AP vs. 10 day/no expiration option

[AnnaS]

I just want to make sure I get this right. We will be going each year, as we are DVC members, but probably not more than once per year, so the annual passes are not good for us. I was thinking of the 10 day MYW non-expiring and adding the water parks. So if I did that I would get 10 park days + 10 water park days. If my understanding is correct this would be great because we could potentially get 2 (or more) years from one purchase. We usually go for a week and we could do 5 days parks and 2 days water parks. :thumbsup

Yes, everyone here explained too. But don't forget to maximize your passes.

If you use a park day (you can hop back and forth to different theme parks that day since it's a hopper and it's only one day) - we don't use a plus entry for that day and if we use a plus entry for the day (like waterpark) we don't use a theme park hopper. We like to spend time at the pool, resort and relax, check out other resorts/dinner, DTD, etc. Since you are DVC - you know you will be back and you don't need to do commando (hopefully like us).

We will end up with extra plusses since we do not go to waterparks more than once or maybe twice per trip. So the next time we purchase the 10 day tickets again, we will probably not get get it with the plusses on them.

I believe they started to add the exact # of plusses to your park # of days recently so if you purchased them a few years ago, you probably have 5 on them. (Right now ours have only 5 plusses - getting 15 days - we bought ours in 2005 for about $350 - will start using them this August).

Good luck and enjoy all the planning. You will get it.

 

[NSL]

Thanks for all the great information, we will definately be taking advantage of this the next time around. Also, thanks to the original poster for posting your question, sorry it got a bit off-topic!

 

[Tiger926]

Maybe I'm reading wrong, but it seems that some people are immediately negating APs just because you only take 1 trip. If the trip is only 5 days, then that's understandable, but if it's lots of days, then the only way to truly find out if an AP is worth it, is to figure out how many days you are going to use it for. If you go for 2 weeks like we do, then an AP is definitely worth it, as I'm sure you'd spend at least 50% of your time in the parks. We not only go 2 weeks each summer, but we then schedule our next trip for right before our expiry date, so we get at least 20-28 days per year on our AP.

Based on our math, between 10-12 days is a grey area for tix. Disney doesn't sell any ticket over 10 days, so you must get an AP, or, a MYW ticket, whether expiring or not. For us, we need Park Hoppers and would need non-expiry, so this makes the cost really, really high. If I remember my math correctly, the price per day of MYW, Hopper tix is a little less on a daily basis then an AP, but there is nothing that can be done about that as Disney doesn't sell anything over 10 days.

Good luck - we spend at least 1 hour a day in a park, so for us, APs are the absolute best way to go. We can go for a nice walk around World Showcase, get a gelato, or, catch the fireworks, and we don't feel guilty as we have APs.

This is a really interesting thread, but I can't imagine only spending a few days each trip in a park - I can't believe that some people have MYW tix that are spread out over 3 or 4 trips - wow, that's some serious self control - LOL!

Tiger

 

[MomsOf2boys]

We found that AP for us is the best route. We are not water park people and if we are at Disney, we can't seem to stay out of the parks. We try to plan our vacations for 2 years over 12 months. We will get in 4 trips out of 1 AP, 24 park days, less than $20 a day on tickets. We will also manage a couple of single days while visiting family in Florida to see Christmas lights or just to spend a day there. Then we do not go or keep an AP for one year, then do the whole thing again. This allows our DVC point to add up for extra stays. Works for us.

 

[Magic08]

I just want to make sure I get this right. We will be going each year, as we are DVC members, but probably not more than once per year, so the annual passes are not good for us. I was thinking of the 10 day MYW non-expiring and adding the water parks. So if I did that I would get 10 park days + 10 water park days. If my understanding is correct this would be great because we could potentially get 2 (or more) years from one purchase. We usually go for a week and we could do 5 days parks and 2 days water parks. :thumbsup

I thought it would be 10 days total, whether you went to park or waterpark. Does it matter if you have parkhopper or not? (Sorry, so confused here)

 

[NSL]

I thought it would be 10 days total, whether you went to park or waterpark. Does it matter if you have parkhopper or not? (Sorry, so confused here)

After reading the past posters on this thread, if you buy the 10 day MYW no-expir. and add on the Warter Parks+ you get 10 days at a park (if park-hopper you can go to more than one in a day) plus you get 10 days at a water park or Disney Quest. So if you went to a park and water park same day you have used 1 park day and 1 water park day. If you went to only one or the other on a day, it would only use 1 park or water park not both.

For us, it seems this would be a good deal. I would buy the 10 day, no exp., with water parks and park hopper. We could use it over 2 trips (2 years for us) and then the next time I wouldn't have to buy the water park add-on because we would have some left from the last time. We would never use that many over a two-year time.

I currently have a AP but that was because our two trips were overlapping in the same year. So it was cost-effective. After this year, that won't happen because we won't have that many points, I guess unless I run into some money and can add on.

 

[PADISFAM]

Are you sure? I bought a 10 day with fun a few years ago. I thought it only had 5 pluses on it. I have not used it yet so I'm not sure.

it changed in 2008.

 

[thepops]

We'll hit 3 trips in a year this time (spring break, Christmas and next year's spring break) so the AP sounds like a no brainer for us. We'll just tuck away the old No expiry tickets for further down the line. (although we might have to break them out to use some of the waterpark days left on them.

 

[ldo]

so, a 10 day has 10 WDW parks and 10 waterparks and a 7 day has 7 and 7, etc. So, a 10 day+ WP can last for 20 days (10 WDW parks, and 10 WP), if you do a WP on a day you don't enter a park. You can add PH or not, that is an extra $50 or so.
Our 10 day PH with 10 days WP lasted us for 5 years when we added in a pool day or two! Also, once your parks days are gone, you can still continue using WP days until they are gone. Now that our kids are older, they are using old kids tickets (still valid for them, even though they are over 9) for the waterparks and DQ. They actually like the WP better now!
The WP option is a very good deal, IMHO.

 

[Spacemonkaay]

Thanks for your input, everyone. We'll stick with the 10 day with everything. DW will kill me if I drag her into parks every day. Maybe she'll come around. Will be tough to be at BLT knowing I am walking distance from MK but can't go . . . or being a monorail ride from Epcot but unable to go see Figment.

 

[draw]

I just have another question. Can you only get the dining discount card (the tiw or whatever they call it now) if you have an anual pass and there for making the anual pass a little more economic than the 10 day pass?

 

[jco_direwolf]

I just have another question. Can you only get the dining discount card (the tiw or whatever they call it now) if you have an anual pass and there for making the anual pass a little more economic than the 10 day pass?

If you are talking about the Tables in Wonderland/Disney Dining Plan (TiW/DDP.) There are two groups who qualify for it (as far as I know), Florida Residents and AP holders.

johno

 

[draw]

Yes the Tables in Wonder card. So if I want this discount the anual pass is the only way and could save me money in food vs passes depending on how I tour?

 

[jco_direwolf]

Yes the Tables in Wonder card. So if I want this discount the anual pass is the only way and could save me money in food vs passes depending on how I tour?

Well there are some DVC Discounts (See Portable Perks), and I assume you aren't a Fla Resident. But yes if you want the 20% off at all Disney run Table Service. This is important, because it's not at counter/quick service, also there are places like Yak and Yeti (Still the worst name ever for an eatery, if you ask me) that are NOT Disney run, and not participating.

For some people Disney Dining Plan is better, for some TiW is better (which is our case.)

johno

 

[draw]

yes I was thinking the TIW would be better for me also but maybe for the other 3 in my party I would get the 10 day pass.

 

[Tara]

I'm going to have to make this decision for our December trip. We got our APs with DVC discount in June last year and used them:

1. On that 5-day trip.
2. Then we made a spur-of-the-moment trip in November using an AP discount to stay another 5 days.
3. I'm going for a weekend trip with my girlfriends this coming weekend and because there was no free SWA travel on Sunday when we all planned to go home, I'm staying an extra night. I'll be using developer points for that night in a studio so I don't have to pay for a hotel room on my own and I'm sure I'll go to a park on Sunday evening and spend Monday at 1-2 parks before leaving that night. (2 more days)
4. We're going for 7 days to use more of our developer points in May.

That's about $20 per day for my AP (fewer for DS and DH as they don't have those extra 2 days this month), plus we saved 40% on our villa in November. Not to mention the money we saved because we were able to buy TIW (we mostly eat dinners at signature restaurants).

But we'll go in December for 6 days and some life circumstances probably will keep us from going most of 2010 - maybe in December, but that's unlikely. So I'm thinking 10-day, non-expiring passes are our best bet. The nice thing is that our TIW is good through December 31, too.

When I do make that next trip in 2010 or 2011, can I buy my new AP and new TIW but then not activate the AP until I use my remaining 4 days on my existing ticket? I'm betting I do, so I'll lose 4 days in my AP use year. Or I can just hold on to the 4 days remaining until some other time when I don't have an AP...

Decisions, decisions!;