AP Renewal or NEW AP?

[disneyfan2kids]

My AP expires today (BTW - I am DVC.) We have a trip planned in June, and then another in December. Not sure when we'll go again after that.

Does it make more sense to renew my existing AP and get the "discounted" renewal rate or just wait till June Trip and by a new AP? (Not sure what the discount is for renewal vs. new.)

Should I get a "new" one on the off chance I want to go again in first 6 months of 2009? Or should I take the discount NOW and renew my existing to get these next 2 trips at the discounted rate. If I did that, and then STILL decided to go (yet again) in Jan-June of 2009, I guess I could just buy a new AP then?

Anyway - any advice?

BTW - HOW do I buy a renewal AP anyway? First AP I just bought on DVC member.com Not sure what other way to do it if I'm not in WDW at the time.

TIA!

 

[drusba]

Go here (this site's ticket prices page) for AP prices with DVC discount: http://www.wdwinfo.com/wdwinfo/tickets.htm#tickettypes

Adult new with DVC discount is $370 and renewal $335 (both with some change). Not sure whether you can do renewal on-line but if not you can just call DVC and do it by phone. If I had two trips coming up within the one year renewal period and then did not know one way or the other what I was going to do later, I would probably renew but it is a decision that could go either way. You also have to consider that if you go to buy a new one in June, the price may be higher by then.

 

[Muushka]

I would get a new AP in June. I did the calculations a few years ago, and I was surprised at when it was worth it to renew, at that time, I think it was if you returned within 2 months or so. But 6 months is definitely not worth renewing for that long period of time. If you fear prices going up, order some vouchers now.

 

[coffman6]

We just had the same decision to make. Our AP's were up last July and we knew that we would be going in Dec 2007, march 2008 and June 2008. We decided it was a good choice because we would not be back until April 2009. We just figured how many days we would get out of it total and it seemed worth doing then instead of tacking on the extra money to possibly get another trip out of it. Good luck with your decision.!

 

[tjkraz]

If you renew now you'll save a few dollars but your new AP's start date will be today. Therefore, by renewing you will have a new AP that is valid from 1/16/08 to 1/16/09.

If you wait and buy a new one in June, it will be valid from 6/08 to 6/09.

The question you need to ask yourself is whether there is any chance you will visit WDW between January 17, 2009 and the June '09 expiration date of a new pass. The renewal will save you about $35 on a standard adult AP, but if you end up visiting during that 6-month period in 2009, having to buy yet another pass could cost you much more.

 

[SSRFred]

You won't go wrong either way. You are planning 2 trips on the pass, which will save you money.
However, I would activate a new pass during the next trip. I look at the extra $35 or so as travel insurance. If you have to postpone one of the trips, you could end up without park tickets because of your current expiration date.

 

[Fitswimmer]

I would get a new AP in June. I did the calculations a few years ago, and I was surprised at when it was worth it to renew, at that time, I think it was if you returned within 2 months or so. But 6 months is definitely not worth renewing for that long period of time. If you fear prices going up, order some vouchers now.

I agree. I did the same thing with my AP last year. I wasn't going back until December and my AP expired in June. Based on my traveling pattern it was better to get the new one in December.

 

[dvcdisney]

Our AP expired this past October and we have decided to wait until our next trip to purchase it. We found that it would better to wait.

I think it depends on your calculations. For us, definitely worth paying the extra to get new APs.

 

[ilovecoasters]

When I called the AP hotline a few months ago we were given the option to renew over the phone. Any chance you might be tempted to throw in another trip if you had active passes?

 

[BUDDYBEAR]

WE RENEWED OURS OVER THE PHONE