AP trying to get FD...did I do this right?

[MissAndrea]

I want to make sure that I'm doing this right and didn't screw anything up before I book! We bought AP's last Sept because we knew we'd be going to WDW 3x in a one year period. We do NOT plan on buying them again for next year. It was a one time thing.

This would include DH, DD (11), and me...so 3 adults.

Working the numbers-

Coronado Springs, 6 day/7 nights, Free dining, purchase 2 day tickets for each of us (just to get the free dining).
Price= $2101 minus park tickets (so we can compare apples to apples) =$1597.

Coronado Springs assuming a 35% AP discount (if one comes out!), 6 day/7 nights purchase all food out of pocket including 3 TS, 11 CS, and 5 snacks
Price= $1552
*When I say 3 TS, I mean 3 TS ressies....over the course of the week we'd pay OOP for 9 TS meals. Same with CS and snacks.

So it looks like paying OOP for food is cheaper (by $45), but we get 3 less TS ressies (9 TS meals). The FD looks like a better VALUE. Now what I want to make sure 100% about is park tickets. I see people saying you can just buy 2 day tickets for each person, then food days are based upon resort stay, correct? So since we have AP's, we can just buy 2 day tickets for each of us and NOT USE THEM...use our AP's to get in everyday. Then when we get home, we can put our 2 day park tickets in our safety deposit box and save them for our next trip. We don't plan on getting AP's again so next time we go, we can take those 2 day tickets (unused) and upgrade to 6 or 7 day and just pay the difference? And all we'd need to do while we are there in Sept is have them take the park tickets off of our KTTW...right?

Free dining looks like a better value, we loved FD last year, and I can book that now without having to wait a few months wondering if a good room only AP would come out.

I hope this all makes sense, but I want to make sure I have accurate info before booking! Thank you!!!!

 

[vicki_c]

Yes, your understandings about the tickets are correct. You can just buy the 2 day ticket for FD and keep it for a future trip, and then upgrade it.

I'm confused though about your calculations regarding TS meals. For a 6 night trip on FD - regular DDP - you would get 1 TS meal per day, per person, so 6 credits each for TS. You are talking about "we get three less meals" on FD? I couldn't figure that out exactly. On FD you would be paying OOP for 6 less meals if you have 9 planned.

Anyway - I'm not sure I would discount the price of the tickets for FD from your calculations either, since you do have to pay that? I guess it's all in how you look at it, since you can use those for a future trip.

Just to complicate things further - you can't *really* count on a 35% AP discount until they announce one. But I would book FD anyway now, based on what you posted, and then cancel it if they have a good AP discount later.

 

[ShellieB]

We are in the exact same boat. First year with AP (2 adults and 1 child), and we do not plan on getting them next year. We are booked 7 nights at Pop, with the 2 day tickets and FD (upgraded to DDP). Our cost was $1546. The cast member I talked to said there would for sure be a room discount for AP in September, being Value season. Now I am looking at taking the room discount (she predicted our room cost after discount would be around $550). Then either add the dining plan, bringing our total cost to: $1350, or, buying the TIW card and paying out of pocket. I think this would be the cheaper way, as we don't always get dessert, or use all of our snack credits. The problem with the 2 day tickets is that you can use them and pay the difference, but, there is only a subtle price difference once you start adding 2 more days on to passes, lowering the worth of the passes. I hate putting so much thought into this!!

 

[MissAndrea]

Vicki, I knew I worded that weird and it would be confusing. When I said 3 less TS meals...I wasn't even talking per person. So if I did it by person, then we are losing 9 meals. Sorry about that. And when I calculated our OOP purchases, we would NOT have been eating the same way if we had FD. I figured up how many snacks, CS, and TS we'd eat per day if paying OOP because I knew it'd be different. I used the price of the 3 TS restaurants we'd eat at if paying OOP for TS, averaged our meal price for CS, etc. So my figure for food (OOP) was pure guestimate, but pretty close since we've been to Disney enough to know how and where we eat. Anyhoo, thank you for verifying my info on being an AP and buying the 2 day tickets, etc. I really don't want to wait for an AP room only discount since I don't know if it will sure happen, and if it does, how much of a discount. I'd rather do it now and have it done.

Shelly, this has been frustrating! But I'll be more frustrated if I make a purchase then find out later I've screwed it up. As long as I can buy 2 day tickets, upgrade them next time I go, then I'm doing free dining! We'll never buy the dining plan because paying OOP for each meal is cheaper, but I sure as heck will take it if they are giving it for free!

 

[aubriee]

Shelly, this has been frustrating! But I'll be more frustrated if I make a purchase then find out later I've screwed it up. As long as I can buy 2 day tickets, upgrade them next time I go, then I'm doing free dining! We'll never buy the dining plan because paying OOP for each meal is cheaper, but I sure as heck will take it if they are giving it for free!

Run your numbers though. To get free dining you have to pay rack rate. For one or two people staying in a moderate or deluxe, the AP room discount will usually beat free dining. For a value resort though, free dining will win just about every time.

I currently have bounceback deals booked for May, Sept, and Oct/Nov. However, I am an AP holder and also have the TiW card to get 20% off my meals. I'm hoping for an AP discount that beats my current bounceback deal. When free dining was announced a week or so ago, I ran the numbers like I always do when free dining is announced. The so called free dining would cost me more than using the TiW card and the discount I have now, plus I'd have to buy two day park tickets that I don't need or want (I still have several one day tickets from the old free dining deals, back when it required just one day park ticket. You can only apply one of those tickets each year to your new AP). I haven't used free dining since they went from requiring one day tickets to two day tickets. Since I usually travel solo or with my mom or husband, an AP room discount always beats free dining, then I can use my TIW card and order exactly what I want (two appetizers, or an appetizer and an entree, etc). I always buy Disney gift cards before I go, to pay for meals, gratutities, and any souvineers, so I still have everything prepaid and even though I never scrimp on vacation, still come out cheaper than the DDP. I'm not a fan of most CS restaurants, seldom snack down there, and usually prefer to do an early TS lunch then a later TS dinner. Plus I prefer an appetizer over dessert and so usually order an appetizer and an entree or even just two or three appetizers, so none of the DDPs really fit the way I want to eat anyway. I'd take an AP room discount over free dining anytime. Even if you don't want a TiW card, don't forget that AP holders can add the DDP without buying park tickets on a rack rate or a AP discounted room. For any of the GP discounts though, we'd have to buy at least one day park tickets to add the DDP (two day for free dining).

 

[aubriee]

oops, duplicate!

 

[mill4023]

Sounds like free dining is the winner.
One thing to think about if you don't really want to do a TS meal every day, but don't want to let any credits go to waste, is using two TS credits to do something like HDDR or CRT. We did both of those on our free dining trip and just did CS OOP for a couple of other meals.

As you know, there aren't any guarantees of what kind of AP discounts there will be. Isn't 35% pretty uncommon for mods? I haven't really been paying attention, but I thought they were usually more like 20% at values, 25 or 30 at mods, and 30 or 35 at deluxe.

 

[TACK]

I always try to work in a Free Dining Trip at the same time as my AP is up for renewal. So far, so good in making in work. After the renewal, I'll crunch the numbers before I decide what if Free Dining is worth it or AP discounts are better for future trips in the year.

I'm curious though with comments about using your 2-day Free Dining tickets for future AP renewals? Does this mean you are purchasing no-expiration tickets?

 

[vicki_c]

I always try to work in a Free Dining Trip at the same time as my AP is up for renewal. So far, so good in making in work. After the renewal, I'll crunch the numbers before I decide what if Free Dining is worth it or AP discounts are better for future trips in the year.

I'm curious though with comments about using your 2-day Free Dining tickets for future AP renewals? Does this mean you are purchasing no-expiration tickets?

You don't have to purchase NE tickets to do this. Unused tickets never expire. So as long as you don't use them, you can use them in the future for your AP upgrade.

And even if they were NE tickets, if you used them, you couldn't use them to upgrade to an AP once 14 days from first use of the tickets passed. That upgrade window applies to NE tickets and non-NE tickets.