Annual pass or not?

[ozliz]

I’m planning 10+ days at the WDW during food and wine and was originally planning to get 10 day ticket with all the extras. I’ve now realised that the water park I wanted to go to (blizzard beach) will be closer at that time (was also closed last time I went so tried typhoon lagoon and basically now I want to try the other one). I think I would need the park hopper anyway as part of the trip is at BWV and with food and wine on I might want to hop into Epcot sometimes to taste the special options.

After this I’m on a 4 day cruise then 3 nights back at WDW before flying home. Originally I wasn’t going to go to the parks during those 3 nights (maybe the Christmas party which is a separate ticket) however I would really like to go back to Epcot for the first day of the Festival of Holidays before flying home. My dilemma now is what sort of park ticket to get???

I WISH AUSTRALIANS WERE ELIGIBLE FOR THE SAME LONG TICKETS UK VISITORS GET! Stretching my 10 day hopper will not work as it will expire while I’m on the cruise.

I’m leaning towards an annual pass. I wouldn’t get that much back on the discounts but something is better than nothing. Having the photo pass is not something I would normally pay for but I’m running the wine and dine 10k and I’ve heard that photos for that can be linked into the same account so that could be a nice benefit. If I had the annual pass I would go into the parks a lot more after the cruise rather than some of the other things I was considering. It just seems to be so much money when I know I will not get another trip before it expires (airfares from Australia are expensive so next trip not for approx 3 years).

WWYD?

 

[uccats97]

Buy the annual pass. There are usually dining, merchandise, resort, and party discounts for passholders. It will be worth it for your plans.

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

I agree, get the annual pass. The discounts on food and merchandise do add up. Plus you can get room discounts. Some years it is better for us than the regular discounts. We also love that photopass is free. Have fun!

 

[Dumbo7]

Agreed you’re spending a lot of time there so they’ll be lots of perks. And the room discounts will pay for your pass. Photo pass is so much fun. Totally worth it

 

[dachsie]

Add your costs up. If the PH tickets you want cost close to what the AP costs, then get the AP as you will get the benefits with discounts and the photo pass

 

[Mome Rath]

Your numbers probably make sense for the annual pass, you are right on the line. One of the biggest things is to always always check to see if something is discounted with the ap, don't just assume someone will ask or tell you. If you buy something, ask, if you eat something ask when you pay, etc... If you want pictures at all, go with the annual pass, and have fun taking pics places you normally wouldn't.

 

[ozliz]

Sorry should have said staying on points so no room discounts. Would you all still say the annual pass is worth it taking that into account?

 

[gharter]

I would do the AP. You will be enough days to make it cheaper. while you don't care about the memory Maker option, we found that once we had it, we really liked it alot. Besides being able to get photos from all the photographers that are all over the parks, you also get on ride photos and video as well as some really good stock photos.

 

[uccats97]

Sorry should have said staying on points so no room discounts. Would you all still say the annual pass is worth it taking that into account?

Yes. The current AP discounts include 20% off merchandise and 10% off most table service meals. I think that is still worth the value even if you can’t take advantage of a room discount.

 

[NH-to-FL]

Once you decide how much park time you want for the three days post cruise it really comes down to the math. If all you want post cruise is the one trip into Epcot you mentioned then maybe the AP doesn't make sense. Look carefully at the AP benefits and if you aren't planning to spend enough for the discounts to make up the difference in cost then perhaps the 10 day hopper is the way to go.

Normally I would just say get the AP but since you are so far away you won't just "pop back to WDW" to use the AP.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Sorry should have said staying on points so no room discounts. Would you all still say the annual pass is worth it taking that into account?

Depends of if you are a DVC member, or if you are renting points.

If you're already a DVC member, you already have many of the same/similar discounts available as an AP holder, and in that case, the AP might not be as attractive.

 

[CarrieR]

It’s really a math scenario, IMO. Ten day hopper = $575, AP = $849. For that $275, I would factor in:

*admission, primarily - is that cost worth access on your last three days?

*the value *to you* of Photopass. A family who would normally purchase it should factor in the full cost, but I can say for my group, we would not normally purchase it. However, now that we have it I would assign some value to it - for my group, for what we use it for, I would pay OOP $50, but not more. (So, if my regular ticket vs AP was less than $50 difference I would go AP for Photopass... if it were more, I would stick with the regular ticket.)

*Merchandise discount. Are you a Dress Shop, Dooney & Bourke Type traveler? Or are you an, “I need an umbrella at home and hey this magnet is cute?” 20% off goes a long way for the first group, not so much for the latter.

*Dining. Like merch, this is highly individual. Some dining discounts available, and an AP makes you eligible for TIW (although I think you’d be hard pressed to find value in TIW for a single trip, unless traveling with a large group or eating lots of pricey meals.) Look up if the restaurants you plan to eat at are covered by AP discounts and decide how much that factors into your decision.

I know you said you have rented points, but for rooms, we do NOT find AP discounts worth it. I don’t know what we do wrong, but we either find better deals elsewhere, or when we use the AP discount it’s such a small additional savings over public discounts I wouldn’t factor it in to an AP purchase decision.

HTH!

 

[DisBuckMan]

I know you said you have rented points, but for rooms, we do NOT find AP discounts worth it. I don’t know what we do wrong, but we either find better deals elsewhere, or when we use the AP discount it’s such a small additional savings over public discounts I wouldn’t factor it in to an AP purchase decision.

I'm pretty sure the OP is a DVC member, not staying on "rented" points. Which, as I stated earlier, changes the conversation quite a bit.

 

[SouloTravlr]

Photopass and Memory Maker are not the same thing. Photopass is free for all park visitors to use. Memory Maker is included in the AP and is an additional $199 for visitors without an AP.

 

[CarrieR]

I'm pretty sure the OP is a DVC member, not staying on "rented" points. Which, as I stated earlier, changes the conversation quite a bit.

Oh! In that case, AP is substantially discounted and it kinda becomes a no brainer. If the cost is minimal, upgrade.

 

[DisBuckMan]

Oh! In that case, AP is substantially discounted and it kinda becomes a no brainer. If the cost is minimal, upgrade.

Only the Gold AP is discounted ($100 off regular price), and it doesn't include the water parks...which the OP stated they wanted to visit. The Gold AP also has block out dates around Christmas...which may or may not affect the OP. It's apparent that they will be there during the holidays, just not apparent exactly when.

 

[CarrieR]

The start of the festival of the holidays (which is the last 3 days post-cruise) is well before Christmas. Re the water parks, I understood OP to say they wanted to visit BB, as they went to TL last time, but BB will be closed, so I understood that they won’t be visiting any water parks this time. But I could be mistaken!

 

[ozliz]

Depends of if you are a DVC member, or if you are renting points.

If you're already a DVC member, you already have many of the same/similar discounts available as an AP holder, and in that case, the AP might not be as attractive.

Resale unfortunately. No discounts but definitely worth the $ I saved by purchasing that way.

 

[ozliz]

The start of the festival of the holidays (which is the last 3 days post-cruise) is well before Christmas. Re the water parks, I understood OP to say they wanted to visit BB, as they went to TL last time, but BB will be closed, so I understood that they won’t be visiting any water parks this time. But I could be mistaken!

That’s correct. Had planned to go to BB but that’s not an option so the annual pass without water parks is an option. The one with the water parks would definitely have been too expensive.

 

[ozliz]

Only the Gold AP is discounted ($100 off regular price), and it doesn't include the water parks...which the OP stated they wanted to visit. The Gold AP also has block out dates around Christmas...which may or may not affect the OP. It's apparent that they will be there during the holidays, just not apparent exactly when.

Unfortunately I’m not eligible as I bought resale. Aside from saving about 50% off direct prices because I bought a stripped contract just before the prices started rising again, DVC is not allowed to market to Australia so I would have needed to wait until my next trip to buy which would have delayed the time until I could buy.