When is AP worth it?

[disneymom23]

When is it worth it to buy AP's? How many days in the park does it become more cost effective to have them? We are in SF and will visit DL maybe twice a year?

Also, can you upgrade already purchased parkhoppers to AP's?

Thanks!

 

[DoomBugger]

Twice a year probbaly not worth it, even if you could get the SoCal resident pass rates. However, if you had APs you might visit a couple more times and then it could be worth it. In the terms of a SoCal pass It also depends what days you plan to visit. For example, if you want to visit on a blockout day then it would not be good but if you planned to visit on non blockout days then it might work out.

Long short of it is if you are a non SoCal resident and only plan to visit twice a year an AP would probably not suit you, just sticking with your existing park hoppers might be your best bet.

 

[rockstargeisha]

Doombugger is right, it's probably not a good investment if you only plan to make two trips. There are four different annual passes available for purchase and aside from the premium pass, they all have selected block-out dates. This can get a bit tricky from a vacationers perspective since you may encounter block out days during your visit. Lots of weekends are blocked out, and of course during peak times like Spring Break and during the holidays.

Stick to the parkhoppers.

 

[tracer]

We are AP holders. The reason we opted to get them this past year is because we went twice in the year and it paid for itself halfway through our second trip. We went 3 days both times. I would work out the figures and see what is cheaper...also you get the extra perks of discounts and such while being an AP holder.

 

[bumbershoot]

I disagree that two trips aren't worth it!

We had 5 day hoppers with an upgrade value of 189 each (a bit less for DS's ticket since he's 3). ONE more one-day ticket made upgrading to Deluxe worth it financially.

Right now if we had the cost of a 5 day hopper (which gives 7 days at this moment) that's an upgrade value, if prepurchased from disneyland.com, of 194. A one-day hopper is $91. A deluxe AP is 259! Heck, a one-day one-park is 66, so it's still worth it by $1 to get that AP.

It is beyond a no-brainer that the AP is worth it.

And then there are the discounts, which make it even better!

Even if your trips were only 2 days long each, it's still worth it to get the deluxe AP (unless of course you want to go on blockout days, then you need to think about the premium or not getting the AP, that is the ONE grey area of when your trips are).

 

[bumbershoot]

"can you upgrade already purchased parkhoppers to AP's?" Yes, during your trip, before they are totally used up.

 

[mindylovesmickey]

Our Premium AP's are totally worth it. When you take into account the discounts on the character meals that we did (we did 2), all of the shopping purchases $10 and up got a 10% discount, the discounts we got shopping in DTD, by the time we go again, we'll have already made up for all of our AP's, even dh's and he will not end up going as many times as the rest of us since he will spend the majority of the year out of the country.

 

[tracer]

Also, can you upgrade already purchased parkhoppers to AP's?

Thanks!

Yes this is what we did during our first trip. It was very fast and easy!

 

[fairycat]

Its hard for me to say since I have had a Premium pass for 8 years now and would die with out it But I live an Hour and a half away from the park.

I agree with Bumbershoot look at the blackout dates and compare them to when you would most likely go. It they don't line up go with an AP. You can always adjust your future trip for a non-blocked date.

Also remember that your AP is good from the first day you use it (or the first day you use your paper ticket if you upgrade a multi-day ticket), this means if you buy it this summer, you might get two trips this year and maybe one more in 2009 before your passes expire.

And yes the discounts should be figured in as well since they add up quick!

 

[pixiewings71]

IMO it's totally worth it to upgrade. We have PAP's so we have blackout dates coming up, we are sitting down tonight to figure out our next trip. When you take into acct the price of the park hoppers, then figure out how much you can use the discount then for us, it's a no brainer. Of course not everyone goes as much as do.....we average 1 trip a month, so for us, it's totally worth it. BTW, we live in Suisun (Fairfield area if you don't know Suisun) so we aren't that far from you...and we drive every trip. If you're going to go twice in 1 year then yes, upgrade your tickets. But be aware of blackout dates, those will affect your trips.

 

[got2travel]

I've had a Deluxe AP for about 7 years. I thought we would just make a few trips per year, but since we had the passes already it was so easy to just take off on Friday after work and head on down. We end up taking 5-6 trips per year.

 

[jernysgirl]

Right now if we had the cost of a 5 day hopper (which gives 7 days at this moment) that's an upgrade value, if prepurchased from disneyland.com, of 194. A one-day hopper is $91. A deluxe AP is 259! Heck, a one-day one-park is 66, so it's still worth it by $1 to get that AP.

Molly - What do you mean by upgrade value?

 

[bumbershoot]

You pay the difference between that amount and the AP of choice.

Sometimes people have tickets where they don't know the cost (the hoppers in the So Cal City Pass for instance), so instead of saying "the cost" I say "upgrade value". Maybe "amount" would be better than "value". Editing...no, b/c then it sounds like you'd need to pay that amount again...hmm.


pixiewings71, I think you mean you have deluxe APs, b/c the premiums are blockout-free.

 

[jernysgirl]

Got it, that's what I thought... but then I thought maybe you meant you get credited the 7 days price as opposed to the 5 you paid for towards your AP (on a 7 for 5 Hopper). Thanks for clarifying.

 

[chocolatelover]

Yes, AP is worth it. I live in NJ. Go sometimes twice a year (usually more though) for 4-6 days. Have had deluxe for about 6 years now.

 

[prettyprincessbelle]

Its hard for me to say since I have had a Premium pass for 8 years now and would die with out it But I live an Hour and a half away from the park.

Yay! We live an hour and a half away from the park too (Ventura County) and we're going to get Premium's in May.. We mostly go on weekends and for atleast 2 days minumum.. So getting a Premium AP would be best.. Plus you can't beat the discounts..

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We had 4 day Hoppers that we upgraded to Deluxe AP's last year in June. We were only planning on using them once more in Oct. and even then we saved more money then if we would have bought more park hoppers instead.

We're actually going to use them one more time before they expire this June, so they've more then paid for themselves!

 

[BillyFan]

We live in San Jose and have had PAP's for several years. We love the ablility to take off for a long weekend on a whim. And whenever friends are going to DLR, we can muscle our way on to their trips too!

 

[jencav5]

I agree that the AP's are worth it for more than one trip, especially if the trip is 3 days or more at a time. We're also in Northern CA and we've had Prem AP's for 8 years now. If you can afford it, it is so much worth it to have the premium-you don't have to worry about blockouts, you get free parking, and more discounts. Also, once you renew, you get a 20% merchandise discount coupon per pass. We've got 5 in our family, so I usually make those last throughout the year for larger purchases! I bet you will go more, anyway, if you have an AP. There are many excuses to go to Dland!

 

[jencav5]

We live in San Jose and have had PAP's for several years. We love the ablility to take off for a long weekend on a whim. And whenever friends are going to DLR, we can muscle our way on to their trips too!

That's one of those great excuses to go to Disneyland! lol