Help! AAA, AP, and more $ questions!

[flyball]

We are planning a trip for the end of August (21st to 30th). We're thinking about the BW concierge, but I'm having trouble figuring out which would be more economical. We have 2 days of park hopper passes (for all 4 of us) from a previous trip (thanks to hurricane Frances!), so I'm not sure which of the rates would make sense for our party (AAA or AP). Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[mousefan]

AP rates are normally better then AAA rates , but the question is are there any available for your resort of choice and dates of travel. Would suggest asking for both when you call , if one is not available maybe the other is.

 

[PartyOf5]

I feel your pain...I just went through something similar and decided to go with the AAA rate. We are staying at the Contemporary. The AAA rate is only $23 more per night so it really doesn't justify me buying a new AP card at this time as we will not be returning within a year (or next trip will hopefully be Disneyland). We also have 2 days left from prior tickets.

 

[flyball]

I feel your pain...I just went through something similar and decided to go with the AAA rate. We are staying at the Contemporary. The AAA rate is only $23 more per night so it really doesn't justify me buying a new AP card at this time as we will not be returning within a year (or next trip will hopefully be Disneyland). We also have 2 days left from prior tickets.

Thanks for the reply! Hope you don't mind my asking which park tickets you purchased. My dilemma is that it seems silly not to purchase the 7-day tix for everyone, since the price difference between those and fewer day tix is so miniscule. I feel like we're really not going to realize the value of our two days of leftover tix. Hope this makes sense!

 

[PartyOf5]

I don't mind you asking at all. We are actually going with the 10 day MYW Plus. This ticket will give us 10 days in the park and 5 visits to a waterpark. It's way more than we need right now but it should last us the balance of this trip and two future trips. (We are adding the no expiration option.)

Also, just so you know, you can only buy up to 7 days at the Disney store but they can not put the no expiration option on the tickets. The CM mentioned you have to get that option added when you go to Disney. I decided not to take a chance with that. Plus, if you order your tickets on the website, you can go up to 10 days (the drop down only shows 7 but if you choose 7, you will have another option to go up to 10 days).

I hope this makes sense.

 

[gigi1313]

we also have two day uph's for each of us from hurricane frances... what we've decided to do is give all eight days of those to dh (they do not have names and are all adult tix, check yours!), buy an ap for me (to get the room discount which is considerable since we're staying at two deluxe resorts, PLUS a DDE card!) and 7 day hopper/plus tix for the kids... after having done quite a few spreadsheets and "what if" analyses, we figured out this was the most economical way to go!

 

[flyball]

we also have two day uph's for each of us from hurricane frances... what we've decided to do is give all eight days of those to dh (they do not have names and are all adult tix, check yours!), buy an ap for me (to get the room discount which is considerable since we're staying at two deluxe resorts, PLUS a DDE card!) and 7 day hopper/plus tix for the kids... after having done quite a few spreadsheets and "what if" analyses, we figured out this was the most economical way to go!

Gigi1313, thank you so much! This is exactly what I've been trying to figure out! I knew there had to be a better way to use our two days of passes, and I thought the AP might be a good way to go to get the room discounts. Are you visiting any water parks? I guess you'd only have to purchase your admission to the water park, correct? By the way, what's a DDE card?

PartyOf5, thank you so much for the info! You guys are great!!!

 

[gigi1313]

glad i could help! LOL! i get so much from the disboards, it's nice to be able to give back once in awhile!

re: water parks... after doing the math i realize that it will be less costly to just buy water park/disney quest tickets separately for me (AP Holder) but will get the hopper/plus tix for kids (and dh will be using last year's hurricane uph's!)... *then* i had a lightbulb moment and realized that we have 8 days of uphs and will only be there 7 so i will use one of the hurricane day passes for our waterpark/quest day (which we will do on the same day!) and save a few bucks that way as well...

 

[gigi1313]

oops, forgot to answer this one... a DDE card is short for Disney Dining Experience and it is available for $50 to AP Holders and when used at sit-down restaurants it gives a 20% discount on all food/drinks (including cocktails)... basically, if you will spend over $250 on food/drinks at sit-down restaurants, then a DDE card would save you money... if you are counter-service people then it won't be as cost-effective...

 

[flyball]

oops, forgot to answer this one... a DDE card is short for Disney Dining Experience and it is available for $50 to AP Holders and when used at sit-down restaurants it gives a 20% discount on all food/drinks (including cocktails)... basically, if you will spend over $250 on food/drinks at sit-down restaurants, then a DDE card would save you money... if you are counter-service people then it won't be as cost-effective...

Thanks again, Gigi1313! We'll definitely be spending more than $250 on meals (visiting the restaurants is one of the highlights of the vaca!). You've helped soooo much! Thanks!!!