AP Discount ?s

[disneybliss2]

DH and I are looking into getting annual passes. Do AP holders always receive a room discount? DH has a coworker that is an AP holder and claims there is always a room discount given to AP holders. I'm struggling to believe this information because it sounds too good to be true, but hope that it is correct.
Also, do AP holders ever get discounts for busy times (summer, Christmas)?

 

[Megsie1000]

Definitely not true. There are huge blackout periods through the year.

We are going June 2-9. My Mom called the day AP rates came out and there were no rooms left for her discount for those dates except club level rooms. It was very disappointing.

You can always buy an AP before you go, but I would not buy an AP with the idea of getting any certain discount. I would wait until you see an AP discount for your dates, see if you can even get a room under the discount, then figure out whether the numbers work out to be worth it and THEN buy the annual pass.

They also seem to be releasing the AP discounts later and later, making it difficult for people like me who live in BFE and have to make air arrangements far in advance.

ETA: AP rates are also only for certain resorts for certain dates. So, if you have a certain resort in mind, the AP discount may or may not be applicable for that resort for your dates.

 

[delux]

I am going thru some similar debates. I am going the last weekend in March and then again Labor day weekend. So an AP makes sense but then I may miss out on free dining or a room discount for the resort I want. We are staying at Swan/Dolphin in March/April then plan on staying at Poly in Sept (that part not booked yet) Keeping fingers crossed I can at least get a "General Public" discount in Sept.

 

[Mamato3Princes]

We have APs and no I don't believe the discounts are ALWAYS available. But, we did get a 35% AP rate for our Feb trip and we got 30% off AP rate for our upcoming May trip. We only live 3 hours away from Disney and we plan on visiting 2 more times this year, so the APs were worth it to us.

 

[nickymaria]

If you're flexible in your travel plans it can be great. I'm about to get my second AP and I got it predominantly so I could get a TIW card (we like to eat and drink while at WDW!) and I like to visit 2x a year with park hoppers, so the AP makes sense to me. But of course you can't count on getting the discount so if that's the only rationale for the AP then it may not make sense.