AP Thought

[pooh6890]

We are Seasonal Passholders from Fl and pay only $182.50 per pass. We can come and go as we please except during the blackout periods of Christmas to New Year's (family time for us), Spring Break (tax season time(accountant)), Summer (2 months where I would not be caught at DW anyway) and that is about it. I get MORE than my share of DW and the perks that come with a seasonal pass. Do I miss the room discounts this year? Absolutely! This is the year I need them the most (twin girls graduated from high school, bought them both new cars, starting college on Wednesday)....so, Yes, I really needed the discount. I gave up and got a AAA rate of $61.60 for the Allstar Sports for November. We usually pay $49 with a discount. Last year it was the YC with a waterview/concierge room at $289/night. That was the best deal we have ever had! I bought the pass so we could park hop all day long and go up on weekends if we got the urge. I did not buy it for the discounts. Those are perks that may or may not happen. They will not get rid of the discounts for the AP or SAP holders because of people like us. We spend money and time in their parks duriing the year, which adds up to a lot of lunches, dinners, hotels and $$$$ spent there. Just because they don't offer us a discount this year on a hotel doesn't change my mind on what they do or don't do for us. They offer the pass for the use of the parks, not the hotels. I think everyone should just stop complaining (not in this post) and book what they can afford and be done with it. They are in the business of making money and I would never give up my Disney trips because of discounts they do or do not offer. Just my take.

 

[Took]

As an AP holders for several years, my family have certainly visited WDW many more times than we otherwise might have w/0 the passes. That it, I believe we ARE the kind of clients for whom WDW intended the AP discounts. Since the AP discounts have been "abused" by many groups, I suggest that WDW find some other way to lure repeat AP visitors, something like the "come back" specials they offered last winter/spring. That's the kind of offer that would appeal to people like us, who love WDW but only come 2-3 times per year b/c of AP discounts, etc.

Without the passes, we'd probably only go every other year, which seems like a loss for disney, if we're representative of a good number of passholders.

Just a thought. I might add that I'm not "mad" at Disney for not offering discounts (I, too, remember when discounts were virtually non-existent) but I probably will go elsewhere next year. The lure is just not there.

Took

 

[Gary M]

dznyntnh, this is in no way meant to be confrontational, but I would like to know if it is true that there is a 40% discount on UPH when you buy the FTP and also 43% off the room. Maybe I misunderstood the FTP package. I thought you stay for 7 nights and got 3 nights free(discount 43%). Then they added UPH for 8 days at about regular cost. I didn't buy the package, so don't know.

If Disney would offer AP room rates in the future, they may require all people in the AP discounted rooms have AP's and can only reserve one room instead of three with only one AP. This may take care of the abuses you mention.

Thank you for any help.

 

[Tonyspad]

There are soooo many abuses with the AP sytem I also believe that we are in a transition period. There have been multiple posts about how people have just purchased one CHILD AP and used it for discounts on three different rooms. There is NOT any way that Disney designed these discounts to be used in this manner. But we all are looking for a "deal" and this is how some people were able to achieve one.
I replyed to one of the many AP posts this past week and I have also thrown out the idea of requiring that everyone in a room that has an AP discount be required to hold an AP. Of which one person had the nerve to reply that they could not afford this!

I believe that people should stop praying for AP discounts to be released and Book what you can afford at the time the reservation is made. Pray for something important, like world peace.

 

[dznyntnh]

Gary M--

I got the 40% from others discussing the package and the savings, I didn't bother doing the math because the package was a great deal for me.

When I booked it I asked the CM if I could knock the 1st and last day off my UPH (my Uncle did this a few years ago) to save money, and she reminded me that I was only paying for a 4 days on a 7 day (or 8 day/ 7 night) UPH.

<<OK, I just did a check against the posted rates for WL Woods view and UPH passes (cuz you made me think, which is not necessarily a good thing today). And if I paid full price including taxes for my FTP it would be $2347.77 for 7 nights (one person). I paid $1398.03 so I saved $949.74 or 40.45%. I'm glad you made me do this, cuz like I said, I just knew it was a good deal and didn't really care about how much I was saving when I booked it, now I'm even more thrilled.>>

I agree with you on finding a solution to the AP abuses so everyone can be happy.

I think the "come back" rates are another great idea, I used this for my Mother's December trip, she hadn't been offered it and this is the first (and probably last) time she has gone more than once in a year. The nice thing about the comeback rates are that you know when you book (or at least when you apply the change on your first visit) what the rate is and where you can stay and you're not booking a room that you can't (or won't) keep if the rates don't come out.

FTP is an experiment for Disney. If they see people taking longer trips, filling the rooms and spending the money they save on the rooms in the parks, then they will probably continuing offers like this, if not then they try something else.

 

[Gary M]

dznyntnh, thank you for the answer. DW and I do have the come back rate for Dec. 6-13, of this year at the WL. Our AP's expire Nov. 4, so we'll have to make a decision what to do. We're retired and take about six trips during the cold months. In the past, 3 to 4 of those trips have been to WDW. I like to plan ahead and now have the one WDW trip, two to Vegas and one to New Orleans, reserved for this winter. Will have to see what happens at WDW, to see whether its just one trip to WDW this winter.

 

[AirForceRocks]

There are soooo many abuses with the AP sytem I also believe that we are in a transition period. There have been multiple posts about how people have just purchased one CHILD AP and used it for discounts on three different rooms. There is NOT any way that Disney designed these discounts to be used in this manner.

While I agree that buying one child AP in order to get the room discount is what I would consider abusing the system, I disagree that being able to book three rooms with a single AP is an abuse. Disney set it up that way - if they had intended for everyone in the room to have an AP in order to book the rate, they would have made that part of the equation. It's easy enough to track, after all.

 

[Doc and Family]

I agree with most of what has been said on this thread. We are long time AP holders, and have made numerous trips to WDW because of the APs and the discounted rates. DW and 2DS spent a total of 32 days in WDW last year. Last minute trips, etc. If it weren't for the APs and the discounted rates, they never would have gone that much. Unfortunately, I have to work and couldn't make every trip with them. We planned 2 trips and they took 2 additional ones. They spent $$$$$ there, that they otherwise would not have spent. Even though we are DVC'ers, when we take more trips than our points allow, we pay cash and stay on the grounds. Without the AP discounts, we will likely just go elsewhere for those extra trips. I do not begrudge WDW and am not going elsewhere to "punish" them. We LOVE WDW. However, all things being equal, we will simply travel elsewhere and help boost someone else's economy. The discounts just made it VERY hard to pass up one more WDW trip.
I do think the abuses need to be addressed, however. But, no one has done anything "illegal". WDW allowed it, and people figured out how to maximize it.
Having said that, we just bought four more APs.
See y'all in WDW!

 

[CarolA]

You know Disney may change the rules.

For example, CM's have been VERY lax in checking for APs. They could start making the CM put in the AP number.

They could start requiring at least one AP per room or maybe an AP for all room occupants.

None of this seems out of line to me.

I think the discounts will be around. I think they will be more "last minute" to enourage trips at times when bookings are low.

The other thing to consider is that overall we are booking vacations with less lead time in the past. I have read several articles about that so Disney may think it is in their advantage to hold those rooms at high rates as long as possible.