Annual Pass for Out-of-Stater

[gharter]

We plan our trips to get 3 trips a year out of our AP. Some years, we can only get 2 trips (2 weeks) out of the AP. Still worth it. If you only go once a year, unless its a really long trip, may not be worth it.

 

[ScubaCat]

We (3 of us) have APs and we live in Chicago. Usually 2 trips a year give or take one, depending on various things.

 

[Happyinwonerland]

It depends, we are going in June and are DVC members, it is literally a break even when we include park hopping and memory Maker, add in the additional discounts that APs get that DVC members don't and it becomes worth it with a single visit, but we are going for 12 days.

But we will go at least one or two more times within the year, so it is a no brainer.

Your circumstances are unique, which is why I said "generally"- aka, the average situation. If OP is aksing about AP value, they probably aren't DVC members yet, so they won't get the discount that you do.

 

[momtwoboys]

We'll often plan the major trips 51 weeks apart if we can to get to bigger trips out of it and then we'll try to catch a weekend trip or two when airfares are really low. But the two trips pretty much makes it worth it especially when you take parking and discounts in effect.

this is our plan going forward now that both kids will be in college and we are just two of us! Going this April with 7 day hoppers, will upgrade to AP’s and book next years trip late March. We are dvc but resale so no discount on tix but still worth it is my Math guess!

 

[Justplainchy]

We're from Texas and both have annual passes that we started last December. We had a trip planned for March (omg, 4 days away now!) of 2019, and then our friends invited us to join them for four days in December of 2018. Even with a 4-day trip and an 7-day trip it ended up being cheaper to do the AP. But...of course now it's made us book two MORE trips before it runs out, so who really won in the end, lol.

I definitely think it's worth it with the included Memory Maker and the merchandise discounts, especially. But if you're planning on being there twice over the course of a year, EVEN if one trip is a short one, I'd recommend it.

 

[dachsie]

I am in TX also and last year planned to go in Sept for MNSSHP and F&W and then in Dec for MVMCP and the Christmas decorations. When I priced out tickets, parking and MM I realized it was less expensive to do the AP. Then you get 20% off merchandise so I ended up with a Dooney bag and a Thomas Kincade painting. I then decided to go to Festival of Arts in Feb and am going for F&G in May. And 10% off TS so have hit up a lot of restaurants I haven't gone to before.

 

[siren0119]

So here's the raw math. If you think you will be visiting Disney for at least 10-11 park days in a 12 month period, the AP is worth it. We are considering upgrading our summer vacation tickets ONLY because we had already talked about a second trip in February that would put us over the 10-days-in-12-months mark. I did NOT factor in the restaurant/merchandise discounts because you have to spend $1000 to realize $100 in savings, and we just don't spend that much on food and extras when we're there lol.

 

[mrsap]

NJ here - 2 two week trips a year for us. Definitely worth it for our family! Good luck deciding!

 

[emmabelle]

We're from MA and we have them. From May 2018 to May 2019, we will have gone 6 times, so worth it. Probably won't renew until 2020 though, want to give Star Wars land a time to settle down.

 

[goofyinohio]

We get an annual pass when it makes sense. As others have said usually if you are going 2 times in a year (not calendar year.) We are getting 4 trips in within a year although it's a special circumstance we are doing more than 2.

 

[snowybelle]

Minnesotan here. I'm on my 3rd year as an AP holder. If you're gonna be in the parks more than 10 days in a year I think it's worth it. I shop a lot when I'm at Disney so that extra 20% (plus some occasional GREAT dining deals) have made it more than worth it for me.

I will warn you though... Having an AP has burned a hole in my pocket. It's now SO much easier for me to justify "another quick trip" to myself... I think I spent a total of 30 days in the parks last year. Eek.

 

[Disneylvr1971]

WI here! We have a DVC AP, but it can be addicting. We got our last one in Sept, went in Dec for a conference and just yesterday booked flights for May since our AP's are still valid. (Staying with DD at her place in Orlando so no hotel cost ) If you are doing multiple trips it can be a saver, but as others have suggested you need to run the numbers to get the most out of it. Good luck on your decision!

 

[Praying Colonel]

DW and I live out of state and got APs a few years ago because our son was a CP and we knew we'd be going a few times during his time there. It saved us a lot of money, but it doesn't always work that way for everybody. I'd encourage you to do the math and see what your "break even" point is.

 

[Crystal824]

In PA, and we almost always get APs. We have them now, and they will expire in April. We are DVC members so we do get a discount off other out of staters. We typically get APs every 18 months or so. We will do three trips on the APs. Usually a 7-10 day trip, a shorter summer trip (3-5 days) and then another longer 7-10 day trip. Typically, we will take a break for 12-18 months and start again. It is worth it for us.

 

[kniquy]

I'm curious to see if it would be worth it for me to get one.

the worth comes from how many park days you plan on going and what discounts you can take advantage of. You have to run the number to see if it makes sense. Generally if you were to have 2 trips totaling 10+ days within a year it can make sense. Considering it does include the memory maker that would be a value of ~$169 per trip (if you usually get it). The dining discounts are mostly at TS restaurants (not QS)- so if you do a number of TS meals of the restaruants included in the discount it can add up - for example a family of 4 could easily spend $200 on a meal - you would get 10% off with your AP discount = $20. multiply that by 1 TS meal for a 5-7 day trip and that would be $100-$140 for one trip. Shopping discounts are often 20% - so you buy that t-shirt that is $35 - you save $7. And then there are AP room discounts - I have not looked into this too much.

It can sometimes even make sense for one person in your party to get an AP for the discounts.

Basically it boils down to -- will you be there for 2 trips in one year. This can't be a maybe because then you would have spend a lot on one trip. But if you plan 2 trips on one AP then your savings will add up.

 

[cakebaker]

I saved money on my first trip of just 5 days. I saved over $600 in the difference between the best public room discount and the ap, free memory maker and additional shopping and dining discounts. The room discount alone more than covered the price difference in tickets.

My 2nd trip coming up in May, I saved another $600 in room discounts and 0 ticket costs. Going again in September, so I’ve saved a bundle.

You don’t have to go more than once to make it a real money saver.

 

[JessicaW1234]

Generally, if you will go at least 2 times in a year, then it will be worth it. If you go 1x a year then it won't.

Generally- if you usually get free dining, does an AP make sense if the most you would go would be 2x in one year?

 

[PlutoTheDog89]

We did from 2017-2018.

We go every year for Christmas from 12/24-1/1.

After our 2016 Christmas, my cousin said she wanted to bring her little ones and insisted on us coming. She planned on going from 10/28 - 11/5. After playing with the numbers, we decided to become AP holders right before the ticket prices went up.

We then found really cheap airline tickets for Easter. Having never been, we decided to go.

So now we had gone the following dates:
4/15/17 - 4/18/17: First Easter
10/27/17 - 11/1/17: Halloween family vacation
12/25/17 - 1/1/18: Christmas
1/27/18 - 1/29/18: Quick trip for Pro Bowl practice - did go to the parks once
3/29/17 - 4/2/17: With Easter falling earlier this year, we were able to sneak in one more trip

Not gonna even count the park tickets, because it was a wash. We easily exceeded the breakeven point.

Where you spend the money is the resorts, the souvenirs, the food, travel, etc.

We are Southwest Rapid Reward Members. Everything goes on my Chase Sapphire Reserve or on our Southwest Card. This allows us to use points to travel here and there. We rarely have to purchase a flight. If used correctly, your cards can work for you.

PhotoPass: just based on our trips, we saved $750. That's almost enough to cover one AP.

Food: We didn't purchase the TIW card since we'd be traveling during peak dates, when the card isn't accepted at most restaurants. Instead, we either went on the DDP (just easier for us) or paid OOP and used the AP discount. We happened to go while the AP discount was 20% in most locations and that really saved us a lot of money.

Resorts: Sometimes you get a really good deal. During our first easter trip, we paid (on average) $180/night at Coronado. There's no discounts during Christmas. We went through a TA during Easter 2017 and stayed at YC. We scored a decent rate at Poly for Halloween, but it was def expensive.

All in all, if you're gonna go a decent amount and time your trips right, then the AP could be a really solid value. You're not gonna beat the system. A Disney trip is a Disney trip and is expensive any way you cut it, but having the AP helps cut unnecessary costs and locks you into a flat rate for that year—so if Photopass goes up in June or ticket prices go up (as they have), you've already paid $850. This is kinda what happened to us when we purchased it. Ticket prices went up the next day and made it an even bigger value.

What i will say, is that I'm not sure this year is a good value. The parks are gonna be PACKED - not just with your normal Disney fans, but SW fans who are going for the first time. Now... maybe this makes it more worth it for you, but for us...we're taking some time off.

 

[Donald Duck888]

I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade just one of 2 tickets that were bought together? I recently (before this latest price increase) bought 5 day park-hoppers for a trip with my daughter in May. So could i upgrade just 1 of them to an annual pass during my trip or do i have to do both since they were bought together? Thanks.

 

[siren0119]

I was wondering if it is possible to upgrade just one of 2 tickets that were bought together? I recently (before this latest price increase) bought 5 day park-hoppers for a trip with my daughter in May. So could i upgrade just 1 of them to an annual pass during my trip or do i have to do both since they were bought together? Thanks.

You can upgrade just one once you're there.

My friend did this when we were there last September (of the 4 tickets on her MDE, she only upgraded hers) and we plan to do the same on our trip in August (upgrading 2 of 4 tickets to AP)