Ap Question

[Tinkerbelle739]

Ok, I just booked POFQ for 10/30 - 11/6 7 nights, with UPH passes and the silver package for a total of $3,935.40. Booked through Disney.

Now the question. I know nothing about AP codes. I recently joined Mousesavers and know the codes are posted there. When should I expect the codes for the fall to come out and should I expect to save on MY package? Do I just call Disney and ask them to apply the codes to my package? Any other ways for me to save? I know I could save about $86.00 if I book a day later, because the 30th is reg. season and 31st is value. The majority of my trip is in value but I am paying for regular season.

Any help would be appreciated.

Wishing everyone a "magical" day!

 

[MELSMICE]

Don't quote me, but I don't think you can use codes if you are getting a package. Plus, if you don't have an AP you can't get an AP code.

Would your vacation be any less expensive if you booked things a la carte? You may want to put everything on paper & see what you come up with.

Consider the cost of a 6 or 7 day hopper plus pass instead of a UPH. Does the Silver Plan include meals?

I'm not real familiar with packages, but it may be worth it to compare figures. JMO.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

I do NOT have an AP, but we are going for 7 nights in Oct-Nov2004 and then 7 nights in April 2005, so I was thinking that it might be worth purchasing.

 

[KIRSTIN'S MOMMY]

We did the silver plan last year for 7 days. I wish I had found these boards sooner! In order to break even on the "wishes" each one has to be worth at least $34. We wasted so many of them! Anyway, we'll be back at WDW in Aug. and we put it down on paper both ways. Even WITH buying 2 adult and 1 child's AP's we are saving about $700 by booking things ourselves!!!! I would definately do your budget both ways, it's worth looking at! I don't think you can use a code for packages, just room only....

 

[Sabor]

If you are making two trips within the year and will be in the parks more than 8 days , go with the APs and you will most likely get an AP rate for that time period.

Put it all down on Paper
Cost of Passes , Room rack rate etc.

You will probably save without an AP rate. Then book your room without the AP rate, and switch it when they come out.

Remember the savings will carry forward to your next trip.

We always get APs and take three trips Oct , April , Sept then we skip April and start again

 

[MELSMICE]

Because you are going 2X within one year, you should definitely look into an AP as opposed to the UPH passes. A PAP (includes water parks, PI, DQ) is about $475 (could be a little more) per adult. Take off about $100-120 if you don't get a PAP & just an AP. This is definitely more cost effective than the UPH. It's been reported on these boards that after 8 days the AP is a better value than the 7-day PHP.

Like I said, really look into the cost of everything a la carte.

Just a rough estimate:

--POFQ at approximately $150/night = $1050 + tax
--AP's for 2 (don't know how many are in your party) = $800 (roughly)

That in itself is less than $2000. I can't imagine food would be almost $2000 for 7 nights. How many people are in your travelling party? Is it more than 2?

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

2 adults 2 kids ages 5 and 6.

We understand that the wishes for the kids would be wasted if we used them for food purchases so we were planning on saving them for the Mickey Mouse Club (babysitting) or use of the watercraft. We also plan to do the Luau and Hoop De Doo.

Ok, if I buy the AP, book my room and then apply any codes available. Then what? I would have to pay for meals and activities out of pocket, hopefully with the savings. Hmmm... lots to think about.

The April trip, we are staying at SOG with BIL and his family, so that will be a bargain trip, especially if we do buy the AP.

Downside is, DH likes to eat EXTRAVAGANTLY while at Disney. Our Narcoosees bill was $270 for just the two of us!! We used our wishes.

Also, where do you purchase APs?

Just thinking out loud. Thanks for advising me.

Wishing everyone a "magical" day!

 

[MELSMICE]

You can purchase AP's right at WDW or you can get a voucher at your local Disney store. You turn the voucher in when you get to WDW when you want to activate your pass. Either way, you have to go to a ticket window when you get to Disney.

So..................

--The cost of your room would remain the same
--The cost of the AP's could run about $1500 or a more, depending on what you decide to get.

So, the room & AP's could be close to $2500 - $3000, depending on what room rates & what AP's you get. I'm being very lenient with these numbers. I don't think it would be that much. That only leaves about $1000 for food, however, if you go with the AP's, you now have passes for your April trip.

If you do the package & get the UPH's, you won't have passes in April & I don't think (I could be wrong) you can get UPH's if you stay at SoG.

You may want to call Disney direct & ask what the cost of an UPH would be for 7 days. Then you can figure out the cost per day to see if it would be worth it.

You are definitely going to have to do a little research & make a few phone calls to figure this all out, however, it may save you money in the long run, thus allowing you to eat more extravagant meals & get the AP's!!! That would be the best thing all around!

BTW - if DH enjoys steak, make sure you dine at the Yachtsman Steakhouse in the YC one evening! Awesome meal & I'm not even a big steak fan but I won't miss this restaurant ever again!

 

[RescueRanger]

7 night UPH would cost $1300 per trip for your family for a total of $2600. PAP's for your family would be about $1930 and that would cover both trips. Room only rates for your November trip would be $1241 rack rate. So, for room and PAP's your total would be about $3170. That's $800 less than your package. It doesn't include meals; however, you wouldn't have to buy passes for your second trip so you would already be ahead $1300 there. I would go with the APs.

 

[justhat]

I know I could save about $86.00 if I book a day later, because the 30th is reg. season and 31st is value. The majority of my trip is in value but I am paying for regular season.

This can be avoided by making one reservation for 10/30-10/31 and another for the rest of the trip. This alone would save you a considerable amount of money. If you still wanted to do the package (though I think it will cost you more than booking separately), you could do it for the 2nd reservation, and then just have the 1st night be a room only reservation. You will most likely (99.9% chance) not have to move rooms as long as you have them link your 2 reservations. We have booked 2 reservations for this purpose before and have never had to switch rooms.

 

[MELSMICE]

Originally posted by justhat
You will most likely (99.9% chance) not have to move rooms as long as you have them link your 2 reservations. We have booked 2 reservations for this purpose before and have never had to switch rooms.

I remember a 10-day trip to FW once where I had about 4 ressies linked together. We didn't have to change cabins at all.

 

[Tinkerbelle739]

I can always rely on these boards for expert advice and you all didnt fail me this time. Thanks. I have alot to figure out but I think purchasing the AP now and activating it in November and using it again in April will be the best solution. I appreciate all the responses.

Wishing everyone a "magical" day!

 

[jeankeri]

Remember, you do not have to have an AP to book a room when AP rates come out- you need the AP when you check in. You can wait to purchase it when you get to WDW.
Have you looked into vouchers for meals- sounds like they might save you $ with how your DH likes to eat!!
Also- SOG has its own version of the UPH- the Stars & Stripes ticket. It is a length of stay pass that you can purchase if you are staying on-site at any WDW property (and is 10-15% off the gate price of the UPH).
More things to get your pencil out for!!

 

[DizBelle]

Originally posted by jeankeri
Remember, you do not have to have an AP to book a room when AP rates come out- you need the AP when you check in. You can wait to purchase it when you get to WDW.
Have you looked into vouchers for meals- sounds like they might save you $ with how your DH likes to eat!!
Also- SOG has its own version of the UPH- the Stars & Stripes ticket. It is a length of stay pass that you can purchase if you are staying on-site at any WDW property (and is 10-15% off the gate price of the UPH).
More things to get your pencil out for!!

How can I find out what the latest ap rates are without an ap?

 

[jeankeri]

If you check on Mousesavers.com Mary will have any discounts currently available listed with examples of rooms that have been booked with that code. I've never seen it listed at what % the discount was, just examples of rooms beeing booked with the AP rates. So, if an AP rate code is listed on Mousesavers and you are travelling during that time, call WDW and see what rooms are available with that rate.

 

[frannn]

discounts as well. Sometimes there are room discounts, sometimes not. There are some dining discounts, rental car, tours, shopping, etc. The AP may save you additional monies as a bonus. We used it for $ off a sit down lunch at Epcot last year. Without the DC, I think the AP may still give a shopping discount at WOD (not sure). If you were going to utilize the water parks, PI, DQ, you may be interested in the Premium AP (the regular AP does not include entrance to those places).