Annual Passes - would you recommend ?

[paul_toria96]

Hi all,

I've been looking at the parking prices for the disney parks and they work out quite expensive for our 3 week holiday, I've seen on Ebay someone renting out their annual pass as you get free parking.

Would anyone recommend getting one of these annual passes for a 3 week holiday?

I'm in a mess and need some help please

 

[wilma-bride]

Sorry, not sure what you're asking

If you're asking if people would recommend you 'rent' someone's AP to get the free parking perk then, personally, I would say an emphatic no

If you're asking whether it would be worth you buying an Annual Pass then it could well be. It really depends whether the difference in cost between the park passes you were going to buy and the cost of an AP is less than the amount you will end up paying in parking. How many times do you plan to visit the Disney parks? If you are going for 3 weeks, one woud assume you are panning to buy the 21 Day Ultimate ticket - is that correct? If so, I suspect it is probably not THAT much more expensive to buy an Annual Pass and then you get the free parking plus the other 'perks' also.

 

[disney_princess_85]

I agree: if you're asking if you should 'rent' an AP, my answer would be 100% no.

 

[paul_toria96]

I agree: if you're asking if you should 'rent' an AP, my answer would be 100% no.

Thanks, I won't be renting.

Yes we are getting the 21 day passes and will probably be going about 14 or so times as we also have DC and SW to go to.

It doesn't seem much more expensive working out you are spending $14 a day on parking but you do get extra perks, but not sure what these are and wether they are worh it,

Does anyone know what they are?

 

[disney_princess_85]

If it's anything like the DLP AP, you will get discounts on merchandise and food. Hopefully someone will clarify.

 

[wayneg]

Lots of AP info here http://allears.net/pl/apass.htm

2 types, we bought the cheaper one for 2 years in a row, got 6 visits out of them so great value.
Last August & this August we have gone for onsite hotel to get free Dining plan & free parking rather than buying AP's.

You only need to buy 1 AP in you party to get the benefits, we all had them but not needed for the discounts. The discount scheme is very limited compared to Universal or Seaworld AP's.

 

[stkf]

We always buy APs as we are in Florida for at least six weeks every year and visit the parks most days. Apart from the free parking which is a great saving we find that the discount off of the restaurants (especially Fultons) and merchandise are the main perks. I am going to get the discount off of the golf this summer as well.

 

[Pegasus928]

You only need to buy 1 AP in you party to get the benefits, we all had them but not needed for the discounts. The discount scheme is very limited compared to Universal or Seaworld AP's.

I agree Wayne. We found that the 'perks' for a Disney AP were very disappointing when compared to what you get for a Universal AP.
The Disney restaurants that give you discount are few and far between (bloomin 'eck I sounded like my gran then) and from what we could see only the World of Disney at DTD gave any discount for merchandise.
If you plan on eating in a lot of the Disney places it would be worth considering getting the Tables in Wonderland card as well, as this is accepted in a lot more places.

 

[JoC-UK]

I would go for one annual pass and the rest 21 day tickets - that's what we did last year when we went for 3 weeks.

IT also means that you don't have to worry about parking if you are only going for a couple of hours e.g. to see the fireworks

 

[wayneg]

Saying that Kenny they keep cutting back wherever they can with Universal and Seaworld AP's or increase charges.
Upto last few years Universal AP gave front of line access on the rides, now have to buy seperate where Disney for now still give Fastpasses to everyone.
Just renewed SW AP now it only gives a $1 discount off Skytower from $4 to $3 when it used to be free.
Universal AP renewal has risen 36.5% this year.

There maybe more changes, I need to try log into my accounts for latest info when I get time.

 

[Disneymad]

and from what we could see only the World of Disney at DTD gave any discount for merchandise.

Aside from the Tables in Wonderland card (you need to spend $350 to break even with which really isn't a lot especially if you do some character meals/buffets) this year Disney have been somewhat secretly offering extra discounts on merchandise at extra locations - places like Mousegear and Main St Emporium inside the parks - in addition to World of Disney and the other fairly trivial options. This is 20% for Premium and 10% for regular AP's. Current offer is running to Sept 30th.

This does seem to be a very low profile perk though - for reasons only known to Disney they're not really advertising it Perhaps some kind of trial.

 

[wayneg]

Aside from the Tables in Wonderland card (you need to spend $350 to break even with which really isn't a lot especially if you do some character meals/buffets) this year Disney have been somewhat secretly offering extra discounts on merchandise at extra locations - places like Mousegear and Main St Emporium inside the parks - in addition to World of Disney and the other fairly trivial options. This is 20% for Premium and 10% for regular AP's. Current offer is running to Sept 30th.

This does seem to be a very low profile perk though - for reasons only known to Disney they're not really advertising it Perhaps some kind of trial.

Last week we got 20% off these locations just for buying a counter service meal with no AP. 10% seems a little unfair for AP holders but thats Disney discounting, like OKW/SSR 42% off & free DDP, totally unfair to DVC members great for us. They don't look after their core customers as well as they should IMO, rather discount to get new customers.
I feel other theme park AP's make me feel more valued, never felt that when we had Disney AP's.

 

[Disneymad]

Oh, still doing the Counter Service deal are they? I knew they were doing it over Easter, hadn't realised they'd extended that too. Nyeh, ok, not so cool for passholders then.

Yeah, Disney have always been a little blase with their AP holders (the DVC thing is a bit more nebulous as it does scale somewhat dependent on party size. It's just the 2 of us so with the massive AP discount we get and TiW vs Free Dining it's really not that much of a deal, horrible kick in the teeth for bigger families though), perhaps because there's so many people who have them that we're talking big $$$. I suspect though it's because they know we're all hopelessly addicted and would keep coming back regardless.

 

[jockey]

We always buy AP's, last year we managed to get 3 trips out of them. The free parking is a great incentive and we also buy the tables in wonderland card

 

[crabbie1]

Hi do I need and annual pass to get the tables in wonderland card? Also where does this card give you discounts? is it just food or shopping as well and how long does the card last?

 

[wayneg]

Hi do I need and annual pass to get the tables in wonderland card? Also where does this card give you discounts? is it just food or shopping as well and how long does the card last?

http://allears.net/din/dde.htm

All details here.

 

[Disneymad]

Also available on the Dis here.

If you like a drink with your meal (or even just a drink!) then it's the only discount available that includes alcohol. Considering the prices of booze on site it's not to be sniffed at and you really don't even have to be 'a drinker' for it to help claw back the initial outlay of the card quickly.