it off sooner than my contract but it's sure an affordable way to get your park tickets in hand without paying all at once.

 

[lillygator]

it is a nice option expecially for locals, maybe they will offer it at some point?

 

[iheartdisney]

disneyland does, but only for socal residents.
I think i figured out why...If you could buy a one day ticket, upgrade to an AP on a monthly payment system, what incentive do you have to keep paying once your trip is over?
edird to add...If you buy a package, you have from the time you book until 45 days prior to your trip to pay off the balance. I loved discovering this option during our free dining trip!

 

[SandrA9810]

Yeah, but as a local resident, it's hard to come up with like 350$ for AP's once a year.

We used to do Play 4 tickets because they were park hoppers for summer, then upgrade to seasonals at the end of summer time.

For us, we go constantly, so there's no planning for upcoming trips, so at the end of each year, it was BAM another 350$ at once. We do the flex pay for Sea World parks and it's really nice, because the first time we entered the park it only cost us 25$. And when our passes do expire, I don't have to worry about coming up with the 600$ to renew our passes.

 

[mickaholic4077]

I'm lucky in that my anniversary date is right smack in the middle of income tax season,so by the time the credit card bill is due,my income tax refund comes in.

 

[pandora174]

Yeah, but as a local resident, it's hard to come up with like 350$ for AP's once a year.

We used to do Play 4 tickets because they were park hoppers for summer, then upgrade to seasonals at the end of summer time.

For us, we go constantly, so there's no planning for upcoming trips, so at the end of each year, it was BAM another 350$ at once. We do the flex pay for Sea World parks and it's really nice, because the first time we entered the park it only cost us 25$. And when our passes do expire, I don't have to worry about coming up with the 600$ to renew our passes.

I totally agree when DS was younger we would go to WDW using the FL resident 4 play $99 for 4 parks ! There were always great deals for onsite hotels. I remember about 3 years ago I got the Poly for $179, after 9/11 the Cont for $134 !! Well those days are gone.

Since we have cut back on vacation budgets for the last 2 years we've done the EZ Pay for SW & BG & have never regretted it. You get free parking, 10 % dining & shopping & every month the fee is electinically taken out. So I only have to budget for hotel and food.

Just got thru Priceline a 4 star hotel for $46 for 8/3-8/4 in Tampa !! Unfortunately I can't get that much bang for my buck at WDW. But flex pay would have me thinking otherwise.

One year we even did the Universal AP with ez-pay & got great discounts at their onsite hotels + discounts throughout the park. It seems almost everyone is doing it except WDW. I think it would generate more business from locals, specially this local !

 

[ajk912]

Whenever I get a flyer from Busch Gardens (they do EZPay for their annual passes there) I always wish Disney did the same, as well.

 

[eeyoregon]

Glad to hear I'm not alone!

Ironic that the other major theme parks that offer flex/ez pay already have super cheap prices on their AP's with some great extras. But the theme park with the platinum AP prices doesn't offer any kind of "help" in paying for them.

Dear DISNEY: Please offer Flex/EZ pay!!!

 

[DOOM1001]

My Platinum pass for the Busch parks with EZ PAY is the best thing ever,both Busch parks,all 3 Sea World parks,the waterparks in Virginia and Tampa and Sesame Place for $12 a month.Those are 2003 prices as when Aquatica opened I could have opted to add Aquatica but it would be a new contract and to simply add Aquatica to the other parks I would go from paying $12 a month to like $17 or more so I kept my deal and will pay a daily admission for Aquatica when I go.For Universal my preferred AP I renew yearly for $110,both these parks AP's have free parking,discounts everywhere and other perks like free admissions to Howl o Scream for the first 2 nights and $25 tickets for Horror Nights on off peak nights.Disney's passes aren't as sweet as these,I have the seasonal as the blackout dates are either very busy and/or very hot and since I have the other passes I make do.The renewal price on the seasonal Disney pass is like $224 or so so it's not horrible,but yeah the option to pay monthly would be something I would consider,although nowadays I think I rather pay it once yearly as I'm in lower all my monthly payments mode.

 

[bumbershoot]

As someone mentioned, Disneyland Resort offers a payment plan for APs (any of the 4 levels) for Southern California residents. Perhaps once they work out the issues and figure out if they can do it elsewhere, it will move to the other parks?

But until that happens, if you would feel OK with a monthly payment, you could put that aside each month after you've bought your passes for the year, and when renewal comes up, you'll have it!

 

[lila]

I don't know if this helps you, but I also used to find it challenging to pay the annual fee every year. So for the last several years, I have set up an ING account and automatically deduct monthly X amount of money towards the pass so I always have it when it's time. It's been an enormous help.

 

[SandrA9810]

i'm horrible at saving like that. it's easier when it's automatic.

We pay 14.40 each for the four orlando/tampa parks. I'm thinking of upgrading to platinum. I dont know if our rate is locked in permantly, and our passes expire 2/2010. We had only got our passes about 6 months prior to aquatica opening, so it was only about 2$ per ticket to upgrade.