Would really appreciate some imput to my dilema....

[Scratch42]

Ok, so I now have the points at SSR and am gonna try and hold off until Christmas 2004! But I doubt it, 'cause DD would really love to go for Halloween next year, but, anyways....

This is my dilema(sp)

What kind of passes do I purchase? I still have a Disney Club Card so I could still get a discount before the year is up but do I go PAP, AP, or purchase UPH when we go down?

Any and all suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

x 2

TIA

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[JimC]

We buy APs because we go often, but not to the water parks. If you can go eight or more days on one AP you are better off financially. Some folks do one trip per year, scheduling the next year's trip to end the day before their current year's trip begins. That way they get two years of trips on one pass.

We also make trips on the AP discount which can pay for itself in one visit.

You might want to buy an AP certificate right before they increase prices or before your Disney Club expires 12/31, whichever is sooner. Ask first how long the certificate is valid. The year on your passes runs from the day you activate the certificate, not when you purchase it.

 

[Nink]

I would wait until I got to my DVC resort. If you purchase a UPH pass at the desk. you get a 10% discount. That is better than the discount offered for advance purchase.

In some cases, even if you go more than once during the year, this can actually be a better deal than the AP. You have to stay at least 8 days to break even on the AP, and 11 days for the PAP.

 

[Scratch42]

how many times we plan on going in 2004!



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[crisi]

It really depends on you....

We like the LOS pass. Right on our room key, only one card to carry, bill everything to the room. We like knowing that we can pop into the parks for dinner and - once we make the committment - its a done deal. No worrying about losing the hoppers between one trip and the next. Money (at least at that level) isn't a problem for us - so if we burn a day of length of stay pass sitting by the hotel pool or in the room with a sick kid - well, that's life. And since we are one week every other year people, an AP makes no sense..... In future trips, when we have a day at SeaWorld or Universal planned or a day on the golf course, LOS passes will make less sense, and we will have hoppers.

Other people use APs. The go into the parks more than eight days a year and love the flexibility. If we went that often, we'd get APs. As mentioned, a lot of DVCers plan every year trips, but time their trips to be 50 or 51 weeks apart - two years worth of trips on one AP!

Still others buy hoppers. Some of the resellers offer discounts (check the budget board or mousesavers). They might get two weeks of stay out of one seven day UPH - seven full park days in two trips, and water park days, hotel pool days, DTD days, outlet mall days, Universal Studio or SeaWorld days. Great for people who aren't going into the Disney parks every day on their trip - and won't do eight Disney park days in a year. I think hoppers take a little more organization and planning. You need to make sure your dinner at Le Cellier doesn't fall on a pool day - or be unconcerned about "blowing through" a day on your hopper just for dinner. And you can't lose the darn things from one trip to the next. But they are probably the best deal for the value aware.

There are even some DVCers who go without buying park passes at all! The go down and see other Orlando area attractions, play a little golf, go out to dinner at the hotels, go dancing.

 

[wilderness01]

Didn't the Annual Pass change to" valid only from the time you buy it" not the old way of the time you activate it?

 

[robinb]

We buy annual passes since we go 2-3 times per year. Since you won't be at WDW until next October at the earliest, I don't think the savings is worth having $1000+ tied up in annual passes. Wait until you get to WDW and buy your passes then.

 

[InstImpres]

Originally posted by crisi

There are even some DVCers who go without buying park passes at all! The go down and see other Orlando area attractions, play a little golf, go out to dinner at the hotels, go dancing.

I heard they are trying to make this punishable by jail time

 

[Granny]

Originally posted by wilderness01
Didn't the Annual Pass change to" valid only from the time you buy it" not the old way of the time you activate it?

When you buy a new AP, it activates when you first use it at a park.

When you renew an AP, it starts from the expiration date of the old one....not from the next time you use it.

 

[Dopey13]

What my wife and I do is purchase park hopper plus tickets and park hopper passes since they never expire. We usually go once a year for a long weekend to 10 days alternating the length of stay to every other year. The only thing you have to do is keep track of what is left on your tickets. We purchase 2-7 day park hopper plus tickets for each other which gives us 4 plus options per ticket. We then will purchase hopper tickets until we get close to running out of plus features. What we try to do is stock pile our tickets so we don't have to pay the higher costs down the road.

 

[nikitta28]

if you plan on going with in the next year again the ap is well worth it. then also you have no guild about "saving days" or missing out on something because you dont want to waste a full day pass on just dinner at epcot. or the likes

 

[CRobin]

Originally posted by InstImpres
I heard they are trying to make this punishable by jail time

LOL - Michael Eisner is going to hunt these people down, one at a time, and have them sanctioned!

 

[Dopey13]

To avoid feeling guilty about using a day off your pass to go eat dinner at a park is plan ahead. The days you plan on going to the park, make your ressies and enjoy. This should be the least of everyones worry. Unless you live near Disney and really can take advantage of the AP or UAP then park hopper plus and hopper passes are the way to go since they never expire. If you purchase and a AP the only advantage is it does not start until the day you use it. However, you better plan on going back within that year to get your money's worth. Unless you plan on staying for 8 days on the AP or 11 days on the UAP. The other draw back to AP's is the renewal date. You will either have to renew when they expire and plan on taking your vacations around your pass or pay for a new AP.