Is the AP worth it?

[Mouse House Mama]

We are going in April, staying at the Poly and renting 2 GV rooms. We got a price of $2889 per room for 7 nights. Do you think it's worth it to get the AP? Also- do we all have to get the AP to get the discount or could just one of the adults get it? Thanks!

 

[cobbler]

Since AP rates aren't guaranteed it would only be worth it to get the AP if you are going to make 2 trips out of it. Or at least 9-10 days out of it.

I would go with AAA to get a discount if you are looking to not pay rack rates and won't be using the AP for that much park admission.

Also if you do choose to get an AP, you will only need one adult AP to get the room discount.

 

[Gary M]

If the AP room rates come out for April and can be applied to the Poly for your dates one person can get an AP and get the 2 rooms. I would make the reservations that you are willing to pay for and then get the AP rate if and when it comes out. The savings for the AP room rate is very much worth buying the AP especially for deluxe resorts.

With MYW park tickets a 10 day hopper pass only cost $242 so buying an AP for a 10 day trip isn't worth it. The MYW tickets have changed the old reasons for buying an AP. Even for two trips the AP may be no more than a breakeven situation or a small savings at the best. The cost of a regular AP is now $ 442 while a 10 day MYW hopper is $ 242.

 

[Shelby5514]

Also check out the Disney Dining Expierence card you will be able to get with your AP. At $60 for the membership, if you eat at alot of sit downs, you could save some serious bucks at 20% off each meal including alcohol! The way I figure it, if you have 5 people going the 5th person eats for free!

 

[travellady]

Getting an AP for a Deluxe is most often worth it. I just booked the Fort Wilderness cabins for April 2 - 7, total AP rate, with tax, $1092.75. Had I booked full price, the cost would be $1778.50. I also checked into AAA but there were no cabins availalbe with AAA rate for these dates. Even so, at the normal 10% discount, I still save with the AP.

Adding the cost of an AP, including tax, of 442.00 to the AP FW 5-night cabin rate brings the total to $1534.00 for a total savings of $244.00 over full price booking. In this case, it was well worth it and if we choose not to go to the parks at all or actually use the AP ever, we've still saved.

Previously, the rule was 8 days minimum to get value out of the AP but my math tells me otherwise. However, if choosing a Value or Moderate resort, the savings is a bit less and this may not payoff.

My advice is to call Disney CRO and get the AP rate for the resort where you want to stay and do the math. It may surprise you.

 

[Gary M]

travellady, your savings is actually more than $244. You will be at WDW for 5 nights and 6 days. I guess you will be going to the parks. A 6 day MYW hopper cost $207 and the AP cost $442. You are paying $235 more for the AP than MYW hopper. The room savings is Rack Rate of $1,778.50 and AP room rate of $1,092.75 a savings of $685.75. The AP cost $235 extra so subtract that extra cost of the AP from the room savings of $685.75 and you have a true savings of $478.75 plus you still have the AP good for 1 year. So it's a better deal than you thought.

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Now this is going to sound silly but I don't know anything about the AP so here goes-
Is the AP also a Park Hopper pass good for the length of your stay or is it something else entirely? Thanks for not laughing at my ignorance!

 

[Mouse House Mama]

Also- can anyone explain DDE?

 

[travellady]

Mouse House Mama - an AP is an Annual Pass and in effect is a Park Hopper pass good for one year. You can hop all you want for 365 days. Sorry, I can't explain the DDE so hopefully somebody else will jump in on that one.

Gary M - thanks for doing the extra math for me. Because we have 2 leftover Park Hopper plus passes with 2 days each on them, we plan to do just 2 days in parks at most. There are 3 of us total so 2 will use the leftover passes, and one of us will use the new AP. If I wasn't going to purchase an AP, I was going to purchase a 2 day, MYW base ticket without parkhopper option for $133.13. So, true savings is close to $350.00. Still better than my original thoughts - thanks for pointing out my need to include the price of the park ticket I would have purchased if not the AP.

 

[rcraw45425]

DDE is a dining discount card that passholders can purchase for $60. It saves 20% at most table service restaurants and character meals. It has saved me a ton over the past year.

 

[n2mm]

The OP didn't say when in April they were going. If it's early April, remember there are AP rates available for trips before April 8th. However, if the trip is after April 8th, then they join the waiting game. Of course, there is always the possibility that the week before and after Easter (4/16) may be blacked out too, with discounts not starting until 4/23. No one knows what Disney will do.

The OP only needs one adult AP to reserve 2 (even 3) rooms. However, when the discounts are released, there has to be discounted rooms available at the resort you want in order to get the discount. So holding a room ressie does not guarantee the discount will be applied. However, being flexible helps too.