AP prices increased [6/18/2019]

[OrangeU]

Does Sam's still have the previous prices?

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Does Sam's still have the previous prices?

Yes, they are trying to wear me down so I buy some to stash. It is so not in the budget right now.

 

[Nick6300]

Does Sam's still have the previous prices?

did as of last night. but several web sites are advertising this Sams Club deal.

 

[Nick6300]

My Sams Club last night told us last night that they're no longer carrying Disney giftcards. Seems odd, hopefully not permanent. Still avail online/app.

 

[OrangeU]

Yes, they are trying to wear me down so I buy some to stash. It is so not in the budget right now.

Do you know if I can create an account and buy those online through Sam's? And APs don't ''start'' until date of first use, correct?

 

[bryanb]

As a DL local, do you prefer the paper FPs or the WDW system? Having had recent visits to the Asian DLs, I miss the paper FPs, not having to try to plan dining with FPs, essentially having to plan where you'll be all the time.

There are definitely advantages to both, and my opinion probably doesn't represent what most people think. My trips to DL are usually quite short and often for a few hours in the evenings after all FPs for popular attractions have been issued for the day. Unfortunately, even with the Maxpass system, you can't book any FPs through the app until you've been admitted to the park... so there's no way to reserve anything in advance.

Also, with Disneyland's FP system (whether they be the old paper tickets or the new electronic FPs), people don't tend to cancel FPs that they don't use -- and once they run out, I don't believe cancelled FPs go back into inventory. If we had a WDW-style FP+ system at Disneyland, I would absolutely take advantage of the "refreshing" the browser to pick up some same-day FPs before going to the park, and also to try to get other people's last minute cancellations while I'm there. At WDW, I have often had luck getting immediate entry to Flight of Passage, just by looking for other people's cancelled FPs.

That said, for all-day visits to Disneyland, FP with Maxpass are great! It probably helps that Disneyland has fewer guests and more attractions per park, which means you can pull far more Maxpass reservations in each than the average WDW visitor... if that makes sense.

 

[Nick6300]

There are definitely advantages to both, and my opinion probably doesn't represent what most people think. My trips to DL are usually quite short and often for a few hours in the evenings after all FPs for popular attractions have been issued for the day. Unfortunately, even with the Maxpass system, you can't book any FPs through the app until you've been admitted to the park... so there's no way to reserve anything in advance.

Also, with Disneyland's FP system (whether they be the old paper tickets or the new electronic FPs), people don't tend to cancel FPs that they don't use -- and once they run out, I don't believe cancelled FPs go back into inventory. If we had a WDW-style FP+ system at Disneyland, I would absolutely take advantage of the "refreshing" the browser to pick up some same-day FPs before going to the park, and also to try to get other people's last minute cancellations while I'm there. At WDW, I have often had luck getting immediate entry to Flight of Passage, just by looking for other people's cancelled FPs.

That said, for all-day visits to Disneyland, FP with Maxpass are great! It probably helps that Disneyland has fewer guests and more attractions per park, which means you can pull far more Maxpass reservations in each than the average WDW visitor... if that makes sense.

It's been 7 yrs since our visit to DL, so I don't even remember much, but I don't think we had Maxpass or maybe it wasn't even avail then. But I do favor the old paper system because I can be quick to the attractions and know exactly which ones to go for, and the current system sort of levels the playing field. The SDFP later in the day are nice though. We're sort of thinking about a short DL trip next yr.

 

[disneymagicgirl]

Do you know if I can create an account and buy those online through Sam's? And APs don't ''start'' until date of first use, correct?

Yes, they are only available online. You need a membership, I assume, but I have had one for years, so I’m not sure. Correct, you activate the AP in person when you use it the first time.

 

[OrangeU]

Yes, they are only available online. You need a membership, I assume, but I have had one for years, so I’m not sure. Correct, you activate the AP in person when you use it the first time.

AWESOME. it makes sense for us this year, because we're there in Oct for 8 days, and have to go back for cheer competition in May for 4 more days. We'll throw in a few 2-4 day weekends too, I'm sure. I'm stoked!

 

[KayKayJS]

My PP regarding APs not spending as much as first time visitors or occasional visitors. I think these infrequent/new visitors are more likely to spend on bippity boppity boutique, character dining; since it's more of once in a lifetime trip vs. an Orlando resident who either drives there from home on wknds or stays offsite / maybe even bringing in lunch. If they can consistently fill the non holiday stays - with these expansion efforts - with non APs they might make more money.

I'm a local AP as are most of my friends/family - I can tell you not one of us brings in food. And many of us will do onsite stays once a year - I just got done with a trip to OKW and spent $$ to go to H20 Glow nights.

We generally will come into the park, spend money on magicbands/collectibles, eat at a restaurant, ride maybe one ride and watch a show, then leave. We also pay for special events, MNSSHP/MVMCP, after hours, star wars galactic nights. I really don't think we are the problem. Not to mention at the rate I just paid for my plat AP, I'd prob be better off buying 4 day florida tickets for $185 once or twice a year since we are not going to the parks crazy often.

 

[Nick6300]

I'm a local AP as are most of my friends/family - I can tell you not one of us brings in food. And many of us will do onsite stays once a year - I just got done with a trip to OKW and spent $$ to go to H20 Glow nights.

We generally will come into the park, spend money on magicbands/collectibles, eat at a restaurant, ride maybe one ride and watch a show, then leave. We also pay for special events, MNSSHP/MVMCP, after hours, star wars galactic nights. I really don't think we are the problem. Not to mention at the rate I just paid for my plat AP, I'd prob be better off buying 4 day florida tickets for $185 once or twice a year since we are not going to the parks crazy often.

I don't think any of us are causing a problem. Any guest typically spends a bunch of money there. I was just wondering why Disney analytics decided to dissuade APs, with the recent huge price increases. I guessed that they must have determined that each sequential time an AP is visiting, their overall spending is down, at a minimum because of not purchasing park tickets. Each pricing increase is usually justified by a dispersing of the crowds argument. I wondered why the out of state passes increased by more than the FL resident ones, who would have a greater ability to visit more frequently with their passes, and stretch their dollar. Selfishly, I'd rather see park expansion of course. They have the property.

Disney has teams of analysts looking at pricing, spending, product trends. I've applied for many of them yrs ago when moving to FL (I'm a financial analyst). I'm just curious about what's going on. Again, I'm sorry for stirring the pot with everyone upset with these pricing increases. I didn't mean to upset anyone.

 

[KayKayJS]

I don't think any of us are causing a problem. Any guest typically spends a bunch of money there. I was just wondering why Disney analytics decided to dissuade APs, with the recent huge price increases. I guessed that they must have determined that each sequential time an AP is visiting, their overall spending is down, at a minimum because of not purchasing park tickets. Each pricing increase is usually justified by a dispersing of the crowds argument. I wondered why the out of state passes increased by more than the FL resident ones, who would have a greater ability to visit more frequently with their passes, and stretch their dollar. Selfishly, I'd rather see park expansion of course. They have the property.

Disney has teams of analysts looking at pricing, spending, product trends. I've applied for many of them yrs ago when moving to FL (I'm a financial analyst). I'm just curious about what's going on. Again, I'm sorry for stirring the pot with everyone upset with these pricing increases. I didn't mean to upset anyone.

No worries! I just wanted to throw out a locals perspective. At least in my circle, the majority of us spend quite a bit of money in the parks when we do go, mostly on collectibles/food and a lot less time clogging ride lines. Which I think is ideal for Disney haha.
.

 

[omniscientmommy]

So I bit the bullet and bought our APs. One of my credit cards has a 0% offer for 11 months so we can spread out the payments.

 

[Traveling on cc points]

I don't think any of us are causing a problem. Any guest typically spends a bunch of money there. I was just wondering why Disney analytics decided to dissuade APs, with the recent huge price increases. I guessed that they must have determined that each sequential time an AP is visiting, their overall spending is down, at a minimum because of not purchasing park tickets. Each pricing increase is usually justified by a dispersing of the crowds argument. I wondered why the out of state passes increased by more than the FL resident ones, who would have a greater ability to visit more frequently with their passes, and stretch their dollar. Selfishly, I'd rather see park expansion of course. They have the property.

Disney has teams of analysts looking at pricing, spending, product trends. I've applied for many of them yrs ago when moving to FL (I'm a financial analyst). I'm just curious about what's going on. Again, I'm sorry for stirring the pot with everyone upset with these pricing increases. I didn't mean to upset anyone.

I could be 100% wrong but I think disney hasn’t screwed the Florida residents as much as the rest of us is because they are smart. Disney knows sooner or later there will be a recession of some kind and they will need their locals to fill the parks and it’s not worth alienating them for a few extra dollars.

Spending in the parks is probably down. I think People got fed up with paying $4.50 for a 20oz bottle of water or soda so they started bring their own,
They got sick of paying $250 for a subpar character buffet for a family of 4 so they started eating quick service or eating a nice sit down meal off property.

 

[randumb0]

@KayKayJS I am surprised you have a Platinum. I am a local as well and don't know anyone personally with more than gold

 

[Amy M]

Well that is good news. I am sure you are correct. It will probably still be a savings over at least 2 trips within one year. Plus the added bonus of food, room, and merchandise discounts (provided those stick around).

It is a bummer. We priced out our typical length of stay for two us for 2 stays, somewhat offpeak in Sept., not accounting for increases or discounts, and the APs would still save about $361. That's just going once in Sept and again the next Sept. And you know park hopper prices are going to increase at least once per yr.

 

[KayKayJS]

@KayKayJS I am surprised you have a Platinum. I am a local as well and don't know anyone personally with more than gold

We’ve bounced around all the levels. We recently upgraded to plat for the chance at Galaxys edge preview. And my husband and I really enjoy NYE at Epcot. Won’t make financial sense in the future, though.

 

[Sarahslay]

ok good. I know there are some major spenders who are Platinum out of staters and I'm sure there are some as FL residents too. I know of a fam of 3 from MI who'd budget $10k per week 20 yrs ago... typical meals would be chefs table at Victoria & Albert's. While when we were FL resident AP's we rarely stayed on property because it got too expensive to do that every wknd, and we even started bringing food in. There were days we didn't spend anything there at all. It's a bit different as Platinum holders visiting from IL, only couple of times a yr, wanting the full experience.

I definitely spend more as a Platinum AP out of stater, a lot more! I'll start this by saying I'm the Disney nut of the family and come on solo trips by myself, but we also use my AP discount on family trips for room and food discounts and such (I can't beat saving 40% a night on a club level room vs. 20-25% that the general public gets for the same room). We/I do a lot more sit down meals, buy more merchandise, and definitely stay at nicer hotels simply because of the discounts. Then I get to the point where my pass has paid for itself after my second trip so I go 3-4 more times that year just because tickets aren't an issues (this is where my solo trips come in). I have family who go every 2 years, stay value, and stick strictly to their dining plan with no extra food spending so I know for a fact I spent thousands more dollars than they do. In that instance it's not a "We are loosing money because of APs!" instance, I think they have other motivating factors for raising the price rather than AP spending, and I 100% thing it was a knee jerk reaction to letting the public know that platinum AP holders could get early access. I think they were covering their butts so they wouldn't have a tsunami of new AP holders creating chaos over the situation (which it will be anyway).

 

[Nick6300]

I definitely spend more as a Platinum AP out of stater, a lot more! I'll start this by saying I'm the Disney nut of the family and come on solo trips by myself, but we also use my AP discount on family trips for room and food discounts and such (I can't beat saving 40% a night on a club level room vs. 20-25% that the general public gets for the same room). We/I do a lot more sit down meals, buy more merchandise, and definitely stay at nicer hotels simply because of the discounts. Then I get to the point where my pass has paid for itself after my second trip so I go 3-4 more times that year just because tickets aren't an issues (this is where my solo trips come in). I have family who go every 2 years, stay value, and stick strictly to their dining plan with no extra food spending so I know for a fact I spent thousands more dollars than they do. In that instance it's not a "We are loosing money because of APs!" instance, I think they have other motivating factors for raising the price rather than AP spending, and I 100% thing it was a knee jerk reaction to letting the public know that platinum AP holders could get early access. I think they were covering their butts so they wouldn't have a tsunami of new AP holders creating chaos over the situation (which it will be anyway).

We definitely spent more when we migrated from FL AP to out of state Platinum too. And we're also venturing out, going to the other Disney parks. If we think our crowds are high at WDW, you can wait 25 min for a drink or to go to the restroom in Tokyo.

I think other than to make more money and to rightsize to their perception of the optimal amount of APs mixed in with non APs, there could be other, lesser motivating factors for increasing AP pricing, and that is to limit attempts for obtaining FPs early, obtaining extra ones, the non disney tours, and the like. I think the vast majority of us follow the rules, even if we knew how to break them. But, ironically, the few guests with the most access are the ones who are able to experiment and find ways to gain an edge. And that goes back to obtaining FL passes and tickets and it will likely continue even if there were no APs.

 

[JoJoGirl]

I do wish Disney would offer an off-peak AP to us out-of-staters for a few hundred dollars less. We have never gone during a peak/blackout time and never will.