Black out day pass

[Disney Princess]

Well, with the new absence of 7-day hoppers, we are trying to figure out how to plan our days at DLR. We are still going to spend all our time in Anaheim and not do any other parks. We are going from a Sunday to a Sunday, so we were getting 7-day hoppers. We want the flexibility to come and go as we please and not feel like we have to spend the WHOLE day at the park. Now that we can only get 6-day hoppers I had planned to skip our first Sunday in the park. It was just a "walk around and absorb the atmosphere" kind of day anyway. It is Memorial Day weekend, so we expect crowds and limited FP after we arrive. We figured we'd catch the parades, etc.

Last night, I was awake at 4:00 am tossing and turning, and I started thinking about DL. We hadn't thought about APs as the cheaper one has our last Saturday as a black out date. We don't want the super expensive ones as we aren't planning to be back in CA. But then I remembered that here on the DIS I had heard about buying a black out day pass. We'd only need one for that last Saturday. So here are my questions (I promise I had some )

1) How much is the blackout day pass?
2) Can we buy it the day before to bypass the ticket booth on Saturday?
3) Can we still upgrade a normal whatever-day pass to an AP so we can first use our MM?

Thanks for listening to my rambling and any help you can offer!!!

 

[DangerMouse]

1) How much is the blackout day pass?

$40

2) Can we buy it the day before to bypass the ticket booth on Saturday?

No. Must be bought on the day of use.

3) Can we still upgrade a normal whatever-day pass to an AP so we can first use our MM?

Yes.

 

[Peace.love.mickey]

I say go for it...don't forget the discounts on food and merchandise are well worth it!!!

 

[Disney Princess]

Thanks to you both. That helps answer our questions so we can plan better!

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

I say go for it...don't forget the discounts on food and merchandise are well worth it!!!

There are no discounts on merchandise unless you get the premium AP. (most expensive one). It looks like the op is planning on getting the deluxe ones. The food discounts are good to have though. ;-)

 

[Krissy Marissy]

There are no discounts on merchandise unless you get the premium AP. (most expensive one). It looks like the op is planning on getting the deluxe ones. The food discounts are good to have though. ;-)

Right. But some places also do a AAA discount or DVC discount. So the AP isn't for everyone. And if buying for discounts it really isn't worth it unless you visit often...atleast IMO

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Right. But some places also do a AAA discount or DVC discount. So the AP isn't for everyone. And if buying for discounts it really isn't worth it unless you visit often...atleast IMO

My response was related to the poster mentioning to the OP that if she got the AP that she was considering getting, she would get food and merchandise discounts. Since I saw that the OP was planning on getting the "lowest priced" AP, I thought she should know that there wouldn't be any merchandise discounts with that one. It was just to clarify what the AP discounts would be the one that she wanted so there wouldn't be any confusion for her.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

My response was related to the poster mentioning to the OP that if she got the AP that she was considering getting, she would get food and merchandise discounts. Since I saw that the OP was planning on getting the "lowest priced" AP, I thought she should know that there wouldn't be any merchandise discounts with that one. It was just to clarify what the AP discounts would be the one that she wanted so there wouldn't be any confusion for her.

I meant to say "what the discounts would be FOR the one...."..LOL
Krissy Marissy, after re-reading your post, I get it now...LOL I had forgotten that I had mentioned that "the food discounts were good to have" in my post. I agree with you.....we don't eat at DLR enough so that the AP is worth it for just the food discounts. For some people, I guess it might be, but not for us either.

 

[Disney Princess]

Thanks to everyone for their help! We have a DVC discount at lots of food options, so the discounts alone can't make it worth it. We're doing to math to figure if the price for the AP + the black out pass is "worth" it to us. Not that a day at DL isn't great, but we're adding it up. I do appreciate all the responses and help.

 

[disneyfan4ever54]

Thanks to everyone for their help! We have a DVC discount at lots of food options, so the discounts alone can't make it worth it. We're doing to math to figure if the price for the AP + the black out pass is "worth" it to us. Not that a day at DL isn't great, but we're adding it up. I do appreciate all the responses and help.

I hope it all works out for you.

 

[PinkBudgie]

We are going for a week in June with Delux APs. We are going Wed to Wed with a black out day on Sat. We tried to make it Sat to Sat, but that just didn't work. We decided we won't buy a black out ticket for that day. We will probably sleep in that day, and then use that time to head over to DTD and Garden Walk. We will just use it as a day of rest.

 

[Zoemakes5]

I just went on the DL website and this is what I found...

Deluxe is 269 plus 40 for the blackout would be 309. The 6 day pass is 209. Total difference is $100. You could buy a single park single day ticket to DLR for the first night at $69 pp and save 40 pp. Even more of a difference if you have children with, as the children's AP cost same as adult, but the admission doesn't. Unless you think you might be able to get back w/in a year (for me would probably be a good excuse!), or that the discounts will really be worth it, the math shows it being cheaper not getting the AP.
As an alternative, if you want the discounts, get one AP. You could even get it at a SoCal Costco and get a $50 Disney Gift Card, that might make it worthwhile.

 

[PinkBudgie]

Or if you got APs you could use them for next year's vacation if you went before they expire. (If you were so inclined to go back to DLR next year) That's what we did. We went last July and this year we are going in June. After this trip we will let them expire, and them maybe see about getting new ones the next summer to last for another two vacations.

 

[MichaelColey]

We'll have one blockout day on our next trip, and we're just going to use the day to visit a different theme park. (We actually have some time left on our 3-month Legoland passes, so it's an even easier decision.) The blockout days are the busiest days, so I'd actually rather go somewhere else that day anyway. For $40 each, that'll go a long way toward covering the price of a day at another park.

If you have more than 3 blockout days in a trip, the Premium Passport (with no blockout days and free parking) is only $120 more.

 

[godalejunior]

We'll have one blockout day on our next trip, and we're just going to use the day to visit a different theme park. (We actually have some time left on our 3-month Legoland passes, so it's an even easier decision.) The blockout days are the busiest days, so I'd actually rather go somewhere else that day anyway. For $40 each, that'll go a long way toward covering the price of a day at another park.

If you have more than 3 blockout days in a trip, the Premium Passport (with no blockout days and free parking) is only $120 more.

We are going in May and are blocked out on Sat. also. We are renting a car and driving to Cabazon to see the big huge cheezy dinosaurs and hit the outlet mall. They have a Dooney and Bourke and Coach outlet in the same mall...........that makes me happy.