Would it make sense to get an AP?

[Reneed68]

3 of us are staying at the Beach Club in a lagoon view room from Oct 7 to 15 with 8 day park hoppers and the meal plan. I wasn't able to get any discounts. Would it be cheaper if one of us were to upgrade to the annual pass? Is there a room discount if we are AP holders? Thanks in advance for any advice!

 

[brertoad]

Wouldn't the AP discount only come into effect when the pass is active?
If so, you would have to buy the pass in advance and activate it before checking in to the hotel.
You'd have to get to guest relations before checking in I guess.

There typically are offers for passholders, right now I think the booking period goes until August 30th. If your vacation is in October I don't know if there are any active offers that far in advance. You could try calling the WDW reservations number and ask them for more information about the pass and discounted rooms.

"Eligibility
Passholder must present a valid Walt Disney World Pass at check-in."

 

[Regan117]

Wouldn't the AP discount only come into effect when the pass is active?
If so, you would have to buy the pass in advance and activate it before checking in to the hotel.
You'd have to get to guest relations before checking in I guess.

There typically are offers for passholders, right now I think the booking period goes until August 30th. If your vacation is in October I don't know if there are any active offers that far in advance. You could try calling the WDW reservations number and ask them for more information about the pass and discounted rooms.

"Eligibility
Passholder must present a valid Walt Disney World Pass at check-in."

No, this is incorrect. If you purchase the pass online using your MDE account, and it is linked to your account, you will be able to see and book AP rates. You do not need to activate your pass before you check in. You only need to have a voucher that you have purchased one.

As for fall AP rates, they aren't out yet. The current summer offer ends August 31, but the fall one should be out around June/July.

 

[brertoad]

No, this is incorrect. If you purchase the pass online using your MDE account, and it is linked to your account, you will be able to see and book AP rates. You do not need to activate your pass before you check in. You only need to have a voucher that you have purchased one.

As for fall AP rates, they aren't out yet. The current summer offer ends August 31, but the fall one should be out around June/July.

Thanks for clearing that up. I guess they had the foresight to avoid this problem. I remember people on the forum talking about having to scramble over to guest relations before checking in. Sounded like a hassle.

 

[Reneed68]

This will be our first trip to Disney and my gut feeling is that will be back within the year which would make the pass worth it. But I'm only going to bother and take the chance if we get a discount. Thank you everyone for your help

 

[GADisneyDad14]

This will be our first trip to Disney and my gut feeling is that will be back within the year which would make the pass worth it. But I'm only going to bother and take the chance if we get a discount. Thank you everyone for your help

Just FYI (and you may already know this) but AP discounts are like other types of Disney discounts.... the inventory of rooms available for an AP discount can be limited. It's not a given there will be an AP discount available for any given resort/room type/dates, etc. They are just like general public discounts in that respect.

If you aren't seeing good general public discount availability for your dates, I would be a little concerned that AP discount inventory (when it comes out) could be pretty low too.

Your dates cover Columbus Day, I think Gartner is the week before, some religious holidays, and is prime fall break time for schools - not exactly a time Disney needs to incentivize people to come. Not trying to be discouraging, just a busy time of year these days!

Good luck, and have fun!

PS: BTW, APs are addicting. Any $ you think you might save on any given trip is lost when you decide to go back the next month, then a few months later, then a few months later....

 

[Mickey's Best Girl]

For us it made sense.

I bought one for myself and my DD a 10 day Hopper.

Things that came into play during my inner deliberations were:
The additional month offered for the 45th anniversary.
The increase from 10 to 20% off for merchandise.
The addition of a few QS locations for this discount.
Room discount was available.

It was the 13 months that made my decision final. We went in October last year and this year we wanted to go in November. On that note I won't be renewing the AP. It's just too much money with the current Canadian exchange to consider.

 

[wdwthanksgiving]

The 20% dining discount perk that AP has right now for passholders ends at the end of September. You can always try to book a room with an AP discount by calling WDW - you don't have to have purchased it yet - if you can get a discount then you can go ahead and purchase the AP - as long as you have it registered on your MDE by the time you want to make fastpass reservations or by the time you check in.

 

[megs1313]

The price difference direct from Disney right now from 8 day PH to AP is about $250. Were you planning to get the memory maker? That's $150 of that difference right there, so IMO, it's pretty close to being worth it regardless of the possible AP room discount. If it were me, I'd wait to see if AP rates come out for your dates (in julyish) and if they do, I'd go ahead and switch to the AP. That's what we did last time.

 

[jcvalenti]

Additional things to consider when deciding whether an Annual Pass is worth it:

1. If you're driving your own car and staying off property, AP allows you to park for free.
2. AP usually gets you a discount to "renew" ... so if you're planning on going back multiple years in a row, that can make a difference.
3. AP comes with Memory Maker - which is surprisingly great (and getting better all the time)
4. My favorite - AP lets you get Tables in Wonderland, which get you 20% off of food and alcohol at participating restaurants and lounges (which is almost all of them). It also gets you free valet parking at any resort (as long as you have a receipt showing you used the card there). For us, this works out much better for how we eat than Dining Plan.