Considering SoCal Select passes - advice?

[disneymoon0606]

DH and I are considering buying the SoCal Select annual passes this year with our tax refund for our family (two adults, two kids, and a baby). His work schedule is such that he has every Monday and Tuesday off, so I think we'll be able to make the passes worth our money even though it will be a bit of a drive from San Diego.

We haven't "done Disney" for several years, and have only done DLR twice before for one day each time.

We've never had the opportunity to visit DLR many times in a year. How can we make the most out of the passes? How can we do this in an affordable way? Are there other perks that come with the passes?

Mostly I'd just love to hear how others use their APs in a practical way. Pack lunches? Stay off-site occasionally? How does fastpass work these days?

What else should we know when considering this? We're really hoping we can make it work financially!

Thanks!

 

[figment_jii]

In terms of FP, that hasn't really changed in a while, other than they are now enforcing return times. It's still the paper (aka legacy) FP system.

The technical rule is that you cannot bring outside food into the parks, but I've not heard of them enforcing that rule. So some folks do pack lunches and snacks and that can save money. There are picnic tables outside the gates if you need somewhere to dine and didn't want to take up a table at a CS location. Also, note that you cannot take in the makings for things like sandwiches (but assembled sandwiches are usually okay) and no knives or glass containers. Also, there are no public microwaves, so pack foods that do not require heating. If you go a lot, then I would bring lunch occasionally, but I would probably save up to have a few meals in the parks.

Off-site hotels are less expensive than on-site, so I would probably do that if you didn't drive home at night.

The thing to keep in mind about the SoCal AP is that there are a lot of blockout dates. So you would have to make sure you could get your trips in when there are no blockout dates. In terms of AP perks, there are merchandise and dining discounts, so that can help if you shop and dine in the parks and DTD. There are also discounts on tours (sometimes) and special events (sometimes).

 

[llump41]

We have the SoCal pass and love it. If your trying to save money then pack a lunch if you want. We do day trips and hardly ever do an overnight stay.

We always try to get to the park at rope drop. You'd be amazed at how much you can do in those first few hours. Even with the drive from San Diego you should be able to get to the park relatively easy using the carpool lane as much as possible.

 

[jlmarr]

Be sure to check blackout days. Sometimes there's a surprise blackout like this MLK Monday.

Add parking to just one of the AP's - maybe yours instead of DH?

 

[Fireflyblue]

I would personally go for it. I live in San Diego too and considering the same pass. If you can go on a monday or tuesday that will make it all worth it even if its once a month. My husband and I agree that even if we can only make it up on a friday evening, we'd still arrive by 6:30pm and the parks don't close till 10:00 or 12:00 and then we'd just drive back to San diego. We'd also pack our own food and sometimes splurge since the AP gives a 10% discount on food.

 

[llump41]

Be sure to check blackout days. Sometimes there's a surprise blackout like this MLK Monday.

Add parking to just one of the AP's - maybe yours instead of DH?

Forgot to mention parking. Be realistic in the number of times you will be going in a year. Then figure out if the parking is worth it. I would suggest adding it one of the kids passes. It sounds like they will always go but one of you may skip a trip or two.

 

[disneymoon0606]

Thanks for giving us some things to think about! I'm pretty sure I'd never go without dh and there's definitely a chance we'd try to go without the kids at least once so we'll probably put parking on his pass.