NorCal AP holders, how often do you go?

[Speechphi]

We are in Roseville, just NE from Sac. We drive overnight (leave here around midnight so kids sleep on the way down) & we usually get to out hotel around 6am. For the 5 of us, WAY cheaper than flying, plus we can have (almost) unlimited luggage

Dh & I got our PAPs in Nov 2014, knowing we'd be making 3 trips this year (2 days in Dec, 4-5 in June, and 3 in Oct). The discounts are what made it a no-brainer. We didn't get the kids an AP because the cost of their tix didn't make it worthwhile (yet).

After our Christmas trip (which was out kids' gift), they announced they want to go to DLR for their Christmas gift AGAIN. So...we crunched the numbers, and decided to get them DAPs (they don't need the parking or discounts). We were planning on getting their passes next week when we go on our June trip.

But then spring break happened, and I looked at the calendar & realized that if we got their DAPs early we could go this spring break and NEXT spring break (Easter is a week earlier in 2016). So we drive down to DLR for a surprise 2-day suicide trip.

That being said...dh & I have had APs since Nov, and we have gone 3 times (Dec, Mar, May) and will be there two more times (next week! and Oct) before they expire. Kids have had DAPs since Mar, and will get next week, Oct, Dec, and Mar. Not including any other random weekend we might say, "let's go!"

I think for us, having APs & only bring 6 hours away makes it easy to go 4-5 times a year...once a "season" is nice to experience all the special things

 

[Angrose]

Hi, I'm the OP and really appreciated all the feed back when I was trying to decide if I should get an AP. I live in Davis, about 20 miles west of Sacramento. I got my DAP in March, mostly because of the 60th celebration year and I knew I'd want to go down several times to experience that. I went 2 days in mid-March, 2 days for the 24hr party last month, and will be taking my DS7 this weekend for 3 days. I don't have any trips planned after this next trip, but would like to try and get a couple more trips in before my AP expires. I don't think I will renew next year because even though the AP is affordable (especially with the payment plan), all the hotels and extras are really starting to add up. I usually stay at the Tropicana across from the entrance on Harbor, but this weekend we will be at Hojo for the first time. I'm looking forward to staying there!
I have a talent for racking up SW points so I have only flown this year on points. I hate driving, but would do it if I had no other choice.

 

[crystal1313]

I'm in Martinez, in the east bay area. Since getting my pass in December for our yearly Christmas trip, I have gone twice in February (1 day each), and once in March (for 2 days). Going again for the 60th, July 15-19. And most likely again in the fall and probably again for Christmas time. LOL. We drive. One of the trips in Feb I was invited with friends last minute, which is rare for me to do something like that. I've had July booked since New years. We haven't booked for the fall or Xmas yet. Also considering a trip in July, but if we did that we probably would not go in fall. My boys do not have APs. But my DH and I do.

OP, I stayed at Hojo in Feb with my DS7 and we loved it! Have a great trip!!

 

[tlovesdis]

I am in the Bay Area, near Berkeley, and I have had a deluxe pass now since November of 2012. I typically go 3-4 times a year with each trip ranging from 2 park days to 4 or 5 park days depending on who I go with. My BFF has a pass and we go together 2 or 3 times and I take my nieces once a year (separate trips). We usually drive. My car is awesome on gas and it's right around $100 round trip for gas. I love getting discounts on food and merchandise!!

 

[Angrose]

OP, I stayed at Hojo in Feb with my DS7 and we loved it! Have a great trip!!

Thanks! How did your DS7 do with the walk from Hojo? Did you take afternoon breaks? It doesn't seem that far to me, but I know that my DS7 will complain about it. I asked him if he wanted to ride in a stroller for part of the time, just going back and forth to the parks, and he said NO WAY. I guess the "big boy" side of him thinks it's too baby-ish and I suppose he's right . We'll just go with the flow and I can always bribe him with a milkshake at McD's

 

[crystal1313]

He did really good with the walk! We stayed out extra late (it was a special one day mom and son trip for his birthday). He was trying to make it until midnight, but started run out of steam at 11:30. I reminded him that we still had to walk back to our hotel and that I could not carry him. I told him he could decide when we left, so he said he would like to slowly walk down main street and say goodbye to DL and walk back. He did good. We took it slow. He's really tall for his age (50 inches) and 60 lbs. I attempted to give him a piggy back ride, but that didn't last long and he told me he was ok to walk. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow =) We did not take any breaks since we only had one day. But he's good to let me know if he needs to rest a bit on a bench or something. He really wanted to try the water park too. But we will have to go back! We loved Hojo. I used points to book our stay and we had a killer view of the Matterhorn. Plenty of parking, staff was super helpful and friendly. We grabbed breakfast the next day in the little store there too. Felt totally safe on the walk as well =)

 

[Angrose]

He did really good with the walk! We stayed out extra late (it was a special one day mom and son trip for his birthday). He was trying to make it until midnight, but started run out of steam at 11:30. I reminded him that we still had to walk back to our hotel and that I could not carry him. I told him he could decide when we left, so he said he would like to slowly walk down main street and say goodbye to DL and walk back. He did good. We took it slow. He's really tall for his age (50 inches) and 60 lbs. I attempted to give him a piggy back ride, but that didn't last long and he told me he was ok to walk. He fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow =) We did not take any breaks since we only had one day. But he's good to let me know if he needs to rest a bit on a bench or something. He really wanted to try the water park too. But we will have to go back! We loved Hojo. I used points to book our stay and we had a killer view of the Matterhorn. Plenty of parking, staff was super helpful and friendly. We grabbed breakfast the next day in the little store there too. Felt totally safe on the walk as well =)

Wow, I'm impressed that he could go the whole day! Our first day in the parks will be this Sunday and we are going to attempt to stay late to see F!, fireworks, and then the 11pm PtN parade. We will take an afternoon break though, but I know he won't nap, so we'll see how it goes. If he's too tired after the fireworks then we'll skip the parade since we can try for it the next night. Your son is tall! I'm not sure how tall my son is at the moment, maybe 48in? But he's SKINNY at 45lbs! So glad we're staying at Hojo. Only a few more days...can't wait!!

 

[crystal1313]

I was surprised he lasted all day too! We didn't get to the parks until about 10:30ish, but he was up at 6am for the drive. And he NEVER naps either. LOL. We just had a long talk in the car that he needed to tell me when he gets tired and we could take a break. He's not the best at communicating usually! But he did really great on the trip. I basically let him lead the way. We did whatever he wanted to do the entire day. Sounds like you have a fun trip planned!

 

[jina]

We live in the south bay and got Deluxe passes last August which we upgraded to Premium when we went back at Christmas. So 5 days last August, 5 days over Christmas, then 3 days for the Tinkerbell weekend (our first RunDisney event, not our last!) and we're going for another 5 days next month. It will be sad when they lapse. We will probably do another trip over the year w/o passes after it lapses but once DD5 is 48" we'll probably do the Premier pass and do a trip to Orlando (for WDW and Harry Potter World at Universal) plus as many DL trips as we can manage that year. We really liked having the passes - we dined on site way more than we ever did before- 1 table service per day, and loved the 15% discount for on site dining. We also bought a heck of a lot more park merchandise w/ the discount. Normally we are super frugal although we do eat our own breakfast at the hotel (HoJo's) and bring our own snacks in.

I think one of the best benefits of the AP is that once you start going a lot, it's far less stressful in terms of making sure you get on every ride you want or see every show. We do what we can and figure whatever we miss we'll do the next time. There are still shows we have yet to see (hopefully this next trip) - like the Golden Horseshoe and Mickey's Magical Map. We're hoping DD5 will be able to stay up late one night so we can see Paint the Night and the fireworks too.