Hint for Annual Pass Holders

[RobMax]

I have been jumping around this massive site and finding hints about perks that make an Annual Pass sound much better than an extended (7 day plus) parkhopper pass.

Perks Like:

AK private lounge (Where?)
Epcot private lounge (Where?)
Advance seating at the Lion King Show (How?)
Special Seating for fireworks shows (Where?)
Others?

Please help those of us who want to know more by explaining how these perks work and any others you can think of.

Thanks,

Glenn

 

[OhMickey]

We were there in June and some things may have changed. But here is my take on the privileges.

AK AP Lounge is nothing great. Just a few pinball machines and a place to sit.

Epcot AP Lounge was WONDERFUL. Free soft drinks. Disney Characters (we visited with Chip and Dale) visited the lounge and played with our kids. We played Charades and it was a hoot!

The special seating at the Lion King was nice. Go to the AK AP lounge and request the tickets.

We may have received discounts at Epcot restaurants during lunch hours (either AP or Disney Club benefit).

Hope this helps.

 

[beckygeez]

I have been wondering myself whether or not to get an AP or hopper passes because I have heard there are benefits and discounts. One more thing I would like to add to Glenn's questions: Does everyone in the family have to have an AP or just one person to be able to get priority seating, etc.? Thanks
Julie

 

[chell]

Does everyone in the family have to have an AP or just one person to be able to get priority seating, etc.?

When we reserved seating for The Lion King show the only asked to see my AP and they didn't ask me if everyone in the party had them. I don't know if that is how it is normally handled.

The AK lounge is located at the back of Pizzafari.

The Epcot lounge is located in The Land Pavilion directly above The Garden Grill. You have to ask at the Garden Grill desk to get access to the elevator.

For me, the one of the best perks would be the discounts on hotels. Currently, you also get a 20% discount at Pizzafari and a discount (not sure how much, maybe 10%) at Epcot sit-down restaurants for lunch Monday - Friday.

The absolute #1 perk is that you have admission to the 4 parks for ONE FULL YEAR!

 

[beckygeez]

I currently have the Disney Club membership and I got a 15% discount on our hotel at the POR in March 2003. What kind of a discount do you get with the AP?

 

[Pinnie]

I do know that in order to access the AP lounge at EPCOT everyone in our party had to show an AP at the desk.


pin
remember the magic
DVC/BCVs 2002

 

[DebbieB]

Originally posted by beckygeez
I currently have the Disney Club membership and I got a 15% discount on our hotel at the POR in March 2003. What kind of a discount do you get with the AP?

AP room discounts are usually in the 30%-40% range when available. I just got a ~40% off for BWI for Dec 6.

 

[lvs_eeyore]

With an AP I have gotten as high as a 45% discount on rooms.

 

[beckygeez]

What phone # do I call to see if there are any discounts for hotel available when I'm going in March? Thanks so much for all of the help!!! Julie

 

[cinmell]

Here is a link to the AP section of Deb's page. It has just about everything there is to know about AP's. I hope this helps.

http://www.wdwig.com/apass.htm

 

[DebbieB]

The only discounts available now for March would be Disney Club or AAA. AP discounts are not out yet for past the end of the year. You have to have a Disney Club card to get the discount, the phone # is on the back of the card. If you are a AAA member, you could call them or CRO (407-W-DISNEY).

Check here:

mousesavers.com

 

[ead79]

I got a 45% discount on my resort with an AP discount. That along has much more than covered the cost of my AP.

 

[gepetto]

I'm not sure but I don't think the AP lounges will be there after September.

 

[cinmell]

gepetto, is that because they are seasonal or because they are doing away with them?

 

[gepetto]

They were only meant to be temporary. The lady at the Epcot lounge said to keep emailing Disney so maybe they would keep them open longer.

 

[joyful1nh]

Since acquiring my AP's I have discovered the following perks:

- Hotel rates are always the best discounts available (off season, anyway) but the rates are not available as early as DC, AAA, etc... If you are traveling in early 2003 you'll probably have to wait until late Nov/early Dec for AP rates.

- AP only events (not that I've ever made it to one yet).

- AP only pins

And the biggest perk of all:

-an excuse to plan lots of trips to maximize the value of that AP!!!

 

[RobMax]

Originally posted by cinmell
Here is a link to the AP section of Deb's page. It has just about everything there is to know about AP's. I hope this helps.

http://www.wdwig.com/apass.htm

Thanks for this - have a great trip!!!

 

[cinmell]

No problem, I hope it helped. Thank you!

 

[Luv2Roam]

The perks can come quickly, and be removed quickly. So I think some you just take what you can get.
The biggest perk is the room discount.
I also have a DC card.
I was finally able to get a room at ASMo last January for only $55 a night, with tax (AP rate). Yes, that made me VERY happy!
The DAK lounge is okay. Very nice place to trade pins with CM's though. The lounge is nothing fancy, and it's small. So it's most likely crowded. But you can grab a free coke in a paper cup.
There was also a CM on duty that made our PS' for us. They have a computer set up where they have access to most anything I think.
The AP lounge in The Land is the old Nestle VIP lounge. We went on a FW tour Memorial Day. As it was explained to us is Nestle wasn't using it much, so they took it over. My guess that is one reason why it is temporary.
It wasn't suppose to stay open as long as it has. The letter writing kept open time extended -- for awhile. I am wondering once the holidays roll in if Nestle will want it back for their use. But that's just my guess.
It's on the third floor and very nice.
Pins -- yes AP holders can buy special AP pins and merchandise.
The Illuminations reserved viewing was for only a limited time and ended in April (I think is what we were told).
Again, because of our FW tour, we were given passes for the reserved Illuminations VIP seating.
The other guests in that roped off area were there with special groups. The seats still went very fast. We arrived around an hour early and were able to sit. But most stood. And there was a CM there with a clipboard with a list of names of those allowed in that section. (And there were several on the list. Not near as many showed up as what was on the list.)
The AP's kept us returnng. We are going one month today because we got super cheap airfare and are making a long weekend trip to WDW.
Oh -- and AP holders receive a Mickey Monitor newsletter. It;s interesting, but the Disney magazine is better, IMHO. And it must be one monitor per household. We each have AP's but get on monitor. So they must keep fairly good track of that.

 

[chemteacher]

Can you still get preferred/reserved for for the Jammin' Jungle Parade at AK? If so, how early do you have to check in?