What park passes do you buy?

[eva]

We used to buy UMP every trip. It never seemed that our trips worked out for APs and we really like the waterparks and PI so we would need PAPs and they just didn't seem a good value if we couldn't get our trips to line up right. But the last couple years we have been buying Hoppers. We usually buy 7 Day Hoppers and spread then over 2 trips. That way in a week we could have 3-4 days in the parks, 1 night at PI, and a day at a waterpark. That would than leave 2-3 days to lounge around the pool or see something outside the parks.

 

[timC]

I usually get a 7-day hopper +. Like eva, our vacation schedule never seems to allow an AP to work, and we don't feel the need to do more than 7 parks days a year. We did doubled up ownership a year ago, so maybe our buying habits will change. Then again, with the extra time, I think we'll end up doing more non-park fun.

 

[BuzzandWoody]

Last year we did AP's.

I think we spent so much more! Cause we made several more trips just because we did have them LOL

Going on a spur of the moment trip next week. Couln't decide between the hoppers or AP. So we bought AP for US/IOA
they have a special till 12/31, we got 4 AP's for $500. No Blackout dates and free parking!

It will be hard NOT going to MGM or MK when we're there esp at this time of the year. And not to mention going off site so much.

But hey, we have 40 more years to go to MK don't we? LOL
This time it'll be Grinchmas

First time to those parks and 1st time to BCV


Des

 

[golfnut1264]

where can you buy ap's now for $125 each..i would love to do that..do you have to buy it down there.

 

[BuzzandWoody]

This is Universal Studios/IOA not Disney.

Go to Universals web site. It's an internet special that expires 12/31/02 Vouchers are issued and the time starts then. I don't think there is an expiration date but since ours will be activated next week it's not a concern for us.


$500 for a family of 4 compared to 1400.00 at Disney for AP's
We'll still get hoppers later in the year. Cause don't get me wrong, I don't mind going somewhere else, but,

There is no place like Epcot or MK!!

Des

 

[BuzzandWoody]

Here's a link to a thread about it here on the Disboards

http://www.disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=293967

 

[EROS]

5 day Park Hopper Plus.... . We would get an AP if we went to the parks 8 days/years. During many of our visits, we DON'T go to a park every day, so the UMP is impractical.....

 

[anniet]

We've been vacationing in Orlando since 1991, and while we are in the area for the last two weeks of January every year, we usually only venture into Disney about 4 or 5 days each trip.

We came back with 2 days left last year so we bought 7dayph+ again, even though we only expect to use 4 or 5 days, we find for us this method gives us the biggest value without making the leap to AP's and making us feel tied to Disney Parks.

Two passes will last us about 3 trips. We'll be making 2 trips in 2005 though and we'll probably spring for the AP then, since we'll be going with family who will want to do parks every day.

 

[Lesley]

We currently have AP's and will probably get them again next year. When we schedule our trips so that we can get 2 in on an AP it makes the passes so much more affordable.

I was considering park hoppers for next time...actually splitting park hoppers over 2 trips like some of you have mentioned....but with young kids I don't know if we'd be able to do full days at the parks even with taking every other day out of the park. And there's something about having a limited number of park days that makes me feel the need to really get the most out of them. And the real nail in the coffin for the PH plus passes for us is that the plusses don't even include Disney Quest. If they did it would be point in their favor for us (as we don't get Premium AP's....figured we'd be better off just paying for water park or DQ or PI visits if we want them since we don't do that stuff often....too busy otherwise)

We managed...hmmm....32 days on our AP's, I think. That was 2 long trips and one shorter one (planned on short notice when we realized it would be less expensive than going to the beach for July 4th!). In 2003-2004 we may get a whole lot less out of them....perhaps only 12 or 13 days, but it seems to work out to be the best value for us anyway. And if we get ourselves moved to SC like we're planning hopefully we'll get a little more use out of them than that. With a mere 7hr drive we would be very tempted to spend some long weekends in WDW.

I discovered on our recent visit that WDW with a 2yo is a whole different story than anything else we've experienced. We need to be able to just spend 3-4 hours in a park per day at this point. We'll reevaluate in the future...I do want to go to Discovery Cove and try Universal eventually, which is hard to convice oneself to do when holding a WDW AP!

 

[Disney Doll]

We get the regular Annual Passports, which gives us unlimited access to the 4 major parks. We are not huge PI or water park people(often, because of the times of year we go, it's too cold for the water parks anyhow), so we don't get the premium APs.If we do end up wanting to go to PI or a waterpark, we pay the day rate.

My DH figured out that if you go for more than 8 days in the 365 day period, then an Annual Passport ends up being cheaper than anything else. Since we are usually at WDW at least 12-15 days per year, it works for us. We like having the ability to go in and out of the parks at will even if it's just in the evening for dinner or something, or to catch one of the nighttime shows/parades.