What made you decide to get an AP?

[DisneyNewbie83]

We're planning to drive from PA to WDW in April. We went last November and had a great time. We are also going to SC in July for a conference, so thought maybe we can drive an extra 8 hours and do WDW again. This made me think about getting an AP. And of course, I already planned out 2 more WDW trips in my mind!

But to afford it, we would stay off-site at a more affordable hotel that affords free breakfast, and eat with a strict budget. I would also get a TIW card though.

The problem is figuring out if it's worth it. It's expensive, as there are 6 of us. For those who got it, what would you say are the benefits? Are you happy you decided to go for it? I also need to convince my DH and I don't know if that'll happen! Thanks!

 

[ArwenMarie]

We looked into them (we live in NJ) and we decided against them. I would have to recheck, but I think we did the math and for us, we would have had to make three trips in a year to really get the value out of them. They are priced sky-high IMO.

I personally think that the 30-day booking window stinks, at least for the full-priced ones that us out-of-staters have to buy. Right when we were considering buying them they changed the booking window for FP+ for APs from 60 to 30 days. So that was kind of annoying.

We also looked at the benefits. There are some room discounts, but like all of the Disney room discounts, things get pretty picked over quickly. You would be staying offsite so that benefit wouldn't apply. Tables in Wonderland seemed to have a lot of rules but that wasn't a big draw for us.

Anyway, all just my opinion, just stuff that made us decide against it, not to be a downer. We did buy Universal APs which we used for two trips. But they were about a third of the price and we got onsite room discounts with them.

 

[SusieBea]

We're planning to drive from PA to WDW in April. We went last November and had a great time. We are also going to SC in July for a conference, so thought maybe we can drive an extra 8 hours and do WDW again. This made me think about getting an AP. And of course, I already planned out 2 more WDW trips in my mind!

But to afford it, we would stay off-site at a more affordable hotel that affords free breakfast, and eat with a strict budget. I would also get a TIW card though.

The problem is figuring out if it's worth it. It's expensive, as there are 6 of us. For those who got it, what would you say are the benefits? Are you happy you decided to go for it? I also need to convince my DH and I don't know if that'll happen! Thanks!

We're on our fourth round of APs. We're DVC, and we go to WDW several times a year, sometimes for a week and sometimes for only a couple of nights. We always drive. It just made financial sense for us to have them. We tend to drive to each of the parks except MK, and they give us free parking. That helps. We also have had TIW for several years. It works well for the way we dine there. It's also REALLY helpful when we take our kids and their kids! LOL So, bottom line, it was an economic decision.

 

[Lyndarella]

I am also a DVC member, which discounts the AP. However, I thought it was a good value before, if I was going to use it for more than 8 days within a year. Do the math and figure out how many days of use you would get. The other advantages for you would be park hopping, free parking, and discounts at stores and some restaurants. Then if you decide to renew the APs there is a discount for that.

 

[WDWFan06]

Like others have said just do the math. I have family in FL who have AP. I go down many times a year and I really just got sick of paying all the time for one or two day tickets. Also, now that I have the pass I've made 2 spontaneous trips down this year. Another factor was room discounts but like it was previously mentioned they sometimes are picked over very quickly. Early registration for RunDisney events was a plus for me as well.

 

[SeilerBird]

The true beauty of an AP is that it removes that "I must see everything in the park today" attitude. You know you will be coming back many times and if you don't see it this trip you will see it next trip. It also allows you to slow down and smell the roses. The real fun for me is checking out all the tiny details that you miss because you are going too fast and you are all excited. I have seen Soarin' dozens of times and I am still finding new things in it that I have missed before. It is a huge screen, you can't take it all in at once.

 

[Bree]

Well, we live in FL and it's a 3 hour drive. We are new to FL so I got the Seasonal Pass. I have no desire to be at WDW during Christmas, Easter or during the blazing heat of summer so the Seasonal Pass made sense for us. There is no parking included with the Seasonal Pass, but I always stay on property with the AP discount.

Tables in Wonderland....you need to spend $500 in food/drink before you break even. Check out the TIW website before you take the plunge.

 

[monarchsfan16]

I did the math. I live in NH, so for obvious reasons I don't get an AP every year (although there were 2 or 3 years in a row when I had one). But if I have a year where I have multiple trips planned, I start crunching numbers. If the numbers work in favor of the AP simply in terms of park tickets, I'll get it. If not, I'll buy separate park hoppers. I don't factor in the benefits when I do the math...I consider those "extra". I only crunch the ticket prices. In that I always park hop, I come out ahead in fewer days than someone who only does one park per day.

 

[kwaziismom]

We are planning two 6 day trips this year, so just for that alone we would save money. This last trip we stayed off property, so the free parking was a big draw for us, and Tables in Wonderland sealed the deal. I may even try to sneak in a third trip

 

[Laketravis]

Like WDWFan06 said, just do the math. Here's how ours worked out:

We always get park hoppers, and last month we were staying for 16 days.

10 Days ($441) + 6 Days ($398)

We are going back to Orlando over Spring Break and will bounce around WDW for at least 4 of those days ($377)

We'll be back in Orlando again in June and will again bounce around WDW for at least 4 days ($377)

One more time in September for a couple of days ($252) and it will be time to look at renewing them in November.

That works out to $1,852 per person in park tickets, so we bought the AP's for $634.

 

[figmentfan0724]

We are also DVC members and we always get annual passes due to the frequency of out trips. we tend to go 3-4 times a year for at min of 5 days each trip. its a bit of money upfront but totally worth it espically when you want to plan a last minute getaway.

 

[holden]

DVC discounted APs make it a no brainer for us. We do 2 trips a year - summer and fall for the FWF.

 

[Art 1]

We're planning to drive from PA to WDW in April. We went last November and had a great time. We are also going to SC in July for a conference, so thought maybe we can drive an extra 8 hours and do WDW again. This made me think about getting an AP. And of course, I already planned out 2 more WDW trips in my mind!

But to afford it, we would stay off-site at a more affordable hotel that affords free breakfast, and eat with a strict budget. I would also get a TIW card though.

The problem is figuring out if it's worth it. It's expensive, as there are 6 of us. For those who got it, what would you say are the benefits? Are you happy you decided to go for it? I also need to convince my DH and I don't know if that'll happen! Thanks!

For me I was going 50 to 75 times each year. Look what I saved in parking alone.

 

[robndani]

Why do you need to spend $500 for your TIW to pay for itself?

Also, we are DVC and get APs. We go at least twice a year for at least a week, so the math works!

 

[aribelle]

You said that you went last November. Are your dates that you can go set in stone, or can you adjust them? We went Nov/Dec 2013....then again in May/June 2014, and our last trip was in Oct/Nov, and ended just a week before our APs expired. Our next trip won't be again in May, so we are not renewing but will be getting APs again in May (because we're also going in August/September and then November/Dec.

We get APs because we go so often.....even if we only went for a week each trip it would be worth it for us. In reality we go for 3 to 4 weeks at a time, so obviously it's worth it to us.

We have purchased the TIW for the last 6 years.....but this year we haven't used it much, so we're going to have to rethink for our May 2015 purchase. In the past we have enjoyed doing a few TS a week.....but the last two trips we have found that the prices are just ridiculous to us for what we get, so we've not done as many TS. Basically you need to spend about $500 in order to reach the break even point.....if you spend more than you're saving money. This year we spent $621....so our savings was there, but not by much.

We stay offsite and rent a condo/house (using vrbo.com). We seldom pay more than $50-60 a night (for a 3 bedroom, you may need a larger place). It has a full kitchen so we eat breakfast before we head out, we typically do a CS or maybe a TS for lunch, and then head home when we're ready for dinner. The nights we want to be at the park, we may either do both meals at CS or if we started at rope drop we'll take a break at lunch or dinner and go home. We enjoy cooking, so not a big deal for us, and we'll cook larger meals so we can freeze half and have it to simply reheat....I know some object to cooking on their vacation, so each to their own.

You really need to do the math to know what works for your family.....everyone is different so no one can really tell you exactly what will work for you. But the above is what works for us. If we stayed on site we would not be able to afford as many or as long of trips....so we decided a few years ago that longer/more trips was more important to us than the themeing at the park. We also don't enjoy public transportation, so the buses is not appealing to us. We rent a small car to get us around, the AP means free parking. It also means we're free to go grocery shopping as needed, to go to many of the wonderful restaurants around the area...many with MUCH better food than at Disney and about half the price. For what I would pay for ONE steak at Disney I can buy all three of us a wonderful dinner out, and if we want steak we simply stop at the grocery and get steak and all the fixings for that ONE disney steak.

 

[greentea]

I'm getting an annual pass when I go in August because I'll be back in October for Food and Wine and possibly the following May. But even if I just do the first two trips, it will be cheaper to have an AP. Didn't intend to have so many trips, but we decided to do one per year, plus I am taking a budget trip with some family. And then since we will have APs, our 2016 trip should be done within that year time frame and we can do a Star Wars weekend.

Why do you need to spend $500 for your TIW to pay for itself?

Because it costs $100 and saves 20% on food. 20% of $500 is $100, meaning unless you will spend more than $500 on food at accepted restaurants in a year, the TiW card is not worth getting.

 

[aribelle]

Why do you need to spend $500 for your TIW to pay for itself?

Also, we are DVC and get APs. We go at least twice a year for at least a week, so the math works!

The TIW costs $100.....and provides a 20% discount, so in order to recoup your $100 you must spend $500 x 20% = $100. After that you start actually saving money because your TIW has paid for itself.

 

[robndani]

Lol, I'm dumb! I think it's because when we were there in September we had a large party for dinner at CRT and Akershus so in my head it was paid for with just those two meals. I wasn't really putting a monetary value in it. Plus, it's late. Plus, like I said, I'm dumb!

I think TIW is great if you go on 2 or more trips a year, and if you go with a bunch of people. A family of 4 going for one trip in the year wouldn't make that much sense.

Back to original topic, we are going on an extra trip this year just to get another week in our APs. Our last day of the trip is the day they expire!!!!

 

[DisneyNewbie83]

Thanks for all the responses!

We're looking at going for 8 days this time and I calculated tickets (no park hoppers or water parks) to be about $2000 for the 6 of us. The annual passes would be $4000.

DH is worried that if we don't get to go again that we just wasted lots of $$. He would rather have one nice vacation while I would rather having more cheaper vacations. Quantity vs Quality I guess

The other concern is we wouldn't be able to take advantage of promotional offers like free dining or play, stay, eat (that's what I think at least).

Anyways, I'm going to see what happens as we still have some time to make a decision. Too bad we don't live closer to FL!!

 

[bumbershoot]

The other concern is we wouldn't be able to take advantage of promotional offers like free dining or play, stay, eat (that's what I think at least).

This is true. But often people find that having admission pre-paid, with the ability to have AP discounts or the TIW to reduce food costs, with the ability to get AP discounts on rooms...trumps paying full price for rooms and getting food for "free".

Or you can still book those things, get the minimum ticket you have to get for the promo, then just not use that ticket. In the future, when you don't have APs or plans that would match another AP, you can use the tickets and add days to it for that trip.


We love TIW. Check out tablesinwonderland.com, see all the restaurants where you can use it. There are a few with restrictions, but IMO the AP food discount has far more restrictions. Most table service restaurants, the lounges, and food courts at all Values, Sassagoula at POFQ, the food court at SSR, and a few counter services at Animal Kingdom Park. Not bad!


We get APs when we plan to go back inside of a year.