Several trips, regular tix. or AP?

[britfish]

I am having a tough time figuring out pricing for our Disney trps this year. We are going for 7 days during free dining so we have to buy tix.. Then we are planning a 4 day trip in Dec. as well as going back for our annual Aug. trip next year. I am pretty sure we will do the dining plan on each trip. So how do I figure out if its worth it to upgrade to annual passes on our Aug. trip this year? Since we are looking at using the dining plan (and thats often free in begining of Dec. and Aug) is it better to just purchase tix. each time and get the free dining. Thanks for any insight!

 

[danceintherain]

It depends on the number of people in your party and where you're planning on staying. Sometimes free dining outweighs the value of a room only discount, and sometimes it doesn't.
It is likely that the discounts for December will be released by mid-August, so hopefully you will know what you're looking at before you reach the 14 day upgrade limit on your regular tickets.

In general, you can look at both options and compare the "savings." An AP used to be good for a 40% savings during value season. Lately the savings haven't been quite as consistent. You can go here to see the historical discount time frames. http://www.mousesavers.com/historicalwdwdiscounts.html#codechart

If you let me know your more specific party size and hotel preferences, then I can tell you close to what you will save with each option (with some room for error since Disney will likely increase prices for next year, and we have no way of predicting what discounts will be offered when).

As far as tickets go, you will save some money with an AP, assuming your trip next year is the corresponding week before your trip this year.
2 (one for this year's trip and one for next year's) - 7 day + PH = $685.86
1 - 4 day + PH = $317.37 for a total of $1003.23
With an AP ($552.74) you would save $450.49 per adult on the trip. (the savings will be a little smaller if you don't plan on hopping during any or all of your trips)

 

[britfish]

thank you so much. I am struggling to figure out pricing, your figures are a huge help. Our party is 2 adults and one child. For the Aug. trips we will stay in a mod. (probably CBR) and for dec. I think we may try AOA in a mermaid room. We normally don't park hop however I think we would look forward to that option if we had the AP. We weren't sure about the dining plan in Dec. but I will have to price out meals because I know we want to do the Candleight processional.
And yes, we will have to make sure our trip next Aug. is the week prior to make it fit in the AP.

 

[danceintherain]

This is what I figured out. The numbers won't be exactly correct, because I don't know exactly how much AoA costs or how they calculate the discounts (I gave it 30% AP discount with a nightly rate of $120) In general, the AP discount is unpredictable though, and room rates will likely go up next year, so YMMV.

For the three trips all with Free Dining, you would spend a total of $5337 for tickets, hotel, and food.

If you bought an AP during your first trip, which would give you Free Dining once and buying the Dining Plan for the other two trips, you would spend $4247.65

The itemized breakdown can be found here:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AjfIAqFbjxQAdFVhalJ4V0tMalh6TEFCNFdYU1c5ZlE

Assuming a similar discount is offered for AP holders for your two subsequent trips, you will very likely do better with an AP than without. If you don't go the free dining route, you may do better still with the TiW card and paying out of pocket for your meals.

 

[danceintherain]

Oh....but I didn't remove the Park Hoppers from Free Dining, and that would take around $450 of that cost, which would reduce the difference between the two from around $1000 to around $500.

You can look up ticket prices here: http://www.mousesavers.com/mywpricechart061211.html

 

[starry_solo]

Don't forget to get the tickets first for the free dining and then upgrade

 

[pharmjenn]

Can you not also, if free dining is offered during your trips, purchase only the shortest days of tickets (2 day?) and save those for later, either for family/friends, or when you are due to renew the AP use them as a "down payment"

 

[danceintherain]

Can you not also, if free dining is offered during your trips, purchase only the shortest days of tickets (2 day?) and save those for later, either for family/friends, or when you are due to renew the AP use them as a "down payment"

Yes, but it gets more complicated that way without knowing for certain what discounts will be offered for their future trips, and whether or not they plan on making more than one trip every year in the foreseeable future.

Eventually, the tickets will likely be used, but it may only happen by costing them a discount at the time.