Your thoughts on AP.

[DL4my2kids]

We live in Northern CA and recently found out Amtrak goes all the way to Anaheim. My kids love the train so to be able to take the ride all the way down to Anaheim would be great. A very long trip but...

We usually go to DL 1 time per year on our annual family vacation. We have AAA so we take advantage of the hotel discounts as well as some of the food discounts.

Since we have AAA would getting annual passes only benefit us on the prices of the tickets if we go to DL more than 2 times per year? I know I can get discounts with annual pases as well but would the biggest benefit for us saving on ticket cost? I am trying to see if upgrading our 5 day hoppers this trip would be beneficial to us.

I guess what I am really trying to ask is, minus the tickets are the benefits are having AAA the same as AP?

We are a family of 4. Two adults and two chiuldren under 10 years old.

 

[tinkermell]

I think the only advantage for you would just be great prices on the hotels when they run their specials. For instance I'm paying $169.00/night for concierge level at the PP this Dec. and one regular night at the Grand for $199.00. These are huge savings off the regular price! Sometime in Feb. I think this special will run again. Or something close to it. But these specials only run in the low season. Otherwise the discount is the same as AAA.

If you go more than once a year, then AP's would probably make sense for the whole family. Or if you can only go once a year, and in the low season, it would probably pay to have just one family member get an AP. Oh and everytime you eat more than $10.00 worth, you can get 10% off of the meal. And that adds up too!!!

Does this help?? I'm kind of rambling along here.

 

[bumbershoot]

Oh and everytime you eat more than $10.00 worth, you can get 10% off of the meal. And that adds up too!!!

FWIW, there was no CM that stuck to this with us...we got AP discounts on every purchase we made, at places that accepted the AP discount (so, not at Royal St Veranda or Burr-Bank).


We live in WA, and until this year just made one day, once a year visits. AP wasn't right at that time, obviously. We just made a 5 (actually, 6) day trip. If that's all we were going to do, an AP wouldn't have made sense. I figured out the savings for us with food, and if we had presented our AP to every single restaurant from the very beginning (we upgraded second day, and kept forgetting), our savings would only have been something like $25.

But during this span of 365 days we plan on going at least two more times. Since DL has no "no expiration" options for tickets, that means a new set of tickets, whether it's a one-day ticket or another set of 5 days. And even buying one more one-day one-park ticket took us OVER the cost of the Deluxe AP (plus the cost of the 5 day hoppers we bought for Sept of course).

So if you guys normally only go once per year and don't see that changing AT ALL, it might not make bunches of sense BUT if you changed the dates of your NEXT trip to a month ahead of time, so you're taking two trips inside one group of 365 days, then the AP would get you in for both trips, and it would make more sense. Then the discounts are just gravy.

One other little fun thing...at certain restaurants (Blue Bayou and Pizza Oom Mow Mow, to name the two I know of) during our stay, when you spent $30 and used your AP, they gave cute little "exclusive" pins. We spent over twice that at BB, so we got two. So if anyone is into collecting or trading pins, that's a fun little extra.


If you search around for posts made this last week, I typed out a big response with all the restaurants that give the 10% discount, and some other info that's on one of the little pamphlets I got when we upgraded.

 

[CoolPool]

I would say:
Assuming you want to stay at a Disney hotel only, I'd call and ask for available AP4 rates. (Note: NOT an AP rate, specifically ask for an AP4 rate). If an AP4 rate is available, then order ONE AP ticket with the hotel room. You will not have a booking problem this way as they do ask to see your AP at check-in. If you get an AP4 rate, one night at a Disney hotel will more than likey cover the cost difference from a regular ticket to an AP. Everyone else can get a regular ticket. At the end of the trip, if you have become enamoured of the place and can't imagine not going again within the year, then you can upgrade the rest of the family's tickets to an AP at the park. (If you find that you didn't enjoy it, then you just go home and forget the experiment.)

If, however, you have no intention of staying at a Disney hotel, then buy the tickets that you need just for this trip. Then you can decide at the end of your trip if you MUST go back within the year to upgrade to an AP at the park. (Or if you hated it, then forget about it.)

*disclaimer: Disney regret kicks in usually after downloading your camera. If you go home without upgrading to an AP, then you have to go back to the top and start again on the next trip.

**AP4 rates are vastly superior to AAA discounts.

 

[Hofmanns4]

Even if you do go only once per year, as the PP stated, if you stay on Disney property it can be worth it. We will be getting AP's for this trip and at the AP4rate saving over $2,300 on this trip alone.

I just all depends on when you go and where you stay.

 

[bumbershoot]

*disclaimer: Disney regret kicks in usually after downloading your camera. If you go home without upgrading to an AP, then you have to go back to the top and start again on the next trip.

A good reason to get pictures off the camera and onto the computer every night! That way you KNOW how much fun you had that day, even while your feet hurt.

 

[DL4my2kids]

We do stay on the property. I wish I was smarter to ask earlier on. I booked via AAA in July but I am going to call the hotel direct and see if I can get AP4rates available for the time we are going. Is so, then I can cancel my other ones for a minimal fee.

I called but they are booked. They said to call back frequently as they do tend to have changes. Man am I slow catching on. I am glad we have our regular reservation though, unfortunately at a heafty chunk of change.. I knew they would book fast the week of Thanksgiving.

Thanks again I'll keep calling.

 

[CoolPool]

Good luck. Try each of your dates separately if necessary. Just as guidance, AP4 rates I have booked/used are:
Grand Californian - standard room - $199/nite++
Paradise Pier - $169/nite++ - concierge pool cabana room
Disneyland Hotel - theme park view - $199/nite++ (I think this is right - I can't remember; it might be lower, but it was a great room!)

 

[Disneyluvr2]

If you can get a good rate on tickets through AAA, you don't need to get an AP for everyone in your family. If only one person in your family turns their 5 day pass into a Premium pass, you can still get the hotel discounts, 15% off all your food, 10% off the merchandise you buy, free parking and discounts on tours. I live in Northern Calif...500 miles away from Disneyland and my premium AP is totally worth it!!!

 

[JenDisneylandlver]

We went in June with 3 day hoppers and upgraded to AP's. Since we knew we were going in October. We were just planning on buying 4 day hoppers, but it did save us quite a bit just upgrading to AP's. We are thinking about getting one more trip in, but that's just all gravy! Since after this trip it more then paid for itself.