Is my math right?

glassslippergirl

DIS Veteran
Joined
Jul 15, 2010
Is my math possible? Or am I missing something?

We are going to spend 2+ weeks in Orlando this summer. We have 4 day FL resident park hopper plus, so that gives us 4 days in parks and 4 days in water parks. We were also out to do Villains and Hollywood Studios After Hours events and a Frozen dessert party (to help us say goodbye to Illuminations).
This all adds up to
  • Tickets $916.44
  • Villains event for 2 $296.07
  • DHS After Hours for 3 $399.39
  • Dessert Party $205.00
  • Parking in parks 6 times $150.00
Total $1966.91

Total for 3 Gold Annual Passes $1945.77

With annual passes, we would give up the premium experiences, but we would be able to go to WDW every day of our summer vacation instead of just some. We like that we could go to parks for just a few hours and leave before the heat starts to get to us or before our son with ASD gets overwhelmed. With just 4 park days, we would feel compelled to cram as much as possible into each day (of course taking a break midday). Also, DH can see Illuminations practically every night of our trip and really get to say goodbye to his favorite experience at WDW. AND we get AP discount and Memory Maker.

We would also use the passes to come back to explore Galaxy’s Edge (already planned) and at least one more 1 to 2 week trip the following summer before the passes expire.

Is it possible that we can get all this for LESS than the cost of our original plan? (I’m talking admission here, not lodging and food, which I understand will go up with more visits.) Am I missing something?

I have a few other questions:
  • Can we activate our tickets and use them to go to water parks once or twice before we upgrade to gold passes (which do not include water parks)?
  • Are there any other rules or tips for upgrading our tickets to annual passes that I need to know? I’ve read some discussions on these boards about upgrading, and it seems like there are ideas that make it go more easily.
Thanks!
 
Don’t forget to include the Memory Maker savings, plus the 10% discount on food at some places and merchandise discounts.
 
Don’t forget to include the Memory Maker savings, plus the 10% discount on food at some places and merchandise discounts.

Yes, it was the AP discount that really got DH excited. He’s hoping he can use it in Galaxy’s Edge for the light saber or build a droid (or probably both).

Unless you are staying on site the tickets will expire 7 days after first use.
To clarify, the tickets we currently have are FL resident tickets which are good for 6 months after first use or until some date in mid-December. I bought them before the change to the new dynamic pricing system.
 


Here's my math:

Individual tickets + a couple premium experiences will give you about 68 potential hours in the parks. That's 4 park days x 12 hours + 4 water park days x 4 hours + 2 premium experiences, one about 4 hours, the other a scant 2 hours. That's about $28.90/hour. With only four park days, you'll feel pushed to "make the most" of every park minute.

OR

Annual passes will give you a potential 168 hours in the parks (albeit no premium experiences). That's 14 park days x 12 hours. $11.58/hour. Of course, you'll never go to the parks 14 days straight for 12 hours each time. But you COULD. This option would allow you to go for a short time /have more Fast Passes (because you can reserve 3 Fast Passes for every day you hit the parks), which would make your visits more efficient. As a pass holder, you'll have the ability to Park Hop. As for the water parks, while I've enjoyed them, I'd definitely give them up for a more relaxed trip. You'll have a pool at your hotel /condo, right? I'd enjoy a private pool where I could have my own beverages handy /relax with my family ... just as much as the wonderfully themed but crowded water parks. On the negative side, with this option, you'll spend more time in the car traveling TO the theme parks, which I have always found a bummer, no matter what method of travel you choose.

I know I made some assumptions here with my numbers, but that's a whale of a per-hour difference.

Given these two options, I'd go with annual passes.
After a two-week visit, it's unlikely you'd return in time to use those annual passes again, but IF you were to do so, it'd be an even better bargain.
 
Last edited:


@MrsPete, thank you for that perspective. It never occurred to me to break it down to an hourly rate, but you’re right— the difference is remarkable. And we will go back. We live just 3h away. We have been LEGOLAND passholders for the past few years, and WDW will probably just replace our occasional weekend trips to LL. DS does want to go to a water park, but, you’re right, there’s like 7 pools where we are staying, so I think he’ll get over it.

And free parking at the theme parks also included. Possibly the discounts on events of you choose to do them during your 2nd visit.

I hadn’t considered the discounts on up charge events. DH really did want to do the villains event as a date night. Maybe we can do it with the discount. Nice!
 
So I can't answer a lot of your questions, but I would highly recommend the annual passes over normal tickets. I used to buy the Florida resident tickets and would go from park opening to close to get my money's worth out of the tickets. It was exhausting and the older I got the more I just wanted to take things at a more relaxed pace. Then two years ago we decided to get annual passes. It was so nice! We would go in for a few hours and go back to the hotel to rest, maybe go back at night. We never felt like we had to cram everything in. Not sure if it saved us much money because I booked a lot more trips. We live three hours away.

It definitely made the parks more enjoyable though knowing we could come back and didn't have to do it all. The discounts are really nice with the passes too, we use the ones for food and merchandise every trip and on hotel rooms. We just let our passes expire because we aren't planning to go back until at least Thanksgiving and still not sure if we are going into the park. But I do think when we decide to go back we will get those passes again instead of just standard tickets.

We never went to the waterparks though, I think those are only included in the most expensive annual pass. Maybe buy a waterpark ticket separately from the annual pass to go for a few days instead?
 
...

I hadn’t considered the discounts on up charge events. DH really did want to do the villains event as a date night. Maybe we can do it with the discount. Nice!

So are you giving up the premium experiences or not? :duck: May change your math a little if not.

I'd pick the annual passes based on your original post even if deciding to do a few extras after all.
 
So are you giving up the premium experiences or not? :duck: May change your math a little if not.

I'd pick the annual passes based on your original post even if deciding to do a few extras after all.

You got me there. My eyes were getting bigger than my tummy.
 
If you want to do the water parks there is the option of purchasing those Annual Passes separately. Not sure how the 2 prices compare, either separate purchase or, adding to AP.

We purchased WDW water park APs last year...and we live in Canada! It was cheaper to purchase those than to pay 2 days admission into the water parks!
 
I live in NH and have had an AP for the last fifteen years or so. My dad did the math once and figured out that it ended up paying for itself after something like 11 days in the parks, so we always considered everything after that as "free" admission days. IMO, it's always more worth it to get an AP if you think you'll be going often. The discounts available, plus the extra perks, plus the eased pressure (no need to cram everything in, since you'll be back whenever you feel like it) make it so much more worth it than just a regular ticket.
 
Yes, it was the AP discount that really got DH excited. He’s hoping he can use it in Galaxy’s Edge for the light saber or build a droid (or probably both).


To clarify, the tickets we currently have are FL resident tickets which are good for 6 months after first use or until some date in mid-December. I bought them before the change to the new dynamic pricing system.
Right now at DLR, they are not offering any discounts on the droids or lightsabers.
 
Is my math possible? Or am I missing something?

We are going to spend 2+ weeks in Orlando this summer. We have 4 day FL resident park hopper plus, so that gives us 4 days in parks and 4 days in water parks. We were also out to do Villains and Hollywood Studios After Hours events and a Frozen dessert party (to help us say goodbye to Illuminations).
This all adds up to
  • Tickets $916.44
  • Villains event for 2 $296.07
  • DHS After Hours for 3 $399.39
  • Dessert Party $205.00
  • Parking in parks 6 times $150.00
Total $1966.91

Total for 3 Gold Annual Passes $1945.77

With annual passes, we would give up the premium experiences, but we would be able to go to WDW every day of our summer vacation instead of just some. We like that we could go to parks for just a few hours and leave before the heat starts to get to us or before our son with ASD gets overwhelmed. With just 4 park days, we would feel compelled to cram as much as possible into each day (of course taking a break midday). Also, DH can see Illuminations practically every night of our trip and really get to say goodbye to his favorite experience at WDW. AND we get AP discount and Memory Maker.

We would also use the passes to come back to explore Galaxy’s Edge (already planned) and at least one more 1 to 2 week trip the following summer before the passes expire.

Is it possible that we can get all this for LESS than the cost of our original plan? (I’m talking admission here, not lodging and food, which I understand will go up with more visits.) Am I missing something?

I have a few other questions:
  • Can we activate our tickets and use them to go to water parks once or twice before we upgrade to gold passes (which do not include water parks)?
  • Are there any other rules or tips for upgrading our tickets to annual passes that I need to know? I’ve read some discussions on these boards about upgrading, and it seems like there are ideas that make it go more easily.
Thanks!

I would go with the annual pass for such a long stay. The more you visit the parks, the less important paying for those add-ons is.

If you really want to go to the water parks, just go for one day and if you really love it, upgrade it into an annual water parks pass.

One warning about your budget and annual passes. Because you have an AP, you will want to visit more often, and even though you are not paying again for tickets, the cost of food, lodging and the occasional merchandise does add up.

And yet another thing. It may be too late now, but consider the timing of your Disney vacations if getting an annual pass. We get the cheapest pass possible, the Weekday Select, and it does everything we need. It costs half of a Gold, allowing us to take more trips and have more park days than buying a pass with those expensive weekend days.
 
One warning about your budget and annual passes. Because you have an AP, you will want to visit more often, and even though you are not paying again for tickets, the cost of food, lodging and the occasional merchandise does add up.

SO TRUE. I get burned on this all the time. In fact, I have a biz trip to Vegas in September, and I am looking at an extra 1 1/2 days to go play at WDW. I have some hotel points, and the biz will pay for the flight. Makes it nearly free, or at least my Disney math says free.
 

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