Should I buy another annual pass?

[FSU Girl]

I'm not sure what to do about my annual pass. It's going to expire on my birthday in May this year. I really enjoyed having one and going a lot of times throughout the year, definitely got my monies worth.

So originally our plan was to buy the way more expensive pass that has no blackout dates because we were going to go to Disney for New Years Eve. It's looking like we are going to do a Disney cruise a week later, which will be really expensive and for our honeymoon. We are are also doing a European cruise later in the year so lots more money.

I love Disney and I know a lot of new stuff is opening in 2019, all of which I'd like to see.

I'm getting married at Disney and we are going for 6 days. I'm thinking 4 of those days we'd probably go into the parks. I really want to go for New Years, would maybe shortening that trip to only new years eve be worth it? It's a three hour drive for us to get there from home.

Is an annual pass worth it the money for 5 days? I could buy the Florida resident 4-day pass, but I think its blocked for New Years so we'd have to buy a one-day ticket then and I'd be worried about not getting inside the park if its really crowded.

My fiance doesn't really like planning so I can't really discuss any of this with him to try and figure out what to do.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Five days isn't enough in park admittance to make an annual pass pay for itself. Biggest issue for you is going to be buying a one day ticket plus buying a four day ticket, but it's likely the cost of a platinum annual will still be higher than that. I'd do the math and see if it's really that much higher. The other issue will be how likely you'd be to add at least one more trip if you had an annual, since you are close by.

The annual won't guarantee you admittance on NYE either, if you are going to Magic Kingdom it'll be up to you to make sure you can get inside the park. MK is probably the only park likely to have a capacity closure like that.

 

[FSU Girl]

Five days isn't enough in park admittance to make an annual pass pay for itself. Biggest issue for you is going to be buying a one day ticket plus buying a four day ticket, but it's likely the cost of a platinum annual will still be higher than that. I'd do the math and see if it's really that much higher. The other issue will be how likely you'd be to add at least one more trip if you had an annual.

The annual won't guarantee you admittance on NYE either, if you are going to Magic Kingdom it'll be up to you to make sure you can get inside the park. MK is probably the only park likely to have a capacity closure like that.

The biggest issue is all the money I'm spending. And I'm guessing once I'm married I have to actually consult him before booking all these trips lol. I definitely went a little overboard this year with trips almost every other weekend since it's so easy for us to go and we have the passes. I think if I bought them we'd definitely end up going for a few more weekends, but with all our other trips planned it'll be hard.

For New Years I have onsite hotels booked right now, so my understanding is onsite guests get in until the last closure? I don't think we'd go into the park until late afternoon, but we'd have dining booked too for sure.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

If you have dining booked and they have a stage 4 closure and you can't get in the park (that's the stage at which they don't let anybody in at all) then you are considered to have missed the reservation. Being onsite you'll be admitted to everything up to stage 3.

 

[FSU Girl]

If you have dining booked and they have a stage 4 closure and you can't get in the park (that's the stage at which they don't let anybody in at all) then you are considered to have missed the reservation. Being onsite you'll be admitted to everything up to stage 3.

So would you recommend I buy a 4-day pass for my wedding and then one-day for new years eve? Or maybe just skip new years all together and take a year off from Disney? I haven't done that since I was born so the idea of not seeing Disney at all in 2019 is daunting lol.

 

[randumb0]

Is an annual pass worth it the money for 5 days? I could buy the Florida resident 4-day pass, but I think its blocked for New Years so we'd have to buy a one-day ticket then and I'd be worried about not getting inside the park if its really crowded.

You can call to verify, but I don't believe the 4 day pass has block out days

 

[StageTek]

So would you recommend I buy a 4-day pass for my wedding and then one-day for new years eve? Or maybe just skip new years all together and take a year off from Disney? I haven't done that since I was born so the idea of not seeing Disney at all in 2019 is daunting lol.

Keep the tradition alive! Buy the 4-day and then a one-day for NYE.

 

[Lesley Wake]

So, my perspective comes from a Disneyland slant, and the fact that I'm a local. I had an AP for 2 years from Nov 2014-2016, along with my sister and her boyfriend. We all decided to not renew in 2016 since my sister and I had a WDW trip planned in 2017. I figured I could go without for a year or so. Well, in early 2017 I started feeling the Disney bug. Everytime I would have to drive through Anaheim I would always look longingly over to the parks. I tried satisfying myself with the 3-day SoCal ticket in April, but quickly realized that wasn't enough and ended up upgrading up to an AP (which I later upgraded to the Premier so I could use it for our WDW trip, and which I will be renewing this year since I am not also addicted to WDW). Now I think I have learned my lesson and will probably continue to get an AP every year unless there are significant changes in my life.

So, I think you need to also consider, is it worth the extra expense to go to Disney more often? Are there other things in your life you can cut back on to justify the expense? For me, the happiness I get every time I enter a park is worth it.

 

[FSU Girl]

So, my perspective comes from a Disneyland slant, and the fact that I'm a local. I had an AP for 2 years from Nov 2014-2016, along with my sister and her boyfriend. We all decided to not renew in 2016 since my sister and I had a WDW trip planned in 2017. I figured I could go without for a year or so. Well, in early 2017 I started feeling the Disney bug. Everytime I would have to drive through Anaheim I would always look longingly over to the parks. I tried satisfying myself with the 3-day SoCal ticket in April, but quickly realized that wasn't enough and ended up upgrading up to an AP (which I later upgraded to the Premier so I could use it for our WDW trip, and which I will be renewing this year since I am not also addicted to WDW). Now I think I have learned my lesson and will probably continue to get an AP every year unless there are significant changes in my life.

So, I think you need to also consider, is it worth the extra expense to go to Disney more often? Are there other things in your life you can cut back on to justify the expense? For me, the happiness I get every time I enter a park is worth it.

I absolutely love going to Disney and so does my Fiance, it's why we are getting married there. This year is the first time I've had an annual pass (not counting when I was a kid). Normally I'd go for a trip here or there every year. I think what I liked most about having an annual pass was not feeling like I needed to be in the park from opening to close to get my monies worth. We did a lot of weekend trips and sometimes only spent three hours or so in the park and doing a lot more relaxed vacation.

It'll be our first year as a married couple so it would be nice spending that time at disney too lol

 

[Lesley Wake]

I think what I liked most about having an annual pass was not feeling like I needed to be in the park from opening to close to get my monies worth. We did a lot of weekend trips and sometimes only spent three hours or so in the park and doing a lot more relaxed vacation.

You hit the nail on the head with this one! I will often go to the parks and just wander around. I've had multiple days when I don't even go on any rides! It has changed my strategy from being a park commando to really soaking in the ambiance. If I miss a favorite ride on one visit, I know I can come back soon to re-ride.

At Christmas I loved just going to see a show or 2, relax in the Grand Californian lobby and listen to Christmas songs/pianist.

And there are so many amazing festivals and special events at Disney, I would love to check them all out throughout the year even if that means more, shorter trips!

 

[siskaren]

If you have dining booked and they have a stage 4 closure and you can't get in the park (that's the stage at which they don't let anybody in at all) then you are considered to have missed the reservation. Being onsite you'll be admitted to everything up to stage 3.

A stage 4 closure hasn't happened in almost 9 years though, so it's not very likely to be an issue.

 

[Skywise]

I'm ruminating the same thing - but I live several states away. My renewal is up in about a week and I need to get a platinum (being an out of stater). I need at least 7 days of visits to make it somewhat break even and I'm seeing at best one or two trips at the moment with 2-3 days each. I'll miss some AP exclusive merchandise but they inevitably required being purchased on-site which requires another trip which requires air fare and at least one night's hotel stay so I can't tie that in either.

 

[gap2368]

I'm not sure what to do about my annual pass. It's going to expire on my birthday in May this year. I really enjoyed having one and going a lot of times throughout the year, definitely got my monies worth.

So originally our plan was to buy the way more expensive pass that has no blackout dates because we were going to go to Disney for New Years Eve. It's looking like we are going to do a Disney cruise a week later, which will be really expensive and for our honeymoon. We are are also doing a European cruise later in the year so lots more money.

I love Disney and I know a lot of new stuff is opening in 2019, all of which I'd like to see.

I'm getting married at Disney and we are going for 6 days. I'm thinking 4 of those days we'd probably go into the parks. I really want to go for New Years, would maybe shortening that trip to only new years eve be worth it? It's a three hour drive for us to get there from home.

Is an annual pass worth it the money for 5 days? I could buy the Florida resident 4-day pass, but I think its blocked for New Years so we'd have to buy a one-day ticket then and I'd be worried about not getting inside the park if its really crowded.

My fiance doesn't really like planning so I can't really discuss any of this with him to try and figure out what to do.

I would not do an AP if you are only going 5 days even with new years Eve, I think skipping this year and going in a year or two when you do not have all these other big trips planned would be better. if anything I would just do the FL 3 or 4-day pass.

They had a level 1 closer new years day around 11 so if you do go with a one day ticket you should be fine if you make it to RD or close to it.

 

[adelaster]

So, my perspective comes from a Disneyland slant, and the fact that I'm a local. I had an AP for 2 years from Nov 2014-2016, along with my sister and her boyfriend. We all decided to not renew in 2016 since my sister and I had a WDW trip planned in 2017. I figured I could go without for a year or so. Well, in early 2017 I started feeling the Disney bug. Everytime I would have to drive through Anaheim I would always look longingly over to the parks. I tried satisfying myself with the 3-day SoCal ticket in April, but quickly realized that wasn't enough and ended up upgrading up to an AP (which I later upgraded to the Premier so I could use it for our WDW trip, and which I will be renewing this year since I am not also addicted to WDW). Now I think I have learned my lesson and will probably continue to get an AP every year unless there are significant changes in my life.

So, I think you need to also consider, is it worth the extra expense to go to Disney more often? Are there other things in your life you can cut back on to justify the expense? For me, the happiness I get every time I enter a park is worth it.

I feel this way about Disneyland but it's an eight hour flight away. Orlando is two. So I went with the WDW AP...but when I'm there I just miss California.

If Disney Springs was adjacent to Disneyland I would just do the long flight!

OP, it probably isn't cost effective but if you can budget for it there's no reason not to do what makes you happy. It sounds like Disney World is, and has always been, a huge part of your life. I can't see that suddenly stopping just because you get married.

 

[kwdw]

I'm going to say NO. Here's why - that new AP will run out in May 2019. IF, IF - Toy Story land opens by May 2019 - that would be early in it's cycle - and the place will still be a zoo. Star Wars - summer 2020. And maybe a couple other things by then.

MAYBE - maybe purchase in December 2018 - that gets you New Years - and all the way into the fall of 2019. The renewal discount isn't worth 6 months, IMO.

But my best advice - wait until December 2019. Do your 4 day pass next year with your honeymoon (congrats!). Then - save money!!!! You will be a newly married couple and you'll have wedding expenses to pay for! And probably other things you are going to want to spend money on as newlyweds. And you have two cruises to go on already planned, too. Go to NYE's in 2019/2020.

Now - that's my perspective - but - I'm not a FL resident - and money doesn't grow on trees for me. I can afford the AP and all the trips "every once in a while" - but not always.

I'm also agree with other responses is that you shouldn't change your love of Disney just for because you got married - if its a thing you do - then its a thing you do and there's no reason to stop. I can also say that I find the "non-planner" in my life works much better AT the deadline for decision making. So - he would chime in at AP renewal time - but not 5 months in advance. So - another approach is to "not decide" now - broach the subject again in April. Then 2 weeks before the deadline to renew.

 

[FortForever]

We live 2.5 hours away and always have annual passes. They are so inexpensive for Florida residents, and on the payment plan, I it's not money I ever miss. Just renewed, even though we were canceling our February reservations, and don't have any others right now. The way I look at it is, if I feel like going to Disney, I want to be able to, even at the last minute, and not worry about the price.