AP's & Resort Discounts?

[PamNC]

We use to be AP holders but for several years we've not purchased them.

How much are they now & what type of resort discounts, IF ANY, are they offering? With the lack of room only discounts I'm scraping around trying to figure out the best way to go.

I'm not liking the Fairytale magic - we don't go to the parks every day. We priced YC for the 7 days and it was $2110.00. Of course that includes tickets but I like getting the room only discount and buying my park hopper passes through AAA (small little discount there). Then, any unused days we have left can be used for little short spur of the moment trips - or if not - the next year.

Would becoming an Annual Passholder help me out? We love the resort about as much as the parks (YC/BC die hard fans!) but don't want to pay rack rates.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

PamNC

 

[tar heel]

Discounts vary, of course, but here's what we found the first week in June of this year: yc/bc (also our favorite) was $215, moderates were $74 (but hard to get -- we paid $84 for a water view at Coronado), All Stars were $59. The moderate and value discounts were bigger than usual while yc/bc was smaller than in the past few years. I think we've stayed at yc twice for $189 in the past two-three years.

 

[Mis4Mouse]

You didn't mention how many people in your party (for your quote of 7 days with passes)

I wasn't liking the FTPackage either, for our large party of three adults and 2 kids.... we also get our tickets the same way, and for the same reasons as you.... I buy them over the course of a year though, but with discounts and usually for more days then we need (we don't do the parks everyday either.)

I bought an AP for myself this year, with the hopes that I would score a decent discount for our trip, (and because it is my birthday and I wanted to treat myself to another short trip later in the year), and with the AP I was able to get a rate of around $1500 for 7 nights at the YC in August. Of course this didn't include passes, but I already have my passes - purchased seperately throughout the year. When I priced the FTPackage for my family, originally - it would have been about $3000.

When I figured it out, I wasn't saving much for this one trip when I compared the two prices- (totalling in what I spent in passes and the AP, with the $1500 for the room)

However I'm not crazy about UPH only because we don't do the parks every day, and we usually take one other trip during the year so we use our extra days (and my AP this year!) to cover our park days.

If I figure it that way, then I will save money over the course of the year, if on my next trip I get a nice AP rate.

Whether or not you save anything depends on the variables I mentioned:

1) how many people in your party
2) if you plan on taking another trip during the year following.
3) The amount you might save in additional days on your seperately purchased PH that don't expire, while the prices continue to go up.

Good luck with your decision!
Sue

 

[cindyfan]

I was not liking the FTP at first either....but.....I sat down and figured out different senarios for our next 2 trips......
We had AP's that expired on June 7th. We are going in Oct and again next June....but it was not cost effective to renew because those would also expire next June 7th. So it was either purchase new AP's in Oct and be able to use them in June....
Or calculate the difference for UPH vs 5 day HP for our Oct trip.

The best discount I have seen for moderates using AP is $94 (inc. tax) There are no room only discounts right now.
So I would purchase an AP at $377 (DC discount inc. tax.)
+ 7 nights at CSR = 658
+ 2 - 5 day HP = $462 (pre-purchase & tax inc.)
Total of $1497
Now My DD wants to do one day at BB and one day at DQ.
For the 3 of us that equals another $150.
Grand total of $1647.

With the FTP.........7 nights including the UPH it is $1429 !!!!!
So initially we are saving $218
But even if we don't go to BB and DQ it is $68 cheaper.

So here comes the discussion of pros and cons......
Yes with the AP.....I won't have to purchase it next year for myself. But.....If I wait til next June for the AP....I will still have it for 2005....which we plan to go in spring of that year.

And.....with the UPH we can come and go as we please....we can do a park in the AM, or do BB in late morning and afternoon and still do a park in the PM. We have so many different options as to our schedule. And we won't feel the need to cram a whole park into one day. And what if we enter a park and then it rains, we can make the choice to go to DQ, then back to that park the next day.
We really love the ability to be flexible. That is what we love about having an AP or UPH!!


But we are people that will go to the parks at least 5 of the 7 days we are there. I can see if you are there for 7 nights and only plan on the parks 3 or 4 days.......Then the FTP w/ UPH may not be the best way to go.

BUT.....if the discounts are limited.....it may be the best thing to do even if you don't go to the parks everyday.

Now I said to myself......IF they come up with AP rates that would give me a moderate for less than $95/night......I may change my ressie to that and go ahead and purchase the AP's for all of us...
But I'm still thinking.......it is like 6 of one or half a dozen of the other!!!! No matter how I look at it, I will still get the same amount of days on my AP if I purchase it now and use it in Oct and June, or if I wait and purchase it next June and use it then and in 2005!

 

[PamNC]

You guys have really done your homework. I need to sit down and price out every scenario.

Sounds like AP discounts are about the same as the old reliable "room only" discount codes we use to love and enjoy before the Fairytale Magic Plan came on the scene.

Mis4Mouse: There are 2 people in my party - just me and hubby. You're exactly right about the variables. I'd say we would go again before our AP's would expire. Hmmmm.

gotta' go try to figure this out.

Anyone else?

PamNC