How do I justify buying an AP?

[karen230]

To answer ops question I believe that means that a ten day hopper with water parks and a 1 day of the same would come close to the pap general price but I think he/she would need to purchase a ten and a two day ticket to exceed the cost.

So estimating 14 days would make the PAP cheaper, right? If I decide to upgrade to a PAP I can do it in the parks during my visit correct? Do I need to pay the full price or will they take into consideration that I have already purchased park tickets? Sorry about all these questions but I am a bit clueless about this since it will be only our second visit . Our first visit was with a CM discount and the next visit may be happening during free dining so I ran the numbers and it looks like free dining may be cheaper than a CM F&F discount if you can believe that! Of course I am using rack rates right now since I do not know what kind of offers will come later. Planning seemed easier when we used the CM discount, I just called our friend and if he didn't know the answer (which was most of the time it seemed like ), he would call the cast number.

 

[jcjen519]

So estimating 14 days would make the PAP cheaper, right? If I decide to upgrade to a PAP I can do it in the parks during my visit correct? Do I need to pay the full price or will they take into consideration that I have already purchased park tickets? Sorry about all these questions but I am a bit clueless about this since it will be only our second visit . Our first visit was with a CM discount and the next visit may be happening during free dining so I ran the numbers and it looks like free dining may be cheaper than a CM F&F discount if you can believe that! Of course I am using rack rates right now since I do not know what kind of offers will come later. Planning seemed easier when we used the CM discount, I just called our friend and if he didn't know the answer (which was most of the time it seemed like ), he would call the cast number.

Yes, 14 days would be cheaper with the pap.
I haven't done it myself but my understanding is that yes you can use park tickets to upgrade to a pass.

 

[Dannek]

It looks to me like a premium annual pass at about $605 is cheaper then 11 days in the park with park hopper and water parks and more option but about $100 more then a 10 day with water park and park hopper option. (I do not believe you can buy more then a 10 day ticket so you have to go back and buy a 1 day)

a 10 day ticket with the water park and hopper option is $468 and a 1 day ticket with the water park and hopper option is about $191.

I'll warn you that we find ourselves going A LOT now that we have APs. We will be at about 50 disney days when ours expire in March if we don't plan anymore trips!

Also the OP should keep in mind that the PAP includes other things like complimentary entrance to Disney Quest, which is like $40. per ticket or more. So if you go to Disney Quest a few times as well as the water parks it's an even bigger bargain. If you are a golfer you also get free access to Disney's Oak Trail Golf course to boot. Food discounts, merchandise discounts, etc. Take all these things into consideration when determining a break even point..

 

[auger]

I just clicked on my link and am now seeing the same thing as you. I checked and rechecked before and 605 was posted. I was logged in so I wonder if it was showing a renewal or discounted rate for me either with or without tax. Anyways sorry about that.

From what I am seeing, $605 is a Florida Resident /DVC rate.

 

[auger]

So estimating 14 days would make the PAP cheaper, right? If I decide to upgrade to a PAP I can do it in the parks during my visit correct? Do I need to pay the full price or will they take into consideration that I have already purchased park tickets? Sorry about all these questions but I am a bit clueless about this since it will be only our second visit . Our first visit was with a CM discount and the next visit may be happening during free dining so I ran the numbers and it looks like free dining may be cheaper than a CM F&F discount if you can believe that! Of course I am using rack rates right now since I do not know what kind of offers will come later. Planning seemed easier when we used the CM discount, I just called our friend and if he didn't know the answer (which was most of the time it seemed like ), he would call the cast number.

If you have park tickets, you can upgrade them to passes.
However, you must upgrade them before they expire or before you use them up.

IOW, let's say you have four-day hoppers. You go to the parks for four days. You must upgrade those tickets to your PAPs before guest relations offices close on the fourth day of use. Otherwise, the tickets are considered used in full and cannot be upgraded in any way.

When you upgrade them, the PAPs will expire one year from the first day you used the tickets being upgraded, not from the day you upgrade them. HTH!

 

[karen230]

If you have park tickets, you can upgrade them to passes.
However, you must upgrade them before they expire or before you use them up.

IOW, let's say you have four-day hoppers. You go to the parks for four days. You must upgrade those tickets to your PAPs before guest relations offices close on the fourth day of use. Otherwise, the tickets are considered used in full and cannot be upgraded in any way.

When you upgrade them, the PAPs will expire one year from the first day you used the tickets being upgraded, not from the day you upgrade them. HTH!

Thanks! So IF we get a bounce back offer on our next visit and IF we decide to book it, then the PAP will most likely be worth the upgrade. Last time we were there we did go to the waterparks we didn't get a chance to go to disney quest however I am hopeful we get a chance to go next visit.

 

[pinkangel460]

you can get free dining, you just have to pay for 2 day tickets. You can save those tickets, use them later, or use them toward an annual pass renewal.

Can someone explain this piece to me. We are considering buying APs on our may 2015 trip, but we also have a free dining bounce back booked formoctober 2015. If we buy the APs in May and then use them again on our October 2015 trip, how do we later apply the 2 day tickets to our renewal in May of 2016?? I want to make sure I know how it all works before deciding to buy APs.

 

[cindyfan]

You have to remember that the MYW passes expire 14 days after the first use.....
so..... I look at it by "how many trips will I use the AP for?" and "how long will these trips be?"
I did all the math for myself for a regular AP.....
If I take 2 trips in a year.... using these amount of days.....
try first ..... a 6-day + 7-day
or a 10-day + 3-day
or an 8-day + 5-day

any of these I would break even.

If I do any more days than that I would do an AP. (so looks like 13 is a magic number )
Now that doesn't take into consideration the discounts on merchandise, resorts, restaurants. so if I know for sure I will be going for more than 13 days in 2 trips I go with an AP.

Now.... if I add a 3rd trip within that year....
If each trip is only 2 days the AP is not worth it. But even if only one of the 3 trips was for 3 days.... definitely go with an AP.... (so now the magic number is 7 )

You can see.... you just have to really know how often you will be using the AP and add it up.

 

[cindyfan]

Can someone explain this piece to me. We are considering buying APs on our may 2015 trip, but we also have a free dining bounce back booked formoctober 2015. If we buy the APs in May and then use them again on our October 2015 trip, how do we later apply the 2 day tickets to our renewal in May of 2016?? I want to make sure I know how it all works before deciding to buy APs.

I didn't think you could apply them to a "renewal". But if I'm wrong... someone please explain.

 

[Shaden]

I am not sure if this is the right place to ask this question but here goes.

How many times would I need to enter the parks to make a PAP a more economical purchase? I tried to get the answer from someone on the Disney site and she said 10 entries but when I looked at the pricing there was about a $300 difference! So I estimated 14 times but the system will only let me buy a 10-day and then I have to go back in for a 4-day. Since I would get the water park and park hopper options regardless (my next trip is tentatively planned for November 2015 but I am going to move it to October so DS can go to MNSSHP). I know AP members get a few extra perks like a discount off hotels and since I would use the dining plan I wouldn't buy the TIW card that I have read about so I would need to justify the actual cost of park tickets and use the perks to boost my savings. Thanks in advance.

Best way for us to make it worth it .... we do a 2 week trip each year.

But we can do one from May 15 - 29 ... the next May 1 - 14 ...

You can buy one AP, every other year, and it will last for 2 years worth of trips. Also we grab the TiW card, which also lasts both trips, very much worth it ...

 

[nellypooh1]

Those of you that have AP, do you find that hotel discounts are better than those posted for general public? Are they offered at all times during the year or just really slow times? It looks like dining discounts are really limited...does this change thru slow times also? Thanks so much!

 

[cindyfan]

Those of you that have AP, do you find that hotel discounts are better than those posted for general public? Are they offered at all times during the year or just really slow times? It looks like dining discounts are really limited...does this change thru slow times also? Thanks so much!

The discounts for resorts seem to be about the same as for general public. I think last year or the year before if you booked the first week the AP came out it was 5% more discounted. I remember getting 30% discount instead of 25%.

As for dining... it's worked out better for us to get a Tables in Wonderland card (only available to AP holders). Totally suggest this!!
It cost me $75 for a year and the year does not follow your AP dates.... it starts with the first use of the TIW card. So if you don't think you will use it the first trip, wait and get it when you really think you will use it. There are a lot more places the TIW card will give you discounts and the discount is 20%. With the entire family we saved a ton of $$ on our meals.

 

[nellypooh1]

The discounts for resorts seem to be about the same as for general public. I think last year or the year before if you booked the first week the AP came out it was 5% more discounted. I remember getting 30% discount instead of 25%.

As for dining... it's worked out better for us to get a Tables in Wonderland card (only available to AP holders). Totally suggest this!!
It cost me $75 for a year and the year does not follow your AP dates.... it starts with the first use of the TIW card. So if you don't think you will use it the first trip, wait and get it when you really think you will use it. There are a lot more places the TIW card will give you discounts and the discount is 20%. With the entire family we saved a ton of $$ on our meals.

Thank you for the information! Still trying to weight the pros and cons of buying AP