Annual Pass questions

[Dancermomof1]

Hi everyone! My husband and I are considering getting annual passes. On the Disney site it says that you can get occasional discounts on room rates and discounts at some resturaunts. Does anyone know when the discounts on the rooms are? Can anyone tell us which resturaunts give discounts and how much of a discount it is? We are trying to figure out whether the annual pass option would be worth it for our family. We usually take 2 trips to WDW per year. Any info. is greatly appreciated. Thanks!!!

 

[mbanks21]

Room discounts are usually 10-20%. I think the dining discounts are when you get the DDE card, I want to say its $65 but you get 20% off most restaurants in disney

 

[Dan Murphy]

See if this information helps some.............


http://allears.net/pl/apass.htm

http://allears.net/pl/breakeven.php

http://allears.net/pl/apass.htm#2008

http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html#ap

http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#codechart

 

[JTDisney]

The discounts vary by season for the AP. They are typically not announced early so if you have a certain time of year you would like to go, you may or may not get a great deal. I have visited several times in the summer and the annual pass discounts are huge. In fact they can pay for an AP outright. This past August we stayed at BC and we saved over $600 with the AP discount making it a no brainer. Also, look at purchasing the Disney Dining Experience for $60. You will get 20% off most table service restaurants in Disney. If you are staying for a week this discount is beneficial and you get the discount for up to 10 people at your table.

 

[Dancermomof1]

See if this information helps some.............


http://allears.net/pl/apass.htm

http://allears.net/pl/breakeven.php

http://allears.net/pl/apass.htm#2008

http://www.mousesavers.com/disneyresorts.html#ap

http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#codechart

Great info.!!! Thanks for the links. After looking it over I think the annual pass option is the best for us. Thanks again!

 

[Dancermomof1]

The discounts vary by season for the AP. They are typically not announced early so if you have a certain time of year you would like to go, you may or may not get a great deal. I have visited several times in the summer and the annual pass discounts are huge. In fact they can pay for an AP outright. This past August we stayed at BC and we saved over $600 with the AP discount making it a no brainer. Also, look at purchasing the Disney Dining Experience for $60. You will get 20% off most table service restaurants in Disney. If you are staying for a week this discount is beneficial and you get the discount for up to 10 people at your table.

That sounds really great! The Disney Dining experience looks like it would save us a lot since our family like to eat!!! Thanks for the info.

 

[Mickey_for_President]

Lets just say... we bought annual passes in August... and we are staying in a value resort at the end of this month for $54 a night. I don't know if there are similar discounts for regular bookings online, but the passholder discounts are nice... especially when on a budget. We love All-Star Sports b/c the rooms are nice enough for sleeping... and that is all we do at the resorts!!

PLUS! This is the best part. If we want to go to a park for one hour and leave or if we arrive in Orlando late and want to just head out to the extra magic hours for a bit that night, then we are not out any more money... we are not wasting a day's worth of ticket... the passes are a "sunk cost," so you don't fret over getting the most out of each day. And, if you go back for a few days here and there during the year, then you avoid paying the high ticket cost (of the first couple days) multiple times a year. If you plan on going often, in short spurts like we are, then you save a ton of money!

 

[mountdew1]

I believe the DDE is being renamed Tables in Wonderland. Just in case you can't find it when you are there.

 

[safetymom]

http://www.wdwinfo.com/discounts/discounts-ap.htm No need to go elsewhere when we have the information.

 

[Experiment_626]

This is the best part. If we want to go to a park for one hour and leave or if we arrive in Orlando late and want to just head out to the extra magic hours for a bit that night, then we are not out any more money... we are not wasting a day's worth of ticket... the passes are a "sunk cost," so you don't fret over getting the most out of each day.

You've hit on one of the "semi-hidden" benefits of having an AP. I love having the freedom to get there late if we choose or need to, and deciding to go to Epcot in the evening just to watch Illuminations, or to the Magic Kingdom just for SpectroMagic and Wishes. You'd never do that if you had to pay full admission to get into a park. Plus, we always drive down and rarely stay on-property. You've heard of people who squeeze a penny until Lincoln screams? By the time my wife lets go, Lincoln has stopped screaming because he's passed out from the pain! Because of that, and the fact that we go to WDW six or seven times a year and spend three or four days in the parks each trip, the free parking we get makes the AP cheaper in the long run than the seasonal pass that is available to us as Florida residents (which doesn't include free parking).

SSB

 

[ffugitive]

Just something to consider. One option is to just buy one AP and get regular tickets for the other person on each trip. This way, you get all of the AP discounts and you don't need to incur the cost of two AP's. If you are definitely going twice in a year, you probably would not save much if you had to buy 2 10-day passes or something, so then you may as well get two AP's. But I wasn't sure we were going to make a second trip (and the AP easily paid for itself in one trip between room discount and DDE alone), so I just bought one and got regular tickets for the rest of the family. Turns out we are taking a second trip anyway though!

 

[snykymom]

I love having the freedom to get there late if we choose or need to, and deciding to go to Epcot in the evening just to watch Illuminations, or to the Magic Kingdom just for SpectroMagic and Wishes. You'd never do that if you had to pay full admission to get into a park.

Remember, though, that once you hit 5 days on a base ticket, each additional day is only $3 extra, not "full admission". So even though I don't (yet!) have an AP, I'm not concerned about losing a "day's ticket" for a longer stay.

 

[mousiemom]

we did the ap in 2007 and we loved it! you have so much freedom as far as the time spent in the parks. the dde is a must! we saved so much money dining out and you can use this with adult beverages and appetizers. we took 6 trips in 2007 so our aps were well worth it. but you tend to plan more trips when you have the ap and the room discounts are great. we are getting our aps in february and we have our trips planned out!
mousiemom

 

[GrillMouster]

We're seasonal passholders. The blockout dates of the seasonal pass never really bothered us, because we prefer to avoid the peak tourist seasons and the hottest summer months. However, we've visited the parks enough times over the past year for the parking fees to make up the difference between a seasonal pass and an annual pass. Next time we'll get one annual pass and the rest seasonal passes.

 

[Sparky33647]

We're seasonal passholders. The blockout dates of the seasonal pass never really bothered us, because we prefer to avoid the peak tourist seasons and the hottest summer months. However, we've visited the parks enough times over the past year for the parking fees to make up the difference between a seasonal pass and an annual pass. Next time we'll get one annual pass and the rest seasonal passes.

You must have read my mind. I have a seasonal pass also up for renewal in a few weeks. With parking $12 a pop and the fact that I go about 5 - 6 times a year, I think the annual pass may be a better deal. I'd be paying almost $100 just in parking - and I get a little break from being Florida resident.

 

[Dancermomof1]

Oh wow! Free parking too? That is great. I mean we live too far to drive but wanted to get a rental car next time so we can go to Discovery cove. I think the annual passes will definitely be our best bet. Thanks for the advice everyone!!!

 

[PrincessMonkey]

Just keep in mind: The "Disney Dining Experience" (DDE) card was renamed to the "Tables in Wonderland" (TIW) card in September.

Some CMs already know about the name change, but you might still need to refer to it as DDE to others.

 

[GrillMouster]

You must have read my mind. I have a seasonal pass also up for renewal in a few weeks. With parking $12 a pop and the fact that I go about 5 - 6 times a year, I think the annual pass may be a better deal. I'd be paying almost $100 just in parking - and I get a little break from being Florida resident.

How funny, my seasonal pass expires at the end of this month. I figured that we'd need to make 10 trips to make an annual pass worthwhile just for the free parking. Over the past year we've visited at least 20 times. Remember, you get free parking if you stay at a Disney resort, so if you usually stay on-property, it may not be worth the extra expense of an annual pass. On our last visit we stayed at a Disney resort for 2 nights, so parking was free for 3 days (including the day we arrived and the day we checked out). However, we rarely stay overnight, since we're only an hour's drive away.

In the next year my job will be sending me to Orlando every few months; each visit lasting a week. That puts me over the top as the most likely person in my family to use an Annual Pass. That means that I'll be the one getting it next year, so the whole family can enjoy free parking.

By the way, when I talk about the annual pass, I'm talking about the Florida Resident Annual Pass. There's a non-resident AP that's $120 more than the FL resident AP.

 

[GrillMouster]

Oh wow! Free parking too? That is great. I mean we live too far to drive but wanted to get a rental car next time so we can go to Discovery cove. I think the annual passes will definitely be our best bet. Thanks for the advice everyone!!!

Both the seasonal and annual passes also get you merchandise and dining discounts at select locations all over WDW (parks and resorts). Take a look at this before you pay for DDE.