Annual Pass WDW -

[Nana2Callie]

When does an annual pass make sense for out of state guests. Thanks,

 

[worm761]

Anything more than 10 park days in a one year time frame.

 

[Marionnette]

When does an annual pass make sense for out of state guests. Thanks,

An undiscounted AP costs $648.59 with tax. If you have multiple visits planned within a year's time, or if you have one visit with a long stay, and the total cost of tickets for one person for exceeds that amount, then it makes sense to purchase an AP for that person.

 

[bumbershoot]

For us...if we're spending more than 10 park days in one trip. And/or if the total cost of the tickets for 2+ visits in one year will cost more than buying an AP.

 

[Colleen27]

Anything more than 10 park days in a one year time frame.

I don't think it is that clear cut. A 10 day non-expiring is more expensive than an annual pass. I didn't have more than 10 planned park days in my AP year - 4, 3, and 3 over three separate trips - but an AP was still the cheapest ticket option, in part because I wanted hoppers for one of those trips. And that's before accounting for the secondary benefits like AP room rates, TiW, and merchandise discounts.

 

[Crystal824]

You have to look at how many trips you plan on taking that year and how many days for each trip and compare to ticket prices. We did three trips last year and it was well worth it to get an APs.

 

[Elk Grove Chris]

To piggyback (sorry, maybe hijack) on the OP question, I am having a hard time finding all of the benefits from an AP. So there are discounts for on-site lodging with an AP? What about the Dining Plans? Or when you just purchase food in the parks, discount on that as well? TIA.

 

[happymommy]

We've gotten AP's twice (I think?), and used them if we were taking at least two trips in a year. Those times we were staying on site, and got hefty discounts on the rooms. You can buy the Tables in Wonderland card (cost I think $100) and it gets you 20% off food and drinks at lots of places (I do think I had that one year, but I forget). So if you think you'll spend over $500 or so (I can't add tonight) it saves. Also free parking if staying off site.

I loved LOVED the feeling that we could just go for an hour or two to a park, hop around, whatever, without worrying about "using" a park day.

We live in Maryland, and flying from BWI is often a good deal. I've gotten less than $150 round trip in the past (not lately though!).

To me, if you're going twice in one year, it's a good option to consider.

 

[squirrel]

For me I go for 14 nights but just get a 10 day park pass. I did upgrade once to the Water Park and More. That might be a better deal if you only want to fill a few more days. It will give you 10 plus options (water parks, Disney Quest and mini golf).

 

[acc82]

i'm out of state but have an annual pass. i plan on renewing this year as well. it was totally worth it for us!

it does pay for itself after 10 visits. For us, florida is only an 8 hour drive away, so we take a lot of weekend trips there. it's so worth it to know that we can just hop down there any time for only the hotel cost.

also, you do get extra perks such as discounts, access to buy the TIW card, etc.....

 

[SUSIEQ]

I loved LOVED the feeling that we could just go for an hour or two to a park, hop around, whatever, without worrying about "using" a park day.

That is a great feeling!!!

 

[aubriee]

To piggyback (sorry, maybe hijack) on the OP question, I am having a hard time finding all of the benefits from an AP. So there are discounts for on-site lodging with an AP? What about the Dining Plans? Or when you just purchase food in the parks, discount on that as well? TIA.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/passholder-program/passholder-2013-benefits-and-discounts/

 

[snarlingcoyote]

You can get nice discounts using your AP, but honestly, the sure bet is calculating off of park tickets (and parking if you are off site).

Of course, AP holders have our own strategies, once we've make that purchase, to maximize benefits. Many of the folks on these boards will plan our trips to make 2 or 3 trips on one AP. (For example, we went the first week of October, are going at Mardi Gras and will go back the first week of September on our APs. We will let our APs lapse for one year, but will get new ones when we go back in December of 2015 to use in the spring of 2016 and the fall of 2016.)

The short, simple answer is that if you are staying on-site and plan to visit the parks for 10 days in one year, it is most likely that getting an AP would be a financial benefit.

 

[Marionnette]

The short, simple answer is that if you are staying on-site and plan to visit the parks for 10 days in one year, it is most likely that getting an AP would be a financial benefit.

It really depends on how you spend those 10 days. You really have to look at ticket prices for your trips and compare to the cost of an AP.

Note: All of these are adult ticket prices.

10-day MYW Base Ticket - $ 361.04
(2) 5-day MYW Base Tickets - $615.58
(1) 4-day MYW Base Ticket + (1) 6-day MYW Base Ticket - $615.58
(1) 3-day MYW MYW Base Ticket + (1) 7-day MYW Base Ticket - $608.12
​

All of those are less expensive than purchasing an AP. Add another $62.84 per ticket for hopping and all but the 10-day pass become more expensive than the AP.

No two ways around it, just like figuring out whether the dining plan is a good deal for you, you gotta do the math for your own situation and buy accordingly.

 

[pinoke]

We've gotten AP's twice (I think?), and used them if we were taking at least two trips in a year. Those times we were staying on site, and got hefty discounts on the rooms..
To me, if you're going twice in one year, it's a good option to consider.

I haven't seen anything about room discounts with the AP! Is it a certain percent? Could you tell me more? Thanks

 

[Marionnette]

I haven't seen anything about room discounts with the AP! Is it a certain percent? Could you tell me more? Thanks

The AP room-only discounts are announced just like other discounts. It is not a straight percentage (it varies from season to season and from one resort level to another) and availability is not guaranteed. The discounts are available through the Passholder website but you can probably read about the most recent discounts on Mousesavers.com.

 

[Nana2Callie]

Thank you for the input - I think we are going to plan AP for our next trip and schedule to trips in one year such as August 2015 and June 2016. This would certainly be a savings... we are to close to departare date this year to change dates. But, it makes coming back again.... more afforable and I love that!

 

[leagirl12]

I just bought ours this week. This will be our 2nd time to purchase them. We went four times in 2011 when we had them....one was just a long weekend. We were originally only planning to buy tickets for our upcoming week in June and because our schedule is so busy for the remainder of 2014 I didn't see where we would be able to get down there again. Then it hit me....we could go for spring break next year and a few days before our cruise in June of next year. So it just made sense to get them.

Of course now I have convinced DH that we do have some free time this July before the kids start band camp. While it will be scorching hot there it will also be scorching hot here. A HOT day in WDW is always better than a hot day at home!!! He agreed!! Ordinarily I would never consider going mid-July but since it is just the cost of driving down (9-10 hrs) and the hotel it makes it much more enticing.

 

[focusondisney]

I haven't seen anything about room discounts with the AP! Is it a certain percent? Could you tell me more? Thanks

There is no guarantee of room discounts, but usually if there is a public discount, an AP discount follows. AP discounts are released after PIN codes & public discounts but are for a small % more. Ex: current public code is 30% off deluxe resorts but AP discount is 35% off. Because they are released later & are intended to fill rooms, there may be more limited availability.

 

[brownhaired_girl]

Keep in mind you can get tickets at undercover tourist with the mousesaver link. Park Hopper + Water Park Fun & More (Fun Visits) (6 day) - No Expiration SAVE $66 off (Adult) gate price, use them once and do the price bridging. You can save $66 off your annual pass this way. Be aware that you can't use any of the water park and more options or you will need to get the annual pass that would include this also.