AP Discounts vs. Dining Plan

[savannahvol]

I am planning to be at Disney from June 25-30 (for my honeymoon) and will be staying on site at either Wilderness Lodge (HOPE I CAN FIND A WAY TO MAKE IT IF IN THE BUDGET) or Carribean Beach. I was wondering what you thought about the AP Discounts vs. the Dining Plan. I was thinking of purchasing one AP for a room discount and the just puruchasing the 6 day ticket for the other one of us. BTW is there any way to make get both the discount and the dining? I was looking forward to not having to worry about the food prices. ADVICE NEEDED from you long time disney individuals. Thank you in advance.

 

[blueroses]

Congratulations on your honeymoon!

No, you can't get both the discount and the dining plan.

I found that I saved more with my AP discount for my 5-night trip in peak season - $133 off per night at the WL. Your trip is during regular season and IF an AP code is released it might be around $96 off per night.

So...you could spend $249/night plus $38x2 per night for the dining plan (total of $1,625) or you could spend $153 per night for 5 nights (total $765). The difference is $860 with which you could feed yourself.

Then there's the tickets:
a six-day hopper (expiring) from Ticketmania with run you $238 including tax and shipping.
An AP is $442 including tax.
So you are spending an extra $204 for tickets if you buy one AP.

HOWEVER - for $60, you can buy the Disney Dining Experience card which will get you 20% off most table meals AND alcohol. If you are planning on spending more than $300 on table meals and alcohol for your 6 days there, then this will pay for itself.

Plus, your AP and Dining Experience card are good for a year, so if you're planning a return trip (maybe to celebrate your first anniversary), it is a good idea.

Hope that helps. I ran the same numbers last month when I booked my vacation.

BTW, I like your screenname. I'm a seattlevol myself.

 

[DisneyFanatik]

Definitely run the numbers for yourself. In my situation using the Disney Visa discount and getting the dining plan works out to be less than the AP rate. With the Disney Visa discount: 3 nights at CBR (MYW package with dining and 4 day hoppers with water park and more option) including tax is $1691 (this is for me, dh, ds(13) and ds(7)). I believe the AP rate for the room is $119. So with tax the room would run about $400. I would need an AP for me - $442, 2 adult 4 day hoppers for dh and ds(13) - $464, and one child 4 day hopper for ds(7) - $196. (note:these tickets would not include the water parks option like the ones in the Visa special do). This would bring my grand total, without meals, to $1500 if I use the AP rate - only $191 less than the Visa deal. As a family of 4 we will use much more than that to buy meals for those days. Now of course if I was planning another trip within the year the savings in buying an AP would rise. Just make sure that you work all of the numbers for yourself. Good luck and Congrats on your big day!

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

If you are spending more than 10 days in the parks over the next 12 months you will save on tickets. We are going for 8 days in August, hopefully 3 days in December, and 8 more days (at least) in 2007. To buy Magic Your Way tickets to cover all the days would be way more than an AP. With our son turning 10 we lose any savings on the dining plan since he counts as an adult. We weren't saving vast amounts of money with it anyway - maybe $300 over a week. IF an AP code comes out we will save more than that on our room, plus the savings on park passes.

If you are only planning one trip in the next year you might be better off with 10 day non-expiring tickets and the Dining Plan. Look at the menus on www.allearsnet.com and add up what you think you will spend on food if you are paying out of pocket, then compare it to the Dining Plan cost. If you are saving tons of money then you may not want an AP.

The gamble you take with the AP is not knowing if there will be any rooms discounted during the time of your trip. The AAA discounts are less than AP, but it is a nother option. If you book a package through AAA you get a small discount on the room and you can still have the Dining Plan. That's actually how we have our August trip booked, then we will upgrade our tickets to APs when we get there.