Will the Annual Pass price increase matter to you and your vacation plans?

[Sammie]

It won't change our plans.

 

[han22735]

It won't stop us either. We do not travel during the black out periods and we do enjoy MM so for the $20 increase we won't be too upset.

 

[rfc0001]

Short answer -- Yes. Long answer -- we inadvertently bought AP Renewal certificates back in March since we had expiring DVC 4-day promotional passes we couldn't use , so we applied them to AP renewal certs a good 7 months before ours expire (which you can do before 60 days BTW). So, we lucked out since we'll get Platinum APs this December when we activate our APs. If we hadn't lucked out and already bought them, we'd have to fork up $400 for Platinum just for our 5 night trip in Dec -- in which case I would just cancel our trip. So, hypothetically it would have changed our plans . As it is, I'll keep the Platinum AP though Oct 2017, then switch to Gold AP and just upgrade to Platinum if and when we need to (since you can upgrade any time). We luck out in 2017 since kids get off first week of January due to when Christmas falls, so will miss the blockout. Spring break is first week of April, so we'll dodge the bullet then as well

I just hope they don't decide to get rid of the regular day to day tickets altogether.

No, but they will become tiered, like APs -- it's inevitable. If they are the same price every day of the year, people will obviously chose to come in peak times. They need to price them according to demand, to make it more expensive during peak times and less expensive during low times to allow people to still enjoy WDW

No. I like the new passes. Will be getting Gold from now on. We buy AP's every other year and always book our resorts so we get two full weeks for each pass.

So you're the one

 

[gdrj]

Our current AP's and TIW expire in April. We had tentatively planned on visiting in the summer. We most likely will go to the beach or Key West instead. In the past few years with AP's and TIW we have visited 3 or 4 times per year. We have spent a ton of money on dinners, dinner shows (that we normally would skip), as well as Signature Restaurants. We have a trip this Oct and March planned after that we will give it a rest for a bit and let Disney recover from their parks being too crowded forcing them to increase prices.

As much as the AP cost increase is significant and is bothersome, the TIW with a 50% increase for DVC is just outright obnoxious. I won't be surprised when they start charging a special event fee for Food and Wine or just for breathing.

 

[karrit2000]

The black out dates add up to about a month.

I'm glad someone else finally sees that the blackout dates result in an increased cost overall beyond having to pay around $20 more if you want the PhotoPass since you lose a month of actual admission making the pass only usable for 11 months of the year. While I do not go during the blacked out dates I think this is just the beginning. For many of us the PhotoPass isn't something we buy so adding it to our AP while taking away a month worth of admission just doesn't come across as a better value. Mind you if it's included I'll make use of it but it isn't something I would ever have paid for so I don't think I should have to now. I bought the Special Premium AP's when they were offered but honestly I never made use of the waterpark admissions so I really didn't need them. Yes I payed about $20 more than a renewal on a regular AP would have been but came out ahead with the price increases that occurred before my renewal dates. I made out on the deal anyway since I didn't actually renew my passes when they expired but waited to get my new discounted Premium AP's until my next actual visit which made them cover my visits for a longer period of time than renewing each year would have.

 

[Sleepy Sheep]

I think discontinuing no expiration tickets was a bigger blow for me. Every time Disney changes I'm forced to adapt and adopt new strategies to stretch my Disney/DVC dollars.

That said - When the now infamous tiered ticket pricing survey asked ( and I paraphrase) "would you be willing to pay more for shorter wait times and smaller crowds?" I say YES!! A hundred times YES!! But I'm pretty sure this AP pricing will not accomplish that.

I don't normally head to Orlando during these blackout dates and TIW has never been the best option for my dining needs. So, no, this AP pricing isn't a big deal to me.

 

[Buzzsgramma]

Indeed....we have had DVC BWV since 2000....the grandkids have been raised in Disney.....now in college and married.....we are retired and spend a few weeks in Jan...at the World....even the last year or more...its...the hubby golfs and we eat out...not so much any parks....the family 2 kids & their spouses 5 ..gr kids would always have a 10 PH non Exp......forget that now....no more TIW card either...we just use the 10% DVC discount on food if we can....
We are going to consider HHI next winter or Vero Beach...
I realize I didnt answer the question.....gave up on AP's a while back....ouch on the black out dates.....for other people.

 

[DVC Mike]

I'm glad someone else finally sees that the blackout dates result in an increased cost overall beyond having to pay around $20 more if you want the PhotoPass since you lose a month of actual admission making the pass only usable for 11 months of the year. While I do not go during the blacked out dates I think this is just the beginning.

Yes, adding blackout dates is a slippery slope, isn't it?

It will be easy for Disney to quietly expand the number of days.

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[bobbiwoz]

Yes, I think it will. We have a 3 night NYE stay tuned BLT, then headed for Vero, then on a Princess Cruise. Our PAP expires right after our mid December stay, and we had just planned to renew, but our next trip isn't until May, and I am thinking that we'll go to BLT, but since we're really there to experience the NYE fireworks from TTOTW, why pay extra money for the privilege of entering the parks during the super busy time?

We booked a CP dinner package for the 30th, but I think we'll cancel, avoid the parks during that trip and just book the Gold AP's for our May trip.

Well, I just figured either will cost $549+ tax, because in May, the Gold would not be a renewal! So what I would be getting is the later expiration date, not money saving, and we have seen Amy Grant at the CP, and did want to see her again. We may just get the passes in December.

Darn it, I am having a hard time sleeping tonight! DVC & Disney has not had that affect on me before.

Bobbi

 

[DVC Mike]

Every time a perk gets eliminated or prices rise, we see a lot of complaints immediately and people venting about Disney, almost like a family member or friend has betrayed us. In most cases, as time goes on, I think most of us simply adjust and move on. But there is a moment of anxiety and frustration that occurs initially.

I always wonder how many of us who worry and vent our frustration ever follow through with some of our initial thoughts, or if cooler heads eventually prevail and we just accept the changes, make minor adjustments to our plans, and move on with planning our next Disney trips.

This increasing the costs of both the AP and TiW seems like a double whammy to most DVC members.

I haven't been following too closely the responses of non-DVC members to this news. How are they taking it?

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Got questions about DVC?
★ ☆ ★ THE DVC INFORMATION CENTER ★ ☆ ★
in the DVC Forums has the answers to your questions about the Disney Vacation Club.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
​

 

[jo-jo]

Yes, adding blackout dates is a slippery slope, isn't it?

It will be easy for Disney to quietly expand the number of days.

I'm not sure why, the thought of "I never travel during that time, so it doesn't effect me", bothers me. I think because of what you said. 5 yrs from now is the Gold AP only going to be good during that 10 day window when there aren't any special parties or activities like F&G or SWW?

 

[jo-jo]

Short answer -- Yes. Long answer -- we inadvertently bought AP Renewal certificates back in March since we had expiring DVC 4-day promotional passes we couldn't use , so we applied them to AP renewal certs a good 7 months before ours expire (which you can do before 60 days BTW). So, we lucked out since we'll get Platinum APs this December when we activate our APs. If we hadn't lucked out and already bought them, we'd have to fork up $400 for Platinum just for our 5 night trip in Dec -- in which case I would just cancel our trip. So, hypothetically it would have changed our plans . As it is, I'll keep the Platinum AP though Oct 2017, then switch to Gold AP and just upgrade to Platinum if and when we need to (since you can upgrade any time). We luck out in 2017 since kids get off first week of January due to when Christmas falls, so will miss the blockout. Spring break is first week of April, so we'll dodge the bullet then as well

So you bought the 4 day 4 park ticket, didn't use it, and then applied the cost to an AP that you will activate in a few months?

Although I didn't like that deal, there was another AP special that we didn't buy because we weren't sure we'd get back in time to use it. As it turned out, we did make trips during that time span, but if I had known we could have applied the cost to another ticket, we would have bought it.

 

[kamik86]

Every time a perk gets eliminated or prices rise, we see a lot of complaints immediately and people venting about Disney, almost like a family member or friend has betrayed us. In most cases, as time goes on, I think most of us simply adjust and move on. But there is a moment of anxiety and frustration that occurs initially.

I always wonder how many of us who worry and vent our frustration ever follow through with some of our initial thoughts, or if cooler heads eventually prevail and we just accept the changes, make minor adjustments to our plans, and move on with planning our next Disney trips.

This increasing the costs of both the AP and TiW seems like a double whammy to most DVC members.

I haven't been following too closely the responses of non-DVC members to this news. How are they taking it?

I haven't been to disney world in a few years partially because of these issues. I hated FP+ during the trial period (when it wasn't tiered yet) now that it is tiered and has all these other complications I honestly don't want to go. I have been starting to enjoy less and less planned vacations as disney is trying to make us do more planning. so we did a calafornia trip that included a few days at disneyland in January and a cruise in May. Now we have two cruises booked next year and I want to go to England in 2017...

Now I watch here for three reasons. To learn what changed if I ever want to go back, because I still like the community board, and to learn if things are changing so much that I might want to sell my DVC instead of just renting it.

 

[SpaceMountain77]

This increasing the costs of both the AP and TiW seems like a double whammy to most DVC members.

We do not travel during peak times, so my family is unaffected by the price increase. While it is disappointing to pay a comparable amount for a tiered pass with fewer offerings (i.e., previous annual pass vs. DVC gold annual pass), there is still tremendous value for us because we visit over three weeks annually.

My real disappointment is with the Tables in Wonderland program. Although $50 may not seem like a significant increase, the savings ceiling has been raised from $500 to $750 annually. We will likely still see a savings, but not in the hundreds.

 

[delilah]

Ever since the annual pass discount has been offered, we have used it. The last time we bought the day tickets was in about 2005. We used up the remaining days over the years, but haven't purchased new day tickets since then. Our pattern has been to plan a vacation during summer break and activate the pass, then another over Christmas break, then a third trip the following summer a week earlier. I have to say that our current annual pass is likely to be the last. The blackout period is when our schools start Christmas break. So, we aren't going at Christmas again. I like to schedule the summer vacation earlier enough that it is in the lower point time in late May, early June. I quit scheduling vacations the first week after school ends after needing to change vacation dates due to school being extended due to snow days. So, for us, the annual pass will lose the advantage we used to enjoy.

 

[cab5525]

After experiencing the new FP+, I said we wouldn't go back but I got awesome airfare out of Albany for December and our annual passes are good until February so, this is our last trip. I was so sour about this last increase, I downgraded from Yacht Club to CBR and as soon as I have time to call in, I'll be canceling our cruise, too. My kids want to go see other places so, we're all in agreement on this!

 

[dcfromva]

We don't have to make any decisions right away. We still have some vouchers for APs that we can use. Plus, we have a few odd days from non-expiring passes we haven't used. But--it's a lot of money especially since there are a lot of attractions closed down so they can make room for the new attractions. Sad to say, but IMHO there are few FP+ worthy attractions left at this time to justify this change.

Will it change the way we vacation? I don't know. I have tried to predict vacation times for our extended family for summer vacation and I have been consistently off by a week (disaster--when we find out the real dates at less than 7 months for VGC). I am so sick of wait lists and checking the web site for random days--(I guess I need a better strategy for picking dates! ). NYE time is about the only time that we can reliability plan for the extended family to visit 11 months in advance. I don't like how crowded WDW is at that time, but I don't think these changes will cause it to be any less crowded for us--it will just more expensive and crowded.

So, I will most likely grumble for a while and then pay up.

 

[Luv2trav]

No it will not change anything for us. We know pricing will increase. If the price becomes unreasonable for us we will just sell at that point. I don't like to stress out or get angry about luxuries in life...

 

[ludari]

Like many others I'm not happy with the AP price increase but it will not effect my vacation plans.

 

[lovin'fl]

Every time a perk gets eliminated or prices rise, we see a lot of complaints immediately and people venting about Disney, almost like a family member or friend has betrayed us. In most cases, as time goes on, I think most of us simply adjust and move on. But there is a moment of anxiety and frustration that occurs initially.

I always wonder how many of us who worry and vent our frustration ever follow through with some of our initial thoughts, or if cooler heads eventually prevail and we just accept the changes, make minor adjustments to our plans, and move on with planning our next Disney trips.

This increasing the costs of both the AP and TiW seems like a double whammy to most DVC members.

I haven't been following too closely the responses of non-DVC members to this news. How are they taking it?

The mouse likes to push the envelope as far as possible (and why not, he is in the business to make money???). BUT me thinks he pushed a little too far this time with both the AP and TIW price increases. And the talk about tiering pricing on regular park tickets based on season. Too much at one time, mouse!! I think this time is different, DVC Mike. I am not sure everyone has settled with the MB/FP+ stuff (all the planning now required and all the stupid IT glitches that causes trouble). And then everyone was all irritated about the crowd levels this past September. So adding these crazy price hikes (don't forget the DVC pricing that is now ridonculous...what is it, $165pp) and the changes (blackout days) was probably not quite the best timing. I think the mouse made a mistake. We shall see.