I figured if anyone knows it will be you guys.

[Trinity524]

First a little background:

2008-Pop Century Preferred Room... It was okay. I spent a lot of time at the resort due to my son being 10 months. It was free dining.

2009-Poly-BIG disappointment. Rooms were just okay. 3 star really. I will never pay that much again. It was free dining.

It's my hubbie (28), me (32) and my son who will be just shy of three this year. I have the free dining booked at Pop.

So here's the question. Would it make more sense for me to buy the AP tickets and get discounts on the room? Is there ever rooms that would include free dining for AP residents? What do you think? What's the greatest savings?

 

[Claire&TheBoys]

You cannot "stack" discounts. You can either get an AP rate OR free dining, but not both. The free dining package is ONLY available when you pay full price for your room and buy tickets. Even AP holders who book free dining trips have to abide by this; they pay full-price for the room and frequently get a 1-day ticket with the package and thus qualify for the free DDP.

AP rates can be up to 40% off, but you have to figure out how much that discount is compared to the value of the free dining plans. For 2 adults, that's roughly $80/day for the DDP and $60/day for the QSDP. You don't say which promotion you got, so I don't konw whether your free dining is the regular DDP or QSDP, but in general, the free dining promotion is the biggest discount, percentage-wise, for the Value resorts because the room prices are less, so a 40% discount is less than the cost of the free dining plan. When you move up to Deluxe resorts, with the cost differential, a 40% discount is frequently a bigger value, especially for only 2 adults, and then you pay for the DDP out-of-pocket.

And when making your comparison, you'd have to add in the cost difference between the MYW ticket you'd normally purchase and the AP, which could be significant.

Hope this makes sense!

 

[momejay]

Depends on your length of stay, but I got a room with an AP discount. I paid for the dining plan & it was cheaper than the discounts they were running with free dining. Keep plugging in numbers until they work for you.

 

[timmac]

When you're staying at a value, and you have at least two adults in the room, then free dining is a better deal, hands down. Room discount will at most be 45%, and even that's unlikely... the value of the dining is greater than that.

 

[Mickey527]

Or if you plan on going back at all this year even if you go in late May of this year and plan on going early May next book the free food, change your daily tickets in toward an AP and go next trip using the AP discounts and pay for the meal plan if you want it.
I used to plan my trips for earlier in the year and then get back once more using the AP.
You break even with an AP after about 7 days, a 7 day ticket is approximately what it would cost you for a 7 day park hopper. Plus, the free parking if you drive and the 10% discount at some stores helps with souveniers. You also get discounts, sometimes as much as 20% on certain restaraunts with an AP

 

[kaytieeldr]

AP rates can be up to 40% off, but you have to figure out how much that discount is compared to the value of the free dining plans. For 2 adults, that's roughly $80/day for the DDP and $60/day for the QSDP.

It looks like the OP is traveling in September (starting the 18th?), when the room rate is $82 per night weekdays and $92 - I think - weekends. So, with free dining at Pop Century in mid-September, they will be paying a net cost of $2 or $12 per night for the room. Probably no AP discount can beat that

 

[Trinity524]

Thanks for the help. So it appears to me that it is only a value if you stay at a deluxe or if you plan on making more that two trips a year, which I might be able to convince hubby to do if we had annual passes. Like if I were to go there in Sept and then upgrade to an annual while there, and then over the next year I could convince him that a hotel room discounted at 40% would be worth us going even if it was for a long weekend! I like the way ya'll think!

Thank you once again!

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Thanks for the help. So it appears to me that it is only a value if you stay at a deluxe or if you plan on making more that two trips a year, which I might be able to convince hubby to do if we had annual passes. Like if I were to go there in Sept and then upgrade to an annual while there, and then over the next year I could convince him that a hotel room discounted at 40% would be worth us going even if it was for a long weekend! I like the way ya'll think!

Thank you once again!

It depends. I took two short trips last year (3 nights on one and 5 nights on the other). The AP was a savings of $70 over the cost of getting two sets of park hoppers. On top of that, we got the AP room savings. The AP does burn a hole in your pocket though! I had a 3rd trip booked for January to get "one last use" out of the AP. But the airfare was so insane that I cancelled.

 

[singnring]

The AP does burn a hole in your pocket though!

Very true!

Each time we buy an AP, we are tempted into making more trips to get our money's worth.

So if you aren't planning a second trip, you may be tempted into something you wouldn't already be doing, which will mean spending more money.

Did that make sense?

 

[Tnkrbelle565]

Very true!

Each time we buy an AP, we are tempted into making more trips to get our money's worth.

So if you aren't planning a second trip, you may be tempted into something you wouldn't already be doing, which will mean spending more money.

Did that make sense?

Makes perfect sense