Those who live close to the parks

[saju1109]

We are going in a few weeks and only live a few hrs from the parks. How often do you go and do you find it worth it to purchase annual/seasonal passes. We plan on purchasing seasonal since we are not crazy enough to go in the summer and during christmas. We think we may go a few times in spring and maybe again in the fall next year.

 

[DOOM1001]

I'm also hours away(3.5-4 hrs) and I have the Disney seasonal which works for me since I tend to avoid the heat in the summer and the crowds of Christmas and Spring Break.I do however also have the Universal preferred and Busch Gardens/Sea World platinum pass,both of which are full AP's with no blackout dates,so those cover me for the usual 1 trip I do in the summer which also includes a water park.One thing to take note of is Disney AP's have changed,the old seasonal would now be considered a "Silver" pass,same blackout dates but parking is now included since the pass rose in price about $50.There's also anew "Gold" pass which is more expensive but has free photo pass and no blackout dates in the summer,Christmas and Spring Break blackout dates are still in effect.Then you also have two full AP's above the gold without blackout dates and free photo pass.My pass is still the seasonal until I renew in December to a Silver,just a slightly higher price but with free parking.As far as how many trips I do a year,its probably somewhere around 9-12 times,I might go like twice between May and September but many of the other months I may do multiple trips on some months.

 

[CAS239]

It's all different for different people.

We live 2.5 hours away and have regular AP's with no blackout dates. We go about every other month for about 3 days at a time. Wife's birthday is in December so it would fall on a blackout date. So we have the regular AP's but fully get our money's worth out of it

Just take a look at all the blackout dates, if you do believe you won't be attending during any of those times, then get the seasonal pass.

 

[yulilin3]

I live 20 minutes away and have had an AP for 15 years. We go every weekend, for us it's a mp brainer, and no. it hasn't lost it's magic

 

[Keels]

I split time between Florida and Texas - where I live in Florida is about 7 minutes from Disney Springs. I've been here almost two weeks (and have had the new Platinum Plus AP) and have gone to a park in some form or fashion almost daily.

My Mom has the Weekday Select and has gone with me almost every day as well.

FP+ makes it really nice for last-minute planning. We decide what park we want to go to the night before, make a couple FPs and an accompanying dining ADR somewhere new to us (usually lunch) and we go. We spend about 4 hours MAX at the parks, unless we're doing dinner and F! or Illuminations. Some days, we just go and wander around F&W right at 11.

Today, I had FP+s at Animal Kingdom, but needed to buy some ears for Halloween at DHS. I went to HS, bought the ears, rode RnR twice on single rider, drove to AK, rode the EE three times, Dinosaur once and saw FoLK before heading home. Got to DHS at 9:30 and was home from AK by 1 p.m.

Also, got a tank of gas on property for $1.93/gallon. It's the little things.

My husband and I have Universal Preferred, but I don't use that near as much. It was just a better purchase than a one-day, park-to-park pass.

 

[missnic]

We have weekday select passes. We drove the 2.5 hours down yesterday afternoon after work and went to Epcot (emh till 11). Stayed at Pop and went to MK this morning, left around 1:00 to come home. We do this about once/month, and probably once/month we just go for the day.

We have the weekday passes for the exact reasons you mentioned. I'm not battling crowds over Christmas or Spring Break, it's too hot during the summer, and DH works retail so our weekends aren't usually open. I'm looking forward to the new pass structure that includes parking for those day trips.

 

[CindySwims]

We live about an hour and a half away and typically buy the seasonal pass. When you go often it is nice to avoid hot or super crowded times. We go for a day trip about every other weekend. Sometimes more if the weather is nice.

 

[Disnsyncey]

North Florida, and seasonal, like others, we don't need to go in the heat of the summer or crush of school breaks.....

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

If I wasn't a CM but still lived here, I'd probably have the weekday select pass, especially now that it includes parking. I have a preferred pass at Universal entirely because of the parking benefit.

 

[Hannahinwonderland]

After being a CM, if I ever move back to the Orlando area I will be getting the weekday select pass as well. The parking is a huge benefit. I also have a Universal preferred pass.

 

['ohanaof5]

We live 30 minutes from the parks, have premium annual passes and visit 2-3 times a month. We still stay on site for longer visits and we are DVC members. When we have family and friends visiting we don't want to deal with blackout dates. If we lived more than an hour away we would choose a pass with blackout dates.

 

[larryz]

We lived an hour and 5 minutes from driveway to MK parking lot turnstiles. When we had annuals, we went at least once per quarter for a day, and usually twice a year for 3 to 5 day trips. I found that when we had annuals, we had more incentive/compulsion to visit.

The years we didn't have annuals, we used the FL resident 3- and 4-day passes.

 

[ilovefh]

We live about 15 minutes from Disney and we go at least once each week. Next week we'll go at least twice to see different bands at Eat to the Beat. We have the regular APs (will be platinum when we renew.) We also go during blackout dates so the cheaper passes wouldn't work for us. We find that during the summer with FP+ we can make fastpasses for the morning, go ride our 3 rides and head home before it's too hot.

 

[atricks]

We've dropped the Disney pass because of the cost and not much new at the parks, planning to get it again when Avatar opens up. We still go time to time with cast member friends main gate passes -- most recently this past Thursday (but their schedules make that incredibly difficult)

Universal we've kept around since they have some good seasonal events that are worth it by themselves (Mardi Gras, Christmas, and concerts) and have been adding new attractions like crazy.

Sea World we alternate off and on, probably on again next year.

Universal is probably the quickest to get in and out of since its so compact, so you don't spend as much time getting to/from there as the others (makes it good for quick short trips). Disney is more of a commitment to go to. (Note: Where I live I can see Dragon Challenge and Rip Ride Rocket from the backyard, and is a 3 mile walk to the bridge in front of Islands if we walk the hotel paths, which are nice on their own.) I'm planning to go sometime this weekend to ride Twister before it closes tomorrow afternoon, which in and out quick helps!

We still don't go all the time, but we do drop in for events and probably every 3 weeks or so. When we had passes Disney we did much less frequently since it took more time to get in and out of.

The neatest thing is you learn how to gauge when to go and when not to by traffic in the area. Disney Springs is still a no go zone. We live in the Doctor Phillips area of town, 5 minutes from Universal about 10 minutes from Sea World and 20 minutes to Disney. We can see the fireworks at Universal and hear the Magic Kingdom fireworks (if we are outside)

 

[Feralpeg]

I live 10 minutes from the parks. We have annual passes for both WDW and Universal.

The frequency of my visits to the parks depends on the time of year and my personal schedule. I try to go more often during the holidays.

I find having annual passes worthwhile. We have friends who visit several times a year. I like being able to spend time with them in the parks. I can't imagine living this close without being able to visit a park on a whim.

 

[fla4fun]

I live about 20 minutes away, and have the no blackout AP. Right now, I get so much vacation time that I spend about 40 nights or more on property - which really spoils you for the day trips. Before I had this job, I would spend a week, and maybe three long weekends a year on property, and do day trips maybe two to three times per month.

 

[Keels]

We've dropped the Disney pass because of the cost and not much new at the parks, planning to get it again when Avatar opens up. We still go time to time with cast member friends main gate passes -- most recently this past Thursday (but their schedules make that incredibly difficult)

Universal we've kept around since they have some good seasonal events that are worth it by themselves (Mardi Gras, Christmas, and concerts) and have been adding new attractions like crazy.

Sea World we alternate off and on, probably on again next year.

Universal is probably the quickest to get in and out of since its so compact, so you don't spend as much time getting to/from there as the others (makes it good for quick short trips). Disney is more of a commitment to go to. (Note: Where I live I can see Dragon Challenge and Rip Ride Rocket from the backyard, and is a 3 mile walk to the bridge in front of Islands if we walk the hotel paths, which are nice on their own.) I'm planning to go sometime this weekend to ride Twister before it closes tomorrow afternoon, which in and out quick helps!

We still don't go all the time, but we do drop in for events and probably every 3 weeks or so. When we had passes Disney we did much less frequently since it took more time to get in and out of.

The neatest thing is you learn how to gauge when to go and when not to by traffic in the area. Disney Springs is still a no go zone. We live in the Doctor Phillips area of town, 5 minutes from Universal about 10 minutes from Sea World and 20 minutes to Disney. We can see the fireworks at Universal and hear the Magic Kingdom fireworks (if we are outside)

I'm in Doctor Phillips as well. Honestly, Disney Springs hasn't been that bad. We went to Hangar Bar on Wednesday and had a very in-and-out. And, actually, I made it from Hollywood Studios parking to my front door in less than 15 minutes on Friday at 5 pm driving through DS - so, it IS getting better.

I've only used my Universal pass once, but I'm planning to go back tomorrow morning. Looking forward to comparing weekday to weekend!

 

[OKW Lover]

We live about 2 miles from the MK castle. We hit the parks very seldom during the summer or holiday periods so we can avoid crowds. Basically just when company is in town during those times. Other times of the year, we will head over 1-2 times a week, but usually for just a few hours.

 

[jsrj21]

Great reading these posts from people that live nearby. I plan to get a condo or townhouse at some point before I retire in central Florida and I've always wondered if it would get old going to Disney. Right now, I can't get enough of it and I can't wait to get back year after year. I've only done summer trips and one during Christmas time for a day at MK. I'd love to visit during the "cooler" months and the Food and Wine Festival, MNSSHP, etc. My wife and I won't move to Florida full time but at least for the worst months in the Northeast.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I'm three hours away on the nose and definitely find an AP to be worth it. We stay onsite a lot, but the free parking really added up when we did more offsite. It's also possible (yet tiring) to do a day trip, which I like! We make good use of both an AP and Tables in Wonderland.