Annual pass renewal vs. purchasing a new one

[tommygunn]

Hi nerds,

I'm debating upon renewing my annual pass vs purchasing a new one. It expires in a few weeks and I will not be going back until Nov at the earliest. According to the Disney email if you renew you save 15% but not according to my math. That 15% savings must be calculated off of the full price and not the DVC price (pretty damn misleading if you ask me)

Right now if I renew a platinum pass it would cost me around $853, but for $882 I can get a new one. Seems like a no brainer to get a new one that would start on my next visit if I'm not going back until Nov. Am I missing something? Would appreciate other thoughts. Thanks!

TG

 

[BillPA]

As long as you have a Blue DVC card you can get the following prices.
Unless you will be going during the black out period, the Gold pass will save you some $$$

Walt Disney World
Pass Options Guest Price ......................................Member Price Savings
Disney Gold Pass – .................................................. New Purchase N/A $589 plus tax N/A
Disney Gold Pass – .................................................. Renewal N/A $500 plus tax N/A
Disney Platinum Pass – New Purchase $849 plus tax ................$729 plus tax $120
Disney Platinum Pass – Renewal $721 plus tax........................$619 plus tax $102
Disney Platinum Plus Pass – New Purchase $949 plus tax..........$829 plus tax $120
Disney Platinum Plus Pass – Renewal $806 plus tax..................$704 plus tax $102

 

[intertile]

Hi nerds,

I'm debating upon renewing my annual pass vs purchasing a new one. It expires in a few weeks and I will not be going back until Nov at the earliest. According to the Disney email if you renew you save 15% but not according to my math. That 15% savings must be calculated off of the full price and not the DVC price (pretty damn misleading if you ask me)

Right now if I renew a platinum pass it would cost me around $853, but for $882 I can get a new one. Seems like a no brainer to get a new one that would start on my next visit if I'm not going back until Nov. Am I missing something? Would appreciate other thoughts. Thanks!

TG

If your not going until November and want to extend the expiration for 2019, then you are better off waiting. If your travel in 2019 will all be before Aug, then your better off renewing.

 

[aoconnor]

The renewal discount is worth just under two months of pass. So if you won't be going back within 2 months of expiration, it's cheaper to just wait and buy a new one.

 

[tommygunn]

When does Disney typically increase the costs of annual passes?

 

[aoconnor]

When does Disney typically increase the costs of annual passes?

February

 

[kboo]

As long as you have a Blue DVC card you can get the following prices.
Unless you will be going during the black out period, the Gold pass will save you some $$$

Walt Disney World
Pass Options Guest Price ......................................Member Price Savings
Disney Gold Pass – .................................................. New Purchase N/A $589 plus tax N/A
Disney Gold Pass – .................................................. Renewal N/A $500 plus tax N/A
Disney Platinum Pass – New Purchase $849 plus tax ................$729 plus tax $120
Disney Platinum Pass – Renewal $721 plus tax........................$619 plus tax $102
Disney Platinum Plus Pass – New Purchase $949 plus tax..........$829 plus tax $120
Disney Platinum Plus Pass – Renewal $806 plus tax..................$704 plus tax $102

So if I read this correctly:

We did the PAP+ DVC offer last year and got 2 APs, since we knew we'd need another one to start late 2018 and cover Easter 2019. That we got at $589 (what a deal!).

Based on the prices above, it would only cost me $704 to renew, which would be less than the cost of a new platinum pass, so unless I was planning on a new gold pass (and not going over Easter or Xmas), it makes more sense to renew at the PAP+ level, right?

 

[BillPA]

Plus tax of 6.5% = $749.76 the plus pass has NO blackout dates and includes the Water Parks some golf.... So if you plan an Easter trip, do the water parks and play some golf it's a good deal. If none of those then the Gold at $500 + tax to renew is a better deal.

 

[kboo]

Plus tax of 6.5% = $749.76 the plus pass has NO blackout dates and includes the Water Parks some golf.... So if you plan an Easter trip, do the water parks and play some golf it's a good deal. If none of those then the Gold at $500 + tax to renew is a better deal.

Thanks. That's what I was thinking, except substitute Xmas. If there's no new AP deal, our 2nd round of PAP+ will run from Sept 2018 -Aug 2019, which will cover our Easter 2019 trip. We are also now considering Xmas 2019, so we'd have to decide by around Aug 2019 whether to get another set of PAP+ to cover Xmas 2019 and a 2020 trip. If we decide not to do Xmas 2019, then it would probably make sense to go down to gold AP for 2019-2020. (We got about 15 park days from last year's PAP, and will get about 21 days with the next one.)

 

[Frederic Civish]

BUY IT NOW. You will get all the discount bonuses on the purchase and Disney World also usually extends it for 13 months instead of 12. (Call Disney World and ask about this.) But here's the kicker: IT DOESN'T START RUNNING UNTIL THE FIRST TIME YOU USE IT BY GOING THROUGH THE TURNSTILES AT DISNEY WORLD. Until then, it sits in limbo. You DO need to start using it by a certain date. This will be something like to START using it by December 31st 2019, or February 28th, 2020, or something like that. But just because you aren't using it, that doesn't mean it is running and you are losing months. It doesn't run until you use it!

Of course, talk to Disney and ask about these things and verify them for your particular case.

Now, having said that, I was in Disneyland for 4 days last weekend. Disneyland is a whole different kettle of fish. My Disneyland annual pass expired July 6th. Disneyland has raised their annual pass prices by $230 !!!!! since last year (for the Signature Premium pass, like I had last time - no blockout dates). And DISNEYLAND DOES NOT GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT IF YOU ARE A DVC MEMBER. AND, they don't give you a discount for your previous Annual Pass, and they don't extend it to 13 months.

So, I bought 4 day park hopper passes for my family members that were with me. A 4 day Park Hopper is almost half the cost of the lower level Annual Pass, with blockout dates, and I was going to switch them over to annual passes at the end of our visit. That way, I could have applied the whole $400 cost (for each of us) towards the new Disneyland Annual Passes. BUT I didn't. Because they would have started running immediately, as of the 1st day of our use of the 4 day Park Hopper Passes. And, truthfully, I have several trips to Disney World lined up over the next few months, plus a trip to Europe (which is hellishly expensive), so I won't be going back to Disneyland until next February, at the earliest, and possibly not until next June or July. So, I didn't do it. I just let the 4 day Park Hopper passes expire, because I figure I will save more by just purchasing them 'fresh' when we go next year.

 

[Sleepy425]

BUY IT NOW. You will get all the discount bonuses on the purchase and Disney World also usually extends it for 13 months instead of 12. (Call Disney World and ask about this.) But here's the kicker: IT DOESN'T START RUNNING UNTIL THE FIRST TIME YOU USE IT BY GOING THROUGH THE TURNSTILES AT DISNEY WORLD. Until then, it sits in limbo. You DO need to start using it by a certain date. This will be something like to START using it by December 31st 2019, or February 28th, 2020, or something like that. But just because you aren't using it, that doesn't mean it is running and you are losing months. It doesn't run until you use it!

Of course, talk to Disney and ask about these things and verify them for your particular case.

Now, having said that, I was in Disneyland for 4 days last weekend. Disneyland is a whole different kettle of fish. My Disneyland annual pass expired July 6th. Disneyland has raised their annual pass prices by $230 !!!!! since last year (for the Signature Premium pass, like I had last time - no blockout dates). And DISNEYLAND DOES NOT GIVE YOU A DISCOUNT IF YOU ARE A DVC MEMBER. AND, they don't give you a discount for your previous Annual Pass, and they don't extend it to 13 months.

So, I bought 4 day park hopper passes for my family members that were with me. A 4 day Park Hopper is almost half the cost of the lower level Annual Pass, with blockout dates, and I was going to switch them over to annual passes at the end of our visit. That way, I could have applied the whole $400 cost (for each of us) towards the new Disneyland Annual Passes. BUT I didn't. Because they would have started running immediately, as of the 1st day of our use of the 4 day Park Hopper Passes. And, truthfully, I have several trips to Disney World lined up over the next few months, plus a trip to Europe (which is hellishly expensive), so I won't be going back to Disneyland until next February, at the earliest, and possibly not until next June or July. So, I didn't do it. I just let the 4 day Park Hopper passes expire, because I figure I will save more by just purchasing them 'fresh' when we go next year.

I'm only on my second annual pass, but from my understanding the 13 month thing was a limited time promotion for only tickets bought and/or activated during a certain time. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

 

[Frederic Civish]

This is how the page linked from the email sent reads:

'Renew Your Pass – and Enjoy an Extra Month
When you renew your annual pass by October 1, 2017 (and before it expires), you'll get a 13-month pass! That gives you an extra month to experience the magic of Walt Disney World Resort.'

I'm only on my second annual pass, but from my understanding the 13 month thing was a limited time promotion for only tickets bought and/or activated during a certain time. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

Yes. I think you are right. I renewed last year, before the 13 month bonus ended. So I guess it will not longer be available when I renew at the end of October this year.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm only on my second annual pass, but from my understanding the 13 month thing was a limited time promotion for only tickets bought and/or activated during a certain time. Anyone else want to chime in on that?

Yep. 13 months is not a normal, regular, or usual thing.