To AP or not to AP?

[candleonwater]

Looking into booking for spring break 2007. It will have been 1.5 years since last trip, so I let AP's expire. If what I remember reading last year is correct, there's a chance there's no point in buying the pass for room discounts. Is this true?

Off the top of your heads, what's the break even point on AP's? This trip will be for 7 days in the parks, and I'm trying to plan a trip for NEXT halloween.

Also, if I buy a pass, do I actually get the pass, or a voucher to redeem when I get down there? I want to be able to monitor the discounts online, and last I remember you had to have the pass to do so...

HELP!

 

[Disney Crazy Family]

I look at it this way if you plan on making two trips or more in a year
the AP is worth itl

 

[pezpam]

I'd take the difference between the ticket you'd purchase instead of the AP and the AP itself. (You're buying the ticket anyway, so the difference in price is the # that matters in this case, not the full AP price.) Compare that number to: ticket price for any future trips you have planned, discounts on food/merchandise you plan on buying, any other discounts you're pretty sure you'd take advantage of. If you'd also get the $60 DDE card and use that discount, add that to your math.

If the money you're sure or pretty sure you'd save is more than the difference in ticket prices, then it's worth it even without a room discount.

Doing a little rough math with non-discounted tickets...... An adult AP would be 462.21 and a 7 day Hopper would be 271.58. So if you'd save more than 190.63 on your tickets for next Halloween plus other stuff, go for it.

(I'm ignoring the water parks option, but the same math applies. You'd need to compare to the premium AP, though at almost 600.00)

If you're planning on saving money with an AP room discount that hasn't been announced, it's a bit of a gamble. Might or might not be worth it, depending on announced dates and your flexibility on travel dates and such.

 

[AdventureGuru]

interesting thought...I'll have to look at these

 

[lovesdumbo]

You can access the AP website with a voucher number. You can also book a room with an AP discount without either a pass or voucher. You don't need those until you check in. It sounds like AP would work for you without a room discount if you're going to do 2 trips.

If you have any interest in the dining plan you need to book a package with park tickets. You could do that for your spring trip and then upgrade those tickets to AP's to use for your Oct trip.

Or you could use AP's for both and get the DDE discount card as suggested by pezpam.

I usually book the resort as soon as I know my dates with AAA. Then I can purchase airfare whenever I find a good deal. I switch to AP if available and if better than AAA.

 

[kirbsam]

the thought to not get an ap for the room discount is a false one. i went to wdw three times this year and saved 75 bucks per night because of the ap. that comes to about a thousand bucks on room alone. got my dining discounts, my park admissions, my minigolf discounts, and i triple paid for my ap. it is worth it, and the room discounts have been sweet.

 

[fromscratchmom]

Pezpam or LovesDumbo, would you mind telling me what DDE stands for? How do we access info on this? Thanks!

 

[goofy4tink]

Pezpam or LovesDumbo, would you mind telling me what DDE stands for? How do we access info on this? Thanks!

DDE= Disney Dining Experience. It is available to both AP holders and Florida residents. It gives you 20% a lot of the dining in WDW. It is primarily for table service and some food courts. It cost $60 for AP holders, and runs for 356 days...If you called today to order one, it would most likely expire Oct 31, 07. If you waited until after the 15th or so, it would expire on Nov 30 '07. It is good for a party of up to ten people.

 

[lovesdumbo]

You can also get a few discounts with just your AP but mostly weekday lunch at 10%. The DDE is good at most sit down places and gets you 20% off including alcoholic beverages. DDE is also good at a few counter service places if there are not sit downs like at the value resorts or AK (good at Tusker & Flame Tree BBQ). Here's a great link to allearsnet.com that has a chart of the different dining discounts. Dining Discounts

You also can get a 10% discount on purchases at World of Disney with an AP. Here's a link to lots of discounts. Disney Discounts

 

[fromscratchmom]

I am loving all the great info here!

 

[Dan Murphy]

http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/breakeven.php

http://www.mousesavers.com/wdwtixadvice.html#ap

 

[byoung]

Over 7 days at Disney I feel the AP is the best deal.

 

[candleonwater]

The funny thing is, since I posted this, I think we've made the decision to go down for New years as well... so on park tickets alone it's worth getting an AP. Of course, I HATE the idea of buying an adult pass for my JUST TURNED 10 daughter, but then again, she rides more of the adult rides than I do!

So, how do the passes work, when you purchase them in advance? When does the clock start ticking on the year? I'm thinking that I want to wait until after October, just in case so that I can go down for Halloween next year?

 

[NancyIL]

So, how do the passes work, when you purchase them in advance? When does the clock start ticking on the year? I'm thinking that I want to wait until after October, just in case so that I can go down for Halloween next year?

The clock starts ticking when you exchange the voucher for the actual AP at a theme park ticket window.

 

[lovesdumbo]

The funny thing is, since I posted this, I think we've made the decision to go down for New years as well... so on park tickets alone it's worth getting an AP. Of course, I HATE the idea of buying an adult pass for my JUST TURNED 10 daughter, but then again, she rides more of the adult rides than I do!

So, how do the passes work, when you purchase them in advance? When does the clock start ticking on the year? I'm thinking that I want to wait until after October, just in case so that I can go down for Halloween next year?

Be careful....AP's can be very dangerous!!! "but our park admission is already paid for...gotta make good use of the AP's...."

I've already got 17 days on mine. Already have another trip booked for 4 days in Dec and my AP's don't expire until May 1st.

The clock doesn't start ticking until you activate your pass at the park but if you buy DDE it is good for 12 months beyound your purchase date not first use. They only have month end expiration dates so if you order past the 15th of the month you can generally get the next month's expire date.

Enjoy your AP's.