Going forward given AP and tkt price increases

[quandrea]

Hopng to get a discussion going. Dh and I looked hard at our park attendance habits this morning. Our gold AP expired in October 2016. We had planned to buy them again in October 2017 for trips in October, January and possibly the following October 2018. APs for our family once we figure in the exchange are over $4000 Canadian.

We've decided our AP days are over. October 2017 will be a no parks trip, just like the 13 night trip we just returned from. In January 2018 we will get eight day base tickets for me and our kids. Dh will get a four day ticket. We will be there seventeen nights. Tickets will run $1438. There is a sale on for Canadians right now.

There will be no October 2018 trip. We will rent out our points and do something else.

Dh feels there just isn't the value in the APs any more. We had a great trip without parks. I'm a bit sad but will look forward to seeing the parks in January. The days of popping into a park are gone. I remember the $199 sale on APs not long ago. Great value.

Just wondering if there are others who have had to rethink their dvc vacations and how you approach things now.

 

[Disneycouple99]

Value is still there for us. 4 adult passes are $2381.36. We go late July then go the following June (and possibly an adult winter trip ). The summer trips covers 20 days so $29.77 per person per day of Disney fun. Many years ago, I started putting $75 dollars a paycheck into a savings account so every 2 years the cash is waiting for me. Edit: We get the Gold pass.

 

[quandrea]

Value is still there for us. 4 adult passes are $2381.36. We go late July then go the following June (and possibly an adult winter trip ). The summer trips covers 20 days so $29.77 per person per day of Disney fun. Many years ago, I started putting $75 dollars a paycheck into a savings account so every 2 years the cash is waiting for me.

That sounds smart. Do you go into the parks every day of your trips? On our 12-15 day trips we aren't in the parks every day--perhaps 7-10 so our per visit cost is higher. Dh was saying it's still about $200 per visit for the five of us. You are also right about it only being every two years. We haven't bought passes since October 2015. I see the value more than dh.

 

[Disneycouple99]

That sounds smart. Do you go into the parks every day of your trips? On our 12-15 day trips we aren't in the parks every day--perhaps 7-10 so our per visit cost is higher. Dh was saying it's still about $200 per visit for the five of us. You are also right about it only being every two years. We haven't bought passes since October 2015. I see the value more than dh.

We do go everyday to the parks. Usually go for 3-4 hours in morning then resort and back to a different park at night.

 

[quandrea]

We do go everyday to the parks. Usually go for 3-4 hours in morning then resort and back to a different park at night.

We do mornings and that's usually it. The family loves the pool and dinners in/movie nights. The odd night out at the parks. I see how it works out for you. I'm going to start saving my tutoring money. I'm a SAHM who homeschools. Tutor part time. Putting that away will add up. Who know? Maybe I'll treat the family to APs in a year or so. You've perked me up tonight. Thank you. Still no parks in October, but the January trip will soon follow and who knows what will come after. I'm lucky to go to Disney so often.

 

[ldo]

we do an on 1 year/off 2 years with AP, such as AP in Aug, then use for april and summer, then off for 2 years. the increase is insane, imho. we will have 2 day ph vouchers left over from free dining. i was going to get 5 day base tickets for christmas. now, we're going to just do 3 wdw days and get a 2 day pass to sw, which is about the same as a 5 day to wdw, but gives us something different. no AP or multiday tickets after that for quite a while. wish i had stocked up on the $299 AP about 5 years ago! we still love dvc, but will be limiting wdw park visits. we have a few random non expire days left and a ton of WP. so we'll likely do 1 wdw park and 1 wp and a shorter dvc stay and add the beach. we had 10 years of great trips that did not break the bank. not so much now.

 

[MrInfinity]

We're rethinking our trips, but in the opposite direction -- we want to go more. The Gold AP is a better value than ever. The gold pass went from $550 to $560. $10. Because of that $10 you won't buy it but you'll buy an 8-day ticket for almost as much? The 8-day went up a lot more than the Gold pass. The gold pass is the ticket that went up the least of all the tickets. You could look at this as an improved DVC perk. With the non-DVC AP going up $30 but the DVC AP going up $10, being a member just got $20 better per person. I'm happy the pass only went up $10 it could have been $20 or $30.

 

[quandrea]

We're rethinking our trips, but in the opposite direction -- we want to go more. The Gold AP is a better value than ever. The gold pass went from $550 to $560. $10. Because of that $10 you won't buy it but you'll buy an 8-day ticket for almost as much? The 8-day went up a lot more than the Gold pass. The gold pass is the ticket that went up the least of all the tickets. You could look at this as an improved DVC perk. With the non-DVC AP going up $30 but the DVC AP going up $10, being a member just got $20 better per person. I'm happy the pass only went up $10 it could have been $20 or $30.

I don't think it's the price hike so much as the blackout dates that exist with the gold, although the hikes in APs since we joined in 2008 are astronomical. Our travel patterns are about to change and with the dvc gold pass blocked out it is very difficult to use for us. Used to be that we got a ticket for less money with no blackout dates. I'm thinking back to December 2012 (only 4 years, 2 months ago) when a premier annual pass could be had for $399. Water parks included with no block out dates. So yes, I do have to buy that eight day ticket (it is substantially less than the gold with the 32% off Canadian sale on now). I'm getting our tickets for $1435 versus $2976. Pretty much half. And I won't be committed to future trips I may or may not be able to take. I can rent out my points and go somewhere else with no blackout dates. There is definitely less value to an AP now for us.

 

[cvjw]

For us, when you look at buying a 7 day park hopper at $400 +, you might as well by the $550 gold pass. Or even better, just renew your gold pass and it can actually be cheaper than buying a multi day park ticket.

 

[gharter]

Last year was the first year we purchased a Gold AP. It made a lot of financial sense for us. WE used it last November and will this October, so at least 2 weeks on the pass. My wife and daughter are going in May, so she will get 3 trips from it.
For each person, its different. But, if you can time your trips right, it can save a lot of money.

 

[DizMagic]

We do APs about every 2 years, kinda like the pp. We love to cruise and have recently gotten hooked on ABD as well, so our park time (in general) is getting less frequent - which I don't mind. I still LOVE the parks, but if I'm honest, I would rather cruise or do an ABD since I have been to the parks so much. Maybe with the new additions coming (Pandora, Pixar, Star Wars) it will peak my interest again. We did just get gold APs for the 2017 year. We will get 3-4 1 week trips out of them, so still a huge value.

 

[ldo]

our main travel patterns or Christmas, Easter, summer. I could not get the Gold AP in the summer, as we were also going over Easter. The black out dates for AP forced us into the higher AP, so a $100+ price increase. Not renewing, even though we plan to go the next Christmas. We'll just do basea tickets instead and then take a break and wait until new things open before getting another AP, which would be our 2 off years anyway.

 

[quandrea]

our main travel patterns or Christmas, Easter, summer. I could not get the Gold AP in the summer, as we were also going over Easter. The black out dates for AP forced us into the higher AP, so a $100+ price increase. Not renewing, even though we plan to go the next Christmas. We'll just do basea tickets instead and then take a break and wait until new things open before getting another AP, which would be our 2 off years anyway.

Sounds like a situation similar to ours.

 

[DebbieB]

I don't go during Easter or Christmas, so the Gold AP is a great deal. When I heard there was a price increase coming, I was going to buy one even though I don't go until December but when I heard it was only a $10 increase, I'll wait. Maybe there will be a special deal.