Disneyland annual pass...Discounts worth it?

[nelson84]

We are going to Disneyland Feb 24- Mar 1. We and to stay one night at DGC Feb 29. If we purchased an annual pass would we get a discount? Do we need to purchase an annual pass for all of us or just one adult to get the savings?

Do we get any discounts for counter service? Would the discount be just for the one person holding the annual pass or off the whole bill?

 

[kabuki]

Hello!
My DH and I have the Premium AP. It does get you discounts at hotels but you would have to call to get the rates at the time you are going. We also get free parking and food discounts.
Here is the web page that explains all the discounts!

https://secure.disney.go.com/disney...ated/landing?name=AnnualPassholderLandingPage

 

[boiseflyfisher]

You would only need an AP for one person for the hotel, and I have always used one AP to pay for the bill wherever we eat at the resort.

I'm not sure what is going on for Feb 29th, but the hotel is showing an AP5 rate of $360 for a standard room. DLH and PP aren't showing availability for that night.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

10%off normaly at the hotles, I think your time might be perfect for the hotle ap5 discount idk im not going at this time but you should check it out.

10 or 15% off all charcter meals or other meals around the park really loosk to me will add up
having the biger ap you would get 10% off at world of disney, see i spent 400 last time i think it would of helped
I dont know any other discounts or just cant think right now

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

I think bumbershoot should tell you! She's the queen of explaining why a AP is worth it!!

 

[bumbershoot]

Bwa ha ha. But I would need to know more here.

Is this ONLY for the hotel discount? Are you only going to stay at GCH on the 29th? (I bet just the fact that it's Leap Day is a heavy reason it's so busy at the hotels, by the way) Where are you staying the other days?

How many days are you going to the parks?

I'll let you answer those then I'll go further.

I was going to do this earlier but then I decided I didn't want to ask those questions, but now that I've been called out....here I am.

Good news is that none of those days are block-out dates, so you'd only need to upgrade to the Deluxe (unless you want the bigger food discounts and the merchandise discounts you get with the Premium).


OK fine I can't just leave it at that so I'm adding. With the Deluxe (currently 259) you get 10% discount on most food. I say most b/c some don't participate, for instance, the Royal Street Veranda has always told me "no" (but someone on another board has been told "yes" several times, grr) for the discount, and the Brrr-Bank ice cream place doesn't participate either. Nor do outdoor vendors. But the Blue Ribbon Bakery does, as do the buffets, and most other places. With the Premium (currently 379) you get 15% discount on most food, and you get 10% discount on most merchandise. As long as the passholder is the one paying, you get the discount on whatever you order at the participating places.

Parking comes with the Premium, and I think you can add on parking with the Deluxe (but that might not be an issue depending on where you're staying the other days, and the resort fee at the GCH includes the parking when you stay there).

 

[nelson84]

We are staying at the DGC from Feb 24-March 1. The first 5 nights on a dvc reservations and the last night on our own $. The Delux would work for us and we would only be using the pass for this trip as we are going to WDW 2009.
The way I figure it...$75 in addition to the 6 day pass will get us an annual pass. The hotel would be $383 instead of $425 ( to stay in the same room as the DVC reservation) so we would need to save an additional $33 on meals to break even. We mostly eat counter service with kids aged 4,2,5 months.
Then I found out AAA is the same hotel discount. Waiting for my husband to confirm if our membership is still valid. So given this are the food savings worth it?

Thanks!

 

[Hound 109]

I think bumbershoot should tell you! She's the queen of explaining why a AP is worth it!!

Our favorite B....S....Queen.



Sorry bumbershoot....you are the AP guru.


To the OP, one thing to keep in mind, even if you book w/o AP, keep checking back with DLR Reservations (or here) over the next month to see if the AP5 rate opens up for some or all of your dates.

If it does, you can pull the trigger on ONE AP pass at that time.

(What's the AP5 rate on the GCH? Got to be ALOT less than the $384 discussed.)

 

[boiseflyfisher]

Our favorite B....S....Queen.



Sorry bumbershoot....you are the AP guru.


To the OP, one thing to keep in mind, even if you book w/o AP, keep checking back with DLR Reservations (or here) over the next month to see if the AP5 rate opens up for some or all of your dates.

If it does, you can pull the trigger on ONE AP pass at that time.

(What's the AP5 rate on the GCH? Got to be ALOT less than the $384 discussed.)

Right now the AP5 isn't available at the other two hotels. Is there a way you can switch your DVC days to cover that night and pay an AP5 rate for your first night? If you can do that, the grand would be $279 for the 24th for a standard room. Just to show you how wacky DL's hotel prices are, the PPH is $240 for that same night w/AP5.

 

[bumbershoot]

Our favorite B....S....Queen.



Sorry bumbershoot....you are the AP guru.


To the OP, one thing to keep in mind, even if you book w/o AP, keep checking back with DLR Reservations (or here) over the next month to see if the AP5 rate opens up for some or all of your dates.

If it does, you can pull the trigger on ONE AP pass at that time.

(What's the AP5 rate on the GCH? Got to be ALOT less than the $384 discussed.)

Why, I outta....


Looking yesterday at the Hotel Calendar on the AP site, which says it shows the best rates available for AP holders at that time, it was 360 at GCH (if memory serves).

But it really does change...I've said it before...there was no really good rate for my one-night stay last weekend until I checked 48 hours out, and saw a 139 rate (at PP, not GCH) that was tempting. It wasn't there until between 48 hours and a week from my trip (I hadn't checked for several days). Things do pop up!


So with the deluxe, if you're making up a $33 difference, that's $330 worth of food assuming you only buy it at places that offer the discount (so no Brrr-Bank ice cream, and in my experience no Royal Street Veranda). Do you think your family will eat $330 worth of food in those days?

If you haven't seen them, check out the menus and prices at allears and dlresortinfo. That will start to give you a good idea of prices. Since two of your munchkins don't need to pay for their food (one would assume the 5 month old's needs will be taken care of without disney's help, LOL, and the 2 year old can eat from your plates) it is a good question, especially if you're not doing character meals, etc.


I definitely agree with Hound 109, that you should keep checking (ask one of us to check or just call).


OK, interrupting myself. I just noticed that while the Standard room is listed on the AP site right now at $360 for the 29th, the View room is listed at $328. OP, you may wish to call for that.

(714) 520-5006 from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. PST daily to reserve your room. Please ask for rate plan "AP5.

Before I saw that I was going to say that I love AAA, but I already belong. I see AAA as help with car issues, and all the travel stuff is just extra. And I'm not sure that you get the discount in as many places as you do with the AP. I could be wrong on that, though. And since you are traveling during the time that the AP5 *can* be valid, and the AP rates *can* pop up and get even better...know that the rate you might be getting could be far far better than the normal AP or the AAA 10% discount.

 

[SuzanneSLO]

We are staying at the DGC from Feb 24-March 1. The first 5 nights on a dvc reservations and the last night on our own $. The Delux would work for us and we would only be using the pass for this trip as we are going to WDW 2009.
The way I figure it...$75 in addition to the 6 day pass will get us an annual pass. The hotel would be $383 instead of $425 ( to stay in the same room as the DVC reservation) so we would need to save an additional $33 on meals to break even. We mostly eat counter service with kids aged 4,2,5 months.
Then I found out AAA is the same hotel discount. Waiting for my husband to confirm if our membership is still valid. So given this are the food savings worth it?

Thanks!

If you are DVC members, you get a $20 discount off the Deluxe and Premium AP rate. In addition, however, DVC gets many of the same food discounts as with the AP, including at counter service restauarants such as Taste Pilots Grill. So you probably get NO additional savings on dining as an AP holder.

-- Suzanne

 

[Hound 109]

Molly....you know i only tease the ones i . But just in case...

But WTH with the AP regular room at $360 & the room with a view (liked that movie, btw) is at $328. Truly DLR logic.

I swear it takes dozens of people with hundreds of years of education with super sleuthing skills to figure out how to get a decent rate for a bed & a bathroom at that place. (& don't even get me started on the how best to figure out FPs & Touring.....we all would have been lost w/o the guy who would be Hydro.)

Thank god for corn dogs, EE & the Dis.

 

[nelson84]

You are all so wonderful!

I thought the same thing...are we going to spend $330 in food? So I went and bought regular 6 day hopper passes last night. After hearing about that $328 rate I am thinking what did I do?? I didn't realize that rates could change so much! Is there any way to upgrade to an AP now that I have printed the tickets from my computer?

 

[Hound 109]

You are all so wonderful!

I thought the same thing...are we going to spend $330 in food? So I went and bought regular 6 day hopper passes last night. After hearing about that $328 rate I am thinking what did I do?? I didn't realize that rates could change so much! Is there any way to upgrade to an AP now that I have printed the tickets from my computer?

Nelson, I'll let the AP experts confirm this, but based on my recent experience:

- I reserved an AP room rate for a stay in Dec. (it was the AP4) WITHOUT having bought the AP.
- I checked in to the PP & paid for the room & bought the AP at the front desk.
- My AP was (out of state) $259 (i believe).
- My hotel savings was over $140 (on this trip).
- I walked into DL (with my AP slip of paper) & got the AP card at the bank near the entrance.

I'VE ALREADY BROKEN EVEN SINCE A TWO DAY HOPPER WOULD HAVE COST $140-$150 & MY HOTEL SAVINGS WAS $140. (Future park hoppers & discounted DLR hotel stays will be gravy.)

Had i bought a 3,4,5,6 day park hopper, I believe all I would have had to do was pay the difference between the hopper & the AP (what would it be? $10-$20?) & I would:

- Have an AP pass for future visits.
- Have the AP pass to qualify for the AP discounted Hotel Rate.

Not sure if you "convert" your park hopper at the Hotel Front desk, or at DL, but hopefully someone will post.

 

[bumbershoot]

I don't know if you can upgrade at the front desk either...when we stayed at PP we just upgraded our hoppers at the "bank" inside DL.

You can upgrade, nelson84, you can! And you can reserve the AP5 rate without having the AP in hand, tons of people have done it! Just reserve it now, then when you check in, as soon as you can (unless they can do it at the front desk) head over to the AP place ("bank") past the stroller rental and tunnel on the right hand side, pay the difference between what you paid for the 6 day and $259 for the deluxe (they just raised rates in late September, let's hope they don't do it again so soon), have a picture taken and you're good to go. OK they do take address information so that adds a little bit of time.


I hope that weird rate is still there for you!!! But keep checking, too. Call them or ask someone to check. Who knows, it might go down even further!

 

[nelson84]

Thank you once again for your incredible knowledge! I am going to phone in the morning and see if I can still get that rate and upgrade when we get there.

 

[bumbershoot]

Good luck, I really hope you get a crazy-good rate.

 

[nelson84]

I phoned Disney this morning and asked for the AP5 rate and I got it for $313 for a downtown disney view!!

Should I still call back closer to our departure and see if the rate is lower still or is this pretty much as low as it goes?

Thanks!!!

 

[squidmo]

I phoned Disney this morning and asked for the AP5 rate and I got it for $313 for a downtown disney view!!

Should I still call back closer to our departure and see if the rate is lower still or is this pretty much as low as it goes?

Thanks!!!

I think $313 is as low as it's going to go- the slowest weeks had the price of $293, but the end of Feb has had higher rates for the entire time I've been looking at it. We are going around the same time (Feb 28th - Mar 1st), so I've been keeping an eye on the prices. It looks like the AP5 rates are starting to sell out for that weekend, and the higher prices (like the $360 for a standard room) are starting to take over.

 

[bumbershoot]

That is very exciting!

Just keep posting here and it will remind me to check for you.