Annual Passes - Am I going crazy?

[StacyStrong]

Apparently the break even point is 750. I do not eat that much table service. Party of 1 here lol.

 

[dkrauss]

We purchased AP's in 2016. We began using them in Nov 2016 on an 8 day trip with family. Next trip was in June 2017 for 8 days...for which we were able to procure an AP room discount
......then just before our passes expired we did another 8 days in November. That's 24 days on property! We also got Tables in Wonderland.........which paid for itself in 1.5 trips. Plus the Memory Maker.........(2 of those 3 trips were family trips and the savings on MM was huge to us all) then there was merchandise discount....which we missed a couple of times because we forgot about the AP discount ......add to that discounts on Party tickets and other events. We most definitely got the most out of our AP. We had 2 family trips planned that triggered us getting the AP's..........the 3rd trip (in June) was what Disney hopes for.........that extra trip you take just because you have the AP.

Unfortunately we didn't renew We'll be taking our first trip since 2016 in August without the Annual Pass............."the horror"

Doug

 

[Firebird060]

Considering that the APs have been adding more and more Disney locations that give you 10 percent off your food, unless you are spening over 1200 dollars with food and Drink, adding TIW wont increase your savings much. Currently AP discounts if your like me and do alot of sit downs ends up coming up maybe 10 to 15 dollars cheaper a day then if you were to do the deluxe dinning plan which also includes a free boozey drink. If I had TIW it would have saved me between 20 and 30 a day in food so it would take about 4 to 5 days to break even.

 

[dachsie]

I pulled the plug on that too. I was going for a 6 day 1 park ticket for $405 in Sept staying offsite. Then in Dec a 3 day for $305. So far I am at $710. Then I would have to pay to park for 7 days at $22/day which was $154 so now the total was $864 and the AP was $859 and you get the photos with it. So I am planning a couple more quick trips next year before it expires.

 

[MischaOz]

We prefer to stay off site and drive, so having parking included is what really made it worth our while. The included memory maker was an added bonus! The discounts are nice too.

 

[georgina]

Apparently the break even point is 750. I do not eat that much table service. Party of 1 here lol.

Considering that the APs have been adding more and more Disney locations that give you 10 percent off your food, unless you are spening over 1200 dollars with food and Drink, adding TIW wont increase your savings much. Currently AP discounts if your like me and do alot of sit downs ends up coming up maybe 10 to 15 dollars cheaper a day then if you were to do the deluxe dinning plan which also includes a free boozey drink. If I had TIW it would have saved me between 20 and 30 a day in food so it would take about 4 to 5 days to break even.

Yeah, I did not get a single AP discount on dining my last 2 solo trips. I didn't see many places offer it. We did get a few discounts in the fall when they had extra discounts. I don't really use memory maker and dont buy many souvenirs, except for caramel in Germany, and that place does give the AP discount. I won't be renewing. (Spoiled by Universal which gives AP discounts everywhere, even all QS places)

I stayed offsite and almost every time I drove to a park, I stuck out my MB on my wrist to be scanned, and they just waved me through. I did have an AP, but I wonder if they just assumed with the MB I was staying onsite?

 

[mickeyfanachey1999]

I want to add. I think the price was almost even, but saving on buying memory maker pushed it over the edge. I have not saved a ton on food/merchandise discounts, but YMMV on that. But I did end up booking a third trip because I already had tickets, so I did end up losing money. Lol.

This...a thousand times this We have only had annual passes for one 12 month stretch. We had two trips planned and ended up with five total in the 12 months. Pretty sure they got their money out of us in just food and drinks!

 

[Sarahslay]

This is great. I feel like I lived under a rock.

Looks like I'll be doing a December trip, a bounce back for an undetermined date, and a 1/2 marathon long weekend on friends DVC.

Disney got me hooked.

I got an AP on our last December trip (upgraded my 5 day hopper ticket) knowing I had one trip already scheduled so it made sense....and now I have 5 scheduled lol. Every room is on a discount with my AP so saving that way, and saving on food and merch, so it really adds up the savings after a while not just for tickets.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I think that your math is good. But be forewarned... buying an AP is just another step along the path of Disney obsession. Once that pass is burning a hole in your pocket you'll find yourself planning more trips. Then you'll find yourself spending at a lot of days per year in Florida. So then you'll be looking into the math of having your own place there to save money on lodging. Which would allow you to save money with a resident AP. Then you'll... well, I guess you see where this might be headed...

Enjoy your AP!

 

[StacyStrong]

I think that your math is good. But be forewarned... buying an AP is just another step along the path of Disney obsession. Once that pass is burning a hole in your pocket you'll find yourself planning more trips. Then you'll find yourself spending at a lot of days per year in Florida. So then you'll be looking into the math of having your own place there to save money on lodging. Which would allow you to save money with a resident AP. Then you'll... well, I guess you see where this might be headed...

Enjoy your AP!

I do work from home.....

 

[Tallent]

I plan on upgrading to the AP during our June trip. Currently have 10 day park hopper tix and will upgrade to the platinum during our 6 day trip. Have another family trip in Nov and when I did the math I was saving approx $200 by getting the ap. And yep, definitely already looked at the calendar to find the best times for a few extra trips!! lol Best to upgrade to the ap on the last day of our trip?

 

[StacyStrong]

I plan on upgrading to the AP during our June trip. Currently have 10 day park hopper tix and will upgrade to the platinum during our 6 day trip. Have another family trip in Nov and when I did the math I was saving approx $200 by getting the ap. And yep, definitely already looked at the calendar to find the best times for a few extra trips!! lol Best to upgrade to the ap on the last day of our trip?

From what I've read, they start the ap the day you started using the tickets, so no.

I could clearly be very wrong lol

 

[CarrieR]

I plan on upgrading to the AP during our June trip. Currently have 10 day park hopper tix and will upgrade to the platinum during our 6 day trip. Have another family trip in Nov and when I did the math I was saving approx $200 by getting the ap. And yep, definitely already looked at the calendar to find the best times for a few extra trips!! lol Best to upgrade to the ap on the last day of our trip?

No, the first day. The AP backdates to day 1 regardless and that way you get your perks from the beginning.

Was also going to suggest looking into TIW, but looks like you’ve already done that. We didn’t get it our first AP year and wasted so much money... but we were 3. Probably wouldn’t work for me solo!

 

[bumbershoot]

I kept seeing things saying that you need to go for 11 or 12 days for you to even break even.

As had been hinted at, that’s for ONE trip.

From what I've read, they start the ap the day you started using the tickets, so no.

I could clearly be very wrong lol

Yes they start the AP the day you first used the tickets.

 

[china mom]

I think that your math is good. But be forewarned... buying an AP is just another step along the path of Disney obsession. Once that pass is burning a hole in your pocket you'll find yourself planning more trips. Then you'll find yourself spending at a lot of days per year in Florida. So then you'll be looking into the math of having your own place there to save money on lodging. Which would allow you to save money with a resident AP. Then you'll... well, I guess you see where this might be headed...

Enjoy your AP!

That's me. My realtor.com homepage defaults to the Disney area. I don't know how I can do it but I am trying to justify pending $1,000/mo on a mortgage to save a $1,000 per year in hotel costs.

 

[NH-to-FL]

I do work from home.....

Well then, by all means buy that AP and start planning! But be cautious with those real estate web sites because...

That's me. My realtor.com homepage defaults to the Disney area. I don't know how I can do it but I am trying to justify pending $1,000/mo on a mortgage to save a $1,000 per year in hotel costs.

....this is what will happen. I suspect there are A LOT of people who do this. I have a friend who did some house hunting during his last visit to Disney.

For DW and I it was looking towards blending retirement and Disney. We now blessed to be able to snowbird near Disney.

 

[StacyStrong]

I don't even own a home here yet, so I don't think I'll be looking in Florida

Haha, maybe in a couple years....

 

[BigB0882]

Don't forget to also consider the free Photopass and the discounts on table service as well as merchandise. That adds up. Also, if you drive you get free parking. We drove last trip and between parking, dining and merch we saved around $200-250 on that trip. So you really don't need as many days in the parks as you might think, depending on how you travel/spend.

 

[StacyStrong]

I personally have never paid for photopass because I don't have kids And normally just go with one friend, so I didn't include that in my cost analysis but I loooooooooooove the added benefit. I'm so excited.

 

[larissawbb]

Can you buy an annual pass and hang on to it for a couple of years before activating them ? I have a couple of sets of tickets but would like to save on an ap before the price increase in February.