Buy AP or Not, for discount?

[nickynick]

Hello, August 2021. My family (2 adults, 2 children) and I, are going to Disney World and have reservations 10 nights Poly, 5 nights BC. I am wondering is it worth it to buy at least 1 AP ticket? My thinking is with the discounts that you get from AP, might defray the extra cost of the AP because how long were staying Particularly if they don’t bring back the dining plans and they offer just a plain small discount for rooms for August. Furthermore I get the photo pass, but can I use it for the entire family. If I do get the AP, how can I activate before I go on my trip? Thank you for your time and help, stay safe.

 

[skeeter31]

They are not selling APs currently and there have been no announcements as to when they will resume selling them again. There is a chance that by the time of your trip they will be selling them again, but it’s unknown. As for how you activate it, once you purchase it you have a voucher which gives you the ability to book park days and get discounts. Then you would just go to a ticket window when you arrive to have your card printed out. But again, that can’t happen now as they’re not selling APs.

 

[Welsh_Dragon]

Is there much difference between the cost of a ten and five day ticket and an AP? Why would you want to activate your AP before you arrive? You don’t need to activate an AP to access the AP room discounts.

 

[nherbert]

• if you can get an annual pass it might be worth it (depends if they start selling them again) the concern is the park reservation system as you need a ticket to reserve a park, so you can’t wait until last minute to buy tickets.
• you would probably save a little money on the price of tickets btw an annual pass and a 10 day + 5 day
• assuming they are having an annual pass sale during for august 2021 you could save upto 30-35% on deluxe accom costs - also note sales happen along time in advance so start watching early for august sales (there is another site that list historical Disney sales)
• with an annual pass you can get discounts on purchases to save more money on souvenirs
• yes the photo pass can be used for everyone in your MDE account
• you would activate your annnual pass when you arrive at the first park, you don’t need to activate early to access resort discounts, I had the same concern my first time too. When you purchase the voucher it gets added to your MDE and recognized when you log in and gives you access to AP discounts

 

[nickynick]

Thank you. Everyone for your help

 

[sethschroeder]

I can't see an AP making any sense unless your are a FL resident and could get a discounted pass.

Disney has purposely increasing the AP to make it so the math doesn't make sense.

$1200 for a normal AP vs $700 (should be less) for 10 day ticket with hopper.

If I wanted to save on hotel I would be renting DVC. I cant imagine only AP will have hotel discounts and thats even if those hotels have AP discounts.

 

[Eastern]

I was going to say just book the AP discounted room and get the pass later but now, having to book park reservations, you need an attached ticket on your MDE. So it messes things up.

If you didn't need to make park pass reservations you could just book the room and get the AP when it's convenient. Then show it on arrival day.

If you buy your 10 day tickets now and then if a good AP discount comes along, and they are selling APs, you could buy a pass and save the 10 day ticket for another trip. That's a lot of money to keep in MDE though. Depends on how much you'd save with a discount. Or you could upgrade the 10 day ticket when you arrive to the park, if they are allowing it. Right now I don't think they are.

 

[Sandisw]

Since you are only considering for one guest, I do think it could make it worth it as you need 15 days of tickets.

Photopass is great and anyone of your family and friends list has access to it for the entire year, even when you are not there,

Based on current pricing, I’d say it is, providing that it is for sale by the time you need to get tickets.