Questions about upgrading AP

[tarheelalum]

We have the SoCal Select AP and when they are up in October we were thinking about buying the deluxe passes for the summer months. I've been watching mousewait app lately and it seems that the summer months are dead now compared to this past spring/fall/winter when all of the Socal passes were good. I was wondering is this new or is this the way it has always been? I just expected the summer months to be terribly crowded and did not want any part of it. We have only been going to Disneyland for about 3 years so we just don't know if the low summer crowds, in comparison to the packed spring/fall crowds of late, are a new phenomena or has it always been like this?


Also If we upgrade, do we still receive the discount or is it only available if we renew the SoCal Select passes? I expect that if we do upgrade we might not be able to ever buy the Socal Select passes again so I want to really think this through.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

We upgraded last year from so cal select to deluxe and we did get the discount.
The crowds seem to be picking up a bit but they are definitely lower this year. Last year we only went once or twice the whole summer because the crowds looked so bad but this summer we have already gone four times and it was bearable all four times. Who knows though.....it seems once the word gets out that disneyland is not that crowded, crowds pick up.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

Also,we upgraded my daughters to deluxe and we got the premium pass for the parking and discounts.....something to factor in. For how many times we have gone the parking alone would have put us over the cost of the premium pass.

 

[DDhunter]

Well, actually, crowds have been very nice this summer. However, apparently a fairly large number of people with the SoCal Select have been upgrading to the Deluxe or even Premium. With so many SoCal people upgrading to Deluxe, I am guessing the crowds will actually increase pretty dramatically. The "low crowd" days seem to be when all 3 passes have blackout days. It will be interesting to see what happens when the first Saturday of Deluxe not being blocked out comes later in August.

 

[superlarz]

You will get the discount for the pass you are upgrading too. Part of the reason things were so crowded this spring and are less crowded this summer is the discount 2 and 3 day tickets they offered to locals. I think everyone that doesnt have an AP got their Disney trip in early this year, instead of waiting for summer due to the large price difference

 

[tarheelalum]

We upgraded last year from so cal select to deluxe and we did get the discount.
The crowds seem to be picking up a bit but they are definitely lower this year. Last year we only went once or twice the whole summer because the crowds looked so bad but this summer we have already gone four times and it was bearable all four times. Who knows though.....it seems once the word gets out that disneyland is not that crowded, crowds pick up.

Are you glad you upgraded your passes? Do you think it was worth it? I've also considered getting the premium passes as well so we could go on Christmas and some of the other weekends without having to worry about blackout days. The included parking would be nice as well.

 

[MychaelP]

You will get the discount for the pass you are upgrading too. Part of the reason things were so crowded this spring and are less crowded this summer is the discount 2 and 3 day tickets they offered to locals. I think everyone that doesnt have an AP got their Disney trip in early this year, instead of waiting for summer due to the large price difference

I agree, crowds were not due to just AP's, but to the so cal ticket offer. I had at least 4 people I knew at work who did that. Many offices I work with gave out the tickets free as perks as well.
Summer has been less crowded this year, but it tends to be random like that at times. If you want to upgrade your pass, go ahead, but be sure you are getting the extra $$$ worth as the So Cal passes are such a great value when you consider how many days you get to use them over a year's time. Unless you want to go on Saturdays the rest of the year, it might not be worth double or more of the cost just for the 7 week blackout period. I use this blackout time to do other things non-Disney for a change. San Diego, etc. Kind of nice for a change of pace.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

Are you glad you upgraded your passes? Do you think it was worth it? I've also considered getting the premium passes as well so we could go on Christmas and some of the other weekends without having to worry about blackout days. The included parking would be nice as well.

Yes I am very happy I have the premium. With the discount and the parking included it really made financial sense for our family. BUT we live very close so We go weekly (a little less in the summer)my daughter has the deluxe (as she is four and does not drive, haha) and there has only been one or two times that we planned to go and realized she was blocked.
We do not go anywhere near disneyland Christmas week. It's ridiculous. We went one year the day after Christmas and we couldn't even get off the freeway. W left after an hour. We get our disney Christmas fill the weeks before Christmas vacation start!

 

[lb2000]

We upgraded last year to see if it was worth it, and are back down to So. Cal. this year. Parking was nice to have, but since we are in San Diego, we did as many overnights as day trips. We also did not end up going in Summer. We just had other things to do: camps, beach, pool, etc. we went right after Christmas, which was fun, but we had already been before Christmas. If I lived 30 minutes away or less, maybe I would do it again, but at 90 minutes, it just was not worth it.

 

[tarheelalum]

We upgraded last year to see if it was worth it, and are back down to So. Cal. this year. Parking was nice to have, but since we are in San Diego, we did as many overnights as day trips. We also did not end up going in Summer. We just had other things to do: camps, beach, pool, etc. we went right after Christmas, which was fun, but we had already been before Christmas. If I lived 30 minutes away or less, maybe I would do it again, but at 90 minutes, it just was not worth it.

Its about 90 minutes for us as well but we always end up getting a hotel and staying for a couple of days now. We use to drive up in the morning and come back at night but that drive home on the 5 after a long day at the parks stinks. I've thought about it and the only reason we were going to get the premium passes was for thanksgiving and Christmas and I don't think its worth it dealing with the crowds on those days. We still might get the deluxe passes so we can go in the summer.