Annual Pass in the Midwest

[dolewhipdreams]

I live in Missouri too… St. Louis! I have been a AP holder for 2 years now. All Ears has a breakpoint for AP and it has been helpful.

I got my pass in September for a week trip. I did 5 trips on my first AP. I knew I would be down for a week trip, a work trip in Feb, and a June trip. A 3 day ticket each was more than the AP so it was an easy choice.

I didn’t renew because of dates (knowing it would expire before I got my trips in) but I got the 13 months for 12 and just activated it in Feb. I will be down there next week again (work conference is at Disney each year). I then plan to do a weekend in the summer. I have an October trip booked.

I will say that I plan trips because I have and AP! I tell myself to get my money worth! LOL So as other have said you don't really save because you go more.

So if you can plan and know that you will use it I say go for it…. If you plan 2 trips with 4+ days then it breaks even just about plus you will get memory maker that has a $149 value. The passholder room rates are also great but not always the best. If you don't care where you stay and aren't going over a weekend you might get a great deal last min but you do have to plan a little to get the best AP deals. You have to book close to when the deal is released to get the resort and room type you want. Standards go fast so sometimes the promotion that is open to everyone is best because you can get a standard room where as you can't with the AP deal.

I calculated my passes worth last time and here is what I got:

Cost of Rooms: $1,217 vs. $1,580 (Savings of $363)

Tickets: AP $749 vs. $1,858* ($1,109)

Discounts: $279 (Merch and Food)


Tips: I have a Southwest credit card. I use it for everything to earn points. I didn’t pay for 1 flight because it was work but out of the 5 times I went to Florida last year I only paid for 1 flight. I earn points throughout the year to pay for the flights. If you watch SW will host a sale in mid-June for the fall and usually you can get airfare for around $160 around trip.

Thanks for the numbers- that really helps!!

I use Southwest pretty exclusively for domestic travel but I've never bitten for the credit card. Now I'm rethinking it, especially if I get an AP!

 

[Lynzer4]

Thanks for the numbers- that really helps!!

I use Southwest pretty exclusively for domestic travel but I've never bitten for the credit card. Now I'm rethinking it, especially if I get an AP!

The card has a fee but SW gives you anniversary points each year for the amount of the fee. Even if you don't keep it open the full year I would suggest looking into it for the bonus points. If you can spend $2,000 in 3 montes you get 50,000 bonus points which can "buy" 3 or 4 flights depending on the price.

 

[Zippa D Doodah]

I'm not a midwesterner, but recommend that you keep a close watch on Frontier and Allegiant Air websites if those carriers are an option for you. They are your best bet for the cheapest flights. Southwest probably has a higher reliability rating than either of them, but if you are going solo and can be flexible I'd sure look into one or both of them. Frontier will fly you into MCO but Allegiant only goes to Sanford, which make ground transportation a pain.

 

[JuniorSkipper]

I'm from Minnesota and I am an AP holder and I absolutely love it and it is really worth it for us. We go to WDW around 3-4 times a year so the AP is a no brainier I think it's worth it to get one even if you're only going on 2 trips because you can get food and MERCH discounts as well as getting discounts on rooms at Disney resorts

 

[lynzi2004]

We are from Missouri and fly out of STL. We have never flown Frontier bc we have kids and too much luggage But, for a single person who could travel light...they had a roundtrip ticket for about $80 the other day! Could definitely work out to be a good value!

 

[DekrRini]

St. Louis here. I go twice a year for 9-10 days each trip so it's well worth the money for me. I fly Southwest because it has the only nonstop flights between STL and MCO. I don't buy the AP for the discounts, but the Photopass option is a nice perk for me. I had so much fun getting my picture taken everywhere on my last trip without having to worry about added expense of Memory Maker. I'd probably go more often, but that adds more airfare so I take two longer trips instead.

I'd be cautious of Frontier. It's very cheap, but I've heard some horror stories about them. One couple had to buy tickets the day of the flight from another airline because Frontier cancelled their flight and there wasn't another one until two or three days later. Not a chance I'd take even if it was a fluke.

 

[Meriweather]

We live in AZ and get APs every other year (and then DLR APs every other year) and go 3-4 times for 2 weeks at a time.
Air from here is usually in the $500 each range. That is the drawback for us.

 

[Surgie]

From Central Illinois and planning to buy AP for my husband and myself for next year. We are planning a 2-3 day offsite trip in January and a 9-day onsite trip with the kids and grandkids in May. We are treating the family to the May trip so if a deluxe room discount becomes available that would be great. But we figured the perks of parking on our offsite stay plus Memory Maker and Tables in Wonderland make the AP the better deal over Hopper Passes for us. I don't anticipate any other trips for us but if we can squeeze in a couple January days before expiration in 2019 we will.

 

[bartleyosu]

I fly Southwest all the time and have credit card. I usually use my Disney Chase card though. Neither of my cards have an annual fee.

 

[Maistre Gracey]

10 Days - that is the cut-off where it is Financially worth it ticket-wise.

There are too many variables to make that statement. For YOU that may be the number, but not everyone. If someone doesn't want memory maker or hopping, that number changes drastically.
Now, if you visit 10 days a year over two trips.....

MG