Break even point for WDW annual pass

[travelbug]

Is it my imagination, or does it take more days at the parks to make an annual pass worthwhile compared with a few years ago? Maybe my memory is mistaken though because I haven't considered an annual pass for maybe 5 years or so.

For a future 10 or 11 day stay, this is what I've looked at:

10 day park hopper (14 day exp.) from UT: $320 (I know there's a small mousesavers discount also)

Annual pass with DVC discount: $431 not counting tax.

Somehow I thought I remembered that the break even point for an annual pass used to be around 8 days or so, but I must not be remembering right. Does anyone else remember an annual pass being a better "deal" than it is now? I haven't yet gotten out the calculator to figure out just how many days it would take for an annual pass to be worth it. (I'm not looking at any other potential benefits to an AP, such as room discounts. For this particular trip, the AP would need to be worth it just for park admission purposes.)

Am I missing something on this? TIA!

 

[mhsjax]

Is it my imagination, or does it take more days at the parks to make an annual pass worthwhile compared with a few years ago? Maybe my memory is mistaken though because I haven't considered an annual pass for maybe 5 years or so.

For a future 10 or 11 day stay, this is what I've looked at:

10 day park hopper (14 day exp.) from UT: $320 (I know there's a small mousesavers discount also)

Annual pass with DVC discount: $431 not counting tax.

Somehow I thought I remembered that the break even point for an annual pass used to be around 8 days or so, but I must not be remembering right. Does anyone else remember an annual pass being a better "deal" than it is now? I haven't yet gotten out the calculator to figure out just how many days it would take for an annual pass to be worth it. (I'm not looking at any other potential benefits to an AP, such as room discounts. For this particular trip, the AP would need to be worth it just for park admission purposes.)

Am I missing something on this? TIA!

We had seasonal passes and our break even point was way before 8. I wish I could be more help.

 

[gigi1313]

i believe the "old" breakeven that you are recalling is prior to MYW tickets, which now reduce the cost per day based on the number of days you purchase...

 

[Marionnette]

Is it my imagination, or does it take more days at the parks to make an annual pass worthwhile compared with a few years ago? Maybe my memory is mistaken though because I haven't considered an annual pass for maybe 5 years or so.

For a future 10 or 11 day stay, this is what I've looked at:

10 day park hopper (14 day exp.) from UT: $320 (I know there's a small mousesavers discount also)

Annual pass with DVC discount: $431 not counting tax.

Somehow I thought I remembered that the break even point for an annual pass used to be around 8 days or so, but I must not be remembering right. Does anyone else remember an annual pass being a better "deal" than it is now? I haven't yet gotten out the calculator to figure out just how many days it would take for an annual pass to be worth it. (I'm not looking at any other potential benefits to an AP, such as room discounts. For this particular trip, the AP would need to be worth it just for park admission purposes.)

Am I missing something on this? TIA!

The AP is a much better deal if you plan to make that one big return trip less than a year after your initial visit or if you intend to make multiple trips during the year.

For someone who is staying 10 days, the 10-day hopper is a cheaper choice. But if they plan to do 10 days this year and another trip less than a year later, then the AP is a better choice.

Or if you want to break it into two 5-day trips during a single year, you would pay $531 for an adult 10-day hopper with no expiration. Or $602 for two 5-day hopper with expiration. Or you could buy an adult AP for $499.

It really is a matter of how you intend to vacation.

 

[Colleen27]

I don't think APs usually make sense for a single trip unless the trip is long enough that you need more than 10 park days and end up paying the first-day premium twice. That's where the AP comes out ahead, not in the per-day price but in not getting hit with the high cost of those first couple days worth of tickets more than once. Although, we're not DVC so that's the math based on full price APs vs base tickets and it has been pretty constant since I first compared the two in '07. The DVC discount on the AP and whether or not you'd want to add the park hopper upgrade will make a difference in the bottom line.

 

[magicmonette]

It seemed like we were allowed more discounts with our PAP THIS trip, than our trips years prior. Everywhere we were in WDW, last week, they asked if we were Pass holders and gave us discounts on goods and services. We were surprised by the discounts and you should factor that into your thought process. We were allowed 10-20% off on eveery bit of merchandise in each Park and Resort.

 

[bumbershoot]

It seemed like we were allowed more discounts with our PAP THIS trip, than our trips years prior. Everywhere we were in WDW, last week, they asked if we were Pass holders and gave us discounts on goods and services. We were surprised by the discounts and you should factor that into your thought process. We were allowed 10-20% off on eveery bit of merchandise in each Park and Resort.

Yes, since later last year they've been offering a lovely discount on merchandise.



I can't imagine that the breakeven point for a *normal* AP (not the season passes for Floridians) would ever have been under 10 days, at least since magic your way tickets started. Unless it was two trips of that total amount of days, then the AP would likely make more sense.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

Generally speaking, an AP makes the most sense if you are going to WDW for at least 2 seperate visits. If you happen to be staying off site to save a few bucks, you can then add additional savings of 14 dollars a day because your parking will be free.

We live in GA, so we get to drive down to WDW. We come out ahead a little bit for our second visit and visits 3 and 4 are pure icing on the cake!