Annual pass take away from the "magic"

[Zoemakes5]

I'm a Disney fiend. Have been all my life. As many of you know, we're contemplating a move to So.Ca, and my first thought (well maybe not my first, but pretty high up there! ) was that I'd be able to get annual passes to DLR! I could go whenever I wanted and was able to with DD.
Then I got to wondering if that would take away from the "magic" of DLR? Does it become to "everyday"? For us, so far, every trip we've taken as a family has been a pretty big deal. Lots of anticipation and planning and saving. If we could go every other weekend, will it still appeal?
We loved the zoo in our area. We got a membership, and after that year, I can tell you, it's almost impossible to get the kids to go again. They've "seen everything" and "it's boring".
So, was wondering what people who have b.t.d.t. have to say about it, or those who have chosen not to get annual passes for that reason. Or, how do you avoid it?
Thanks!!!!

 

[deletedpenguin]

My $.02:

I have an annual pass and have had one for a few years now. I probably spend a total of a week or two at Disneyland over the course of the year, and I have never become bored with it, nor feel as if the 'magic' is gone. Let me explain why.

1. You're not in a rush. If you're only at Disneyland a few days, you're rushing around trying to do everything you wanted to do before you leave. I noticed that once you have an annual pass, you start to slow down, take it all in, and appreciate the smaller details that you wouldn't have noticed before. I am a artist by trade, and a photographer by hobby, and have spent full days focusing on the artistic side to Disneyland that most people wouldn't otherwise appreciate.

2. It saves you money. You're going to go more often, you might as admit to yourself now, so why not just save the money. It'll give you an inexpensive activity on those days that you have nothing else going on. You've already paid for it, and now you have the ability to 'just spend the afternoon' in the park.

3. You're already in the area and will have access to the seasonal events that you would have possibly missed out on before. I'm sure you've had to make a decision as to when you were going to visit based on the time of year, events, crowds etc. Take Finding Nemo for example, you don't need to wait in line for 2 1/2 hours to get on anymore. You could head over to the park one afternoon when you know it'll be less busy, ride it, and leave if you so desired. You'll have alot more flexibility.

 

[disneegrl4eva]

I'm a Disney fiend. Have been all my life. As many of you know, we're contemplating a move to So.Ca, and my first thought (well maybe not my first, but pretty high up there! ) was that I'd be able to get annual passes to DLR! I could go whenever I wanted and was able to with DD.
Then I got to wondering if that would take away from the "magic" of DLR? Does it become to "everyday"? For us, so far, every trip we've taken as a family has been a pretty big deal. Lots of anticipation and planning and saving. If we could go every other weekend, will it still appeal?
We loved the zoo in our area. We got a membership, and after that year, I can tell you, it's almost impossible to get the kids to go again. They've "seen everything" and "it's boring".
So, was wondering what people who have b.t.d.t. have to say about it, or those who have chosen not to get annual passes for that reason. Or, how do you avoid it?
Thanks!!!!

thats a really good question....I have an AP but I live about 5 hours from DL...my aunt lives 45 minutes from DL...I personally love having the AP because I can make last minute trips without dealing with added expense of tickets...however, in my experience with my own daughter and watching other people in the same boat, I wouldnt push the kids to go even if you want to because they will start to feel the same way about DL as they do about the zoo..if you want to go, by all means take a day trip over there, or go spend a couple hours on a weekend or something but pace yourself..I love DL more than anything but if I had the opportunity to live so close that I could go all the time, it might not be as magical for me as it is now...

 

[cinderella_mom]

I've had an AP for DLR for the last 5 years. When DH was in school, DD6 and I went about every other Sunday. It never got boring. Now that DH is out of school, we all go about once a month. We thoroughly enjoy it and it makes it even better knowing we don't have to cram in everything each time. There are times we go when DD wants to spend an hour(or longer) running around in the wilderness park (DCA) or TSI(now Pirate's Lair). Also, in the warmer months, she really enjoys the sprinkler areas at DCA.

In the long run, we find we enjoy our trips more. And though some of the anticipation and planning aspects are gone, the "magic" is still there.

 

[cmwade77]

There is another good reason to have an Annual Pass, whenever friends and family come in from out of town they ALWAYS want to go to Disneyland, this way you can easily go with them, even for just a few hours after work, no big deal.

I enjoy doing just that sometimes after I get of of work, I go home and pickup my wife and we just go to Disneyland for two or three hours, cheaper than a movie and more entertaining.

To see if it would be cheaper than the movies for you, take all you spend on movies take how much you spend per week on movies and multiply it by 52, chances are an Annual Pass would be cheaper.

 

[B9erSteve]

I'm about six hours from DL. With an annual pass, I'll go about 3 times in a year. To me that is pretty frequent. I never tire of it. If I were closer, I still probably would not make it more often than that because of work constraints. But it would allow us to make some of the special events.

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We just got AP's even though we live 8 hours or 550 miles away! For us I think it would depend on how often you go. I think if we went every weekend, yes it probably would lose some of that appeal. It becomes less of a vacation and more of something to do on the weekends. I can't say I'd ever want DL to become that for me!

We plan on going in October and again next May. So it's saving us quite a bit of money having AP's. Yet I don't think that will be often enough to make it feel like less then a vacation.

I grew up in the Bay Area in California. So I was near San Fran, Great America, Marine World, SF Zoo, Santa Cruz Boardwalk. They were all weekend things for us to do, and really didn't have that magic to them. Of course they are NO DL by any means either! LOL But I do think places can lose that if you go that often. Just my 2 cents!

 

[MotoXPrincess99]

I would totally get use out of an AP, but DBF doesn't like to go but once a year. Maybe I'll get one and go by myself! I have been twice in the last 3 months (April with my mom, June 6th with DBF, but his cousin got us in free)) and have a trip planned in January (with mom).

 

[bumbershoot]

Well, I don't know about APs and DL, but I know that buying memberships to our local zoos has made them MORE fun for us. Sure, we've seen each animal a zillion times, but now it's like they are OUR zoos, our animals. And we know that if DS is having a bad day, as he was on Saturday, we can leave after 1.5 hours and know we haven't really lost any money.

So if I lived in southern CA, I'd get an AP, and doubt it would take anything away from my enjoyment.

 

[Alex2kMommy]

We're considering getting APs this year, because we'd like to go twice in a calendar year. For our first trip last year, we stayed 8 days, and while we did our favorite rides more than once, we in no way felt we'd seen it all and done it all. There was plenty that we didn't see, and we are hoping to hit those this fall. My DS6 would be happy to ride Splash Mountain all day every day!

The deluxe AP is just slightly more than 8-day parkhopper tickets, so even if our 2nd trip is half as long, it will still save us a bit of money, not even including any discounts offered to AP holders.

 

[victorandbellasmom]

We live over a thousand miles away and have had APs since 2005. For us, it's not about the "been there done that" idea. We enjoy our days at DL/DCA even though we've done Space Mountain 20 times in the past 2 years. Our last trip in Feb was 8 days long with 7 days in DL/DCA. On our 8th day we decided to do Universal since kids had never been, dh hadn't been there since the late 80's, and my last trip there was in 1994. We walked away from US saying we wished we spent the day at DL instead. There's just something magical for our family at DL/DCA. And we ejoy each trip and each day we're there. We've chosen to get APs for economic reasons. We've been doing 2 visits a year since we got our 1st APs and it's more economical to pay $239 for 1 year vs buying 2 6-day hoppers for that trip, not to mention the discounts in food and hotels.
Now regarding local attraction memberships, we've had memberships to our local zoo, science center and children's museum since our kids were toddlers. They love going back to each and seeing if they've added something new or taken something out. If given a chance, my kids would love to go each and every weekend. There's always a new adventure to be had.

 

[tinkerbelt]

We go about once a week, less in the summer, and we still love going. There are times when we will leave and feel kind of tired of being at Disneyland, but when you go that often, I think that's to be expected. But we're always ready to go back within a few weeks!

DL is a much different experience for an AP. It's really nice to be able to go and really enjoy things, and people watch. There are so many things that I get to do as an AP that I just would not have time to do if I were only vacationing at the parks. Sometimes we will just go to see the parade, or the fireworks, and nothing more. We were able to make a special trip just to ride Nemo, and not have to worry about wasting half of a day on one ride. If a show gets cancelled for the day or if a line is too long, no big deal, we can just come back and do it another time.

Every time we go, I always try to do something that we have never done before, and believe it or not, there are still plenty of things that we have never done at DL.

 

[tracer]

We go to DL one to two times a year. We live about 6-7 hours away so it's close enough to go often, but not close enough with young children, KWIM?
When we go, we visit the park for three days. So for us, it's cheaper to buy the AP's, even though we really only go to the park about 6-7 days a year.

My $0.02 to you is to, do the math. If you THINK you may buy enough daily tickets to equal the cost of or more than the AP, you best bet money wise is to buy the AP.

I also agree with others, if you live close enough you can take out of towners in. You can go in the evening to watch the parade or fireworks. You can go all day long...you have many many more options if you do have the AP.

 

[lulubelle]

I've had an AP for several years. My family and I go for 2 to4 nights 3-4 times a year and just for the day another 3 or 4 times. I go by myself sometimes, too. It averages a visit about every other month. I never tire of it. I always try to see/experience something new. And if a line is long for a particular attraction, we just skip it. I do feel spoiled living so close (about 90 minutes away) and feel my AP is $$ very well spent. Plus now, DD20 is in the College Program and works there, more reason to visit!!!

 

[queenrollog]

I married into an AP (my DH is a Disney freak!) and they are a great value for our money. We can go for just a few hours and usually go 4-5 times a month. I feel so sorry for the exhausted, sunburned, sensory-overloaded guests who get there right when the park opens and are there until it closes. We can go just for fireworks, just for the bands, or stay all day when our families come to visit. With 3 y/o DS, it's a great convenience. It's a big hurt $$ once a year, but we still agree it's a great deal for us. And we still find the magic!

 

[Rapunsel]

my DBF and I love going on a date night... It is like being a kid again. Then we love taking the kids and going.. We go for just a few hours here and there..
We are going on Sunday just to ride Nemo with no kids... The kids already know as they got to go during the preview days..

I have saved all the parking stubs from when I first started going in August 06 and I have gone with and without kids about 25 times...

Only 1 or 2 of those have been all day. Mostly just for a morning, or an afternoon. Or just to go and ride Space Mountain before they changed the music..

I personally think the $200 I spent was the best deal ever. No we are upgrading to Premium.. So we can go whenever we want... Not only when my pass is valid..

 

[Albort]

i dont have an AP but im pretty much there almost everyday. I still enjoy it. Though the scenery is soo blah to me, meeting new people is always soooo interesting.

 

[DevilDuckie]

My annual pass actually extended the magic. On a bad day at work, I could just think to myself that an X hour drive would take me to Disneyland. Even if I didn't do it, just the knowledge that I *could* go was special.

 

[sasha]

I don't think anything can ever take away from the "magic" at DL. The sounds, the smells, the sights..... it's all so magical! It's like once you step into the gates, everything from the real world is left behind.

We have AP's and have been using them much more this year than we ever have. We go on average 1-3 times per month with our DD4 & DD2. My parents don't understand, but we NEVER get tired of it. It's actually quite the contrary - it seems like the more we go, the more we miss it when we're not there. Plus our girls have made some great memories there (fortunately I'm documenting it all in scrapbooks). Everytime we tell them we're going to go to DL they want to watch their Disneyland Sing-Along DVD to prepare for it. Then it's tradition that we always listen to our Disneyland 50th Annivesary CD in the car on the hour long drive to DL.

Plus, as other people have said, we always try to do something new at DL that we haven't done before. And there's still lots that we haven't done! I also agree that being able to go so often takes away the stress of having to get everything done in one day there. We were just there yesterday and since it was pretty crowded we spent time doing things we don't usually do - we had a character breakfast at Minnie & Friends, we watched "The First Fifty Years" movie with Steve Martin, we watched the DL parade from a bench eating popcorn, we rode on the big Mark Twain boat, we went into the Tiki Room to cool down and we went to DCA just to go on Monsters Inc. & watch the Electrical Parade. It was such a great day and it was stress-free. We're looking forward to going back when it's really hot just to let the girls play under the water fountains at Bug's Land in DCA.

I could go on and on, but I won't . I can tell you with confidence that DL will never lose it's magic with this family!

 

[TXAng]

When we lived in CA, our apartment was only 6 miles away from DL. We got our APs, and didn't regret it for one minute!

We typically went about once or twice per week. It was really great to be able to go into the park, grab a snack, and soak up the atmosphere. Maybe hop on a ride or two, and then head back home. Even DH loved it, and he's not really a big Disney freak like I am!

We're back home in TX now, and that's the ONE thing I miss about CA!