Ticket Question...AP upgrade worth it?

[catho72]

Hello!

I purchased an 8 day myw ticket for my seven year old daughter. The rest of our party is using their GAD ticket to upgrade to a multi-day pass and we plan on using my daughters ticket to get GAD FP's. Would it be in our best interested to upgrade her ticket to an AP? We are staying off-property and would have to pay $14/day for parking (we'd have to pay that for at least 8-9 days). With her AP, the cost is zero to park. Would she be able to purchase a Tables in Wonderland card as well? We have many meals scheduled..Chef MIckey, 'Ohana, Crystal Palace, LeCellier, San Angel Inn, Sci-Fi...so to be able to get a discount on our meals would be excellent!

BTW: We are arriving to our condo in Kissimmee on July 10, and are departing on July 21. WE plan to go to a park most days while we are there and we are a party of five.

TIA!
-Cath

 

[jcriket]

you would get discounts on some shopping purchases, and some restaurants. With the parking, it might be worth it.

 

[holden]

I would research online and crunch the #s to see if it makes sense to upgrade to an AP. I don't think your DD can get the TIW with a child's AP, so no savings there. You would save on parking and maybe a small discount in some stores (10%?). Unless you plan on returning before her AP expires, I'm not sure if it's worth it.

 

[d1gitman]

The short answer...If you plan to do 1 trip to WDW in a 12mo span, no. If you plan 2 trips in a 12mo span, maybe. If you plan 3 trips in a 12mo span, yes.

Two trips is usually a break even point on ticket costs, comparing MYW vs. AP. You would really have to factor in how much you plan to spend and how much of that spending is eligible for AP discounts. My guess is that it won't be worth it, that would be an awful lot of spending.

 

[seashoreCM]

Just one of the adults can upgrade his ticket including a GAD-derived ticket into an AP to get the TIW card and the free parking and some room discounts.

Note that only a few room packages have specific benefits for AP holders.

Plan your schedule (exact days) for the next year before upgrading anyone else to AP. Note that very slight schedule variations can switch a resounding "yes" to a resounding "no" or vice versa.

In terms of admission, 12 days with hopping is the rough break even point; under some conditions you can get to 18 days without hopping.

 

[sissy_42]

Parking at $14 a day for 8 days is $112. If the upgrade cost is more than that I don't really think it will be worth it unless you are considering another trip before the AP would expire.

 

[Cheshire Figment]

The upgrade would have to be to an adult ticket if you expect to get the TiW card, since that requires a minimum age of 21 for purchase. And I think that for the free parking again you need an adult AP.

 

[jcriket]

The upgrade would have to be to an adult ticket if you expect to get the TiW card, since that requires a minimum age of 21 for purchase. And I think that for the free parking again you need an adult AP.

Have friends who use Child AP for free parking. They bought it that way with the advise of a CM. you would save 10% at san angels, and can try for a discount at other rest.

 

[mountdew1]

Well, an 8 day adult pass with no hopping and 14 day expiration is about 250. An adult AP is about 520. Adding in the parking at 112, would get you 362, leaving you with 158 difference.. To break even on a TiW you would need to spend at least $375 at particpating restaurants. (Assuming you would tip the mandatory 18% anyways). To cover that remainin 158 you would need to spend another $790 or so on food. That means with a party of 5 you would need to spend an average of 233 per person on food, or about 30 per person per day (on 8 park days) So it depends on how many meals you are actually doing. You know how much your family would eat, look at the online menus and crunch the numbers, see if that comes out in your favor. You should also get a minimum of the 10% of $50 at World Of Disney, but might even get 10% off at most stores depending on if they keep extending the promotion. You can also get some discounts for tours, golf, and other activities.

Of course, if you add hopping or WP&M, those cost more so the remaining difference to make up is less, but you may be hard pressed to make it up. If you were staying on property, the potential lodging discount would make it a no brainer, but staying off property it is a much harder call.

 

[Ka-chow!]

Agree w/ d1getman on the # of stays. It will mostly depend on how many times you will return within the year.
My quick thought: Normally, an AP is worth it for the AP hotel rates. It pays for itself within 4-5 five days at a deluxe resort. A big caveat: Currently, Disney is heavily discounting their rooms, so they are basically offering AP rates to Disney Visa holders, the general public, bounce-backs, etc.
Being off site, I think not.
But access to Tables in Wonderland is a nice plus. But I wouldn't get an AP just to access TIW.