considering buying AP for first time... pros & cons?

[mikewdw]

have been numerous times. 2 adults 3 kids always stay on site. thinking of buying them this time. what is the break even point (number of days). we are both teachers so our vacation times are summer, Christmas, maybe spring break. we have been a only once year family but trying to see if we could do more time without breaking the bank w/ AP's
any info appreciated
mikewdw

 

[cmullen]

I'm a teacher too and almost all of our 3day weekends we spend at Disney on Disney property! We'll also just drive the 3 hrs for a weekend trip. I do love my Disney pass! If we didn't live within a decent drive I would of bought the pass without black out dates.

 

[mikewdw]

does AP have blackout dates?

 

[Marthasor]

does AP have blackout dates?

The FL resident discounted AP has blackout dates. A regular AP does not. No downside from my point of view, but we are in Orlando 5 to 6 times a year so the AP makes financial sense for us.

 

[Laketravis]

have been numerous times. 2 adults 3 kids always stay on site. thinking of buying them this time. what is the break even point (number of days). we are both teachers so our vacation times are summer, Christmas, maybe spring break. we have been a only once year family but trying to see if we could do more time without breaking the bank w/ AP's any info appreciated mikewdw

If you are considering going more than twice a year for 6 days each trip without hoppers or twice a year for 3 days each with hoppers then the AP's are worth it.

2 ea. 6 day tickets without hopper: $628
2 ea. 3 day tickets with hopper: $646

AP: $634

 

[disneybirds]

Our APs just finished and we loved it! We had planned two 6 day trips with park hopper, so it was definitely worth it for us. We started them Dec 21st of last year and then they ended on Dec 21st this year. We were able to be there during the Christmas time for two years.

In the end, we did two week long trips and 3 weekend trips. I loved that we could go into the park for 2 hours on our arrival days and then the morning of our departure trip. It was great for booking FP+ for those extra days as well (especially Epcot where you can only get Soarin' or Test Track).

Not sure we saved any money with going so many times, but we had a great year. I only wish we had done this several years ago when the kids were younger. We will definitely do it again.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I have the premium AP.

Pros:
More Mickey!
Merch discounts add up
Room discounts can be significant (i even got free MM with one over 4th of July)
Super cool gold card
MB slider (I don't use mine)
Free Parking (serious benefit if you go a lot and stay offsite as it is up to a whopping $17 now)

Cons:
It is a SERIOUS enabler
Cost. The things aren't cheap.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The major problem with Annual Passes concerns when they are in a drawer more than 100 miles from Disney World and they whine a lot and scream:

Use Me!

 

[mikewdw]

we are always onsite and park hoppers. we haven't done dining plan in couple of years as our kids are 11 and 9, 9 so they are mainly burger fries age now. wasn't sure about how much room discounts usually were in summer, Christmas. any other pros cons for having them? we are about 525 miles away so its not just a weekend trip for us.
mikewdw

 

[sandybeach14]

The con= you will want to renew them! We have 3 kids and we both are teachers. We do one long summer trip (10-14 days) and 2-3 shorter trips a year. We try to do Xmas once every couple years. We try something new every trip. Some trips we stay on property- usually the shorter trips because we live about 1000 miles away and must fly for long weekend but the summer we usually stay off and get a place with a kitchen and we drive down. This was/is our plans we did July 2014 12 days, oct 2014 5 days, January 2015 4 days, June/July 2015 14 days (renew in the middle), Xmas 2015 7 days, may 2016 4 days. My non disney friends think we are crazy. But we love it!

 

[DisMom829]

I have the premium AP. Pros: More Mickey! Merch discounts add up Room discounts can be significant (i even got free MM with one over 4th of July) Super cool gold card MB slider (I don't use mine) Free Parking (serious benefit if you go a lot and stay offsite as it is up to a whopping $17 now) Cons: It is a SERIOUS enabler Cost. The things aren't cheap.

We are thinking of the premium AP. We have a 14 day trip planned with extended family in June 2015 & are looking at Christmas 2015, and do a water park day for Christmas Day. How can I see the historic room discounts for PAP holders?

Another reason we are considering AP, we want TIW card.

 

[pointybubble]

Here's the general break even point.

If you are visiting Florida more than once in a year, buy a Walt Disney World annual pass if you will make:

7 one-day visits (six if you are a Florida resident or go by yourself and pay for parking), or
3 two-day visits, or
2 three-or-more-day visits
in a year.

From http://www.themeparkinsider.com/flume/201410/4259/

There are other perks to consider depending on your vacation style. As AP holder we have up to 35% off rooms through the end of March (spring break trip?) as the promotion right now. If you stay offsite you get the free parking. You get merch discounts, some dining discounts as well. You can purchase Tables in Wonderland (20% off most table service restaurants including booze) for $100- worth it if you typically eat sit-down meals.

That being said, it IS a commitment. If you aren't sure you'll really go enough to make it worth it, maybe it isn't worth being tied down. We had APs for a year, took 8 trips in that time and LOVED it. But we took off a year because we felt a little Disney-ed out. We renewed again in October this year- a few weeks after purchase I found out I was pregnant. So now I am paying for APs, and can't really "do" as much as I would like at the parks. I wish I was saving the money for baby to be truly honest. But we will still go since they are paid for and make the best of it.

 

[bumbershoot]

we are always onsite and park hoppers. we haven't done dining plan in couple of years as our kids are 11 and 9, 9 so they are mainly burger fries age now. wasn't sure about how much room discounts usually were in summer, Christmas. any other pros cons for having them? we are about 525 miles away so its not just a weekend trip for us.
mikewdw

Look at your signature. You've gone every year since 2000, and twice one of those years.

If you could tweak your vacations so, for example, the 2015 trip started March 15 and the 2016 ENDED March 15, that AP would cover both trips. If you could do that, you wouldn't even need to have another trip in between there.


I see no "con" apart from wanting to go more often. If you have the trips planned, might as well save some money over the course of the year.

 

[njmom76]

We live in NJ and bought APs this year - we had a weekend trip over Labor Day 2014 and have a 2 week trip in July/August 2015. Staying at BC so we would definitely use hoppers. Also being abke to purchase and use TIW made it more than worth it.

 

[Flametamr]

I have a question for the AP holders here. On my next trip 8 days if I wait until the last day to upgrade to APs will my AP start that day or the day i first used my ticket ? Thank in advance.

 

[DebbieB]

The FL resident discounted AP has blackout dates. A regular AP does not. No downside from my point of view, but we are in Orlando 5 to 6 times a year so the AP makes financial sense for us.

The Seasonal FL Resident AP has blackout dates and no free parking. There is also a regular FL Resident Discounted AP which has full benefits incl free parking and no blackout dates.

 

[Mousemommy1]

We have had AP's since 2012 and we love it. We will typically get 2 10 night/11 day trips in the year, and I have even snuck in a trip for myself in between. We definitely get our money's worth with them.

Plus, we enjoy Tables in Wonderland and the AP merchandise discounts. We have never used the AP resort discount because we are military but that's another obvious perk.

 

[disneyseniors]

about AP's made me think of another question about AP's that has not been mentioned! So, I am asking all of you AP holders, pro and con.
We always book with a travel agent who books all the reservations on site, our tickets with park hopper,and excellent airline rates. So, it's all included in the package. The airline tickets are paid separately, but the other's (including free dining) are booked together. We pay one price for it all.
So, I am wondering, if we get an AP, would we still be able to book through a TA for reservations, fdp, etc? Or , if we do AP, will we have to do it all ourselves?
Thanks for your help. If we lose all the package extras, I wonder if an AP is worth it? depending on going twice a year!

 

[libertybelle08]

I have a question for the AP holders here. On my next trip 8 days if I wait until the last day to upgrade to APs will my AP start that day or the day i first used my ticket ? Thank in advance.

My understanding was that the AP would start the day you first used your ticket, but when we were there in November I upgraded to an AP on the first day of our trip and my brother upgraded on the last day. My AP will expire next 11/23, his will expire next 11/28!

 

[bumbershoot]

I have a question for the AP holders here. On my next trip 8 days if I wait until the last day to upgrade to APs will my AP start that day or the day i first used my ticket ? Thank in advance.

The policy is that it starts on the first use of the ticket you later use to upgrade. Sometimes CMs do it wrong.

about AP's made me think of another question about AP's that has not been mentioned! So, I am asking all of you AP holders, pro and con.
We always book with a travel agent who books all the reservations on site, our tickets with park hopper,and excellent airline rates. So, it's all included in the package. The airline tickets are paid separately, but the other's (including free dining) are booked together. We pay one price for it all.
So, I am wondering, if we get an AP, would we still be able to book through a TA for reservations, fdp, etc? Or , if we do AP, will we have to do it all ourselves?
Thanks for your help. If we lose all the package extras, I wonder if an AP is worth it? depending on going twice a year!

If you really like having a TA book, they can still book a room-only reservation for you, I believe they can even get AP rates if there are AP rates for the time you're booking.

If you want FREE dining plan, you'll have to purchase tickets to qualify for it, but no one makes you use those tickets on any given trip. They can be kept for the future if the free dining plan packages make financial sense even after you get an AP.

AP holders can even get a ticketless package including dining (but not free dining), and if the TA's any good they will know how to do that.