APs for dummies....

[autismgoesdisney]

I wish someone would come up with a whole Disney for dummies book...hmm maybe its even out there???

I just read in another thread that APs can save a lot of money for those of us that go every year. We plan on going every year if money allows.


These are my questions:

1. So if we purchased APs for our family of five, it would cost $2,600. If I purchase tickets for the next two years it would cost $2400 so do APs only save $200?

2. IF I purchase APs, can I still use the promotion going on at that time? Say there's free dining in September when we go, can we switch to free dining?

3. How do we book rooms with APs? I can't see what kind of savings I would get if I did APs, yet I see all the time people posting abou their APs rate.

Help this dummy out!!!!!

Thank you

 

[OandA]

You cannot get free dining with an AP which is why we don't get them. We go twice a year for 10 days each time but one time we get free dining and it is cheaper to do that than get APs.

 

[OandA]

You can call WDW and get a quote with AP rates. You do not need an AP to do this. You just need to show your AP when checking in.

 

[Missytara]

Also, there is a sticky at the top of the Theme Parks and Strategies board all about tickets, including AP's.

I think the Disboards are really "Disney for Dummies"; you just have to do a bit of research to find the right place to get the right answer.

I spent the first few months just looking at all the boards and all the threads and taking in the type of information that was posted on each one. Then I watched threads that got moved and figured out why they were in another location. I started to think outside the box.

I have found it pretty easy to find exactly what I am looking for.

 

[mickeynut1]

Having APs can save money, depending on several factors like how often you go, how many days you usually do the parks, etc. To answer your questions:

1. The $200 savings you show is just what you would save on the tickets. If there happens to be an AP room discount for the time you are going, you could save a percentage off the room. You can also buy the Tables in Wonderland card for $75, which will save you 20% on TS meals. The AP also saves 10% on merchandise in certain locations.

2. If free dining is going on during the time of your visit, you would still have to purchase the minimum park tickets required as having an AP doesn't qualify you to get free dining without adding tickets. Being an AP holder allows you to book a ticketless package (AP + Dine pkg), but for free dining you still have to buy tickets to get that deal.

3. To book a room with an AP, all you have to do is call. If you have an activated AP, you can go online and check AP rates and book that way. If you buy an AP online before your trip, you will get a voucher in the mail, which you would take to any park ticket window once you get there and exchange it for the actual AP. Some people have reported being able to register their voucher and accessing the AP site online, so that's also a possibility.

 

[Colleen27]

1) No. You're not taking into account the other savings, from merchandise and dining (esp if you buy the Tables in Wonderland card) to parking if you stay offsite and even AP room discounts.

2) If you plan on going at times of year when free dining is usually offered APs might not be the best strategy because getting free dining requires the purchase of at least 2 day tickets, and FD is the best deal you'll ever see as a family of 5 staying at POR. However, what you could do is use the free dining package in Sept '12 and then upgrade your tickets to APs before leaving, so that you get the deal this year and access to the AP deals in the future.

Alternatively, you could just upgrade yourself to an AP because only one adult has to be a passholder for access to discounts. That way if you go back at a time when FD is offered in 2013 you could book the package with the 2 day minimum tix, add days to the rest of the family's tickets after check-in, and set aside your unneeded 2 day ticket for a future trip. If you plan your trips 11mo or less apart getting APs for the whole family makes sense, but otherwise just getting one might be the better choice.

3) You have two options for booking rooms with an AP - you can call, which is your only choice if you're going to upgrade to an AP upon arrival (they'll book the room for you before you have your AP, but you'll need to show it at check-in), or once you have your AP in hand you can log on to the passholder website to book.

 

[Jestocost]

APs will save you money vs. purchasing separate tickets, without factoring in any other savings available to AP holders, if you plan to be at the parks for more than 10 days in a 12 month period.

There are special room discounts made available to AP holders that can be seen and booked through the passholder Web site. Sometimes they cover dates where discounts are not available to the general public, sometimes they are the same discounts available to the general public but they are released to AP holders earlier. You only need one AP holder to book a room, however, not everyone in the room needs to be an AP holder.

AP holders can take advantage of any other room-only offers. AP holders can purchase the dining plan without purchasing a package including tickets as normally is required. To take advantage of free dining or most other package promotions, however, AP holders still need to purchase at least the minimum ticket requirement for the promotion. Those tickets can be saved for future use (including upgrading to an AP at a later date).

AP holders also get free parking even when staying off site and discounts on merchandise at select locations.

In addition, AP holders are able to purchase the Tables in Wonderland card for $75. That gives you 20% off all food and beverage purchases at most WDW table service restaurants and a few counter service locations (mostly food courts at resorts without a table service restaurant. One TIW card can be used for the card holder and up to nine additional diners on the same check. There are a few blackout dates for TIW, the cardholder must be present for the card to be used (technically, although it sometimes is not enforced) and an 18% gratuity is automatically included.

I didn't check your prices to see if you included the lower cost for a renewal AP vs. a new AP. That might bring your total cost down some.

Also, note that many of the above benefits (room and merchandise discounts, TiW, parking) are available to an entire party even if only one member has an AP, so one option would be to purchase an AP for one member of the family and regular tickets for the rest.

 

[alex9179]

I can understand getting an AP for every family member if you go 2 or more times a year, not once a year.

However, ONE person in the family (one of the adults) can get the AP to take advantage of any AP discount for a room. Depending on where you're staying, you can save a chunk of change doing this 2 yrs in a row, if there is availability. That person can also purchase the Tables in Wonderland card and use it at most Disney sitdown retaurants for 20% off the total bill for up to 10 diners. Plenty of people like this because it covers alcohol and appetizers, which the DDP does not. Close to the same savings with more choices when it comes to TS.

My plan is to keep an eye on any AP discounts that may come out that cover our dates. I'll book it if there are any rooms availble. Then, the day we get there I'll go to a park and upgrade to the AP. When we return to the resort I'll show them the pass and ensure that they honor the discount I booked under. I will be the only one with the pass, the rest of my family will use either YES tickets or UT tickets. I'll also get the TIW card to use for our TS meals.

 

[Huff]

If I have an AP and book during free dining I know I have to buy a 2 day ticket. If I make that a non-expiring ticket, then can't I use it for full credit towards renewing my AP a year later thus not losing any savings I may otherwise have with free dining?

 

[Missytara]

If I have an AP and book during free dining I know I have to buy a 2 day ticket. If I make that a non-expiring ticket, then can't I use it for full credit towards renewing my AP a year later thus not losing any savings I may otherwise have with free dining?

Check out the sticky at the top of the Theme Parks and Strategies Board regarding tickets; it tells you about getting tickets from standard to AP and the pricing difference.

 

[LuvLuvLuv]

You know your family best... you just have to work the numbers.

We bought the Premier Passports which are $771.75 a piece, but with our Nov 2011 trip, DL trip, and 3 2012 WDW trips... we save $1021.25 per person on tickets over the course of a year--that's a lot.

In November, we bought about $600-$700 worth of merchandise at 20% off (Premium/Premiers get 20%) saving between $120-140. (it was our wedding trip, and DH is pin addicted--we normally spend 400ish)

Discount on a few food places (we had the deluxe dining plan--but not for all days).

Oh and the biggest plus was 40% off our room was offered at the time.

I'm sure we'll save lots in merch and food at DL too--I've been saving

But if you don't buy merchandise, always do the dining plan, don't add on park hoppers, water parks or disneyquest.... it may just not work for you. I know researching can take a while--but you have to find what's right for you. The wdwinfo page always shows current AP offers, so check that out too. They don't come out that far in advance, so you need to be a little more flexible.

 

[Colleen27]

If I have an AP and book during free dining I know I have to buy a 2 day ticket. If I make that a non-expiring ticket, then can't I use it for full credit towards renewing my AP a year later thus not losing any savings I may otherwise have with free dining?

You don't have to make it non-expiring because the clock doesn't start running on tickets until first use (and even on non-expiring tickets you only have the 14 days from *first* use to upgrade). You can simply set the 2 day base ticket aside, unused, and upgrade it when you're ready.

 

[ethanwa]

You said:

"So if we purchased APs for our family of five, it would cost $2,600. If I purchase tickets for the next two years it would cost $2400 so do APs only save $200?"

But the AP's only last for one year, yet you said you're buying tickets for two years. How would the AP's save you money here?