Would 1 Annual Pass with TIW be worth it for us?

[Kim in PA]

Considering 1 AP with TIW to save on dining
6 Adults (2 are kids)
7 Days
Staying at Bonnet Creek
Have to pay to park at parks - my daughter has a wheelchair.
Always buy memory maker
Eat at lots of sit down restaurants
No alcohol
Souvenirs for kids
Traveling in June 2019
Out of state - no return trip planned

Thank you!

 

[jcdean]

The Platinum Pass is about $400 more than a 7 day park hopper. Subtract $169 for Memory Maker and $231 for parking and you've broken even. The dinning and souvenir discounts are a nice bonus.

Tables in Wonderland is more complicated. The Annual pass includes a %20 discount at many of the restaurants, so you would have to look at the places you want to eat at and determine whether you will be spending at least $800 on dining in restuarants that take TiW but do not offer an annual pass discount. Seems unlikely during a 7 day visit, but with 6 people and "lots of sit down restaurants" it is possible.

 

[Kim in PA]

Thank you! The reason I asked about TIW is because the AP only offers a 10% discount on dining now. Also, there are 6 of us and I think the AP is only good for dining for 3.

 

[Liam518]

How far in advance can I purchase an AP? We are planning our trip for 2/2020 and was thinking about getting the AP before prices increase. Is there a time frame they need to be activated by?

 

[cedricandsophie]

We don’t get annual pass because we only go to parks once or twice out of a couple two week visits. We just love resorts. We love TIW. We got it this year on March 1 and it is good until April 30 2020. So we can use it on our next March 2020 trip. We do drink alcohol and go almost every night to signatures so we break even in about 5 or 6 days with 4 people. Plus it’s good atvmost chracter meals except Snow White and most lounges. If we didn’t get wine every night, often s bottle, the diff between the DVC 10% discount not including alcohol and the 20% TIW discount including alcohol might not be worth it. TIW adds 18% tip automatically so if you don’t usually tip that much or don’t get alcohol the break point is going to take a lot longer.

 

[Kim in PA]

We are not Florida residents, so the only way to get TIW is to buy the AP first, right?

 

[Kim in PA]

Does anyone have a link to the current version of this guide?

https://secure.cdn1.wdpromedia.com/...P-17-60150_AP-Benefits-Guide-BKLT_SCM_new.pdf

 

[kniquy]

Considering 1 AP with TIW to save on dining
6 Adults (2 are kids)
7 Days
Staying at Bonnet Creek
Have to pay to park at parks - my daughter has a wheelchair.
Always buy memory maker
Eat at lots of sit down restaurants
No alcohol
Souvenirs for kids
Traveling in June 2019

You have to run the numbers with the cost of the AP plus TiW - keep in mind even if you just get the AP there are usually the same dining discounts but at 10%. You could skip TiW - unless you are big drinkers and I think the AP discount is only good for the AP holder and 3 people.

We found TiW to provide good savings on a trip when it was a party of 7 - 6 Disney adults and one child for a 7 night trip. TS meals almost daily. We are not drinkers but with our typical TS meal costing $300-$400 the savings of $60-80 per meal adds up (x7 meals = $420-560 savings). Then the cost of parking (I think is about $25 per day) and the cost of the memory maker ($169). You are already up to ~$800 in savings.
The shopping discounts add up too - buy a water from a store (don't buy at an outside cart) and you get 20% off, buy a t-shirt for $30 and you save $6.

You really have to run the numbers but it sounds like it would make sense for this trip. I will have to warn you having an AP makes it very tempting to plan another trip. Currently my DH has one (mine already expired) and I am trying to find a way to squeeze in a trip before his expires. Too bad flights are so expensive.

 

[gharter]

The AP certainly seems to make sense. And you could use that to save 10% on dining.
The TiW is complicated. The real answer is to figure out about what you will spend on meals. Understand that you save 20%, but an 18% tip is automatically added to the bill.
With alcohol, it often makes sense. Without, it may or may not. In general theTiW by itself, you need to spend $750 to break even. 6 adults not too difficult. When you add in the AP discount you already have, you would need to spend about $1500 to break even for the TiW card (because you already have a 10% discount from AP, so only a real 10% savings on TiWinstead of the 20%)

 

[Kim in PA]

We can use TIW for dining for 6 of us, but that isn’t possible with just one AP right?

 

[gharter]

We can use TIW for dining for 6 of us, but that isn’t possible with just one AP right?

I believe the AP discount is only good for up to 4 people.

 

[hdnyc]

How far in advance can I purchase an AP? We are planning our trip for 2/2020 and was thinking about getting the AP before prices increase. Is there a time frame they need to be activated by?

I asked this question today when I called. I was told that you can buy it now, and the 1yr period doesn't become activated until the first day that you use it at a park. I can't be 100% sure that's the RIGHT answer, since castmembers don't always give the correct answers over the phone, but that's what I was told! I was interested in buying an annual pass sometime in 2019 so I could use it when booking Fastpasses but not have it activated for the 1yr period until February 2020 when we plan to visit.

 

[gharter]

An AP can be purchased anytime. You have to go to Guest Services to activate it and then it starts, not the day you purchase it. We just renewed ours and they expire 12/31/2030.
The TiW card, however is activated as soon as you purchase it. We buy our when we activate our APs. I have read that if you purchase it ahead of time, you get a plastic oneinstead of the paper one. But it would be active as soon as you get it.

 

[hakepb]

We are not Florida residents, so the only way to get TIW is to buy the AP first, right?

DVC owners can buy TIW, but that’s a lot more expensive buy-in than an AP

FYI, TIW cards can only be purchased at Guest Relations. You can buy or activate an AP at any ticket window (often with shorter lines)

But, as a DVC owner who doesn’t purchase alcohol, I don’t find TIW worth it since the price jumped from $75 years back to $150

I like this dining discount comparison:
http://allears.net/wp-content/uploads/archive/pl/disc_dining.pdf