Annual Passholders

[Beemitchcowski]

Soooo...just out of fun curiosity....

How many of you that are Annual Passholders....go to Disney 3 times in one year...well...you know...because the third trip is practically "free"....

We bought our Annual Passes on a whim last fall when we went to Disney for the first time! On our last day of our trip..it was a rainy dreary day....we talked about it a little bit on our trip...but we were thinking....WOW! This vacation stuff is pretty cool (up to that point..we have never really been on vacation as a family before other than a weekend trip to a zoo..or trips to visit family)...we definetly need to come back to Disney in a year..I mentioned to DH..well..if we book our trip a week or so short of the 1 year of buying our passes...we could save some money..and kind of "lock" ourselves into going again! YEAH!...

Well we decided that we didn't want to wait and since my husband started working for a new company..he got some extra vacation that we were not initially planning for...sooooo....lets go in May!

Now since we are going in May...and that will be our second trip on the Annual pass (basically it evens out)....If we went back in the fall...it would practically be FREE...right?...bwhahaha..okay..not really...and I doubt we will be going...Disney is expensive!


Just a thought...just curious...

 

[girli565]

I live in Miami so we go to DIsney at least 4-5 times a year. We got our annual passes 2 years ago and LOVE them.

 

[alyssa810]

We've been passholders since 2002. It started with us planning on going twice a year, but that first year we went 4 times. We typically go about 3 times per pass period; we did have one year when we went 5 times though! We also bought the premier pass from 2010-2011 because we had trips planned for DL and WDW, and once we did the math it was a better deal for us to get the Premier pass than APs for both parks. We did 2 DL trips and 4 WDW trips on that pass. (it was awesome!!!!)

 

[dopey2]

We are annual passholders from Maryland and went to WDW 5 times in 2011 and have plans for 4 trips this year.

 

[kiki02]

Soooo...just out of fun curiosity....

How many of you that are Annual Passholders....go to Disney 3 times in one year...well...you know...because the third trip is practically "free"....

We bought our Annual Passes on a whim last fall when we went to Disney for the first time! On our last day of our trip..it was a rainy dreary day....we talked about it a little bit on our trip...but we were thinking....WOW! This vacation stuff is pretty cool (up to that point..we have never really been on vacation as a family before other than a weekend trip to a zoo..or trips to visit family)...we definetly need to come back to Disney in a year..I mentioned to DH..well..if we book our trip a week or so short of the 1 year of buying our passes...we could save some money..and kind of "lock" ourselves into going again! YEAH!...

Well we decided that we didn't want to wait and since my husband started working for a new company..he got some extra vacation that we were not initially planning for...sooooo....lets go in May!

Now since we are going in May...and that will be our second trip on the Annual pass (basically it evens out)....If we went back in the fall...it would practically be FREE...right?...bwhahaha..okay..not really...and I doubt we will be going...Disney is expensive!


Just a thought...just curious...

how many days do you spend in the parks each time?

 

[Mickey & Minnie Mom]

Yes, planned to use for 2 trips (summer & following spring break), but ended up with an "extra" trip between Christmas & New Years.

Never thought I would go that time of year, but DS ended up playing in a baseball tournament at Wide World of Sports. Planned it all out in less than a month and had a great time! Even with the huge crowds we enjoyed.

Now we've moved the spring break trip to summer -- seems like we were just there -- and going a week earlier than last year so we'll be using the passes up until the day they expire!

 

[eyor44]

I go three times a year. January for 5 days for the Marathon weekend, May for 4/5 days with DD and Thanksgiving week for 7/8 days as a family. This year I have a 4th trip added in. Easter week for 7 days as a family. So I will have gotten 23 days use out of this year's AP.

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

The first time we bought APs I talked dh into them (not really hard) because we were visiting in late Sept and planning on going back the following Sept (so we could go early in the month and get 2 long trips in on them - we go for 10 days in Sept) and I knew we were planning on going down for our 20th wedding anniversary for 5 days in December. Well wouldn't you know it the "call" of Disney with APs was strong so we snuck in 2 more trips one in Feb (I don't remember how many days) and one in May - I added it up at one point and we ended up spending 41 days in Disney on that AP.

Just got our 2nd AP in late January - planning trips for May (6 days), September 10 days and next January (earlier than this year but we'll hit MLK weekend not sure how tragic that is..). DH is trying to talk me into a "quickie" trip in December for our 22nd Wedding Anniversary and DD's 13th birthday (same day) but so far I'm resisting....

 

[Beemitchcowski]

how many days do you spend in the parks each time?

Our last trip was 8 Days and this trip will be 9 days...we ended up doing the Premium pass because we intially had park hopper and WP&M....my DH and DS are HUGE waterpark lovers!

 

[willowsnn3]

We are on our third AP. We bought our AP's simply because we are close enough (6 hr drive), to go for several short trips a year. We have a family trip planned for May & one for August & usually dd & I do a short weekend on our own. But since school is out next Monday we decided to go for a short family weekend leaving tomorrow morning.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The major problem with Annual Passes concerns when they are in a drawer more than 100 miles from Disney World and they whine a lot and scream:

Use Me!

See the comments in my signature. Judy and I bought our first APs in late 1992 and see our trips count until we moved here.

 

[zelasko]

My wife and I bought annual passes in 2002 for $750.00 and then bought every year through 2008. We enjoyed ourselves immensely, took advantage of all the discounts, Disney Dining Experience card now TIW, did all of the Discounted tours we could and went for the Food and Wine and Flower and Garden festivals. We stayed on Disney property most of the time and had our Disney Credit card and used the rewards for all the special dining and went to all the major restaurants and used the credits there. Did all the special events like MNSSHP and the MVMCP and had a ball. One year we went for the 4th of July week and as it was so hot we just vegetated in our room and decompressed and went to the parks just occasionally. Bottom line we had a blast and thoroughly enjoyed everything. We had Free plane tickets with Southwest every time as I traveled so much so just food and dining were our most expensive outlays’ of cash.

We the noticed that we were going so often, 1 year for 32 days over 6 visits and another 28 days the following year for 5 trips, and we were getting Disneyed out. Hard to believe I know. These trips were our boondoggles. The passes then became more expensive, the hotel discounts were less and less available, rental car prices shot up and we occasionally stayed off property as we had the rental car and free parking because of the passes and the TIW card. Then we started using DME to save on the Rental car, went to DD and walked over to the Hess station to get water and chips, brought our own food from home with freezer packs in the checked baggage to make sandwiches, etc. and our French press with our own coffee. So we went cold turkey after our last AP trip in Dec 2008. A tough year in 2009 and 2010, and in May of 2011 we bought a 10 day Non Expire with Park Hopping for both of us and went to Epcot for 1 day with 2 friends the week before Memorial Day. Since then we've done mini vacations by just driving and using hotel points to see more of the country close by. Every time we think about going back to the World, we check prices for on site and just can't quite make it work even with everything we learned on budgeting and cutting out our expenses as much as we could.

As we try to justify a trip we remember the decline of quality in the special events, MNSSHP, Food and Wine, Flower and Garden, MVMCP, etc., and the ongoing rises in the pricing for Disney hotels and food prices since 2002, hence our decision last May for the 10 day , NE and PH tickets for just a tad more than an AP that will expire in 12 months. Thus we have changed our plans and know that we can stay for 2-3 days once, possibly twice each year over a 2-3 year period, not have to go to the parks every day just because we have an AP, and make it even more memorable at a cost saving of about 2 AP's over a 3 year period. As Pete Werner has been saying for the last year, and I agree with him, the prices are too expensive, and we're voting with our disposable income not to visit the parks as often and spend as much money there because of the prices. We LOVE WDW, but we've made our personal choice.

Just wanted to share our experiences and thoughts, however the AP is a great value if used correctly for multiple trips and it fits in your budget. There is not a right or wrong answer, just an answer that fits your individual circumstance at the time you make your own personal decision

 

[CarolinaBlue]

The major problem with Annual Passes concerns when they are in a drawer more than 100 miles from Disney World and they whine a lot and scream:

Use Me!

So true!

 

[ZehnJahren]

I bought my first AP in October of 2011; it got me a massive discount at CR and the fulfillment of a childhood dream (for both my Mom AND me!). That discount more than made up for the cost of the AP. I figured that I could use the AP again when DBF and I went in fall 2012.

January rolled around, and I went on a quick solo trip for CHEAP using that AP. Now, I'm planning a summer trip with my two nephews and my niece, their first trip ever. And maybe, just maybe, I can sneak in one more small trip in the fall before the AP expires. Cheap airfare and AP discounts are the key to multiple inexpensive trips. I won't be getting another AP once this one expires, since we'll be going to DL next summer; I'll miss it!

 

[JDUCKY]

since we live just a few minutes away, I treat our APs (all on the monthly payment plan so we pay the same amount each month) like a utility bill. always there.

 

[cluvsdisney]

We bought annual passes in January and plan to use them on 3 seperate trips:
5 days in Jan
5 days in May
8 days in October
It helps that we are DVC members so the lodging is covered.

Next year, I want to go some place completely new.

 

[TerryLP]

We used to buy only Florida Residents passes. We live in St. Augustine. Then a couple of years ago we were checking in to the Pop Century and my wife realized that she left the tickets at home. We ended up buying another set of passes. Later found that Disney would give us credit for the tickets that we had, put a little more money with it and we ended up with Annual passes. We have had Annual passes now ever since then. We usually wind up going to Disney anywhere from six to ten times a year. We have twin girls that are eleven. They live for their next trip to Disney. So for this year we have been twice. We are going again this month, April, May, and August (so far). We use Disney as an incentive for good grades. If they keep their grades up and do all of their school work we go to Disney. So far they both keep a straight A average, so we stick with what works.

 

[eyor44]

We used to buy only Florida Residents passes. We live in St. Augustine. Then a couple of years ago we were checking in to the Pop Century and my wife realized that she left the tickets at home. We ended up buying another set of passes. Later found that Disney would give us credit for the tickets that we had, put a little more money with it and we ended up with Annual passes. We have had Annual passes now ever since then. We usually wind up going to Disney anywhere from six to ten times a year. We have twin girls that are eleven. They live for their next trip to Disney. So for this year we have been twice. We are going again this month, April, May, and August (so far). We use Disney as an incentive for good grades. If they keep their grades up and do all of their school work we go to Disney. So far they both keep a straight A average, so we stick with what works.

Glad to know I am not the only parent to do this. DD9 had straight A's and perfect attendance last year. Plus the AR reader for her room, but that was just a bonus. As a surprise and reward, I took her to Disney for a long weekend. She had been begging for a trip without the boys for a couple years. I told her if she could keep it up we would go every year. Absent due to real sickness will not count against her. DS16 has been begging to do the Marathon weekend. His condition was good grades and no incomplete assignments. So far so good for next year's 1/2 marathon for him.

 

[puffkin]

We live in PA and we have been passholders since 2003. We take 3 1 week trips per pass period or 2 trips per calendar year. We are DVC (thankful for the AP discount!) so our lodging is covered and we always buy the TiW card to coincide with our pass year. The only thing that stinks is we never can take advantage of the renewal rates with the way we do our trips.

Every now and then we squeeze in a 4th trip. This summer DS wanted to go to the beach. We had active passes and we had some Southwest credits that were about to expire. When I priced out a long weekend trip to the Jersey Shore (in August) vs. a 4 day trip to Disney, it was TONS cheaper to come to Florida. So we came down for a quick trip and took DS to Cocoa Beach the one day instead

We take VERY nice vacations, eat most of our meals out, and spend a fraction of what other people spend on vacations. Love it

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

We like to get the Florida Resident Seasonal Passes, because we live far enough away (6 hours) that going to Disney is not really a weekend or last-minute trip for us, but close enough to where we can go a couple of times a year and we avoid the black-out dates. We don't get the SAPs every year, but we did have them last year. We were already planning a week-long trip in May 2011. In Fall of 2010 when my son started 3rd grade, his teacher said they were planning a "field trip" to Disney for one of the YES programs in January 2011, so I went ahead and bought our SAPs and we went a couple of days prior to the rest of the group arriving. So, we used them 4 days in January and 6 days in May. Then, my sister and I hatched a plan to go on an adults-only trip with our husbands in November, and so we got another 3 days out of them then.

My husband's is still valid through May 20 (although mine and the kids' has expired) and I'm trying to gauge whether I can talk him into another trip before his expires!

The SAP is really a great deal for us -- it only cost about as much as a 5-day park-hopper and I was able to get an additional discount by buying them at the military base, plus saved the tax.