help me...... ap quest & shareholder quest

[scampbunny]

me again (sorry)

firstly..... pls tell me im not alone in that, when i listen to just like we dreamed it (and other songs from dlrp) i cry and want to be back there!! i mean, its been over a month since we went, shouldnt i be over it now????

secondly..... ap. atm, we dont have any, and have just bought the packages with extra nights etc from disney. if u have an annual pass, u get the discount - does it work out alot cheaper for the hotel for, say, 3 nights, than u can get with a disney package??
also, the discount that u get if u have sponsorship - that is valid at all times??? *** if i did get one, i would have to get it in person when we went in dec - yes? and i cant get any money back from the pass ill have then, as it was bought thru a package?? trying to get my head around this as i am so hooked!

thirdly..... shareholders, trying to decide if it wud be better to be a shareholder, than have an annual pass - but do u get discount of packages?? (hotels + park pass included?) or is it just on the hotels?? do they still do the extra nights & days, or wud u not be able to get that deal??

i am not sure how many trips we wud be able to get in, in a year, whether it would only be a couple, or maybe 3/4, so im just not sure which, if any wud be best to do - guess i just want to feel a bit more part of the disney magic bein a shareholder or sumthin

any help/advice wud be brill...... and if any one can suggest a self help group to help me cope with this addiction - point me the way!!! never thought i was gonna feel like this when we first decided to go, but i do...... i mean, i do it for the boys too, but theres a part of it for me..... maybe a big part lol

thanks very much for listenin to my whitterings!

 

[A Small World]

Sorry cant help with share holder questions.

However can with some AP questions -

As you have booked your trip as a package you wont get your tickets refunded. We were in this situation last yr and did a lot of sums to see if it was still worth buying APs to get discounts etc but in the end decided it wasnt and that we'd wait til our next trip and book offsite and not buy the tickets

You do have to get it in person there - I think you can order them beforehand but have to use them within a month so its easier just to wait til you get there

If you get a sponsor that will give you 10% off the price of AP but you cant combine that with other offers eg free child etc.

If you have a dream Ap you can get discount off hotels when you book again (think you can get discount with fantasy as well but dont think its as much)
The amount varies with when you are going and which hotel etc etc

I'll try and find how much we paid for our trip next week to SL and compare with what it would have cost us booking full price with tickets as well.

Usually if you are going for more than 3 days its worth having the AP

 

[DLPdaft]

There is no cure - so just go with it !

I'm not a shareholder, but I am a Dream Annual Pass holder.

I paid for one pass (mine) and got DD's free, as she was 6 when I bought mine. So in total I paid 179 euros for one years worth of park entrance for both of us, plus 20% off all our shopping, and 10% off our restaurant bills, and free bag storage. Those are the perks I've used, and I've used the shopping and restaurant discounts since the first day I got the passes, in October 07. By the end of August, I will also have sponsored 3 people for new annual passes, so I'll be able to extend my own pass for free for another 12 months.

You don't get any refund on park tickets included in a hotel/tickets package, as the tickets have no monetary value on their own. To get the full value out of annual passes, it is better (if it works out cheaper for you) to stay offsite then buy your annual passes on the first day of that offsite trip.

Having said that, sometimes the hotel/ticket packages, because of nights/days free, free children etc, can work out as cheap as having your annual pass and booking room only with Ap discount. You don't get free nights with room only bookings.

To give you an idea (I was working this out just recently) - since I bought our annual passes, it has cost us (for one adult and one 7-year old) £346, this is £126 for the bogof dream pass, £96 for the Cheyenne last November, and £124 for the Explorers last month. So £346 for 2 trips, both of 2 nights/3 days duration.

I've also worked out that my dream pass has saved me, in 3 trips (as I bought the passes in October 07 when I had tickets included in my package) - around 65 euros in restaurant discounts, and at least 50 euros in shopping discounts.

One thing to be aware of with APs is - there is now a policy where AP holders can only book onsite rooms a maximum of 90 days in advance. The reason we went offsite this past trip was that we couldn't get a room at either of the hotels we were looking for onsite - they were fully booked.

I am more aware of low-booking and special offers on hotel/ticket packages than I was before, and having an AP does give you flexibility (and some great discounts while you are at the Magic), but isn't necessarily the most cost-effective way of returning to DLRP.

It really is all about crunching the numbers .

Elaine

 

[scampbunny]

thanks both!!
well, that at least answers the ap questions.... think ill be best waiting til next year when (lol ) we go again, and making a decision then, as things will prob be different without all the 15th extras - unless they continue!!

from jan we would have to pay for both boys, as the youngest will then be 3 so will cost us, so i think alot of number crunching will start.

thanks - great to know that theres such a great amount of good info from u all

 

[jillrobinson]

Only recently became a shareholder so haven't made use of the perks yet. As I understand it from information given on here by other shareholders you can book a room only or a package inlcuding tickets. Although the site says "offer limited to 2 consecutive nights" I think it actually means a minimum of 2 nights as some have reported booking longers stays - Guilia I think has for October, on the hotels you receive 10% discount, but I'm pretty sure you cannot combine it with any other offer.

To be honest I'm looking forward to using mine for entry into Salon Mickey and for the discounts in restauranst and shops.

Have a look here for more details.
http://corporate.disneylandparis.com/shareholders/shareholders-club/discounts/index.xhtml

 

[britchic4]

We booked our RO accomodation in October using shareholder discount, we didn't have APs when we booked it. In another phone conversation a CM said I had AP discount, so I think whatever the discount I got, it must have been the same as the AP discount would have been. The shareholder discount is better in the shops than the AP, and you have access to Salon Mickey which makes you feel very special, LOL! Plus the shares really don't cost much so if this is a long term obsession its easily worth becoming a shareholder.

 

[DLPdaft]

Is the shareholder shopping discount better than 20%? I thought it was less than that.

Elaine

 

[pyebibby]

I am a shareholder and when i rang about staying in February I was told that the extra night free was a better deal than the shareholder discount. So I assume the two cannot be combined.

 

[Bexx]

Only recently became a shareholder so haven't made use of the perks yet. As I understand it from information given on here by other shareholders you can book a room only or a package inlcuding tickets. Although the site says "offer limited to 2 consecutive nights" I think it actually means a minimum of 2 nights as some have reported booking longers stays - Guilia I think has for October, on the hotels you receive 10% discount, but I'm pretty sure you cannot combine it with any other offer.

I am a shareholder and when i rang about staying in February I was told that the extra night free was a better deal than the shareholder discount. So I assume the two cannot be combined.

That's right - you can't combine the 10% Shareholders discount with any of the special offers, so it's only a bonus when they aren't offering any discounts.

Jill, I'm confused by the wording too - but I think it might mean the discount is applicable on any length of stay for packages, but only applies to a maximum of two nights for room only.

 

[Tillybud]

apologies in advance about going off on a slight tangent but I really want to purchase the shares, I figured we would benefit from the shopping and restaurant discounts so I registered with self trade (I think that's the right name) but still haven't received the pack to confirm my account and to give them a copy of a bank statement. Any ideas how long it takes ? I'm so impatient !

 

[Ware Bears]

Sorry, I have't used Self Trade so can't help with that. Hopefully someone else can.

Is the shareholder shopping discount better than 20%? I thought it was less than that.

It's 15% so not better than Dream AP (20%) but better than Fantasy AP (10%)

Dining with shareholders discount is better for table service at 15% as compared to AP's 10% but shareholders can only be used for table service whereas AP discount can be used for both table and counter service.

Find it confusing?? So do I, even now after three years I still have to think hard to make sure I'm handing over the correct card!!

 

[jillrobinson]

apologies in advance about going off on a slight tangent but I really want to purchase the shares, I figured we would benefit from the shopping and restaurant discounts so I registered with self trade (I think that's the right name) but still haven't received the pack to confirm my account and to give them a copy of a bank statement. Any ideas how long it takes ? I'm so impatient !

I had opened my Self Trade account a good while before I bought my shares, and although I remember reading about sending off a bank statement, I never did in fact I didn't do anything else with the account until I purchased the share earlier this year. I priced up the cost of the shares and brokers fee on the site, deposited more than enough money with my debit card to cover the cost just in case I'd made a mistake, then after I'd bought the shares I withdrew the left over money. It was very straightforward and you access the paperwork you need for the Club online.
Don't know if that information helps, someone else may be able to help.

 

[Tillybud]

I had opened my Self Trade account a good while before I bought my shares, and although I remember reading about sending off a bank statement, I never did in fact I didn't do anything else with the account until I purchased the share earlier this year. I priced up the cost of the shares and brokers fee on the site, deposited more than enough money with my debit card to cover the cost just in case I'd made a mistake, then after I'd bought the shares I withdrew the left over money. It was very straightforward and you access the paperwork you need for the Club online.
Don't know if that information helps, someone else may be able to help.

thanks for that, I'll give them til midweek and then I think I'll give them a call so I can speed up the process. Might even see if I can deposit some money with them today.

 

[A Small World]

I've just done a quick calculation of what we've saved this holiday by having an AP.

We are staying 4 nights in a Lakeview Montana room at SL - 2 adults , 1 child (8). (We are staying 2 nights at explorers as well but Ive not included that) Ive not included travel as we are doing it as part of a longer holiday in France so we woudl be travelling there anyhow.

If we had booked as a package (no travel) it would have cost us £1194 with park tickets for 5 days

By having an AP and booking room only (think we got 20% discount but cant remember) it cost £746

A saving of £448

We had similar savings at Christmas and Easter


We bought the APs last July and used them for 5 days then, 3 days at Christmas, 1 day week before Easter then 5 days week after Easter, 7 days this July which adds up to 21 days of park time for only a little more than a 3 day ticket would have cost us. Then of course there are the discounts on food and shopping we've had as well as being able to park at New York

 

[Ware Bears]

I crunched all the numbers when we first looked at going. We saved over £300 on our first trip by booking Explorers independently, leisure select Eurostar tickets and Dream APs. And that was comparing it with a package through Disney who were only giving standard Eurostar travel ~ I remember other tour operators wanted even more!!

I don't even bother crunching numbers for DLRP now. The dream APs are worth their weight in gold to us because they give us EMH and as for the 20% shopping discount ......... well, with 3 DDs that is a necessity!!