New AP rates making you re-think AP?

[grannyminnie]

This thread is timely for me in that I am considering an AP. My reason was to get a better room discount but the majority of you seem to be reporting that AAA rates trump the AP discounts. I was told otherwise by a CM when trying to book yesterday. I guess it's relative to the particular sale or which resort you want.
I'm still on the fence...if I lived in Fl., it would be a "no-brainer".

 

[Shmily1]

I'm going to be in the minority too. The AP rates worked best for me. This will be my first year with an AP since my DH is always afraid that since we live on a couple hours away that I will be there every weekend and he will never see me. Anyway, I had a std view room at POR for $149 and just this morning got a water view room at POR for $115. I'll take the savings and be happy w/ my AP!

 

[mickeyluv'r]

I too, thought that not having an AP made the most sense this past year. It would have cost me an extra $30 to get the AP, over getting the general public room discount. I did end up making a second trip in less than a year, but it was the free dining package, so I would've had to buy a ticket anyhow.

?In the past, I used to DDE, but Disney also has changed the way they price their TS restaurants also so that DDP seems like abetter deal, even withthe new changes in '08. I'm not currently pricing a trip for myself , but that's what I noticed.

Next year we're doing the bounceback with free dining again.

 

[Donald&Tinkerbell]

but as a Florida resident, I usually get the same discounts without the AP. The AP makes me a nervous wreck once I activate that voucher. I'm always afraid something will happen to prevent me from using it for enough park entrances to make it worthwhile once the clock starts ticking. Life happens, I know, I just don't need the stress. I've figured out for us, the MYW tickets and Deluxe dining plan will be cheaper than using AP and paying out of pocket for food. Course, everyone has to sit down and figure it out for themselves and the way they vacation.

 

[lilyv]

I love my AAA room only rate. I can use a TA I'm comfortable with, (DU) and I still save.

 

[DisOrBust]

I'm with ya!! No Aps for us anymore we'll go back to one trip a year, maybe. It is just cost prohibitive at this point and the value is just not there anymore. It's actually a relief. No more fretting over AP rates, dining plan etc. Our next big trip will be Universal at Porto Fino bay and see Harry Potter!!

 

[Minnie]

I bought the AP for the intended reason. Park Admissions so the room discounts don't influence the purchase of one. If I get a good discount I might use it, but Disney pricing is getting outrageous so if I am out of DVC points I just stay off site.

Not to get into a debate but I do have a question for you CarolA. Don't you get a $100 discount on the price of your AP because you are a DVC member? That would make the price much easier to swallow.......

This will likely be our last year of purchasing an AP. The discounts in our preferred week (June/July) time frame are becoming less likely and at times non-existent - the reason for our off-site villa stay this past July.

This year the park admission made the AP worth the price without the discounts but it will likely be the last year.

 

[PamNC]

Yes, we feel exactly the same as you do. In fact, your post could've been my exact words. As far as the breakeven point, I priced this a little while ago and have some notes here that say a 10-day, hopper, no expiration pass is around $479 and an AP is around $477. Of course I think you can get the MYW passes cheaper than that through Undercover Tourist, but I'm not sure how much the difference is. We've thought about getting the 10-day passes and then taking two 5-day trips, but it just doesn't sound as appealing as an AP. Our favorite resort is BC and some days we lounge around at BC and on the boardwalk, then walk to Epcot just for dinner. If we had MYW passes, I would feel like I was "wasting" a day on the pass just by entering a park for dinner. With the AP, we are very relaxed about what we do each day and don't worry about anything. Is that how you feel too?

We also rely on AP resort discounts because we really enjoy staying deluxe too. However, if these newly released discounts are a preview of future AP discounts, then we may not buy AP's next year either. Not sure what we'll do. Our kids are just hitting the age where Disney is a blast for them, so I don't see us going elsewhere. We may try a moderate resort? I don't know....we're going to try WL in April I think. Not sure what will happen after that. It all depends on the discounts and offers.

Hey there - I'm glad to learn I'm not the only one. yes, we too like having the AP because we feel that we can relax and enjoy the resort and non-park activities without feeling like we're wasting a day. Sometimes we like to go in to Epcot, for example, to see some entertainment, eat dinner and watch illuminations. Can you imagine using a whole day for that? We like to relax and take our time. But, I just can't see paying rack rate. I'm definitely not renewing the AP, we've decided that for sure.

I know you're not "supposed" to get the AP for the sake of discounts, but I think a lot of us consider that the main perk. We love the deluxe resorts. We starting going in 1994 and we started with the value resorts, then we did moderate for a few years. Since 1999 we've been staying deluxe. We have gone back to moderate for a couple of trips since then, and although it's not a horrible experience, it's just not the same. I would rather just go less often.

We love the BC too - we go back and forth between the BC and Poly. Did the BC this summer. Got $100 off a night too with our AP. I guess those days are over.

Our plan is to not renew and see what discounts are offered next year. We won't be making multiple trips anymore. It's just getting so crazy expensive.

Sad, but true. I even hate to say it. But, I'm grateful that we will still be able to go once a year. I'm sure there are a lot of families out there that can't afford to go and would love to go once in a lifetime. So, I really have no reason to complain.

PamNC

 

[PamNC]

I can't buy MYW tickets cheaper than I can get a Fl seasonal pass BUT the lack of deluxe resort discounts is going to eliminate Disney from or vacation plans all together. It used to be we could do Disney cheaper than any other trip, no more.

The weekend rates are really going to effect our trips since we would drive down 4 or 5 times a year for long weekends plus our longer December trip .I like Disney but honestly the reason we've gone so much was because we could go deluxe on the cheap. If that's no longer available we will go elsewhere.

I'm just getting around to reading the responses to my thread.

We too drive down for long weekend trips - plus our long summer trip. I am really truly going to miss that. Like you said, with the nice discounts, Disney has been a cheaper alternative..and look at what a nice alternative it is! But, I can't see paying these crazy prices for multiple trips. It'll be once a year for us from now on. We have been going every single Thanksgiving for several years. Not for our main trip, but a long weekend trip to kick off the holidays. We drive down on Wednesday, or sometimes on Thanksgiving day and leave on Sunday. 3 or 4 nights. This will be the first Thanksgiving in 4 years we haven't done that. Sad.

However, The Swan and Dolphin often have nice discounts not related to AP. That's a thought. We've stayed there before and really liked it.