Disney AP's... What am I missing?

[bcbmommy]

I hear people talk about getting AP's at Disney a lot. But from my calculations (if I'm looking at it correctly), it would take over 2 trips for our family of 6 to break even if we decided on AP's. I just don't get it. Am I doing it wrong? lol. At Universal last year, however, we upgraded to AP's for only an extra $10, so that was a no-brainer!

 

[OutlawOH]

You are not missing anything. My wife and are going in April then back for NYE so we chose to get annual passes. There are many discounts with the AP. For example right now there is 20-30% off resort rooms for AP members. So even is it seems to come out even you will be saving a little and have the pleasure of going whenever you like. We like to stay off property when we take the whole family, so the AP also gets us free parking.

 

[bcbmommy]

You are not missing anything. My wife and are going in April then back for NYE so we chose to get annual passes. There are many discounts with the AP. For example right now there is 20-30% off resort rooms for AP members. So even is it seems to come out even you will be saving a little and have the pleasure of going whenever you like. We like to stay off property when we take the whole family, so the AP also gets us free parking.

I have a PIN for 30% now, but it seems there are no rooms to go along with it. Is it easier to get a room with the AP discount?

 

[smiths02]

I don't know the calculation now, but we will break even with two trips spread over a year. We also bought Tables in Wonderland when it was cheaper and will save with that.
The merchandise discounts, etc were also nice
However, we have planned an extra adult only trip....so it is expensive!
With it now including memory maker...it might be worth it for one person to get a pass if you will make 2 trips...one person can get discounts, tables in wonderland, etc.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

We plan on getting AP's for our next trip.

We will be "in the World" for 6 days. And we will have a second trip before the passes expire. We will get more than our money's worth just between those two trips. That doesn't include any discounts that we might also get.

 

[Marionnette]

I hear people talk about getting AP's at Disney a lot. But from my calculations (if I'm looking at it correctly), it would take over 2 trips for our family of 6 to break even if we decided on AP's. I just don't get it. Am I doing it wrong? lol. At Universal last year, however, we upgraded to AP's for only an extra $10, so that was a no-brainer!

I think that APs are just on your radar. The majority of visitors are there on MYW passes. However, I would guess that those AP holders that you are reading about have done the math and it works for them.

You might not be aware, but the AP used to be a much more affordable product prior to October of 2015 when Disney raised the price through the roof and added "complimentary" Memory Maker to your pass.

And of course, there are quite a few FL residents and DVC owners on this forum. They get a discount on their APs, and not on MYW tickets for DVC owners, which makes purchasing an AP more attractive. Plus, there's a discount on renewals, which helps to reduce the price when their anniversary date rolls around.

Plus, as PPs have pointed out, there are additional discounts and privileges that come with having an AP. Those also have "value" to the holder, although it will differ from one person to the next.

I think that if you dig deeper, there are a lot of current AP holders who have decided that an AP does not work out for them anymore, now that Disney raised their price so dramatically, and they have decided not to renew when the time comes.

 

[JenB1104]

I did the math before buying them. You have to figure out how many trips you are taking for the year and then the cost of buying tickets separately for each trip. Then compare that to the AP price. We are going for 5 nights/6 days in March, 3 nights in June, possibly a long weekend for the Halloween party and then a week in December so it saves us money. Plus the memory maker is included which is worth 149.00. I stocked up on discounted Disney gift cards by buying Target cards on Raise and then getting the red card discount. Got my annual pass for about 660.00 out of pocket.

 

[TippeeCanoe]

You are not missing anything. My wife and are going in April then back for NYE so we chose to get annual passes. There are many discounts with the AP. For example right now there is 20-30% off resort rooms for AP members. So even is it seems to come out even you will be saving a little and have the pleasure of going whenever you like. We like to stay off property when we take the whole family, so the AP also gets us free parking.

I got 30% off my room without an AP.

 

[valerie160]

We are going for about 12 days in May (10 of those will be park days) and a 12 day disney vacay in March 2017 (10 park days). That is 20 park days for sure, so I know that an AP for all of us would be a bit cheaper, but so far I am only buying an AP for myself because we are a family of 6 and I just can't fathom spending that kind of money. Even though buying tix for the rest of the family for each separate trip may be more expensive in the long run, that initial cost gives me anxiety through the roof! At least my one AP will allow us some discounts and the Memory maker, and if we can't make it in March because air fare is through the roof (we used to be driving distance on the east coast, but recently moved to the midwest, so our only option is flying), at least I won't feel forced to take another vacation (spending more money I don't need to) to get my "money's worth."

 

[smiths02]

I got 30% off my room without an AP.

We got our room in Feb with a general discount from having a Disney Visa.
It was better than AP discount that came later
I'm hoping to book Bounce back for June while we are there in Feb.
So, I don't think room discounts are that big of a draw to get an AP

 

[smiths02]

Even with the price raise, it is cheaper to buy the AP than 2 MYW hoppers for 7 days...so if you wanted hoppers for two week long trips, it is still worth it.
Then add parking (if offsite), memory maker, merchandise and recreation discounts, tables in wonderland, possible room discount...it can still save money.
However, if you usually get a discount package that requires tickets (free dining), then it's not worth it. It's also a big up front investment, especially for a large family...I mean what if you can't go again within 365 days, then what?

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

And of course, there are quite a few FL residents and DVC owners on this forum. They get a discount on their APs, and not on MYW tickets for DVC owners, which makes purchasing an AP more attractive. Plus, there's a discount on renewals, which helps to reduce the price when their anniversary date rolls around.

I didn't think about that.

I am a DVD owner. So my ticket price isn't as much as a normal one. Two four day trips without park hopper would be more expensive than what I pay for a Gold AP.

 

[njpyro]

Just figure out how many ties you are visiting, add the price of the tickets, and you will get your answer as to whether you are saving enough or not?
We are getting AP's in 2 weeks. We added up all the tickets we would need for the year, saw how much we would save and decided they would work for us. Then, once we decided to get them, we ending up planning one more trip, so they would be even better.

 

[loves to dive]

When I bought mine, I knew I was taking two trips that were at least 5 park days each during that year. This was before the price increase. I always get PHs. I was able to get a small discount with AAA on the AP and also a small discount with AAA for my room. Turned out that during the dates I was travelling, AP holders had a discount. So I not only got my AAA discount but my AP discount stacked on top of it. They practically paid me to come that trip. When it came time to renew, it was again before the price increase. Once again I knew I would be taking at least 2 5 park day trips (they actually turned out to be 6 park days but who is counting). The renewal is less than the first purchases so again, I came out better with the AP, that is not including any discounts I may get. As luck would have it, the general public discounts were better for the times I went last year and going through Orbitz and stacking their discount on top of the GP discount was a better deal. I did buy the TIW card but just because on one trip my son and DIL were going and we knew we would spend $500 in food the first 3 days of the trip so it made sense. I will not buy a new TIW card since the price increase. I will most likely renew my AP because again, when I do the math I save money on tickets, I never factor in any other discounts since they are not guaranteed. I don't use memory maker so that is a bit of a cop out on Disney's part for me, I wish they would let you take that out of the price but I'm still coming out ahead on the price of tickets so it's not a big deal.

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

This is our first year as AP holders. We (me, DW, DS13 and DS5) have been to the world for 7 days in May, 5 days in September, 8 Days in December, and will be going for 3 days in February and 6 days in April. So for all of us that's 116 days of park entry and I think our APs were around $2800 total. That's $24.13 per day. Unfortunately we probably won't be renewing this year because of the increase. I haven't decided yet.

 

[DebbieB]

I agree with the idea to buy one for the Photopass and discounts, plus free parking if offsite.

 

[MillauFr]

At Disneyland you can come out ahead buying a Deluxe Annual Pass if you are taking 2 5 day trips.

 

[crisi]

The only time I've ever had an AP was the year I was there twice in one year. Once for a week with the family, another for a week long business trip where I liked the flexibility of visiting the parks in the evenings.

 

[kermiebudge]

Our APs were purchased before the pre- 10/2015 price hike, so for our family, 2 annual trips put us ahead of the game and was more cost-effective to upgrade to AP rather than purchase tickets with each trip.

This year however, I think we may be out-priced and will probably not renew *sigh*.

 

[disneychrista]

It depends how many day your trips are. For our one & only trip to WDW we were there for 13 days so it made sense to get APs for us. But if you are only going for 5 days then an AP would not work, unless you have multiple trips planned.