Annual Passes and the Not So Frequent Visitor (What am I missing?)

[prncssjas]

Long time DIS board member, long time DVC member, and still wondering if I might be missing something with annual passes. It's just DH, myself and our DS (who is now 20). Pre-covid, we visited WDW once per year (sometimes in Feb, sometimes in May) but the month year would vary between the two. We never purchased annual passes (we live in Michigan) and typically fly down for a week. The annual passes never made sense because we didn't necessarily have the year overlap and visiting often enough. We have two DVC direct contracts (at VB and VGF) and when we stay, in the past we usually buy park hopper passes (we like the parks but don't LOVE them crazy enough to open and close them--we love resort time too).

When DVC/Disney offered the sorcerer's pass (I think that's what it was?), we did buy it and intentionally planned two years in a row to take advantage of it. However, during COVID, we let it lapse and never renewed. And like many folks, we also had some addon-itis last year and purchased another contract (this time VGF resale). I purchased these points because we love to do the RunDisney race weekends--we fly in for a few days, run the races, and fly home. We don't do the theme parks necessarily because that's not the trip's focus.

But I see many posts and it has me wondering if I am simply slow or uneducated and might be missing something by not having the annual passes? Unless we want to visit the parks more than once per year, is there something else that would making having the pass beneficial if it were to go on sale to us again? We have a trip planned for May 2023 for a full week at BLT and we purchased park hoppers with the water park option and while they weren't cheap, I am wondering if buying an AP (had it been available) would have made sense if the next trip was beyond 12 months later...my guess is no?

Are there other similarly situated families like mine who vacation the same way? Or know something I do not know? I can certainly understand the frustration for people who visit multiple times and always want to visit theme parks--that's easy enough to understand. Just curious what others think...

 

[thanxfornoticin]

You make some very valid points. In my opinion, the APs are a very individual decision. And if your vacation patterns don't need it, then you don't buy it (if it was even available, that is!). For many years, we had no use for APs. We'd visit every couple years (we're also DVC). As the kids got older, they didn't join all the time and we ended up doing longer trips or more trips, and APs made sense. You're not missing anything - sounds like you've done your homework for how you travel to Disney at this time! If they start selling again, maybe evaluate the price and your situation again to see if it makes sense then.

 

[RoseGold]

Even in your travel plan, once per year, it would have made sense a few times maybe. Use in May, then use the next February. If APs were to come back, you might still be able to game your travel to match this, even if you only kept it one year. You don't have to activate it when you buy it. Day tickets, especially hoppers, are so expensive now, this might make sense.

For me, I use the AP to go to fireworks arrival night. To maybe just go to the parks a couple hours one day. I would never buy day tickets to do this kind of travel. I'd just buy a Halloween ticket and go to Universal the next day.

If I didn't care about parks and wanted a resort trip, I'd stay a better run resort than Disney, and one that isn't overrun with kids.

 

[BamaGuy44]

This board distorts reality sometimes, it can make it seem like almost every DVC member has annual passes, and it's crazy to own DVC without them. For some people it is, but there are plenty that don't and make good use of their points just fine.

We've been going to WDW once or twice a year for 20+ years, never had a AP. And that won't change just because we are DVC now. It's a simple formula of "will an AP be cheaper for the amount of park days we want in a year vs normal tickets? " For us the answer is no.

If we could go as often as we'd like to, APs would be a must. But alas, time and money have turned out to be finite resources. Dang it.

 

[lovin'fl]

DVC since 2006 and when we used to do 1 trip a year we'd get an AP and book, say, Aug one year and then July the next to get the 2 trips on the pass. Let it expire, not renew, and then get a new AP the following Aug and do again. The 14+ days on the AP was a lot cheaper than buying 7 day hoppers twice. Then, when our kiddos got to HS, we started doing quickie F&W trips sans kids. So we'd do the 5-9 night trip with kids plus a 3-4 night trip without. So we'd renew our AP (DH and I). My kids, now mid 20s, no longer get APs and we just buy them 1 park per day tix(no hoppers) as needed. And we live (DH and I) in FL now, just 15 mins to WDW, so we use them APs. Not as much as some of our neighbors who go twice a week but definitely worth what we pay.

 

[tidefan]

After going through a few threads on this, I am coming around to the notion that a good bit of this issue is with DVC members that live in Southern states not named Florida. For members that live in states like GA, SC, NC, AL, TN, MS, or LA, WDW is a drivable trip, which, IMHO, changes the visit calculus quite a bit. In fact, for many in South GA or AL, they are actually closer (sometimes by a good bit) to WDW than someone that lives in say Pensacola, FL.

We have friends that would go 5-6 times per year, often just for long weekend getaways, etc. Without APs, those things are a thing of the past for them. Now we all tend to have more points than we are really using and many are just now coming to that realization.

 

[Miffy]

OP, One has to visit enough and use those visits for park time in order for an AP to make sense. I'm an out-of-state, non-DVC AP holder. We come two or three times a year, so the AP makes sense. It's only luck that I renewed it during the pandemic or I wouldn't have it right now.

But, aside from that, your point is currently moot, since unless you're a FL resident--which I gather you are not--you cannot purchase a new AP. unless something changed in the last day and I'm unaware of it.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

OP, One has to visit enough and use those visits for park time in order for an AP to make sense. I'm an out-of-state, non-DVC AP holder. We come two or three times a year, so the AP makes sense. It's only luck that I renewed it during the pandemic or I wouldn't have it right now.

But, aside from that, your point is currently moot, since unless you're a FL resident--which I gather you are not--you cannot purchase a new AP. unless something changed in the last day and I'm unaware of it.

If something had changed on this in the last day, I guarantee you would be aware of it out here!!

 

[Narcoossee11]

I think it is simple:
SHOW ME THE MONEY

If you can use a AP 10+ days in a 365 day period , you have broken even.

 

[Pooh12863]

Long time DIS board member, long time DVC member, and still wondering if I might be missing something with annual passes. It's just DH, myself and our DS (who is now 20). Pre-covid, we visited WDW once per year (sometimes in Feb, sometimes in May) but the month year would vary between the two. We never purchased annual passes (we live in Michigan) and typically fly down for a week. The annual passes never made sense because we didn't necessarily have the year overlap and visiting often enough. We have two DVC direct contracts (at VB and VGF) and when we stay, in the past we usually buy park hopper passes (we like the parks but don't LOVE them crazy enough to open and close them--we love resort time too).

When DVC/Disney offered the sorcerer's pass (I think that's what it was?), we did buy it and intentionally planned two years in a row to take advantage of it. However, during COVID, we let it lapse and never renewed. And like many folks, we also had some addon-itis last year and purchased another contract (this time VGF resale). I purchased these points because we love to do the RunDisney race weekends--we fly in for a few days, run the races, and fly home. We don't do the theme parks necessarily because that's not the trip's focus.

But I see many posts and it has me wondering if I am simply slow or uneducated and might be missing something by not having the annual passes? Unless we want to visit the parks more than once per year, is there something else that would making having the pass beneficial if it were to go on sale to us again? We have a trip planned for May 2023 for a full week at BLT and we purchased park hoppers with the water park option and while they weren't cheap, I am wondering if buying an AP (had it been available) would have made sense if the next trip was beyond 12 months later...my guess is no?

Are there other similarly situated families like mine who vacation the same way? Or know something I do not know? I can certainly understand the frustration for people who visit multiple times and always want to visit theme parks--that's easy enough to understand. Just curious what others think...

It basically comes down to simple math. Is the cost of individual tickets for your planned trips greater than or equal to the cost of an AP. If you answer yes buy an AP if they become available again.

 

[kilik64]

Getting an AP is simple math really. Based on the pricing of the sorcerer pass when it was still being sold, you'd need to go 7+ park days buying tickets with park hopper within one calendar year to make it cheaper.

If you dont go that many days, its still cheaper to just buy tickets. We go once per year and stay sunday to saturday and get 4 days of park tickets. Makes zero sense for us. I am jealous of folks who it works for that can like RoseGold noted just pop in for fireworks or the like, but really not a huge deal to us overall.

 

[prncssjas]

I think it is simple:
SHOW ME THE MONEY

If you can use a AP 10+ days in a 365 day period , you have broken even.

Yes, this must be it! That's what I thought (but started to question my sanity and knowledge after spending some time on these boards). I kept thinking I was missing something--like some lucrative perk or deal that I had missed along the way. LOL! Thank you for confirming what I thought I knew....

 

[prncssjas]

It basically comes down to simple math. Is the cost of individual tickets for your planned trips greater than or equal to the cost of an AP. If you answer yes buy an AP if they become available again.

Yes, thank you! And the big question is also "IF" they become available...

 

[Genie+]

We could’ve saved alot of money if APs were for sale. We did 2 trips in 2021 and are doing 2 trips again this year. We always buy hoppers and memory maker. It’s not a huge deal though since we are resale and Incredipass is so expensive now. In the end we’re spending about the same overall since we’ve adjusted to less park days, and that also means less in park meals and shopping time. We are getting less but also not spending more.

 

[ak517]

We have friends that would go 5-6 times per year, often just for long weekend getaways, etc. Without APs, those things are a thing of the past for them. Now we all tend to have more points than we are really using and many are just now coming to that realization.

Aside from those couples or families who take two week+ long trips per year, this is the best value of an AP for most non-local WDW visitors. I'm a current AP who will pop into a specific park just for better shopping or even for some people watching, but am debating whether to renew later this year because we a) moved out of state and b) are having our first child, both of which change travel plans quite a bit, despite being DVC. That being said, I've been hunting around for more DVC points because I see a huge value in upgrading our stays to larger rooms and bringing extended family (e.g. free babysitters). So, we may put more into DVC but not need APs with planning a once per year or once every other year trip at this stage of our lives. It's hard to predict how tickets and our Disney vacation needs will change when I ship my kid(s) off to college in 18+ years, but I believe this is also why most on the boards advise buying relatively smaller point contracts!

 

[EYL]

We plan to buy the AP to try it out if it is ever offered again. We think it offers flexibility that some might appreciate but not all might need. While we will plan for 2 trips within the Annual Pass year, we aren't particularly planning for more days in the parks for the rides, but rather to enjoy them at a reasonable pace. We've always walked through Epcot with a day ticket, and it never made sense to us to spend too much time in a restaurant, relaxing too long to listen to a concert, or hopping from stand to stand during Food and Wine. Now that we own at RIV, we figured to buy the AP's once to try it out at least once. This way, at our convenience, we can skyline over to Epcot late-afternoon for a table service restaurant, to check out Food and Wine, to the concerts at America, or just for the fireworks. I don't think it will save us money, though. The convenience will be at a cost - more meals and shopping in the Parks.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

The only time I've bought AP is when I can squeeze two trips into 11mths. Now, since I can't do that and don't have the option, our trips will be more spread apart even if I have the points to do twice in a year. Once a year trip, AP not worth it for our family.

 

[petrola]

I think it is simple:
SHOW ME THE MONEY

If you can use a AP 10+ days in a 365 day period , you have broken even.

This. The longest trip we ever did was 6 days in one year. AP's don't make sense for our family. We just don't visit the parks enough to warrant them, but I totally agree with OP - reading some of these posts it seems like almost everyone with DVC is waiting for AP's. But that's probably not reality.

 

[tidefan]

This. The longest trip we ever did was 6 days in one year. AP's don't make sense for our family. We just don't visit the parks enough to warrant them, but I totally agree with OP - reading some of these posts it seems like almost everyone with DVC is waiting for AP's. But that's probably not reality.

Just to throw a different perspective out there... In 2019, we did the following stays:

• Jan 2019: SSR for Marathon Weekend
• Mar 2019: PVB for Spring Break
• May 2019: VGF for just out of school
• Aug 2019: BLT for MNSSHP (and F&W)
• Nov 2019: PVB for Thanksgiving week
• Dec 2019: SSR for New Year's

Now, that was perhaps an uncommon year for us, but you can see where having AP's helps.

BUT (and a big BUT)...

We are drivable from here in AL where it's about an 8 1/2 hour drive. It's not hard just to pop down there. I think that it's a different story if flights are involved.

 

[prncssjas]

Just to throw a different perspective out there... In 2019, we did the following stays:

• Jan 2019: SSR for Marathon Weekend
• Mar 2019: PVB for Spring Break
• May 2019: VGF for just out of school
• Aug 2019: BLT for MNSSHP (and F&W)
• Nov 2019: PVB for Thanksgiving week
• Dec 2019: SSR for New Year's

Now, that was perhaps an uncommon year for us, but you can see where having AP's helps.

BUT (and a big BUT)...

We are drivable from here in AL where it's about an 8 1/2 hour drive. It's not hard just to pop down there. I think that it's a different story if flights are involved.

If I was visiting as much as you were in this year, I would FOR SURE want the APs! That's common sense, no? Driving or not....