Buy 4 Nights Get 3 FREE -- Not a Good Value Anymore?

[brunette8706]

Hi All!

We have always stayed on the buy 4 nights get 3 free. We did this with the Contemporary in January 09 cost approximatel $1700 including taxes, $200 gift cert, free minature golf, $15.00 off of Planet Hollywood dinner and free 1 hour off the small water crafts. AWESOME DEAL. We also did this at the Grand Floridian in July 09 approxiimate cost $1900.00 including all taxes and everything above except for the $200.00 gift certicate. We are ANNUAL pass holders so the cost included ONE DAY BASE TICKETS.

Now with the new buy 4 get 3 FREE they force you to buy the 5 day pass. Plus I dont' believe the other extra's are included. This will now stop us from using this deal, because in my opinion it's not a Awesome deal anymore for us. Also, what if you don't want a 5 day ticket?

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks all!

Brunette

 

[ILoveDisney-Angie]

I agree with you Brunette. If you have APs, it's not worth it since you are now required to get the park passes. I have had an AP in the past and find that I usually get the best deal when I have an AP rate. I haven't been lucky enough to get a 4/3 deal during the times that we go but it definitely does not sound "worth it" IMO now.

 

[rlovew]

It is not worth it for AP holders- I think Disney realized too many people were just getting 1 day tickets and I think they realized it was not a good deal for them to offer it without making people get the tickets.

 

[Brian Noble]

Right. For better or worse, reading between the lines it seems that Disney doesn't really want APers using this promotion. One theory is that APers will come anyway, and this promotion is to drum up more business from the less-frequent visitor.

 

[creativeamanda]

It is not a good deal for an AP holder, but for those of us who only go to Disney once a year, it is a good deal. I had taken advantage of free dining for December, but with 7/4 coming out, and me staying in a Moderate resort, 7/4 was a better deal. For us when the 5 of us were going (3 adults), free dining was the better deal. You just have to plug in the numbers. For some the 7/4 is a great deal. For others it is not. Disney is hoping to get people to come who will end up buying APs.

 

[DizneyNutz]

Hi All!

We have always stayed on the buy 4 nights get 3 free. We did this with the Contemporary in January 09 cost approximatel $1700 including taxes, $200 gift cert, free minature golf, $15.00 off of Planet Hollywood dinner and free 1 hour off the small water crafts. AWESOME DEAL. We also did this at the Grand Floridian in July 09 approxiimate cost $1900.00 including all taxes and everything above except for the $200.00 gift certicate. We are ANNUAL pass holders so the cost included ONE DAY BASE TICKETS.

Now with the new buy 4 get 3 FREE they force you to buy the 5 day pass. Plus I dont' believe the other extra's are included. This will now stop us from using this deal, because in my opinion it's not a Awesome deal anymore for us. Also, what if you don't want a 5 day ticket?

Any thoughts on this?

Thanks all!

Brunette

You guys might be the next DVCers and since you have already bought in (AP ticket holders) you are kicked to the curb for them soliciting more people to attend. WELCOME HOME

 

[aksivers]

Wow-I did not know that. We don't have APs and priced our vacation using the 7/4 deal versus regular price (another date later in 2010). It is saving us 2000 dollars and allowing us to stat at a deluxe resort. Something that we would probable not do otherwise.

 

[CarolMN]

I don't think the new promotion is as good as the last one but I did not expect it to be.

The purpose of the discounts and promotions is to fill the rooms. Apparently Disney thinks they do not have to give away quite so much to fill the rooms.

As the economy improves and more people start vacationing at WDW, the discounts will decrease in both value and number. It's just the way it works.

 

[vicki_c]

It can still work for SOME AP holders. We scheduled our 4/3 trip right as our APs were expiring, just by coincidence. So we got the full 7 day tickets with our package and then used them to renew our APs. So if your timing is right, you can still get a benefit from buying the longer tickets.

 

[brunette8706]

You guys might be the next DVCers and since you have already bought in (AP ticket holders) you are kicked to the curb for them soliciting more people to attend. WELCOME HOME

**********
Hi!

Well isn't that the truth!

Thanks for all your replies!

I was also wondering about people that arlready have tickets or didn't want the 5 day tickets. Oh well I guess you can hold on them I don't think they expire but I'm not sure.

Brunette

 

[robinb]

You could consider the 5-day pass a "down payment" on your next AP. You can upgrade it to an AP when your AP expires and still get the renewal rate as long as you are in WDW when your renewal is due.

 

[ElizabethB]

Can't you just save your 5-day ticket, not use it and then apply it to the purchase of a new AP when you're ready to make that purchase (or use it for another trip at another time?)

I guess I don't really see the problem, unless you never buy another AP or take another trip to WDW.

We elected to get 7-day tickets with our 4/3 package. I have the 7-day ticket (I had guest services remove it from my room card and give me a separate 7-day ticket). As I understand it, I can use it for another trip -- or I can use it as a credit toward a new AP.

Turns out, though, that Disney came out with a nice AP renewal offer -- buy a 12 mo. AP and get three months free. So, I used that promotion to renew my AP.

I still have the 7-day ticket, which - as I understand it - never expires until I use the first day on it, after which it expires within 14 days. I figure at some point I'll renew my AP and use the 7-day ticket credit toward that.

Am I missing something?

 

[robinb]

I still have the 7-day ticket, which - as I understand it - never expires until I use the first day on it, after which it expires within 14 days. I figure at some point I'll renew my AP and use the 7-day ticket credit toward that.

Am I missing something?

The only thing missing is that if ticket prices go up between when you buy your 7-day pass and when you upgrade it to an AP if you use the 7-day in the parks first you will get the new, more expensive price applied to your AP. Of course, Disney may close that loop-hole by the time you try to upgrade it so double-check the rules before you go.

 

[brunette8706]

Hi Elizabeth and Robin!

Yes, I guess we could, but I like the idea of getting the 1 day ticket instead of them forcing you to buy the 5 day ticket. Maybe will do it again next year I'm not sure.

I do understand that you can renew your annual pass for 15 months. We bought ours January 24 2009 so if we renew by December 31 when would they count your renewal date? Would they count it when you activate it? I'm not sure.

Thanks~
brunette

 

[robinb]

I do understand that you can renew your annual pass for 15 months. We bought ours January 24 2009 so if we renew by December 31 when would they count your renewal date? Would they count it when you activate it? I'm not sure.

Renewals within 30 days before or after your expiration date qualify for the 15-month renewal. So, you can renew from 12/25/09 - 2/24/10 and your new expiration date will be 4/24/2011.

 

[brunette8706]

Robin-

Thank you!

 

[hoosll]

The 4/3 promotion does nothing for me as 4 nights is my max I can be away ... I expect I will be paying rack rate as usual ....

 

[WDW LifeLong Fan]

It can still work for SOME AP holders. We scheduled our 4/3 trip right as our APs were expiring, just by coincidence. So we got the full 7 day tickets with our package and then used them to renew our APs. So if your timing is right, you can still get a benefit from buying the longer tickets.

This is exactly what we did on one of our trips last year. It was last July at a 2BR at OKW. We have had AP's since inception, and it really worked out great for us!

 

[amzking]

I too am hoping to get 4/3 for May and renew our passes with the ticket credit - ours expire 5/22. The 4/3 deal is how we got our APs in the first place - we upgraded the tickets the first day we were there.

 

[bunnyfoo]

We're taking advantage of the 4/3 deal in January and it works for us since our APs will expire then.

Hope I can sneak in a couple of quick questions here. We've never applied the value of tickets to renew our APs. Is it a difficult process? Do we have to use the tickets once before renewing? We also bought the 5 day tickets - is it a better value to buy 7 day tickets, add park hopper, non expiring options etc. to upgrade?

TIA