Correction noted, it would be the guest relations activation that triggers the start date, not actually entering the gates. I just was meaning in general, you'd go to guest relations to trade your voucher in on the first day you plan on using the AP. For budgeting purposes, if you wanted to buy the voucher a few months ahead of your trip, you wouldn't have to worry about wasting days.
I wouldn't buy it just for anticipated room discounts either because they are first-come first-serve and your mileage may vary. I made a reservation yesterday for 5 nights in November, all at a discounted price. We've always had luck getting a discounted room, but we have them because we visit enough days annually to make the gate entry alone worth the cost.
For the OP, you can call the reservation line and ask about specific availability during your travel dates before committing to the purchase of the AP. You just have to have one by check-in. If you ~know~ you'll get a sufficient room discount to make the purchase worthwhile, then that isn't really the same thing as buying it for the room discount in general. And if you already ~know~ that you are getting the room discount that more than offsets the additional ticket cost, you get the bonus of the merchandise discounts.
For me, the biggest perk of an AP is that I can visit a park for a few hours and not feel like I'm "wasting" a ticket day. If we get into town in the early evening, I get to enjoy a few hours that night at a park. Or if I'm leaving on Sunday afternoon, I can visit one in the morning before leaving. If I had a 5-day pass, I'd never do such a thing. I've even been in town for business meetings and ended up at MK for the sole purpose of watching the fireworks.
I wouldn't buy it just for anticipated room discounts either because they are first-come first-serve and your mileage may vary. I made a reservation yesterday for 5 nights in November, all at a discounted price. We've always had luck getting a discounted room, but we have them because we visit enough days annually to make the gate entry alone worth the cost.
For the OP, you can call the reservation line and ask about specific availability during your travel dates before committing to the purchase of the AP. You just have to have one by check-in. If you ~know~ you'll get a sufficient room discount to make the purchase worthwhile, then that isn't really the same thing as buying it for the room discount in general. And if you already ~know~ that you are getting the room discount that more than offsets the additional ticket cost, you get the bonus of the merchandise discounts.
For me, the biggest perk of an AP is that I can visit a park for a few hours and not feel like I'm "wasting" a ticket day. If we get into town in the early evening, I get to enjoy a few hours that night at a park. Or if I'm leaving on Sunday afternoon, I can visit one in the morning before leaving. If I had a 5-day pass, I'd never do such a thing. I've even been in town for business meetings and ended up at MK for the sole purpose of watching the fireworks.
