Question about AP discounts on rooms.

[nyrebecca]

Good Morning !!

Seriously thinking about getting an AP after all these years. If I understand some of the things I read correctly if I go to Disney in November, I can actually upgrade my ticket to an AP ticket and get credit for what I paid for on my MYW ticket applied to the price.

But here is my big question.....for all of you have have the AP, do you actually get ample chances to use it for the discounts offered on rooms when they come out? Or are they so limited that by the time you get to call they are out of the hotel you prefer?

Also, it sounds like there is still a package you can do with the room and dining plan if you wanted to, is that correct? Our family l likes the ability to pay for our food in advance and not worry when we are there.

And lastly, if free dining is offered, does that apply to AP holders as well if we buy the "package" of room and dining?

Thanks in advance for everyones input....

 

[vicki_c]

1 - I have not had a problem using AP discounts, but I usually call the first day they are announced.

2 - yes, you can upgrade your ticket to an AP. If you have a discounted ticket (like Undercover Tourist), use it once before doing the upgrade.

3 - yes, you can book the AP holder package which is just room and paid dining.

4 - no, you can't get free dining unless you purchase a regular package, which would be full price room, minimum tickets required for the offer, and then of course the free dining.

 

[nyrebecca]

thanks a lot for the quick answer!!

 

[disneydaveb]

We did this in December. We upgraded our passes to APs. Just make sure you use them first at least once before upgrading. This will allow you to get credit for the 'current gate price' for the passes rather than the 'discount' price that you paid with your pkg. Plus you'll get credit for any price increase since the time of your purchase. Just make sure the CM at the park does this correctly so you get the 'current gate price'. Originally, it was done wrong at guest relations inside Epcot. I took the passes and receipt to GR outside of Epcot and they refunded the difference.

We used the AP room discount this spring and will use them again this summer. However, with all of the discounts, especially free dining, I think AP holders get hosed. Also, most of the time there are room only specials for the general public which are similar or only slightly higher then AP specials.

It would be nice if they would offer additional discounts to AP holders since FD and other discounts now seem to be available to the general public all year around.

 

[nyrebecca]

I read one of the boards if you go more than 10 days a year to disney that the AP will pay for itself in the end. Right now we go for about 9 days each trip, and were giong to start going twice a year, which would be a slighly smaller trip, 6 days each time.

I'm going to keep running numbers, but so far it does seem like a good choice.

 

[clanmcculloch]

If you're doing the math using MYW base tickets then an AP costs slightly more than 2 10 day MYW tickets. If you buy hoppers then the APs are cheaper. If you do use only base MYW tickets then it really isn't much of a difference in price and when you take into consideration that you get 10% off all purchases at Disney owned stores then it makes up the difference for most people.

One thing to keep in mind though is this. Do you typically book room discounts or do you typically take advantage of package deals like free dining? Free dining has ticket purchase requirements which have now been increased to buying minimum 2 day MYW base tickets per person. If the second trip is going to have this ticket requirement then that negates some of the value of buying the AP. Chance are if this is the type of trip you take then you won't even get the opportunity to really use those tickets in the future since with each trip you'll need to purchase tickets. We're in this position ourselves. I'm planning a trip where I'm paying for my grown DSDs and one DSil to join us so we'll use these 2 day MYW tickets for that trip and book a room discount or maybe even rent a house. Otherwise we'd be buying tickets that might not ever get used (discounts for the 4 of us are generally better as the packages but for the bigger group we'll likely stay in an offsite house so we'd have to buy the others tickets anyway). This is the only reason that buying our APs because worthwhile financially. Emotionally they were VERY worthwhile but that's a whole other subject. Is this making any sense?

 

[snykymom]

This is the only reason that buying our APs because worthwhile financially.

Until you add in the fact of additional trips to amortize the cost of the APs!!

 

[clanmcculloch]

Until you add in the fact of additional trips to amortize the cost of the APs!!

Yeah, this is one money saver that's going to cost me quite a bit of money. It's all Mickey Math. It works.

 

[Beauty & the Best]

We have only not been able to get our 1st choice resort for AP rates one time out of about 5, so that's pretty good IMO. We don't always call on the first day that AP rates are available.

 

[clanmcculloch]

We have only not been able to get our 1st choice resort for AP rates one time out of about 5, so that's pretty good IMO. We don't always call on the first day that AP rates are available.

We just got VERY lucky on our recent AP rate booking. I had checked several times for a GV CL room at Poly for the last few nights of our August trip and all that was available was regular GV, regular LV and CL TPV. On Sunday, a GV CL room showed up with an AP rate and I jumped on it. Yesterday it no longer showed up as an option. There must have only been one room available and I got it (I'm guessing somebody cancelled). Sometimes you need to be flexible with your room choice to get whichever kind of discount including the AP one. I'm thrilled though to get to stay CL at the Poly.

 

[Wolfie68]

I live in Virginia, and i plan on going to WDW in December of this year for 7 days, and then again in the spring for a few days.

My question is, do I get a 7 day park hopper pass this time and then whatever ticket I get in the spring, pay for parking etc or do I get an AP, get free parking, 10% discount on shopping, etc? what is the better deal?

Also, is there a discount on food with the AP?

thanks in advance!!

 

[snykymom]

I live in Virginia, and i plan on going to WDW in December of this year for 7 days, and then again in the spring for a few days.

My question is, do I get a 7 day park hopper pass this time and then whatever ticket I get in the spring, pay for parking etc or do I get an AP, get free parking, 10% discount on shopping, etc? what is the better deal?

Also, is there a discount on food with the AP?

thanks in advance!!

"Which is the better deal" depends on you - you need to crunch the numbers. The break-even point for an AP is generally considered about 10 days on a park hopper. The AP costs $499 before taxes. Add the cost of your 7 day hopper to the cost of the tickets you'll most likely buy for your next trip, and see what the difference is.

There is a 10% food discount for lunch at some of the TS restaurants.

The bigger food discount comes with the purchase of the Tables In Wonderland (TiW) card for $75 - available only to passholders or FL residents (residents pay $100). That card gives you 20% off most table service restaurants and a handful of CS places; the discount is off everything, including adult beverages. (Be aware that they do add an 18% gratuity at the TS restaurants, though.)