What's your "worth it" point for getting an Annual Pass?

[tlmadden73]

I am blessed living within a day's drive of Orlando and with a wifeI am looking into going to WDW in fall of 2018 and again in Fall of 2019.

My hope is in 2018 to catch the opening of Toy Story Land and experience Avatar for the first time (we missed it by 2 months in March of this year) and return again in 2019 to catch Galaxy's Edge and go on one more trip while my daughter is still under 3.

But I figured since I want to go twice within a year, do I look into getting Annual Passes for myself, wife and son (who is currently 5)?

If I would go for just two 4-day trips, that basically means I am paying $93/ticket, which is decently cheaper than a two separate 4-day Park hoppers. I live within 9 hour drive of WDW, so going on shorter trips isn't an issue for me. At $750ish dollars it feels that is a good value especially since it also includes a $150 (per trip) value in the Memory Maker (which we like using) and $20/day value in parking (if you stay offsite .. which I may for at least one of the trips to save some money).

I'm all about being efficient .. we've been going to Disney every year and a half since 2014 on a 10-day No expiration Park Hopper tickets (three separate, short, 2 park day trips and still have 4 days left on those. At $75/day .. it would be cheaper to go on one of those trips with our remaining days, but if an Annual Pass is a decent value, maybe I save those for the far future (imagine the savings then if prices keep going up).

So .. what do you find getting an Annual Pass "worth it" for? How many park days? What other advantages to Annual Passes make it worth it to you?

 

[Disneylover99]

I love having an AP. You have a different mindset when you have it. It takes the pressure off trying to get your day's money's worth out of a park. There's nothing like wandering into a park just to ride one ride and then leaving again to spend the day at your resort without feeling like you just wasted a day from a 10 day ticket. It's not something we would consider doing without an AP.

 

[tlmadden73]

I love having an AP. You have a different mindset when you have it. It takes the pressure off trying to get your day's money's worth out of a park. There's nothing like wandering into a park just to ride one ride and then leaving again to spend the day at your resort without feeling like you just wasted a day from a 10 day ticket. It's not something we would consider doing without an AP.

That is a good point, I've had the same mindset with our 10-day no-expiration hopper tickets. I've opted to take many short trips knowing we can either go another day (or relax at our hotel) and still not wasted any tickets for our next trip.

 

[Colleen27]

This is my math right now. It is mostly about park days, but not entirely.

I'm planning two trips, March with the kids and sometime in the fall just with my husband. Both will require 4 day base tickets at least (we often tack on a day or add hoppers if the need arises). I'm not a FL resident or DVC owner, and I like the dining plan so those tickets will most likely be part of a WDTC package rather than purchased from a discounter. So those tickets would add up to $745.50.

I also want Memory Maker for the March trip, which will probably be our last with adult DS and is his SO's very first visit to WDW. So that's another $169 (advance purchase price). I probably wouldn't buy it for the fall trip, though it might be nice to have just to get some shots with both DH & I in them.

That's where my math stopped. I didn't even bother trying to guess as potential room discounts or factor in dining and merchandise discounts because they make no difference to the overall equation.

$745.50 tickets + $169 Memory Maker = $914.50

Annual pass = $829.64

No brainer.

Of course, the danger with an AP is that it makes planning extra trips very tempting. DD16 & I are already talking about a potential 3rd trip while my AP is still good, to finally compete in a RunDisney event. The last time I had one I managed 4 trips in a year's time, despite living about 18 hours from the parks!

 

[Lesley Wake]

One thing I would want to caution you about is the Toy Story Land and Star Wars opening dates. While we know TSL will open in summer 2018, we still don't know for sure when SWGE will open; they have confirmed 2019 for Disneyland but we know WDW is at least 6 months behind. So for timing, of you get a pass right after TSL opens, it may not be good when SWGE opens (e.g. get pass in June 2018, SW doesn't open until November 2019)!

 

[Bete]

First, I would consider an extra trip within your time frame with an annual pass like Food and Wine including the Halloween party or when the Christmas season begins or another special occassion. Get even more value from the annual pass while you have it. Find a way to save for an extra trip. Do your annual pass at the last moment possible; so, it extends in the future more for you.

Also, I believe you can upgrade your existing 10 day non expiring ticket to an annual pass. That can give you a break in the price of the annual pass. Again, do this at the very last moment. You won't lose out by exchanging for an upgraded pass.

 

[tlmadden73]

$745.50 tickets + $169 Memory Maker = $914.50

Annual pass = $829.64

No brainer.

Of course, the danger with an AP is that it makes planning extra trips very tempting. DD16 & I are already talking about a potential 3rd trip while my AP is still good, to finally compete in a RunDisney event. The last time I had one I managed 4 trips in a year's time, despite living about 18 hours from the parks!

Hmm .. I like that math. It definitely feels worth it for AT LEAST two 4 day trips within one calendar year. Heck .. even two 3 day trips is almost break even just on the park ticket cost alone.
But yes, being only a long day's drive away (9 hours without stops) would make a 3rd trip VERY tempting.

One thing I would want to caution you about is the Toy Story Land and Star Wars opening dates. While we know TSL will open in summer 2018, we still don't know for sure when SWGE will open; they have confirmed 2019 for Disneyland but we know WDW is at least 6 months behind. So for timing, of you get a pass right after TSL opens, it may not be good when SWGE opens!

Ya, that would be a gamble for sure .. my thoughts would be to do October/November of 2018 to guarantee catching Toy Story Land and go again by Oct. 18 of 2019 (daughter's birthday).
So it may come down on when I buy the annual pass ..

I could plan for the fall 2018 trip, but not buy the annual pass until near the trip, since that is a year away, hopefully there will be better idea when SWGE would be opening.

The problem is that I am sure prices for annual passes will go up again in a few months, so my hope would to be buy one now and just not activate it until Fall 2018 (you can do that right? Buy an annual pass now and just activate it later when your first trip is?

 

[tlmadden73]

First, I would consider an extra trip within your time frame with an annual pass like Food and Wine including the Halloween party or when the Christmas season begins or another special occassion. Get even more value from the annual pass while you have it. Find a way to save for an extra trip. Do your annual pass at the last moment possible; so, it extends in the future more for you.

Also, I believe you can upgrade your existing 10 day non expiring ticket to an annual pass. That can give you a break in the price of the annual pass. Again, do this at the very last moment. You won't lose out by exchanging for an upgraded pass.

That is a good bonus just to see the directions or go to a party without the pressure of "wasting" a day.

But I didn't know you could just upgrade the non-expiring tickets to an annual pass? I may consider doing that to save some money.

What about normal (not non-expiring) Magic Your Way tickets? I bought a set of normal 5-day non-hopper tickets before they started putting expiration dates on all tickets. So I was planning on holding onto those for a future longer trip, but if I can convert the cost of those into an annual pass? That may be a nice money saver (and a better sell to the wife). Though it is nice to have a set of tickets already paid for for a future vacation.

 

[Colleen27]

Also, I believe you can upgrade your existing 10 day non expiring ticket to an annual pass. That can give you a break in the price of the annual pass. Again, do this at the very last moment. You won't lose out by exchanging for an upgraded pass.

You can only do that within 14 days of first use, so if some of the days are used it is too late to upgrade.

The problem is that I am sure prices for annual passes will go up again in a few months, so my hope would to be buy one now and just not activate it until Fall 2018 (you can do that right? Buy an annual pass now and just activate it later when your first trip is?

Yes. What you get is an AP voucher that will give you access to AP discounts and such, but has to be exchanged for the actual AP at guest services. The expiration clock doesn't start ticking until the exchange.

I haven't kept tabs on when the price increases have been coming lately. Didn't it used to be in the summer?

 

[Colleen27]

What about normal (not non-expiring) Magic Your Way tickets? I bought a set of normal 5-day non-hopper tickets before they started putting expiration dates on all tickets. So I was planning on holding onto those for a future longer trip, but if I can convert the cost of those into an annual pass? That may be a nice money saver (and a better sell to the wife). Though it is nice to have a set of tickets already paid for for a future vacation.

You can upgrade existing tickets to APs any time within 14 days of first use. So your 10 day tickets couldn't be upgraded since you've been using them, but the unused 5 day tickets could.

 

[North of Mouse]

I am blessed living within a day's drive of Orlando and with a wifeI am looking into going to WDW in fall of 2018 and again in Fall of 2019.

My hope is in 2018 to catch the opening of Toy Story Land and experience Avatar for the first time (we missed it by 2 months in March of this year) and return again in 2019 to catch Galaxy's Edge and go on one more trip while my daughter is still under 3.

But I figured since I want to go twice within a year, do I look into getting Annual Passes for myself, wife and son (who is currently 5)?

If I would go for just two 4-day trips, that basically means I am paying $93/ticket, which is decently cheaper than a two separate 4-day Park hoppers. I live within 9 hour drive of WDW, so going on shorter trips isn't an issue for me. At $750ish dollars it feels that is a good value especially since it also includes a $150 (per trip) value in the Memory Maker (which we like using) and $20/day value in parking (if you stay offsite .. which I may for at least one of the trips to save some money).

I'm all about being efficient .. we've been going to Disney every year and a half since 2014 on a 10-day No expiration Park Hopper tickets (three separate, short, 2 park day trips and still have 4 days left on those. At $75/day .. it would be cheaper to go on one of those trips with our remaining days, but if an Annual Pass is a decent value, maybe I save those for the far future (imagine the savings then if prices keep going up).

So .. what do you find getting an Annual Pass "worth it" for? How many park days? What other advantages to Annual Passes make it worth it to you?

I guess 'worth it' is all subjective IMO. We have AP's and don't feel like it's 'worth it' to us unless we get three 9-10 nights in our year. We also enjoy the limitless minutes/hours we can go to a park and not wasting days if we aren't there long. We go in the parks every day of our trip. The included Photo pkg. is not a big deal to us. From our perspective, to be honest, the rising costs (no matter which way you go) have just about done us in - getting way too expensive for what enjoyment we receive.

We live 600+ miles away and drive our motor home to FW. We usually skip 2-3 years between our AP purchases. Our current AP's may be our last as we are enjoying other destinations more and more, for way less expense - including lodging, meals and admissions costs - where applicable.

 

[TinkSassy]

Jumping on here - is the pass good from the first purchase date or first use date? Are there room discounts for having the pass?

I have a 6 day trip in the spring - thinking about grabbing a 3-4 day trip in the next few weeks. So ticket wise it makes sense. If we have a package and everyone else has tickets included and I pull mine out will that mess with a package discount?

 

[FSU Girl]

I love having an annual pass. You don't feel like you need to get everything done right away and can take a more leisurely pace. If you decide you want to add a spur of the moment trip you don't have to worry about tickets. One down side for me is I've been making way too many trips that I never would have gone on without this.

Jumping on here - is the pass good from the first purchase date or first use date? Are there room discounts for having the pass?

I have a 6 day trip in the spring - thinking about grabbing a 3-4 day trip in the next few weeks. So ticket wise it makes sense. If we have a package and everyone else has tickets included and I pull mine out will that mess with a package discount?

I don't know the answer to your second question, but your first one the pass officially starts the day you use it, not buy it. So if you bought it today and don't go for five months, your pass won't be active until 5 months from now. There are rooms with Annual Passholder discounts. You can book these before you activate your pass, as long as you activate it when you arrive you're fine.

 

[Surr]

Jumping on here - is the pass good from the first purchase date or first use date? Are there room discounts for having the pass?

I have a 6 day trip in the spring - thinking about grabbing a 3-4 day trip in the next few weeks. So ticket wise it makes sense. If we have a package and everyone else has tickets included and I pull mine out will that mess with a package discount?

An AP is good from the first used date, so if you upgrade a ticket, the AP is backdated to the first day the ticket was used.

There are room discounts for AP holders. They usually are only released for dates within the next three months or so. (Of course, you can book anytime and change to the discount when/if it is released).

Once you are there, you can upgrade your ticket alone and not affect anyone else on the package.

FYI, there are also food and merchandise discounts as well. You could almost make an AP worthwhile for one person (in a party) on a single week trip if you needed free parking, wanted memory maker and made use of the other discounts.

 

[PSUGuy]

This will be our 3rd time using our 'Two Year Plan'. We have 9 day hoppers from UT, purchased so we could make 60 day FP+ choices. We arrive Nov. 2 for a 9 day stay, we'll upgrade the first day. We already have decided on next year's dates, Oct 17 - 26 which will give us 18 - 19 days under the AP. In addition there are the discounts and Photo Pass which we really enjoy but is something we wouldn't pay extra for. Also, there's always the possibility of sneaking in a Spring trip with only transportation and resort to pay for.

Bill From PA

 

[dprincessmom]

This year is the first time we have had AP. When I started doing the ticket math for a 3 day in September and a few days in December, it made sense. Then as warned earlier, now that we have the AP we are doing 6 days in Nov and a full week in December. Why not since tickets are the biggest part of the budget and now with AP discounts for the room

Hoping that we will get a sneak peak at Toy Story Land (like what they did with Pandora).

 

[alliecat523]

I love having an AP. You have a different mindset when you have it. It takes the pressure off trying to get your day's money's worth out of a park. There's nothing like wandering into a park just to ride one ride and then leaving again to spend the day at your resort without feeling like you just wasted a day from a 10 day ticket. It's not something we would consider doing without an AP.

Agree 100%. We live very far away but still have APs and love them. We do a lot of shorter trips and don’t feel the pressure to go all day because of the cost. I also like the added perks like discounts, free parking, AP room rates. We’ve made the most of these (even though it’s not an enormous savings).

 

[RoyandWalt]

We go three weeks each year (spring, fall, early Dec.). That amount of days/trips is still cheaper than buying multi-day passes each time we come. And since we don't stay on property and rent a car, the parking is built in.

 

[BridgetBordeaux]

If you visit for 4-5 days at a time, the 3rd trip becomes about the "come out ahead" point (generally speaking) and anything after that is gravy. I agree with a PP that it is nice to have the pressure off since you know you will make multiple trips.
If you are really being economical, staying offsite and simply using the free parking perk really adds up. Weekend visits and 3 day weekend visits can be very enjoyable with an AP.
In a 12 month period, while staying offsite for a total of 18 nights will save you 360 bucks on parking. Even only getting one AP in the household might make sense for the frequent traveling person.

 

[jpeterson]

This year is the first time we have had AP. When I started doing the ticket math for a 3 day in September and a few days in December, it made sense. Then as warned earlier, now that we have the AP we are doing 6 days in Nov and a full week in December. Why not since tickets are the biggest part of the budget and now with AP discounts for the room

Hoping that we will get a sneak peak at Toy Story Land (like what they did with Pandora).

Similar happened to us, we bought APs in May since we anticipated going back for 1 more trip at least within a year. We've already gone back in August, have Thanksgiving booked, a race weekend in February and spring break in March...