Any AP lounges at the parks?

[chris4disney]

We will be using our AP's for the first time next month! Curious if there are any special AP holder lounges in the parks that we should be aware of? I know about the AP discounts on food, merch, etc., but don't want to miss out on any other AP benefits in the parks aside from discounts. TIA!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

No APs lounges in the WDW parks. APs have a special line they can use to enter each of the parks (you can see the signs at the entrance).... AP holders are often eligible for a free gift (usually an AP magnet, sometimes something else) - look for signs that point you to the one gift shop in EPCOT where they'll hand them out to verified AP holders. Those might be available at other parks, but we've always found it easily at EPCOT, "future" side.

Those are a couple things that come to mind....

 

[gmi3804]

Yes. It's called "the parks!"

There are no dedicated AP lounges, unfortunately. There are a few DVC lounges, I believe. I've been to the one at Epcot, but haven't looked into the other parks. For me, at least, they're not very remarkable.

 

[pianomanzano]

There's too many APs to have a dedciated lounge, imo. They briefly had a pop up lounge in the Land pavilion during flower and garden last year and it was nothing more than some roped off tables at Sunshine Seasons. It was PACKED every time we tried to visit, we just grabbed the free snacks and left..

 

[WEDWDW]

Basically just the occasional magnet these days.

Now,years ago were the "Glory Days" when there would be great Passholder Events.

A few we went to:

There was a screening of Saving Mr.Banks at a Passholder Preview at the Premiere Theater in DHS with popcorn and drinks.

Then,after the screening,because Grauman's Chinese Theater was the location for the Mary Poppins World Premiere in 1964,they took us over to the Great Movie Ride Courtyard and "recreated" the Premiere with a red carpet and appearances by Mary,Bert,the Penguins and the Chimney Sweeps.



There were Passholder Tours of Cinderella Castle Suite-very cool.


There were Passholder Tours of the American Idol Experience before it debuted.

And we received a cool Dumbo/Osborne Lights lithograph once.

 

[CarolynFH]

Yes. It's called "the parks!"

There are no dedicated AP lounges, unfortunately. There are a few DVC lounges, I believe. I've been to the one at Epcot, but haven't looked into the other parks. For me, at least, they're not very remarkable.

The DVC lounge in Epcot is the only one at WDW. It opened in 2016 to celebrate DVC’s 25th anniversary and was supposed to be temporary, for that year only, but obviously it's still there. It did get a facelift with new furniture last year or the year before, so I guess it’s not temporary anymore. A new DVC lounge opened in Disneyland this year and is very nice - even has bathrooms!

 

[pianomanzano]

The DVC lounge in Epcot is the only one at WDW. It opened in 2016 to celebrate DVC’s 25th anniversary and was supposed to be temporary, for that year only, but obviously it's still there. It did get a facelift with new furniture last year or the year before, so I guess it’s not temporary anymore. A new DVC lounge opened in Disneyland this year and is very nice - even has bathrooms!

Don't forget top of the world lounge!

 

[CarolynFH]

Don't forget top of the world lounge!

LOL, sorry, I did forget it, even though we’ve been up there a couple of times for fireworks. I was more focused on lounges in the parks, of course.

 

[WEDWDW]

The best Lounge ever was The Chase Lounge that was available at Epcot during some of the Festivals.

Unfortunately Club 33 took over that space.

 

[Monykalyn]

You have to be an AP holder at Universal in order to be appreciated with AP lounges

 

[rdaky]

You have to be an AP holder at Universal in order to be appreciated with AP lounges

So true. We previously had both Universal and Disney annual passes, and Universal has much better perks for their annual pass holders. We currently only have Disney APs because we prefer Disney and weren't using our APs at Universal enough to justify keeping them, but I still stand by the statement that Universal has better perks, especially at the highest tier with parking and express pass.

 

[1lilspark]

Not on a regular basis unfortunately….

 

[Yoshi]

So true. We previously had both Universal and Disney annual passes, and Universal has much better perks for their annual pass holders. We currently only have Disney APs because we prefer Disney and weren't using our APs at Universal enough to justify keeping them, but I still stand by the statement that Universal has better perks, especially at the highest tier with parking and express pass.

In addition to Universal, SeaWorld also have some amazing perks. Besides the lounge with free soft drinks, the amount of free guest tickets, park spending money (that stacks with the 40% off merchandise with my Platinum Pass), free food items at the festivals and other gifts like ornaments, it seems like there is always something to get on a visit to SeaWorld or Aquatica (plus Busch Gardens and Adventure Island).