Is an annual pass worth it????

[crabbie1]

Hi
I was looking at maybe getting an annual pass as will probably be returning within a year of going.Now can anyone tell me the advantages of one of these. As you know we have 10 nights booked at SSR with free dining BUT if I buy one of these passes I dont think I will need a pass for the parks(I know the basic AP doesnt include the water parks),but I would loose the dining plan and all people in my party would not get the ddp either as I would get discounts for their passes.Benefits of annual pass is room discounts, dining discounts, shopping discounts and special event discounts. As doing DVC for 4 or 5 nights dont know what to do .Was going to pay for the dining plan for this part.As you can see I am confused.Want to save money but then don't know if I am going to gain anything by buying one!!!!

 

[Disneymad]

I have an AP, I'm DVC so never get 'regular' tickets (I also get a great deal on AP's to boot) and I never get the free dining offers but have added regular dining plan on in the past (when it was better with tips, appetisers inc etc) but this time I've decided to go for the Tables in Wonderland card as I feel it gives me more flexibility.

When on the dining plan I just tend to over eat and believe me, I do have a healthy appetite but I still struggled, especially on F&W Festival days, I couldn't munch at all those places and still have a hearty appetite for lunch and dinner! Getting the desserts at CS and ordering steak every night is all well and good, but I didn't feel it was really saving me money as I was eating stuff I'd not have ordered half the time just to get the best value from it (such a greedy little piggy!)

Another factor is that TIW card does also give you a 20% discount on booze and even if you only have an odd beer or cocktail or wine with dinner, the drinks aren't exactly cheap so even just a few of those factored in really helps for it to pay for itself quickly.

I believe I read that spending $350 on food and wine is the break even point with a TIW card and everything beyond that is hard cash savings, I can't remember park ticket break even point but I have a niggling memory of it being 10-11 days or something like that so if you're planning to go back within the year then going for the the AP and TIW means you're getting in to the parks for free next time + still guaranteed 20% off dining whereas Free Dining next year isn't guaranteed to happen.

Shopping and special event discounts are a bit meh tbh apart from in World of Disney, but the AP rates on rooms can run at about 40%+ discount I believe. It does also discount backstage tours though which is quite nice.

I love my AP and obviously being DVC means I'm a little biased about the dining plan but I think with all the fanfare about Free Dining in the last year or so the AP/TIW benefits have been more overshadowed than they deserve.

 

[Elise79]

You will need to number crunch to see if buying AP'a and paying for food id better than buying a 2nd lot of tickets for your next trip.

You don't get get any discount on other park passes with an AP.

To help how many Adults & children (3-9) in your group and how many will be going back within the year.

Don't forget you might want to weigh up getting a TIW as the previous poster said.

Without more info it is hard to say which will be the best option.

 

[Beep]

Hi,

We have annual passes and I got the TiW card for the 20% discount. It automatically has 18% gratuity added to the bill but the way I looked at it we would have paid that anyway, so basically it saved us the cost of the tip.

We spent 5 nights with DVC and I toyed with the idea of the dining plan but the TiW was by far the better option. It had paid for itself within 3 meals and it also includes the 20% discount for alcohol.

We had meals with 2 of us, 4 of us and 6 of us.

We are staying off-site in October so won't be using it as much but any discount this time round is a huge bonus.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

We are going to buy an AP for next year when we go to get married. We easily spent 10 days of our 14 day trip last year in Disney. Next year we go for 3 weeks and will go back again within the year so for us it makes sense.

Plus, with us staying off site, the free parking doesn't hurt

 

[Disneymad]

For sure doing the actual number crunching is the best way to get an answer but as with most things there are other considerations to make outside of straight math that are important too.

Some people like the dining plan route because it means it's an expense they don't have to worry about while actually on their holiday. Personally I can take or leave that aspect but I can certainly see the allure for others - there is an element that can give huge of peace of mind for people, especially if on a tight budget.

Some people like the AP route because not only does it become cost efficient after a certain point of park entry but because it offers a certain amount of freedom. It's a really great feeling being able to nip in to Epcot on a whim, grab a drink and pretzel and sit on a bench for half an hour and then leave again on what has otherwise been a non-park day. It's unlikely you'd do that on a MYW ticket because you'd feel too much (rightly) that you'd just wasted a day.

So while math is important, I do think there's an element of also going with your gut about what feels right for you.

 

[Beep]

We are going to buy an AP for next year when we go to get married. We easily spent 10 days of our 14 day trip last year in Disney. Next year we go for 3 weeks and will go back again within the year so for us it makes sense.

Plus, with us staying off site, the free parking doesn't hurt

Hi,

Are you getting married at Disney? Thought I'd ask as they include AP's in the package.

 

[brer rabbit 28]

Hi Beep

We are getting married at Fultons at DTD but it doesn't class as a Disney wedding so cannot benefit from the free AP.

Will definately benefit us to buy the AP's for the free parking and following year.

 

[torsie24]

We are getting Wedding APs, so I've spent some time looking into TiW and other discounts etc.

I would say it's defnitely worth it if you are booking through the US site etc. But as you've booked through UK and got the DDP offer you will need to number crunch. When would you want your second trip? A similar offer might be available for then, which would then make your AP a waste of money if you did buy one.

We aren't sure as yet whether we'll get a second trip out of them, depends on a lot of factors but if we do we'll be going Feb 2012 if the amazing 40% off AP rate comes out for deluxes.

 

[paul_toria96]

I was wondering wether to buy an AP just for the parking, do we all need AP's or will just one of us be ok for getting the free parking?

Just a little confused, can anyone help?

 

[Disneymad]

Only 1 person needs the AP for free parking

 

[paul_toria96]

Only 1 person needs the AP for free parking

Thanks, I'll look into it further