Annual Pass Questions

[Disneylover1970]

im trying to decide if I should purchase an Annual Pass or not. I’m going solo in October, 5 days of park tickets with park hopper. Ill be going again in February 2019, May 2019, and December 2019, and maybe January 2020. I’m thinking about waiting till my February 2019 trip to purchase the AP? I’ve never done the park hopper before so I’m trying it out in October. I know there are discounts associated with the AP, some I might take advantage of such as dining, I definitely won’t use the parking. I’m thinking it will be more beneficial for me to purchase it for February instead of for October. Any advice or information to help me decide? Thank you

 

[DisneyFansInNYC]

It depends on how many days you are going to the parks when you go on these trips. It might be advantageous to buy them starting in October and then next year as well.
So let's do some math. Let's say you go 5 days in Oct 2018 and 5 in Feb 2019 - without park hoppers that is $395 + $395 = $790; an annual pass is $849. With park hoppers it is $470 + $470 = $940 So the annual pass will be paid for by Feb - let alone all the discounts you will also get - shopping, dining, resorts.

So you have to think about how many days you are going - but I think you should buy it for Oct. Also remember when you renew an AP you can with a discount so it will be even cheaper for next year (as long as there isn't a price increase).

I hope that helps.

 

[Draya108]

You could always purchase it in the fall to ensure you're getting the current price and than decide later.

II would do the math on it and figure what makes the most sense. Also think about if you'll be getting photo pass (cause there's $169 right there) for your October trip.

 

[jo-jo]

Part of me says, wait until Feb so you can get four trips in. For Oct, I'd just get the reg tickets, no hopping. But with disney, you never know what they have coming down the pike.

A few years ago, we were waiting to buy an DVC AP in case there was a special deal. Well, disney came out with a DVC gold AP, that cost more and had black out dates. Yeah, I was kicking myself for awhile.

 

[Disneylover1970]

Thank you. Is there a Photo Pass discount associated with the AP?

 

[srpresto]

PhotoPass is included with your AP. As are some restaurant (both QS and TS) discounts. I bought my first AP because I knew I wanted the PhotoPass for the first 5 day trip and had a second 7 day trip planned for that year. I feel it has been worth the money.

 

[Disneylover1970]

PhotoPass is included with your AP. As are some restaurant (both QS and TS) discounts. I bought my first AP because I knew I wanted the PhotoPass for the first 5 day trip and had a second 7 day trip planned for that year. I feel it has been worth the money.

Thank you. I guess I didn’t realize Photo Pass was included with the AP?

 

[dachsie]

I would say it depends on how many days you plan to do in Jan 2020, if less than the October trip - get the AP in Oct and pay for the Jan tickets, if same or more, the get the AP for Feb but buy it before so you can get the current price before they get raised again

 

[Disneylover1970]

I would say it depends on how many days you plan to do in Jan 2020, if less than the October trip - get the AP in Oct and pay for the Jan tickets, if same or more, the get the AP for Feb but buy it before so you can get the current price before they get raised again

Thank you. Our trips are between 5-7 days in length. We usually do 5 or 6 days of park tickets when we go and have never done the park hopper, we are usually at a park 10-12 hours. I’m not sure how many people get the park hopper? My travel agent says the park hopper is usually not the best, because of the travel time getting back and forth

 

[loves to dive]

Even if you are only getting the one park ticket but plan on going for more than 10 days throughout the year, the AP would probably make sense. Yes, PP is included so you would need to factor the cost of that into your ticket cost if you plan on buying it. If you don't plan on buying it, don't factor it in and just run the numbers for your tickets and compare it to the AP. Do not take any discounts into account, they are moving targets and the room discounts aren't always better than the general discounts. A lot of the restaurants don't offer the AP discounts and some of the stores in DS and WS don't either. We have been going for over 30 something years and in all our trips, have stayed in one park once, other than that, even before I had an AP we bought PHs and used them.

 

[Disneylover1970]

Is there a separate Magic Band for AP holders?

 

[Firebird060]

Yes you get a free Magicband with a AP slider. The math makes since for AP for October, especially since you can get AP room discounts as well, which tend to be about 10 percent more than normal room discounts. If you are staying DVC then that is out of the equation. One thing I would remember though is that The CEO of Disney talked about adding Teir Pricing to Multi Day tickets not just single day as it now is. If you get a AP before then, then you do not have to worry about the Large Price increase in Tickets or even APs.

As for Park Hopper I guess it depends on how you travel. Me and My wife swear by Park Hoppers and take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours for Onsite Guests. For Example Wensdays are the night the Magic Kingdom stays open late. Normally 12pm or 1 am durring the Busy Season. I can get into a different Park say at 8 am if it has a early Morning Magic Hour, and spend 6 hours in that Park, go back to our Room for a nap, grab a bite to Eat and then Be able to be Back in Magic Kingdom by 5pm or 6pm and still have another 6 -8 hours of Park time. Without a Park Hopper, I wouldnt have that ability to take a nap in the mid day and still get 12 hours of Park time.

As a avid Disney fan, I say get the AP as soon as possible, it will be Paid off by the second Trip, After your 4th Trip you can renew your AP Pass with the 100 dollar discount they give for Renewals and still have it for December 19 and December 20th because the Renewal also kicks on your next Visit.

 

[Disneylover1970]

Yes you get a free Magicband with a AP slider. The math makes since for AP for October, especially since you can get AP room discounts as well, which tend to be about 10 percent more than normal room discounts. If you are staying DVC then that is out of the equation. One thing I would remember though is that The CEO of Disney talked about adding Teir Pricing to Multi Day tickets not just single day as it now is. If you get a AP before then, then you do not have to worry about the Large Price increase in Tickets or even APs.

As for Park Hopper I guess it depends on how you travel. Me and My wife swear by Park Hoppers and take advantage of the Extra Magic Hours for Onsite Guests. For Example Wensdays are the night the Magic Kingdom stays open late. Normally 12pm or 1 am durring the Busy Season. I can get into a different Park say at 8 am if it has a early Morning Magic Hour, and spend 6 hours in that Park, go back to our Room for a nap, grab a bite to Eat and then Be able to be Back in Magic Kingdom by 5pm or 6pm and still have another 6 -8 hours of Park time. Without a Park Hopper, I wouldnt have that ability to take a nap in the mid day and still get 12 hours of Park time.

As a avid Disney fan, I say get the AP as soon as possible, it will be Paid off by the second Trip, After your 4th Trip you can renew your AP Pass with the 100 dollar discount they give for Renewals and still have it for December 19 and December 20th because the Renewal also kicks on your next Visit.

Thank you. Yes just bought. So you still get to pick out what color band, but get the additional slider. Waiting for the voucher, so I can add it to my account and see if they take any discount off

 

[Firebird060]

once you have the voucher and you add it to your account you can always call disney and have them look at rates. Right now AP rates for October arent in yet. I would check back in July for October rates for AP holders... There is a section on WDWInfo that has the historical Discounts and when they were released