What would you do???? Sort of long.

[mb168]

While trying to decide which passes to buy for our upcoming trips and counting how many days we had planned in the next year, we are just under the breakeven point of an AP where a 7 day PHP makes more sense. We will still have some more points left over after our planned trips so we were trying to make the AP work. Our family June trip, Sun-Thur is 160 points at BCV where we currently have ressies and had inteded on lots of SAB activity like we did this year with then 8 month pregnant wife. We didn't do any parks because of that. So next year she thinks she wants to tak the kids to the parks for 2 of the 3 days we are there which makes the extra points at BCV seem almost like a waste. So my idea now is to change to a bigger OKW 2 BR which is 120 points for the same days and then use the extra 40 points with the left overs for a few shorter, wife and I only trips and thus justifying the AP . shew! We are already going for Food and Wine '03, Thanksgiving '03, June '04, and Food and Wine '04. We would probably squeeze in a Valentine weekend and a long Labor day weekend too with the leftover points. Most of our trips except the June trip are DW and I only. Thanksgiving will be with the 4mo old and MIL. No trips planned between Thanksgiving and June

What do ya'll think? More trips and the AP? Or current planned trips with the family trip at BCV and SAB, 7 day PHP and they would last more than a year and have the extra 4 days to go to the water parks? What a delimma....

 

[BillPA]

If I lived as close as you do, less than 6 hours, I would have APs. You never know when you just have to get a Disney fix. Well, I live in PA and have AP now so for me it's a 'no brainer'

Have a great "bunch" of trips.

 

[jade1]

AP, then beg borrow and steal as many trips as you can that year. You can go in the first night to eat at Japan and watch illuminations and not feel you wasted a whole day pass etc. Then take a break from it a year or 2.

 

[mb168]

I think some of my apprehension is in planning to take the kids, DD8, DS7, DD5, DD11mo to the parks for 2 days, paying for their tickets and them wanting to go swimming by 1:00 and passed out before the fireworks. BCV and SAB worked well this year with DW pregnant and they played all day there. I don't want them to be "disapointed" in the OKW pool if we end up going there everyday. If that happened nd we had the 7day PHP, we could go to Blizzard Beach for a day too.

I really am right there on the verge of doing this AP thing, I just want to get 8+ days in over the next year to really feel good about it, with the switch, it'll give me 10+ days in the parks, but no water parks, but DW isn't crazy about water parks anyway.

Oh the agony...

 

[CK1]

Well, if I lived where you live, I would go for the APs for the adults (if any of your kids are old enough for tickets -- you should consider PHP for them). We always are "on the edge" between AP and PHP, but in our case, our kids love the water parks now, and we live 15 hrs away, so "lttle trips" aren't really practical or possible. So we're PHP people. Plus, we always go as a family -- no trips with just dh and I wherein you can go into Epcot for a dinner, or do more leisurely, less "scheduled" planning.

I don't think, however, I'd add extra tiny trips here and there, but that's simply my preference. I'd add a day here and there to my pre-existing plans, if possible. Even a 6 hr drvie is still 12 hrs total that could be eliminated by instead adding the extra days onto your existing plans. Of course, if you're vacation-time limited or extra days means a high-points night like Fri or Sat, that might render this idea impossible. But as for me, I just don't get much out of a whirlwind 6 hrs down, spend 2 nights and back again trip -- I'd need a vacation from my vacation, even if it WERE sans the kids!

As for "wasting" points at BCV because you don't think you'll use SAB... If the only reason you were going to BCV was SAB, I'd agree -- a waste. However, if you were also planning to take advantage of being close to Epcot / MGM, it's not a waste. If you are planning to spend bulk of your time at MK with your little ones ... well, perhaps VWL should be considered!

Good luck deciding!

 

[spiceycat]

Last year I got annual passes - I will not get them again for a while -

I generally take mother and she can't do the parks every day - like she use too.

As long as I take her - I won't get her another annual pass - that was a waste of money - I also got one for my niece I wasted alot money in 2002 on annual passes.

You know already that your kids are going to want to swim.

Oh I have never seem a child disappointment with OKW pools - adults yes - children no - they seem happy to just be in the water.

So I would stay with your park hoppers - then you can plan a theme park visit every other day and the rest of the time the kids can swim and you won't get upset because you aren't in the parks.

I will probably get me one in the future - but not until I am back going on solo trips.

I do kept a US/IOA and SW annual pass - but they are pretty cheap compared to WDW.

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by mb168
I don't want them to be "disapointed" in the OKW pool if we end up going there everyday. If that happened nd we had the 7day PHP, we could go to Blizzard Beach for a day too.

Most 7 & 5 year olds I know are happy in whatever pool they find themselves! I think sometimes we, as parents, worry about this a lot more than the kids do.

However, nobody knows your family better than you. Personally, I would find it very difficult to stay at BCV or BWV and not be able to walk over to Epcot for a short visit, dinner or Iluminations. With the AP, you can spend an hour in a park, or find yourselves "passed out before the fireworks" and not feel you've wasted a PH day.

I'd go the AP route myself since you live pretty close to WDW and spur of the moment trips are more likely.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I too would have a very difficult time limiting park time if I was there that often. We live1500 miles away, and we always use APs. We manage then well though. We plan as many trips in the 365 days that we can, and then we wait another 365 before we purchase the next AP. We don't do the renewal thing any more since it doesn't make financial sense anymore. Instead we just wait that year and then add a new pass.

 

[CK1]

Forgive me for rambling (I'm in a Robitussin-induced stupor), but I agree with what some of the other posters have said -- with the AP, you can casually enter/exit parks and not feel you "wasted" a PH day. When you "activate" that PH pass, it's human nature to feel you have to use it ALL day long. On the flip side, with a PHP, if you don't go into the park at all and just hang out by the pool, you've "saved" a day on your pass. On the AP, you may feel like you need to go to the park at least once a day, or it is being "wasted". So.... do you like to bee-bop in and out of the parks, or do you like to do a park one day, then take a day off to hang out at pool or DTD?

I recommended the AP to you because you live nearby and said you take lots of you and spouse only trips. that seems agreeable to an AP. For our kids, we do PHPs. We use park-time one day, rest the next one or 2 days. Can you forsee taking the older kids to water park while she hangs out with smaller child? (We did this last year -- dh took sons and other family that was with us to TL, I took our barely 2 yr old to a Princess b'fast and all the "girly stuff" at MK that her brothers gagged over). It worked out GREAT! Our kids (ages 8,7, and now 3) beg for more water park and pool and DTD time (they think DTD is a park!), so we're really locked into a PHP (we would feel too guilty on our days off with an AP or PAP.) I do miss now and then the ability to just go into the park on a "non-park" day. It's a luxury aspect of an AP. If you relish that luxury and would use it, get it. If it's no big whoop, go PHP. (And if you're unsure how kids will want to go -- parks versus pool -- you might come out better with a PHP too.)

 

[mb168]

Thats the other option I guess, save the points for 2005 when the kids are another year older, PHPs now, and APs next year. There's just something about doing things NOW, and planning trips for Disney NOW, and going to Disney NOW.

DW and I both love OKW too. We have a 70pt contract there we bought resale. That's another consideration with the kids is having the bigger room. We were at BCV this June in a 2 BR and it was fine but you know bigger is better. I'm sure we would take them to MK and either AK or MGM so we'll be bussing regardless and I'll take a bus ride if it gets DW and I an extra trip or so, especially for Valentines day. We went last year and had ressies at Narcoosees, WONDERFUL, to say the least.

I know I'm talking myself into the APs and extra trips and I knew thats what most people here would tell me but I know there's gonna be someone that will disagree and I'd like to hear what they say so I don't get to overly blurry eyed at the possibility of going to WDW more often and having APs. I also have to keep in mind that it's a financial decision to spend more money with the APs and extra trips, it's not "saving" me a dime. But it's only $62/ea more for the APs and we'll be staying on points so we're talking food and gas here for the extra money. Its a 3.5 hr drive from my house to WDW and I also am a private pilot and we can fly there on less than 2 for almost the same money and land at Kissimee. We haven't done this yet because DW has been pregnant since we bought a plane and didn't want to squeeze into that little plane. I'm trying to talk her into it for F&W though in 2 weeks if the weather is going to be good.

Don't confuse the plane with having big bucks, being able to afford APs, and extra trips. It's 33 years old and was probably cheaper than most of you guy's cars out there from the polls I've seen here on family incomes. It would just be sooo nice to get there earlier to use those APs, stay longer on the last day, and avoid the traffic and all those work zones from Savannah to Daytona right now. My sister is also in college in Lakeland so I have a "driver" to pick me up and avoid the taxi/car rental.