Annual Pass Anyone?

[lee]

My husband thinks I may have gone over the edge - just wondered if anyone has any thoughts on purchasing annual passes to WDW. For us it's a 12 hour drive to WDW. I calculated $1462 for annual passes for a family of four. It's a lot of driving and the cost of gas is going up but it would be so much fun to go whenever we can get away. Has anyone ever tried this? Do you think 12 hours is too much to take on? Thanks!

 

[welovewdw]

We live in VA (10.5 hours assuming we drive fast w/ quick stops) and we have annual passes. One thing that we did (not on purpose) is my husband & my passes renew in Jan because we have business down there, and the kids renew in March (during spring break.) That really has helped spread out the cost somewhat.

We've really, really enjoyed them and plan on renewing - it makes future trips really not that expensive - it's a very noticeable difference with 5 of us not having to pay to get in when we visit and once you bite the bullet and make the initial purchase, future trips are very easy to justify. LOL (My dh would say too easy for me.)

 

[LoveToDisney]

Gosh, I wish we could only drive 12 hours to get to the world. It would be 22-24 hours for us!! We have to fly to use our annual passes!

 

[C.Ann]

That's approximately half the time it would take me to drive there - which sounds pretty good..

I'd say if you can afford the additional expenses (hotel, gas, food, etc.) - why not?

 

[Donna]

Even if you get 9 days on an AP,it's paid for itself. We always book our trips just inside the 12 mo. date to get at least 2 uses out of them. Since i go with friends from time to time, i really get the most out of my pass. We are about 17 hrs. drive away, but with air---it's only a little over 2 hrs! I say buy them, you can justify getting there more often and tell your husband, think of the MONEY we saved, lol!

 

[umaangel00]

We are getting an annual pass when we go down in March. Is it better to get them when we get there or to get them before we go?

 

[patsal]

It really doesn't matter if you purchase them before you go or at the gate. Even if you purchase ahead of time you get a voucher that has to be activated prior to the first use so you'll stillhave to wait a bit to "get In" on your first day. I spread out the cost by purchasing the vouchers as I get the $$ for each one--I know it will be nearly a year before I go next so I will purchase my first PAP voucher in October, the next in December, the third in March (we have a ton of Jan/Feb Birthdays in my family) and the last one in July at the gate with Disney Reward Dollars. BTW we have a 19+ hour drive and still get our money's worth.

 

[umaangel00]

Here's another question for you then. Does the AP go into affected the day you purchase or the day you activate? So if I were to buy it now, would it go into affect in March when I first use it or in August, when I purchased them.?

 

[welovewdw]

The start the day you activate them.

 

[SeaWitch]

We buy AP and we live in Texas (24+ hour drive)! - Though we typically fly... we have that pass ready just in case a cheap fare comes along!

If we lived 12 hours away it would be

 

[barbeml]

We got our first APs last November with the plan to use them for at least two 8-day trips. We did 8 days last November, 6 days in May, and going back for 8 days. We are going to skip WDW next year ( ) to go to Canada instead, so no renewal.

Not sure I would buy an AP again, as a lot of the good deals and offers Disney is coming out with these days don't work for AP holders.

 

[scorp111]

We bought AP's last September. We lived in Canada at the time

I had never been to WDW before. My wife had been 5 or 6 times.

We leave in 13 days for another 9 day trip. It is my 4th trip in a year. A 10 day, a 12 day, and a weekend trip. My wife and daughter had an additional week long trip.

Another words, it has been great and has caused to make at least a couple of extra trips

 

[skiwee1]

We live 14 hours away by car and we all have APs. As long as you use it for 9 days for a regular AP it works out. We go about 25-30 days a year so it really works well for us.

 

[bianca]

We've done AP's for every trip for about the last 12 years, even though we drive from about 22 hours away. I can't tell you enough about the flexibility (not doing commando touring) and the savings. We plan our trips every year to incorporate 2 trips on an AP. This year we are going late Oct./early Nov. and next year we'll go during the middle/end of Oct. Disney is smart (IMO) offering the AP's, as we would never go into their restaurants every day (as we do now) if we had to use a park hopper.

 

[Piecey]

I got one for my trip in March and it paid for itself almost twice over whenever we put into consideration the amount we saved on the rooms, some restaurants and stuff from World of Disney

 

[rach2674]

We just moved back to FL and I'm thinking of getting a pass too. Is it any cheaper when you renew or the same price? We bought a 6 day hopper last year and I'm thinking of selling that and getting the annual pass because we're only 2 hours away and there are lots of times I've wanted to go for a couple of hours and I hate to waste an entire day of my hopper for that.

Rachel

 

[callahanjulie10]

We have AP's and it is about 5 hours to WDW and a 1 hr time difference. It is hard for us to get down there more than 2 times a year. My DH doesn't like to be away during holidays so Christmas is out. We always go in May as soon as school is out and usually either Labor Day or the break in October. This year, we missed May, because DD had her tonsils out and by the time she felt better , it was June and I don't go in the summer because it is WAY TO HOT! If your family can afford $1400 per year, then go for it and if you can use them, great, if not, no big deal. If it is, I would't do it. We have gotten AP's for the last couple of years, but now with other vacations coming up, I am not sure we will renew next year. Also, with the new rules for booking rooms, that is a strike against AP's. We do last minute trips and the 120 day rule just doesn't cut it.

 

[mickeyluv'r]

Don't forget the dinig experience discount, if you will use it. In truth, it doesn't save that much because you have to dine at sit down places to ge tthe discount, but with a large group, the savings does add up. If you plan on ordering it, then I think it may be better to order your AP vouchers sooner rather than later.

For us, it made more sense to get one AP and then a 10 day no exp. ticket at a discounted price.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

It's hard for us and we live 90 minutes away. We have a seasonal that is about to expire and not renewing (we never renew...always need a break).

12 hours--just doesn't seem close enough to me to warrant it. If you were doing a vacation and it was more cost efficient, I could see it.

How often do you think you can get away. Can you come for at least the number of park days it would take to break even on the purchase? Can you afford the hotel stays and expenses.

Lastly--is it realistic for you to come that often?

My mom had a seasonal AP once--they visited for one weekend for the whole year and that was it.