Annual Pass Members Get Screwed...

[Iowamomof4]

The OP is going in July. AP discounts haven't been released for July yet.

 

[rdaky]

With respect, that's just not true. We are a family that likes to use an ADR each night. I fully understand the benefits of the AP and also know the limitations/downside of the dining plan. And I can say with confidence that a 15% discount in no way makes up for the value of 8 nights of free dining It is not anywhere close.

Then maybe buy tickets and get free dining? To me, the value of getting an annual pass is simply that, to come back any time I want within the year and to not have to pay for more tickets. Any discounts that come along with the pass are just extra benefits that Disney doesn't even have to offer.

 

[Nancyg56]

I’m complaining because an AP member should never have an inferior offer vs a non AP member for any one stay. Never. If I can’t get a free meal plan at the poly, I should be able to access a discount of more or less equivalent value. For my 8 night stay I save $800, for my traveling party they get a free meal plan worth $2500. Not even close and complete BS.

You can get free dining....if you adhere to the package requirements. The problem I have with your logic is that you want FD but you do not want to take the rest of the package, the same details I need to adhere to if I want to secure that discount.

I do not have an annual pass so I pay for Memory Maker if I want to use it. I cannot get room discounts unless I get in on a discount offered and then mine are generally less than you can secure. I cannot purchase TIW and utilize that discount. I am not complaining. This is a decision I made when I determined the cost of an annual pass would not be in my best interest, and I in no way begrudge you any of teh benefits that come with your purchase.

If you want to make a FD purchse you need to do the same as the rest of us: check out the cost of the package and compare that to what you can purchse with a different discount. FOr some the purchase of tickets is less expensive than dining and they take the plunge. FOr others it is a cost that is sully and they go with different discounts.

 

[tommygunn]

I guess we will all agree to disagree. But if you guys were in my shoes - going with another family with identical itinerary (non AP) - and they get a killer deal vs my 15% off (no AP special discount, a discount that is available to everyone) - I think you'd be right there with me. I should be able to get something roughly equivalent to free dining.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Tommy, as it has been said over and over, AP rates are not out yet for July. You don’t know yet if you are being “screwed.” Only GP discounts are out.

 

[focusondisney]

I guess we will all agree to disagree. But if you guys were in my shoes - going with another family with identical itinerary (non AP) - and they get a killer deal vs my 15% off (no AP special discount, a discount that is available to everyone) - I think you'd be right there with me. I should be able to get something roughly equivalent to free dining.

Have been an AP holder for years & I’m not “right there with you”. I accept that decisions I made to buy the AP affect what discounts will work for me later. As an AP holder, I look at 365 days for my total deal or discounts, not just one week of the year.

You made a choice to buy APs. Your discount is on your park admissions. You may get a room discount for your dates later, as others have pointed out, the July AP discounts haven’t been released yet. I think you also previously said you own DVC. So you should already have accommodations covered & a discount t on that AP. Those are the decisions you made. Disney doesn’t owe DVC & APs anything other than the accommodations & park admissions they paid for & the benefits promised when you bought APs & DVC.

When you are at Disney any other time within your AP year, you are realizing the AP benefits your July traveling companions won’t have access to. You can buy Tables in Wonderland as both DVC & AP & get a 20% discount on table service, including alcohol for the year.

Your travel companions might be saving 2500 for 1 week, but what are you saving for the year? And if you want free dining, book it. Nothing stopping you. The free Dining discount is certainly not a new promotion. You could have not bought APs & waited to book free dining like your friends did. It is not Disney’s fault you made a choice to buy the AP.

 

[tommygunn]

Don't agree at all focus, but that's cool. IMO a general public offer should never be that much better than an AP one. Simple as that. All other AP benefits aside. If it were at least somewhat in the ballpark I'd be fine, but $800 vs $2500 for a single trip is not acceptable.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Don't agree at all focus, but that's cool. IMO a general public offer should never be that much better than an AP one. Simple as that. All other AP benefits aside. If it were at least somewhat in the ballpark I'd be fine, but $800 vs $2500 for a single trip is not acceptable.

AP discounts are not out for July yet. This has been posted many times in your thread.

 

[vinotinto]

So, for the sake of argument, if an AP were to book a FD package that includes the required 4-day PH ticket (and looking at an extra $2000 in tickets for a family of 4):
1. Are those tickets still able to be "saved" for a future trip, as long as you pay the cost difference for the dates?
2. Would the 2019 tickets expire December 2019 or December 2020? Or something else?
3. Can these new package tickets be used to upgrade to an AP? And if yes, can that be done ahead of time or only after arrival (this would impact making FPs if you have a 4-day ticket and are trying to make FPs for more days)?

I may need to go back to Robo's sticky thread about tickets to re-familiarize myself with the new tickets rules.

 

[focusondisney]

Don't agree at all focus, but that's cool. IMO a general public offer should never be that much better than an AP one. Simple as that. All other AP benefits aside. If it were at least somewhat in the ballpark I'd be fine, but $800 vs $2500 for a single trip is not acceptable.

Disney does not guarantee any resort discounts with an AP. Ever. Any resort discount you get is a bonus. Expecting one, especially one that is better than anything else, is an expectation Disney has never promoted. They do not have a frequent visitor rewards program. So no extra rewards for having an AP other than what is specifically promised.

It sounds like you expect AP holders to always get a better price than anyone else. Disney has never promised that. Not meeting unreal expectations doesn’t mean they are screwing you.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

I guess so you feel better, after the trip is over, look at your actual costs of hotel, your ticket cost for this particular trip (not the entire AP cost) and your OOP food costs with your TiW or AP discount. Then compare that to the actual cost of your friends trip. I’m willing to bet it’s not a $1700 difference.

 

[cakebaker]

I’m saving $300 a night with my AP rate at the YC. That is a much better deal than free dining, no way we spend that much per day on food. Free dining doesn’t get any of the additional discounts I get with an AP. This will be my 3rd trip on this AP, the amount I’m saving over having bought park tickets each time is huge. I also get free memory maker and shopping and food discounts. No complaints here at all!

 

[cakebaker]

What discount is this? Is it an AP discount?

Not to me, but Yes, it’s an AP discount. My trip is for early May. Btw, the current AP discount is significantly better than the fun and sun that is out right now.

 

[tommygunn]

I’m saving $300 a night with my AP rate at the YC. That is a much better deal than free dining, no way we spend that much per day on food. Free dining doesn’t get any of the additional discounts I get with an AP. This will be my 3rd trip on this AP, the amount I’m saving over having bought park tickets each time is huge. I also get free memory maker and shopping and food discounts. No complaints here at all!

That’s great my friend. But my discount is around $100 per night, that’s why I’m not happy. Maybe the discount will be higher for July once they roll them out but I’m not counting on it.

 

[cakebaker]

That’s great my friend. But my discount is around $100 per night, that’s why I’m not happy. Maybe the discount will be higher for July once they roll them out but I’m not counting on it.

AP rates aren’t even out yet. You can’t logically argue that AP rates aren’t as good a value when they aren’t released. And while room discounts are not guaranteed, I’ve never failed to get one any time I had an AP and for no less than 30%, often more. You also have to factor in your other savings as well - savings on your visits over multiple trips, food and shopping discounts and included memory maker- none of which free dining gets. However, if an AP is not as good a value for you, you shouldn’t buy one.

 

[HopperFan]

I guess we will all agree to disagree. But if you guys were in my shoes - going with another family with identical itinerary (non AP) - and they get a killer deal vs my 15% off (no AP special discount, a discount that is available to everyone) - I think you'd be right there with me. I should be able to get something roughly equivalent to free dining.

In your shoes and I have no complaint and I have gone with other family that had the Dining Plan. NO you are not entitled to get the equivalent of any offer if you don't want to follow all the requirements of that offer. We were quite happy years ago when they finally let us get the Dining Plan without buying tickets like it used to be.

You can not negate the benefits you have that the family traveling with you doesn't have. You should be paying much less per day for your tickets, you have to calculate out your room discount into it, you have at least 10% off the food you actually want (DDP forces many to eat in way they normally would not) or maybe even 20% off all food and drink if you have TiW, you have a 20% shopping discount they do not have and you can use that for drinks etc in locations that sell them, you have other perks during the year that your friends don't have. You can not ignore that.

But this is LIFE. When we shop many of us pay more for something than others, we pay more for same home than others, we pay more for same car than others .... it's all about timing and priorities. Free Dining is offered for one reason - fill rooms and sell tickets to folks who may not otherwise come. There is no reason they have to offer an exact offer to AP holders just like they don't have to offer FL Resident tickets to non-Florida resident guests. I mean, obviously we both get the same benefits so why should a non-Florida person pay more?

And bottom line, book the "Free Dining" if you think that it's a better deal for you and just use the tickets to renew your AP or for another trip if you don't renew. Or ditch your AP at renewal time and just book per trip the best value from now on. As I always say Disney is an optional luxury vacation and when it stops satisfying you or becoming too stressful ... stop going.

Have been an AP holder for years & I’m not “right there with you”. I accept that decisions I made to buy the AP affect what discounts will work for me later. As an AP holder, I look at 365 days for my total deal or discounts, not just one week of the year.

You made a choice to buy APs. Your discount is on your park admissions. You may get a room discount for your dates later, as others have pointed out, the July AP discounts haven’t been released yet. I think you also previously said you own DVC. So you should already have accommodations covered & a discount t on that AP. Those are the decisions you made. Disney doesn’t owe DVC & APs anything other than the accommodations & park admissions they paid for & the benefits promised when you bought APs & DVC.

When you are at Disney any other time within your AP year, you are realizing the AP benefits your July traveling companions won’t have access to. You can buy Tables in Wonderland as both DVC & AP & get a 20% discount on table service, including alcohol for the year.

Your travel companions might be saving 2500 for 1 week, but what are you saving for the year? And if you want free dining, book it. Nothing stopping you. The free Dining discount is certainly not a new promotion. You could have not bought APs & waited to book free dining like your friends did. It is not Disney’s fault you made a choice to buy the AP.

DITTO on your Have been an AP holder for years & I’m not “right there with you”.

I have been AP holder for something like a decade. I got it when my DS aged out of school and I was able to take him to Disney more often. This was after doing Complimentary Dining for a couple of years. Did it stop me from booking Complimentary Dining? NO. I still booked it, I still got the "free" food and I took those tickets I was forced to buy and used their value towards next years Annual Pass. As long as Disney allows that I really don't see what the complaint is about.

 

[Sparkly]

Why does Disney need to offer you the free dining plan when they already know they've got your guaranteed custom, being a AP and DVC member, when they could use it to entice Joe Bloggs to take his kids to WDW for the first time and possibly enjoy it enough that they keep returning or buy a AP or buy into DVC, just like you?

 

[Nancyg56]

That’s great my friend. But my discount is around $100 per night, that’s why I’m not happy. Maybe the discount will be higher for July once they roll them out but I’m not counting on it.

I am afraid that I cannot understand your frustration. You have a discount that is a general public discount, have chosen not to book a FD promo and follow those constraints, know that AP discounts have not yet been, and yet you are complaining. What exactly is it that you feel you are missing out on? You have perks in play that I do not have, and that is because I have chosen not to purchased and AP. I take advantage of promos that are released, follow all the restrictions in place when I do so, and never look at what others may have been able to take advantage of in previously released discounts if my dates were not included.
This complaint reminds me of the cable company promos to book a contract. I am a current customer so if I see great incentives that were not offered to me when I signed up I may grit my teeth when I renew my contract, but I still am in control of my decision to renew or not. You are in the same boat. You have an AP and have had time to take advantage of perks offered to AP holders, however you are bitter that someone else may be the recipient of a deal you want and cannot use your AP status to either match or better. Personally, I just do not understand the frustration.

 

[tommygunn]

Ok I clearly have to tap out of this thread as I can't get my point across. My last words here will be that as an AP member ,I should at least get a discount equivalent to the best general public offer - free dining or a discount of roughly equivalent value. Doesn't have to be over and above, just equivalent. Maybe things will change for July stays at some point - but as of now I can't take advantage of the most lucrative general public offer. Makes no sense and devalues AP holders. Kirk out.

 

[Cinderumbrella]

Sigh. The perk of an AP is 365 days of admission. Everything else is gravy. THAT is the point you refuse to see from everyone else.