Are annual passes for Non-Florida residents even worth it anymore?

[Matt@WDWR]

My wife, kids, and I have been a passholder for about 4 years. We live about 6 hours away in Georgia. We usually go one long week during the year (8 or so nights) with 5 or so mini vacations throughout the year. Frankly, I haven't seen that being an AP holder is even worth it anymore. The prices have gone up, you can't get weekend discounts, and now non-passholders get deals that are equal to if not better than passholder rates.

I understand that getting the discount rate isn't an automatic but I can promise you that the higher weekend rates have cut our impulse weekend getaways in half.

More than anything, I just don't understand why Disney doesn't have any loyalty to their passholders. Would it kill them to offer something equivalent of the B4G3 free deal? Sorry for ranting haha.

 

[simonkodousek]

I completely agree with you. I'm not a passholder myself, but it seems that Disney has almost no regard for those that are. The discounts are minimal, the perks are few and far between, and besides being able to get in to any park at any time, I really see no use in getting one.

Universal on the other hand, offers many perks, discounts, and deals for their passholders.

 

[BoomNLeon]

We have found that saving on park tickets and food (with DDE card - now called Tables in Wonderland) saves a bundle. We lucked out on some great rates in January for AKL and the savings from tickets alone is worth it.

Although I agree with you that Disney does not seem to really appreciate their AP guests in ways above and beyond what the public gets. It is almost like we are an afterthought. But we don't go there for any unique treatments, we go to get away to the Magic.

 

[Matt@WDWR]

I am pretty sure if I crunched the numbers that I would still save with the AP it's just the weekend rate thing and the ignoring of passholders that irks me though. I mean, instead of quick weekend trips to WDW for the F&WF or the F&GF, I could decide to drive to Charleston or Hilton Head or even much closer to Savannah. LOL I don't expect special treatment. I would still go to WDW I"m just thinking I possibly would not do it as much.


Matt

 

[GOLFDISNEY72]

This is our first year as AP holders and I am up in the air if we are going to renew. I think it is hard to say this year because of the specials. I do not have a problem paying for what my family and I enjoy but if we are going to spent money for AP tickets we should definetly get more.

 

[chirurgeon]

The reason I purchase an AP is mainly because I tend to take 2 trips within a 12 month time frame and it is cheaper in terms of park tickets using the AP. I Used 11 days in December and will need 5 days in May around the Podcast Cruise. That alone makes the AP worth it. The ability to get the TIW card made it less expensive to eat at table service and even at the food court at POFQ. So it makes it worth it for me even though I couldn't get an AP room discount.

I do agree though that Disney should do more for those of us who do purchase the AP.

Kim

 

[shmedly123]

I personally think that for you living in GA you'll still get value out of it because you make several trips down a year. I live up in N.H. and only get down once or twice a year and can tell you that I am letting my AP expire.

I got a great deal with it last March and went back in December as I still had the pass. Now I'll probably only make 1 trip a year using the 4 get 3 free deal that is open to everyone. so instead of two 5 day trips, we'll just take 1 longer trip and not have to worry about paying for extra flights and the AP.

 

[rtobe]

. . . I understand that getting the discount rate isn't an automatic but I can promise you that the higher weekend rates have cut our impulse weekend getaways in half.

More than anything, I just don't understand why Disney doesn't have any loyalty to their passholders. Would it kill them to offer something equivalent of the B4G3 free deal? Sorry for ranting haha.

I agree with you. I'm in Washington DC area so I would plan a long weekend trips that didn't involve taking more than a day off if I could and get about 15 days in the parks over the year. But with Disney charging $135 -$150 for Pop Century on a weekend night, this becomes silly. Instead of the gift cards for $500, how about doing something that would encourage their AP holders to stay weekends. I'm thinking that some of these deals with the ticket upgraded to park hopper and no expiration may be a better deal than the DVC AP renewal.

 

[Just People]

With the DVC discount, its still worth it (Barely!) if you go 2x a year and hit the parks at least 5 times a trip. Part of the reason I bought DVC APs was to get discounts on weekend stays at WDW and not use our points. On our upcoming March trip they dont even offer discounts on the weekends! With DVC raising weekday stay points next year, we will pbbly just do one long 8 Night stay next year, so there wont be any reason for us to buy APs after they expire.

 

[OKW Lover]

We buy AP's for the admission. We seldom actually take advantage of AP specials because 1: we own DVC so we don't care about hotel discounts, and 2: We have the DDE card that gets us a 20% discount on table service meals, so we don't need any Dining Plan or AP discount there.

Occasionally we do take advantage of an AP discount on purchases, but that's typically not enough to matter.

For what it's worth, we get ~30 park days in the course of a year, so the AP more than pays for itself.

 

[sunshine girl]

I have had an AP for the past 4 years. When I first got one I lived in FL and would make weekend & long-weekend trips frequently to take advantage of great weekend rates at the value resorts. Those rates all but disappeared in recent years and, as a result, so did my weekend trips.

Therefore, I spent a lot less money at Disney than I did before... I used to love going so frequently, and so I happily spent a lot of $$ on food and merchandise. But I can't stomach the high rates at the value resorts. It just bugs me, so I don't go... I don't mind spending at Disney, but hate to spend it all on the hotel for a quickie weekend trip!

I still get the AP because I still use it, but when I analyze my yearly spending I definitely spend a significant amount less on Disney. I wonder if Disney cares that they are likely losing money from people like me as a result of the lack of weekend passholder deals? Oh well!

 

[BriarRosie]

Well, considering I only have to pay for one AP, and I get my DVC discount, when I applied the Disney Visa Rewards points I accrued, I paid the equivalent of a 3 day park hopper.

And I had the DDE card, which paid for itself when I had some of my family join me (and most recently, a trip to Victoria and Albert's). So for me, the AP has totally paid for itself.

I'd probably think differently if I were married and/or had kids.

 

[ticktock]

We are not renewing our passes this year for the first time in probably 7 years.

We go down almost exclusively on weekends (except a week for xmas vacation every other year) and stay at the monorail resorts since we're only there for two or three days . We also spend a lot of money at California Grill, Jiko, Flying Fish etc because we have food allergies and Disney is one of the few safe places to go out to eat. With the cost of weekend stays at CR and the Poly nowadays it just is not cost effective.


This year we're renting a house on the beach in S.Fl. for Spring Break and a house on the ocean in Maine for a week, maybe two in the summer. Since there is no line for the ocean I don't mind doing those things at peak times and I don't have to try to fit DS's school schedule around Disney. And it's CHEAPER, way cheaper then the Poly for a week. I think I'm over Disney for a year or two and I may never be a passholder again. If they want to bring me back they will have to discount weekend stays for passholders or Fl. residents.

 

[mickeysbestfriend]

I have had an AP for the past 4 years. When I first got one I lived in FL and would make weekend & long-weekend trips frequently to take advantage of great weekend rates at the value resorts. Those rates all but disappeared in recent years and, as a result, so did my weekend trips.

Therefore, I spent a lot less money at Disney than I did before... I used to love going so frequently, and so I happily spent a lot of $$ on food and merchandise. But I can't stomach the high rates at the value resorts. It just bugs me, so I don't go... I don't mind spending at Disney, but hate to spend it all on the hotel for a quickie weekend trip!

I still get the AP because I still use it, but when I analyze my yearly spending I definitely spend a significant amount less on Disney. I wonder if Disney cares that they are likely losing money from people like me as a result of the lack of weekend passholder deals? Oh well!

I have to agree with everyone who isn't happy with the weekend discounts disappearing. We own DVC and have enough points to go at least 3 5 night Sun-Thurs each year, but we used to go and stay at the hotels for an additional 3-4 weekends. Now we have stopped going for the additional weekends. I doubt if Disney thought about how much revenue they would lose because of the decision. As many have said, it's not just the room, but the food and merchandise. We still find value in the AP's, but not near as much as we did before.

As a side note...I think the name "Tables in Wonderland" stinks!

Bill

 

[OKW Lover]

We still find the AP worthwhile for us. We typically get 30 park days a year on each of our AP's so it pays off just on the admission. Add to that the opportunity to buy a DDE card with its 20% savings at table service.

 

[ADP]

If you are a DVC member it is especially worth buying the AP. You save $100 off the regular AP price. Having the AP savings in addition to having your room paid for with your DVC membership makes planning a trip to Disney World flexible and somewhat inexpensive. About the only thing left to pay for is food, a few souveniers, and airfare.

 

[Yvet]

For us it's still a very good deal.

We don't use the AP discounts on hotel rooms because we always stay off side in a vacation home.

But the main reason for us to get an AP is because we go twice a year and with good planning we get 3 trips a year on one AP: last may, last december and again this april/may (the part before the cruise) for oyur stay after the cruise we need new AP's and then we use them again upcomming december and april next year.

If we would buy normal tickets then it would costs us way more then an AP does.

And those savings are worth it as extra we get the free parking and the little discounts on souvenirs.