Which AP to buy?

[Emiems20]

Hi All,

We will be moving to Cali in November. My hubby is Air Force and we will be stationed at a base that is 2.5 hours away from Disneyland so I see many trips in my future. My question is, which AP pass is the best to purchase. We would need three passes as we have two little boys (oldest will be four on Halloween but youngest is only 3wks old and will not need a ticket). I know there are different passes and they did bring back the California resident pass, but that seems impractical with all of the blackout dates. Don’t mind saturday blackout dates because we could go for a day on Sunday. Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. We’ve been to WDW many times but never to DL. Have to be honest and say I never thought I’d get there.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

You should sit down (calmly! I know -- it's hard to be calm when thinking about DLR!) and write down/make a spreadsheet about some basic details. How many (minimum -- realistic) days would you visit the parks? Which days of the week? Would you need parking? If not, what would you do for parking or would you use public transport/Uber/carpool/etc.? What about food and merchandise? (Those costs can really add up if you're not careful -- how would you deal with this on a regular visit basis?) Are there any military discount options that might be a better deal for you overall? For example, would military discount tickets for multi-day visits a few times a year work out better than a year long pass? What about gas costs? Once you have the basic info down on paper, look at the different AP choices and the costs for each. Choose the passes that look like the best fit for your family and start doing the math. Divide the total cost of the pass by the number of times you think you'll visit in a year to see how much each visit will cost you per entry. Does it come out to less than buying tickets, especially with a military discount?
An annual pass is a great luxury and lots of fun, but it isn't always a great savings (!). We probaby spend more money at the parks because of our passes than we would using regular tickets. Don't get me wrong, we love our passes. But APs aren't always the best option for every family, and you're wise to be working things out now before putting down the money. By the way, this thread can help you get your bearings on the differences/similarites between WDW and DLR: A DLR Guide for WDW Vets.

 

[Sergio S]

I have this conversation with a lot of new arrivals to LA AFB and sometimes Huntington Beach, just to give them an idea. So I'll share with you what I share with them.

There's a lot of questions that you and your spouse must ask each other before purchasing an AP. But here's my take and some talking points to discuss before you make this decision:

1. How often do you plan you plan to visit DL? Being 2.5 hours away (with no traffic) is not really close by and almost every trip must be planned out in advance. (I live 15 miles from DL and I still have to plan the visit with the family). Many people think "we're gonna go at least once or twice a week" but that doesn't become the case as you settle in CA and time passes on. Other things will catch your interest (the beach, golf, sports, traveling, etc). Its possible that the AP just sits there in their wallet or purse. You could consider staying near DL, but that also goes with more planning. And if you don't stay there, you're looking at possibly over 5 hours of driving.


2. What days would you want to visit and will your spouse join you? Not knowing your spouse's AFSC/schedule, I can only assume the time and schedule is the standard M-F 0730 (I know other AFSCs have different schedules such as Services and SFs, but this is just speaking in general). The cheapest AP blackouts a lot of weekends, esp during the summer and a few weeks during the Christmas season. Which might mean taking some leave to visit DL during the week.

2a. (Officers only and usually) Will you have time to do everything else CA has to offer? You're only here for 3 years TOPS and then its time to move on. How will it look that when you get to your next assignment and someone asks "What did you do in CA?" And all you have to say is "I visited DL a lot!"


3. How is your monthly budget for other/non-critical expenses? Living in CA is not cheap, and you must sit down and consider your expenses before your entertainment expenses. Esp if you have a car payment, mortgage/rent, paying child care, Star Card payments, etc. Case in point, an E5 really wanted Laker season tickets when he arrived to LA AFB and thought he was going to get the same pay check as he did in Germany, he was in for a real shock at the pay cut he received and had to alter his normal living big time.

3a. If your budget allows, how will you pay for the APs? Outright or monthly payments? The cheapest AP is roughly $1800 (after $98 down its roughly $129 a month) and the top one if over $3100 (after $98 down its roughly $237 a month) for 3 tickets. For a lot ranks, thats a lot of money to fork over (officers included). From my experience, I've seen some young O1s and mature E6s hurt with their finances paying for their AP passes monthly.

3b. Is your spouse deployable within the 12 months? If he/she is, then you run the risk of having a useless AP pass if they do deploy (Hint: you might have to call DL directly for any special considerations during deployments but there is no guarantee they will help you).

4. Its not just the AP expense, but the expenses inside DL too that you must consider. Of course thats something you have more control of then everything else. Esp when you can actually bring in your own food in DL (as long as its not alcohol or in glass containers).

5. You might want to consider the 3 day military passes that are sold at MWR or Community center before considering the AP. If after using the 3 day pass you still want to consider an AP, then by all means go for it but you must be 100 comfortable with this purchase.

I tell this to everyone...I am really not trying to burst your DL bubble, but your lifestyle is a special circumstance compared to civilians. The AP passes are great to have, but if answering these questions or talking points give you any sense of doubt...don't buy it!!!

 

[Lesley Wake]

I would agree with PPs about the distance. It's SoCal so there will absolutely be traffic! Even mid-day on a Saturday I have to deal with plenty of traffic jams and a trip that would be 30 minutes without traffic was over 1 hr (that is a normal occurance for me).

For passes, here are my thoughts:
SoCal-forget about these. They are really only worth it for people who live super close and can go evenings after work or school. Way too many blackout dates to be worth it otherwise!
Deluxe-I wouldn't get this for myself. A lot of locals get this because all they see are Saturday block out days, but that means the non block out days are extremely busy! Whenever I go on a weekend day when Deluxe passes are valid it isn't enjoyable due to all of the crowds. You also have to consider $20 each trip for parking, and discounts are lower.
Signature-this is the pass I normally recommend, though it's not cheap. It includes parking and allows for more dates to visit. Saturday's in summer are actually very good times to visit because only Signature are valid. It used to include photos but no more (now you need MaxPass add-on for $75, which I would actually recommend to make fastpasses so much easier!)
Signature Plus-I only recommend these when you are going to need to go during week before or after Christmas (i.e. If you will have out of town guests visit).

 

[Emiems20]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We are thinking we would go at least 10 visits per year. Now whether this is over a couple of weekends, during the week, or days here and there I don’t know. We are going to take advantage of the military tickets for our first visit to learn the place, see how much travel time there is and to learn whether a day Sunday trip is worth it. My husband won’t be deploying while we are stationed there but TDY is a possibility.

 

[rentayenta]

I like the advice given here. We moved from Utah and now live very close, about 8 miles away, and the Deluxe was right for us. I do have the Premium and the free parking is a G-dsend! I think if we were 2.5 hours away, I would want to stay the night either the night before or the day of. Maybe the So Cal would work?

 

[Jedi Mouse]

Thanks for the advice everyone. We are thinking we would go at least 10 visits per year. Now whether this is over a couple of weekends, during the week, or days here and there I don’t know. We are going to take advantage of the military tickets for our first visit to learn the place, see how much travel time there is and to learn whether a day Sunday trip is worth it. My husband won’t be deploying while we are stationed there but TDY is a possibility.

A few tips:

1. Remember not everyone needs the same level pass. It might be advantageous to get one higher level pass to take advantage of bigger discounts or free parking. It also might make sense to get a lower level pass for one person who might not come as often.
2. We also planned on 10 days (we're 4 hours away) and will end up with around 35 days on our AP's. I've noticed this trend in other AP threads as well. Plan on going on at least a few unplanned trips.
3. You can roll the price of those military tickets into your AP's if you do so before your trip is over.
4. Day trips at 2.5 hours away are entirely possible, but with two kids under 5, I'd opt for a room for the night.

 

[cruisehopeful]

You could buy the lowest pass that will work for you. If you find you are visiting on blockout days, you can upgrade your pass at that time.

Will you be parking in the lots there? That normally costs $20./per day. With the Signature passes, you have your parking covered. So, going from Deluxe to Signature is not as big of a stretch as it looks. You could get a Signature for yourself to get the parking covered and the higher discounts in the park and Deluxe for everyone else. Upgrade the others if you are visiting on blockout days.

 

[MacMama0930]

I'll add my opinion in here

I live about 4 hours away. We originally did So Cal pass and then upgraded to a Deluxe. I still found myself buying a one ticket in the summer to cover a Saturday. Our current passes expire 10/14 and we are going again in December. Right now I just have the vacation package booked with 4 day park hopper tickets and l do plan on upgrading ours on our last day to Signature. And if they are still offering the 13 months deal, I may do Signature + and go the following Christmas break.

I have found the days where most APs are blocked to be the most pleasant. I LOVE Disney and even being 4 hours away I think the Sig will pay for itself. If I live as close as you, I'd definitely get Signature!