Western Canadians With Annual Passes?

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

I am trying to convince my DH that we should get annual passes. How many Western Canadians have them? Do you really get your money out of them with the flight prices from here? We will probably always stay off site for our own reasons, so would it still be worth it? Not to leave the Central and East coast Canadians out, but alot of people from the East are able to jump across the border and get some great flight prices. I just need some really good convincing ideas to throw at my DH .... and I know alot of you have wonderful ideas

 

[drag n' fly]

We have 2 WDW annual pass certificates in our cupboard. They were part of the incentive when we purchased at AKV. We have not redeemed them and probably wont for quite some time as they do not expire. We would never go to WDW more than once a year so it just would be a waste of money for us. Once the kids are older and Dh and I go more then once a year then we will redeem them. We prefer the 10 day non expiry tickets with all the fancy junk added on that way we can use a day or two at a time. We are doing WDW twice this year. We will be in the park one day on the first visit and 2 days on the second visit. It obviously isn't added value for us.
If you are going to the park more than once a year and going to the park everyday you may want to consider it. You can go to the WDW website and figure out at what point you would break even

 

[ABCanada]

We almost always get annual passes and try to get at least two trips out of one pass. (Say an early April trip one year and a late March the next.)

We started doing this when you could get a Disneyland annual pass for I believe it was $99 (it was less than a park hopper for one stay but had blockout dates)

Disneyworld passes are considerably more expensive so it is a tougher decision but it has made sense for us. You need to do the math.

Other factors to consider
AP discounts, particularly room - given you stay off site this may not be as significant for you
going to the park for a few hours and not worrying that you are using a day

Disadvantage, don't tell DH, you will likely go more than once a year - Spring break will be our third trip since August

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

Well in 2007 we went in May for two weeks. We bought the 10 day water park and more tickets with expiry. We used all the days, plus 3 pluses. There is four of us. Our kids are almost 8 & almost 10. We then had a last minute trip in December and went for a week with 6 day plain tickets. So the price for all the tickets was $1851.60 US and the annual passes and would have been $2319.58 for Premiums and $1795.60. So I guess if we would go with reg. and not Premium's and went twice a year it would be worth it. Now if the flights could come down. But still any great ideas or scoops that would sway my DH would be great.

 

[ABCanada]

Convince him to buy DVC and you can get over $100 discount on each pass.

 

[dhluvsDisney]

We are DVC members and AP holders. We make sure we get at least 2 trips of 10 each out of the passes (sometimes an extra one gets snuck in). We then let the passes expire, and get new ones (from upgrading with AirMiles) at our DVC discount, and plan our trips accordingly. We almost always go in May and October and sometimes get a post Christmas one in. We have more than used the value. The other really great thing about an AP for us is that we saunter into the parks around 11:00 am and stay for a while, back to the pool and after dinner back to the parks. We don't feel the need to burn out a day to "get our money's worth". It makes for a much more enjoyable vacation.

 

[c&m]

One member of our family always got the AP, while the others didn't.

We used the AP to get AP discounts, saving:

- about $500 using the room-only AP discount.
- about $150 in AP discounts at WDW restaurants.
- about $20 at the World of Disney store with the AP discount.

The AP paid for itself without us having to make multiple trips to WDW during the year. We would never limit ourselves to just WDW trips. We enjoy Hawaii too much as well.

 

[tiggerrr]

I am trying to convince my DH that we should get annual passes. How many Western Canadians have them? Do you really get your money out of them with the flight prices from here? We will probably always stay off site for our own reasons, so would it still be worth it? Not to leave the Central and East coast Canadians out, but alot of people from the East are able to jump across the border and get some great flight prices. I just need some really good convincing ideas to throw at my DH .... and I know alot of you have wonderful ideas

I am a numbers guy, so here is the analysis I would go through to determine whether AP's work or not. My DW and I do have AP's (we got the DVC discount but we would have got them anyway.

The cost of an AP is $477 including tax. The point to buy an annual pass, staying offsite in a SINGLE is 11 days at the major parks. A 10 day MYW Park Hopper ticket is $287.55, plus $110 in parking for a total of $397.55. To get a 1 day NON park hopper ticket for an 11th day would be 75.62, plus $11 parking for a total of $484.17, more than the cost of an annual pass.

The point to buy an annual pass on TWO trips within the same year is 8 total days on all trips. An 8-day non-expiring Park Hopper ticket will cost $421.74, plus $88 in parking for a total of $509.74, which is more than an AP.

The bottom line is that two trips in a year is almost always worth an AP, but a single trip has to be fairly long.

Now your original post asked about whether it is economical with flights from Western Canada. We're from Edmonton, and have been able to get what we think are good flights for various times throughout the year. For our trip in May, Northwest had flights for $418/pp including tax. Our trip in August, United had flights for $377/pp including tax. Our trip next January is currently sitting at $486/pp including tax, so we'll wait for now and if it gets better.

I think it depends in large measure to how flexible you are with when you go, and what you consider an acceptable price point for flights. By staying offsite, you will likely have more options for cheaper accomodations if you get a good deal on a flight and can leave on shorter notice (say 2-3 months).

I would also recommend that you consider the idea from a PP of going one year and then going back the next year a couple of weeks early. That way it seems like a yearly trip but allows you to get an AP for a much better deal. The single biggest advantage of this IMO is that you will tour the parks at a much more relaxed pace knowing that you are coming back in the year and that your price for tickets is fixed. You don't have to get as much done this year, so that you can buy a cheaper ticket next year.

Anyway, I'll shut up now, because I think this is probably my longest post ever.

 

[CrazyDisneyMommy1]

Thanks everyone. For right now we will mostly be going Easter Break and Christmas break, maybe a summer trip in a year or two. I will have to do some more sweet talking to my DH, but Tiggerrr I am like you it is about the numbers and I am pretty sure we can do two trips a year. So now to convince DH. In 2007 we were only going in May and that would be it for another year to 18 months he said. Well along came November and I convinced him to go for Christmas. Let me just say I did not have to twist his arm very much... lol
So really I don't think 2 times a year is out of the question. Again thank you to everyone for your replies.

 

[yxe dad]

I also have an AP.
Being from Saskatoon the flights are the biggest cost of any trip to WDW. That being said I try to use Airmiles for flights and try to book on a seat sale.
The second biggest cost is usually park tickets, so if you by AP's the second trip in a year becomes that much more affordable.

We try to get at least two trips on an AP and I'm trying to squeeze in a third trip off my current AP. It expires in Oct so maybe a trip in Sept.

The most days I've used on an AP is close to 40 so I think they are well worth it. The discounts are great for rooms and I've been getting the DDE card to save a ton of cash on meals. I also usually buy all my WDW stuff at the World of Disney store in DTD and save 10% there too!

In Mar 07 we bought into DVC and now the AP's are even cheaper.

 

[Douglas Bray]

My wife and I both have annual passes and we live in Vancouver BC.
The first time that we got them was at the end of September in 05, we were able to go for a second trip in May 06, and again in the begining of September 06. We went again at the end of September last year, when we got another annual pass, and we are going again in April.

The best deal that we have found is to use Air Miles to get 7 day Park Hopper Tickets with no expiration on them, once in the park you can upgrade the ticket for around $50.00 and then you have a pass good for 366 days.

If you do much shopping at Safeway it isn't had to collect 6000 or 7000 points each year.

For flights we drive south to Seattle which only takes about three hours, and have been able to get return flights as cheap as $310.00 each to $480.00 each including taxes. Out of Vancouver it is almost always over $700.00 and has one ore two transfers when out of Seattle we fly direct on Alaska Airlines or have one transfer on other airlines. But by getting our airfare out of Seattle we have many more options for flights. The only additional cast to going out of Seattle is parking, but a one room at the Doubletree gives you 14 days of parking for free and is only $130.00 when parking near Vancouver International is over $10.00 a day so on a two week trip it is cheaper to park in Seattle than Vancouver.

I hope that you are able to get the annual passes and get a couple of trips use out of them.

We were just able this week to change our reservation in April, with the new passholder rate so we now have our room for seven nights @ the Pop Century with the basic dining plan for two adults and one child and was just over $1200.00, a great deal when the room only rate before a discount was over $700.00.

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Just came across your post (better late than never) ... we too have APs. 2007 was the first year we purchased them, and since then have taken three trips with this coming May trip being our fourth

We definitely agree with everything tiggerrr said and we've certainly found that if you are planning only one trip a year, APs probably aren't worth it. But two or more trips and you are definitely saving money.

We too fly Northwest and have been able to get great fares ... our May 2007 trip was $346 CDN/pp return incl. taxes, our January 2008 trip was $317 CDN/pp incl. taxes, and our upcoming May trip cost us $367 CDN/pp incl. taxes. Our October 2006 trip was a bit more expensive as we travelled first class as an anniversary present to ourselves

Again as tiggerr said, if you are flexible in the dates and times you travel, you are more likely to get a good deal on airfare.