Questions for annual pass holders

[squirrel4569]

Do you your differently with APs than you did with regular tickets? Do you spend less time or more time in the park per day? Do you just pop in for a ride, drink, meal , etc?

 

[Disneylover99]

I always feel like the pressure is off with an AP. When I buy 10 day park tickets, I always feel compelled to spend most of my time at the park. Last summer we stayed for 18 days with an AP. It was great! We did go everyday, but for a few hours here and there. It was very relaxing.

 

[DebbieB]

They tend to call out "take me, take me". My first AP was supposed to be for 2 trips - late October 2008 and early October 2009. Added December 2008 & March 2009! And became a DVC member! They are dangerous....

 

[North of Mouse]

I always feel like the pressure is off with an AP. When I buy 10 day park tickets, I always feel compelled to spend most of my time at the park. Last summer we stayed for 18 days with an AP. It was great! We did go everyday, but for a few hours here and there. It was very relaxing.

This is basically how we use our AP's also - so much more relaxing and we don't like staying in one park all day. We usually make 3 - 10 day trips in a year, but may only take two this time - still cheaper than 10 day park hopper tickets. We also only buy them every other year or so - skip a year or two between.

 

[Dr.Mickey]

I really like the way our APs help our arrival day. We drive about 8 hrs and usually get there about dinner time. It just feels like vacation has begun when we go in for fireworks and maybe one ride. No worries about blowing a day on the ticket.

But I agree with the earlier poster: I can hear them calling from my nightstand...it's time to go to Florida again... Be very careful with an AP

 

[ethanwa]

I'm a local with AP, so you may not care about my opinion on this, but I'm in the parks at least once a week. My wife and I go to resorts to eat lunch when the kids are at school often, and sometimes we pick them up from school, go on a ride or two (booked with FP+ ahead of time) and then come home! Sometimes in the spring we do the water parks, and DisneyQuest is fun too so we can change things up.

We also have AP's for Universal and the Kennedy Space Center. We had them for SeaWorld and Legoland but only used them once per year.

Having an AP is awesome because you don't feel tied down at all. Do whatever you want!

 

[disneywalkers]

They tend to call out "take me, take me". My first AP was supposed to be for 2 trips - late October 2008 and early October 2009. Added December 2008 & March 2009! And became a DVC member! They are dangerous....

I agree lol we got AP's for the first time January 2014. We went 7 days in January, 21 in September and 6 days in November. Considering one last trip before they expire.

Um and then renew and I have 2-3 more trips in my head for 2015.

Only fellow WDW addicts will understand lol

 

[SeilerBird]

I am an AP holder who lives close to the mouse and I usually go four times a week. Monday to Hollywood, Tuesday to MK, Thursday to Epcot and Friday to AK. I usually arrive at RD and stay till around noon. In three or four hours I can usually ride 6 or 7 rides. Since I am solo getting FP+ for whatever I want is rarely a problem. I enter the park with a full bottle of drinking water in my pocket and that lasts me all morning. I leave around noon because I start getting hungry and meals are a lot cheaper off property. Around noon the temp gets much hotter, the crowds get thicker and the chance of rain dramatically increases. That gives me 12 to 15 hours a week of pure Disney.

 

[Grumpy92]

Normally it is pop in to do what we want to do or have a meal or just watch the fireworks. IF we find it too crowded we just move to another park. When family is visiting then we will do the whole day.
FP's have changed our visits on some days though.

 

[Dis703]

We bought an AP last year with the intention of doing 2 family vacations just under one year apart and save some money. We ended up adding an additional 5 day trip with just me and my 5 year old in the fall which was so much fun!

Having the AP and knowing we were going back it was a little more relaxed. I knew if I missed something we'd catch it the next day. We also did some random running into the parks for things while we were there that would have been doable with either a PH or AP.

We are in NJ so we can't make as much use of it as we'd like. No doubt if we were closer we'd be doing a lot of quick weekend trips.

 

[mjhannaf]

Usually go at nights and weekends around 4 times per week.

When we go it is usually for a meal and a ride or two. "Research" for our wait times website is also a good excuse to go to WDW

 

[FLchick415]

I bought my very first AP this year, and it definitely changed how I tour the parks. It used to be one park per day for me. Now, I hop more than ever. An EMH park in the morning, then hop to a less crowded park for the afternoon, and if I'm feeling up to it, an evening EMH park.

 

[squirrel4569]

I am an AP holder who lives close to the mouse and I usually go four times a week. Monday to Hollywood, Tuesday to MK, Thursday to Epcot and Friday to AK. I usually arrive at RD and stay till around noon. In three or four hours I can usually ride 6 or 7 rides. Since I am solo getting FP+ for whatever I want is rarely a problem. I enter the park with a full bottle of drinking water in my pocket and that lasts me all morning. I leave around noon because I start getting hungry and meals are a lot cheaper off property. Around noon the temp gets much hotter, the crowds get thicker and the chance of rain dramatically increases. That gives me 12 to 15 hours a week of pure Disney.

You are a committed Disney-phile for sure!

The only time I've ever had APs to anything was when I first moved to Texas Six Flags was running a deal on opening day where you could get a season pass for $10 more than a day pass, so we figured we'd come back since we had the season pass. Nope. We *still* haven't been back and that was 8 years ago.

Right now we've got a trip planned in August and have a bid on a DVC contract, which is making us consider a trip in March 2016 as well, so with the DVC discount on APs the price saves a few hundred vs base tickets for both trips. We're typically commando tourers and close down everything but MK but I could see us getting a FP for a ride or three and only doing partial days in the park. We wouldn't feel like we were "wasting" a day by doing a partial day. One thing we've also not done much is spend time at the pool at our resort. The kids love to hang in the pool but we're very much a going and doing family, so we don't slow down much. Kind of wondering if we would slow down knowing in 7 months we'll be back for another trip.

 

[Lisa loves Pooh]

Do you your differently with APs than you did with regular tickets? Do you spend less time or more time in the park per day? Do you just pop in for a ride, drink, meal , etc?

We feel much less pressure to do everything.
We feel no guilt of our first choice for park of the day was not the best and switching to a different park.

We just got APs for the first time on 5-6 years. (We had moved away for 4+ of those). But in the past, we would drive over for a morning or afternoon and then come home.

Door to gate, we are about 90 minutes away.

 

[richmo]

My answer is a bit different than most. The AP hasn't changed my park touring much.

Even though I have an AP, my vacations are still in small chunks. Usually I'll squeeze 2 or 3 five to seven day trips in over the period. Since I tend to stay offsite, major benefits of the AP are saving on parking and the ability to purchase Tables in Wonderland. Saving on parking alone was worth almost $300 for the 18 park days I used on the last AP.

Otherwise, the number of days I go in the park would be about the same with or without an AP. Of course, there is no issue with hopping, so that could be somewhat different and the other difference is that on arrival or departure day, I have no hesitation going to the park for a little while, where I might skip it if paying by the day.

 

[ratt1345]

DW and I are AP holders that live in FL, but are 1.5 hours away. So not as close as the locals. However, we are close enough to pop down for a weekend getaway. AP gives us the ability to go into the parks or a park when we get there after work. This past weekend we stayed at the Poly and spent our Saturday at DTD instead of a park. That's the flexability that an AP gives you.