Annual Pass - Do I go for it? Am I crazy?

[jkolkemo]

I was so crushed when they started limiting the passes to 5 days. I have been trying to come up with day 6 with no car and was down to Knotts. But then I thought we should upgrade to AP for extra $200 I could basically add nearly a full day to our arrival (should be at hotel by 12pm) add day 6 at park and we don't have to catch the shuttle to the airport on our last day until 4:45. So we could do the park 8 days (staying at BWPPI) and go back and forth for some down time. My DH is skipping this trip as he has committed all of his vacation time to his racing hobby working pit crew for a professional team, and appears he will do the same next year. My girls are 11 and 14, bringing another 14 year old with us. My thought is that we could take the same friend with us again next year if we all had AP's. And enjoy a more leisurely park visit, rather than trying to spend all 5 days in the park all day. I just have to convince the mom of the friend we are taking about the upgrade. Do you think that is too many days in the park? Since we are BWPPI the pool is just ok, nothing like DLH. Am I crazy? Then we would have our park tickets covered for next year and do another week long trip just having to pay for food, air, and hotel.

 

[Gisele]

Well everyone has their own ideas, plans and itinerary of course, but if your most interested in visiting either park everyday, I don't see anything wrong with that at all. With an A/P, you won't feel so much of a time crunch. You might like to take a break for a part of the day, or a full day. It's a good way to rest up. And to see and do other things, if so inclined, or perhaps stay at your hotel having a nice time at the pool and taking it easy. Having an annual pass is great, not just for ease of admission, but also for all of its discounts that are available, from tours to dining, and wonderment in between, such as merchandise and on site hotels.
Whichever you may decide upon to do, I am sure you will all have an awesome time!

 

[Fuhnuh]

We are going June 21-29 and are getting AP with no plans on returning, but there is a good chance that we will go next spring to WDW (upgrade to premier pass) or back to DLR before the year is up. I came up with a plan of what to do during our two non-park days and two non-park half-days, but in the end decided it would APs were doable. If you are planning on a return visit before it expires it seems to make sense to me. Make sure you take advantage of the AP discounts.

 

[tstidm1]

$200 can really make some awesome experiences for you like a Disneyland tour for the family or towards a Hollywood tour from Anaheim. I would rather put the longer time you want to do towards seeing things in Southern California than just DLR.

 

[basketballmom]

A couple of years ago, I upgraded my parkhopper to an AP at the end of our August visit. We knew we were returning in March. The money I saved in March getting an AP hotel rate, plus all of the discounts on food, etc. was way more than what I spent to upgrade. I only upgraded one pass, but if you plan on making a return trip, you will spend the money on tickets anyway....

 

[Stitch35]

We bought APs in August 2012 for our family of 4. During 2012-2013 we got 4 visits. APs were definitely worth it to us. Our last trip on our APs was 12 days in August. We stayed at BWPPI too. We had such a relaxing vacation. We were able to watch all the shows, ride all the rides, have a rest in the middle of the day to swim and nap without feeling rushed. We also decided to sleep in and relax on that vacation. Nothing felt rushed or frustrating.

 

[engo]

We went through the exact same thinking process in our last October Trip

We were "lost" when they didn't offer 7 day passes anymore. We juggled between 5 days passes and 2 Halloween party tickets and spent some time at the beach. On the night before we flew back home, we decided to upgrade to AP so we could visit the park on the day we left and to come back again next summer (i.e. this summer). I'm so glad that we upgraded to AP as we're now planning a 10 days trip this summer without worrying the admission tickets price. If you're planning to go back to DL next year, AP would be the way to go!

Good luck!

 

[Aladora]

After looking at our trip history and realizing that we spent more money on park hoppers than we would have had we bought APs, last September we made the decision to get APs. When I did the math, as long as we went twice in the 12 months for 5 days each trip, then it would cost less for us to get Deluxe passes. Since I knew I really wanted to go in March for my birthday, we went for it! We did 5 days in September, 6 days in March and we are heading back for a final 5 days in August.

If the math works out, I say go for it!

 

[jkolkemo]

decided to go for it. My daughters friend's mother said yes, and we plan on going again next summer with her as well, so we won't have to worry about park tickets next year.

Here is to 8 days in the park in August.

 

[gerilyne]

After mulling over all the options we too have decided to upgrade our Hoppers when we go in Aug to APs. We will end up with 7 days in park this time an plan to take at least one trip again before they would expire. I'm really excited about it!!

 

[sleepymouse]

Congratulations! We bought our first APs last month. I knew I wanted to go to DLR during the holiday season at least once so decided this would be the year. We spent 7 days in the park last month and now have 3 more trips planned. So much easier to go back when tickets are paid for. By next year, we will have had our fill and be ready to vacation elsewhere for a little while.