Florida Resident DVC Members

[Fitswimmer]

I'm planning a move to Central Florida in 2008.

Anyway, my question to the Florida Residents who are DVC members is about the annual pass. We have a 6 day trip coming up in December and I'm wondering which would be the most economical for me-buy the AP with the DVC discount and use it when I move OR buy a 6 day Magic Your Way for this trip and wait until the move to buy the Florida Resident AP?

Thanks for your help!

 

[drusba]

Not a Florida resident but am aware that the price for an AP or AP renewal as a DVC member is essentially the same as the price for a Florida resident (I believe DVC member is actually $1 less on new APs) so which discount you choose makes little difference. What you need to consider if becoming a Central Florida resident is whether you want to instead go with the much less expensive Florida "seasonal" pass which gives you entry for a year but you cannot use it for peak holiday times (couple weeks surrounding Easter and Christmas) or for summer months (mid-June to mid-Aug) and I am aware of residents in the area who have seasonals who say they would not go to WDW during those peak holiday times or summers even if they had APs.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Not a Florida resident but am aware that the price for an AP or AP renewal as a DVC member is essentially the same as the price for a Florida resident (I believe DVC member is actually $1 less on new APs) so which discount you choose makes little difference. What you need to consider if becoming a Central Florida resident is whether you want to instead go with the much less expensive Florida "seasonal" pass which gives you entry for a year but you cannot use it for peak holiday times (couple weeks surrounding Easter and Christmas) or for summer months (mid-June to mid-Aug) and I am aware of residents in the area who have seasonals who say they would not go to WDW during those peak holiday times or summers even if they had APs.

I didn't know about the seasonal pass. That might be a better option for my parents once I move down there. Since I usually visit around the holidays they would have needed it, but once I'm down there we'll go during the non-peak seasons. Unless there is a very unusual cold snap in the summer, I won't be going over to WDW. I intend to hide in the AC all summer down there the way I hide inside in the winter up here!

 

[JaxFLBear]

drubsa is correct, the DVC Discount and FL Resident Discount is the same on a renewal. The DVC price for a new AP is a few dollars cheaper than the FL resident rate. We have AP's as we do go to the parks during the summer months.

Current prices:
FL Resident AP: $350 plus tax (renewal $315 plus tax)
DVC AP: $348 plus tax (renewal $315 plus tax)

FL Resident Seasonal Pass: $230 plus tax
Blackout dates for seasonal pass:
Dec 22 2007 - Jan 04 2007
Mar 15 2008 - Mar 28 2008
Jun 7 2008 - Aug 14 2008
Dec 21 2008 - Jan 3 2009

Michael

 

[jdvm]

Think of whether you'd prefer a Premium Annual Pass....that's what we have....and I'd go ahead and get one.
John

 

[Fitswimmer]

Think of whether you'd prefer a Premium Annual Pass....that's what we have....and I'd go ahead and get one.
John

What's a Premium Annual Pass?

 

[AKV707]

I believe a premium AP also gets you into water parks.

 

[jdvm]

It includes the water parks and Disney Quest. We like to go to Typhoon Lagoon or Blizzard Beach for 2-3 hours and we'd never do that if we paid for an all day ticket. Or, sometimes my wife and I will take the kids to Downtown Disney to see a movie and we'll play Centipede and Space invaders while they're at the movies.
John

 

[WSK]

If you are an AAA member, they offer additional discounts on all passes, including seasonal passes for Florida residents.

Bill

 

[Mirthrindr2]

What's a Premium Annual Pass?

Premium Annual Pass includes everything a regular 'Annual Pass' contains, plus admission to Disney Quest, Pleasure Island, Disney's water parks: Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Not sure how much longer DisneyQuest will be around though, heard several months ago it's closing and being built as a new ESPN Club like the one at the Boardwalk only MUCH bigger. Haven't heard anything recently, but I assume this is still green lighted.


Btw, if you are going to be living close to WDW and think you'll frequently visit the parks and resorts for dining, then you MUST buy a Disney Dining card. It's been over two years since we moved away so I don't know if the benefits have changed, but we paid I think $79 for a 1 year membership to the Disney Dining Club. It was accepted at almost ALL Disney run restaurants (some non-Disney run rest. don't accept it) and gave you 20% off entire bill INCLUDING alcohol, which is phenomenal if you are into ordering bottles of wine while dining (significant savings). We saved every single dining receipt for an entire year and added up the savings and figured out that we saved just over $600 one year.

Good luck.

 

[Fitswimmer]

Premium Annual Pass includes everything a regular 'Annual Pass' contains, plus admission to Disney Quest, Pleasure Island, Disney's water parks: Blizzard Beach, Typhoon Lagoon, and Disney's Wide World of Sports.

Not sure how much longer DisneyQuest will be around though, heard several months ago it's closing and being built as a new ESPN Club like the one at the Boardwalk only MUCH bigger. Haven't heard anything recently, but I assume this is still green lighted.


Btw, if you are going to be living close to WDW and think you'll frequently visit the parks and resorts for dining, then you MUST buy a Disney Dining card. It's been over two years since we moved away so I don't know if the benefits have changed, but we paid I think $79 for a 1 year membership to the Disney Dining Club. It was accepted at almost ALL Disney run restaurants (some non-Disney run rest. don't accept it) and gave you 20% off entire bill INCLUDING alcohol, which is phenomenal if you are into ordering bottles of wine while dining (significant savings). We saved every single dining receipt for an entire year and added up the savings and figured out that we saved just over $600 one year.

Good luck.

Mom and Dad bought that Dining Card and we have really gotten a ton of use out of it. It's an excellent program for residents, but we enjoyed it on our DVC visits as well. I will invest in that when I move, because I love how much you save.

 

[bridger71]

Another FL resident chimming in here. Something else to consider regarding whether to get the Annual or Seasonal pass is parking. A new annual pass cost $350 and includes parking while a new seasonal pass cost $230 but does NOT include parking. We live in Orlando about 30 minutes from WDW so we go down there for 2-3 hours all the time. If you think you'll be doing this on a regular basis then after 11 visits you've paid the difference between the annual and seasonal pass because parking is $11.

Just some more food for thought.

 

[teras75]

I agree with PP about parking. We have a FL seasonal pass because I don't want to go to Disney at peak times. The season pass does not include parking. That and the water parks make the Premium pass a good deal. Especially if you live close, those water parks are a fantastic place to spend a HOT summer day. We tend to rotate and get the Premium pass for a couple of years then take a break and get the seasonal pass for a couple of years. I love it! We just went over last Thursday and went to MNSSHP for the first time and really enjoyed it! My 10 year old DS said it "was the best Halloween ever!"