Annual Pass Question

[caselaw3]

Hi all - So despite the "issues" that we had on this trip, we all still love Disney and can't wait to get back! Here is my question:

We are looking at booking for Feb 2015 (heard that this is the cheapest time of year) BUT we would also like to get back in Dec. for the Christmas party...

I am wondering how the Annual Pass works?

My thought was that we could book our Feb. trip and then - I don't know what to do there...buy annual passes outright or get our regular park tix and upgrade to an annual pass? Then we would go back again in Dec. 2015. I think this would save us money but I am not sure - anyone with experience with this have an answer? Also I read the annual pass thing and it says "Enjoy one year of unlimited, same day access(during normal park hours).."
What does this mean for Extra Magic Hours? And can you park-hop with it?

Thanks

 

[jennylyn_b]

The Ap allows park hopping to the four major parks. EMH have nothing to do with tickets. They are for onsite guests. So if you are staying onsite then you can use them.
How many days will you be in the park for each trip? This is what makes it cost effective. For us, we go twice a year and spend 11-16 days per trip in the parks so the AP is a huge savings for us. We get the PAP so we also have access to the water parks and DisneyQuest.
There is also a small discount on purchases with the AP at some locations (10%).

 

[caselaw3]

The Ap allows park hopping to the four major parks. EMH have nothing to do with tickets. They are for onsite guests. So if you are staying onsite then you can use them.
How many days will you be in the park for each trip? This is what makes it cost effective. For us, we go twice a year and spend 11-16 days per trip in the parks so the AP is a huge savings for us. We get the PAP so we also have access to the water parks and DisneyQuest.
There is also a small discount on purchases with the AP at some locations (10%).

we are going to be going for either 6 or 9 days each of the trips...with park hopper and water parks and more....

trying to figure out the most effective and cheapest way to do it

 

[jimandami]

If you want to save a bit of money on the AP, read the ticket sticky on the theme park board about price bridging (as long as it's still allowed in 2015 of course). If you buy, for example, a 6 day non-expiring park hopper with water parks and more from Undercover Tourist, you save around $65 off the WDW gate price for that ticket. If you use the ticket at least once, then upgrade to an AP, Disney will give you credit for the gate price of your original ticket when you upgrade and you will only pay that difference. You would save about $62 for each AP. There are two caveats: 1) you must use the ticket at least once before upgrading and 2) if you have the water park feature and use it before upgrading, you have to upgrade to the PAP, not a regular AP, but that sounds like what you would want anyway?

You really just have to look at the price of the tickets for your 2 trips and see what is most cost effective. Also remember that AP holders get rooms discounts (not as great as they were 2 years ago but still a tiny bit better than general public offers), 10% merchandise discounts, discounts on some Christmas party tickets, and best of all, can buy a Tables in Wonderland card for $100. This card saves you 20% on most TS and a few CS restaurants at WDW, including alcohol. This card would be good for both your trips as well and would almost certainly save you some money on dining.

 

[laughinplace199]

we are going to be going for either 6 or 9 days each of the trips...with park hopper and water parks and more....

trying to figure out the most effective and cheapest way to do it

With Feb and Dec trips, the weather can be tricky. I'm not sure I'd want to pay for water park admission and then have it be too cold to go to water parks.

I've never been in Feb, but I have friends who have and it was cold and rainy the week they were there. I've been in Dec and Jan many times and we've had every kind of weather from hot and sunny to cold, rainy, and even sleet!

 

[caselaw3]

I might skip the waterparks part - we hadn't it this trip and didn't use it - I think my kids might be a bit too little for that at this point anyway....

i have to write it all down - it doesn't look like much savings but I am really bad at just looking at it online - i will have to put it to paper, lol!!!

 

[Crystal824]

Unless you are going to be spending a significant amount of time at the waterparks, it makes more sense to just pay to get in rather than doing the PAP. At least it did for us when we had APs last year. Using tickets from Undercover Tourist and bridging works great. We did that too.

 

[rillsung]

You can figure out the break-even point on the APs vs park tickets. So go calculate a 6 day + a 9 day pass vs the cost of an AP. You can also do 1 person with an AP and get the discounts that way and the rest have regular park tickets.