is it worth it to get the AP if staying at Value or Moderate?

[dcibrando]

I am going May 14-21 currently staying at pop for 7 nights... is it worth it to get an AP (for the discounts) is staying at a value or moderate? Also, how much is it for the dining plan that offers 20% off? Is that worth it?

 

[Lollipop Mom]

what kind of tickets were you planning on buying for your trip? To really do the math, that's the piece of the puzzle you need to fill in. Were you planning on doing the magic plus pack? If so, how were you going to use your plusses...water parks, disney quest, pleasure island? With a deluxe, knowing those little details isn't as important because the savings is so much higher per night, but for the others...it can make a difference.

For a mod...
-you'd be saving $312.00 over 7 nights on your room.
-Now $420.68 - the cost of the pass you had planned on buying. That is how much more you have to spend to get the AP. Take that # and subtract it from $312 and this is your savings.
-If you were planing on buying a Magic Plus Pack and doing the extra stuff...don't forget to add in the cost of those tickets now too because the AP won't cover those admissions. A premium AP would but it is a lot more expensive and wouldn't save you on them unless you were going to make more than one trip this year and use them often
-If you want the disney dining experience, subtract another $50. (the card will save you 20% at almost any sit down restaurant and a handful of counter service ones)


For a value, you'd probably need to be staying longer to save a whole lot but just in case...
you'd be saving $195.16 at Pop or $197.75 at the All Stars (they have different tax rates). Use that # rather than $312 to do the math.

Hope this helps! PM me if you have any questions.

 

[frannn]

It is most definetly worth getting APs. We will do Oct this year, and hopefully Sept next year, so we will be able to use the same set of passes for both trips. There are other benefits, such as certain dining, shopping, and event discounts. The room discounts are a great perk, but not always guaranteed. The regular APs only provide admission to the 4 major theme parks, so you will have to either purchase premium APs or separate ticket media for the water parks, Pleasure Island, and DisneyQuest. We will be purchasing the DDE card, but only because I looked at the menus (I'm sure someone can provide a link for you) for the places we will be going that will accept the card, and found it will be worth our while. Whether this or the pkg add on dining plan will be best for you depends on the ages of the people in your family, and which places you will choose to dine at. I would more clearly outline your plans, then try to estimate the costs with each scenario.

 

[harleyquinn]

Here's my breakdown:

POR in May:
save $280 on room for 7 nights
cost of AP instead of 10 day, no expiry, pH= $7 more
2 passes to DQ=$72.42
1 pass to PI=22.32
total=94.74 - $7= 87.74
$280 - 87.74
So my savings would be almost $200. I didn't expect it to be that much! The other thing is I should really compare it to a 7 day PH price, because part of the draw of the 10 day is having those extra days for a trip in the future. So are those extra days worth $200? I'll probably only use 5 of the 10 days. So that would really get me a whole extra trip pass wise...where I know I won't go back within a year with the AP.

We don't eat at very many of the sit down places, but with 20% off are they comparable to the counter service? Hmmm...my head is smoking.

I think I miscalculated somewhere....

 

[DMRick]

save $280 on room for 7 nights
*************
Plus tax! That adds up. And what type of Annual Pass were you getting? I had trouble following that part.

 

[harleyquinn]

Sorry, I thought I was getting crazy!

I thought of tax, but didn't add it, which I should have...it's 11.5% so thats $32.20. So savings on the room is 312.20? Is that right?

I intend to buy the park hopping, no expiration, plus 10-day passes. So I could get another vacation out of it. I would buy a regular AP instead and just pay my way into PI and DQ, because it's cheaper than the extra PAP cost.

Is that better?

 

[boomarik]

I was staying at POFQ for 9 nights, 4 adults with 8-day passes, expiry, park hopping.

Room (AAA discount): 128 + tax = 141 x 9 nights = $1312
New AAA membership fee: $43
Tickets: 4 people x 234 = $936
Grand Total: $2248

Room (AP discount): 109 + tax = 122 x 9 nights = 1098
New Adult AP: $420
Tickets: 3 people x 234 = $702
Grand Total: $2220

In this case, it is a wash. I was able to switch to a AP discounted deluxe resort (AKL) standard room for only $300 more for the entire stay. Well worth the money in my option.

Hope this helps.