Annual Passes -can anyone give me more information on the discounts and newsletters

[Blueeyes_two]

Hi, I was wondering if you can tell me what the pros and cons are to getting an annual pass.
We will be going in oct for 5 nights and traveling with 4 adults.

We will be at disney during the Wine and food festival
what is the best time of year to purchase one?? has there been any talk on a price increase this year??

Also I was wondering what the tips and tricks are to using and getting an annual pass.

Also if you can let me know more information that comes in the newsletter that comes out 4 times a year.

thanks in advance - -Liz:thumbsup:

[Flower]

http://www.intercot.com/themeparks/tickets/passes/default.asp

There are many pros of an annual pass, resort discounts, merchandise discounts & dining discounts. See the above link for Info Central.

I believe the 'break even point' when purchasing an annual pass is 10 nights, just wondering if you have another trip planned and that is the reason you are looking into AP's? If you are only considering AP's for the resort discounts, only 1 person in your party needs to have an AP and you can book up to 2 rooms with that AP.

You can purchase an AP at any time - prior to your vacation you can order an AP thru Disney and they will mail you a voucher. When you get to WDW you attend Guest Services at any of the parks or DTD and trade your voucher in for your AP. I think ticket prices usually go up around January.

There are no tricks to getting an AP, when you buy an AP you will get a sleeve which tells you about all of the discounts - 10% at most restaurants & at World of Disney at DTD. Some non-Disney stores also give you 10% such as BASIN & Earl of Sandwich. As an AP holder you are able to apply for the Disney Dining Experience card. http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/dde.asp

As far as the Mickey Monitor newsletter - don't count on receiving one in the mail! In the 4 years we have had AP's, I think I only ever got 3 of them. You can access it on the Disney website when you are an AP holder by entering your card #, or just google Mickey Monitor and you will find it somewhere!

[DizneyRox]

If you are only considering AP's for the resort discounts, only 1 person in your party needs to have an AP and you can book up to 2 rooms with that AP.

I may be wrong, but I believe it's now one AP, one room. And yes, it does need to be an adult AP as well.

My advice is. If you are getting the AP in expectations of getting a room discount, don't do it. The room discount for the AP is really not where it used to be and often you can do better with some other type of package.

Finally, a 10 day pass IS cheaper than an AP. The break even point is somewhere in the 11-12 day range I think, depending on the options you want on the tickets, etc. If you're splitting stay, you need to check if it's worth it to get the non expiration option, and also check if you need park hopping, etc. You really need to work over the number pretty good to see what's the best option.

[mdhiggin]

My son has an AP, but he is only 12. It's an adult ticket, since he's over 10, but will they let us use his AP to book a discounted room?

[faline]

Here are some samples of the Mickey Monitor (http://www.intercot.com/themeparks/tickets/annualpass/mickeymonitor/archive/default.asp) - the annual passholder newsletter.

I do not recommend getting an annual pass just for the potential room discounts. Annual pass room discounts are more scarce and not as good as they used to be. I always recommend getting an annual pass only if the number of days you spend in the park allows you to at least break even when compared to alternate park tickets. If you are only going to spend 5 days in the parks over the course of the next year, it is probably not cost-advantageous for your to purchase an annual pass.

[DizneyRox]

My son has an AP, but he is only 12. It's an adult ticket, since he's over 10, but will they let us use his AP to book a discounted room?
That's a good question, you may need to ask Disney about that. He can't book the room do to his age, but it IS an adult ticket.

[Flower]

I may be wrong, but I believe it's now one AP, one room. And yes, it does need to be an adult AP as well.


In January I was able to book 2 rooms with 1 AP - and Liz mentioned in her post that they were all adults in her travel party ;)

[Blueeyes_two]

:mickey:Thanks you all for all the great feedback.
So just to clarify, this was my thought. :secret:

We will be traveling with 4 adults, and i was thinking about getting my husband the AP for just his ticket. that way we can use the %'s off for the stores and the dining. DO you think its worth it for that?

we will be spending 6 days in disney so it may be worthwhile.

we booked our room using the 40% code that we recieved in the mail. :party:

Please tell me more about the Disney dining that the membership is $65 to join. i think ap get a discount - do all member that are dining with you need to have paid to join? can they get the siacount if they did not join?

ALSO:cloud9::cloud9:
We are goin gto stay at the contemporary in a King with theme park view in the a frame. does anyone know what these rooms are like now that they did the referbishments? - I guess that is a whole other topic all together.

[Beast_fanatic]

Here is some information on the Disney Dining Experience (http://www.intercot.com/infocentral/dining/dde.asp).

Everyone in the party would get the discount, but the AP/DDE holder would have to be present for the discount. Someone will probably be along soon with more information.

As far as your Contemporary question, I suggest you ask that in the Accommodations forum.

[KylesMom]

Please tell me more about the Disney dining that the membership is $65 to join. i think ap get a discount - do all member that are dining with you need to have paid to join? can they get the discount if they did not join?


The DDE membership is $65 for one Annual Passholder. Up to ten people can be present at the dining location for the discount, but it (the DDE card) must be presented by the A/P holder along with a valid pass. If you wanted to add your spouse to the account, it would be an additional $25. We've never found this to be of value, since DH and I are always together when utilizing the card.

The 20% discount is valid at participating TS locations and resorts which do not have a TS location (Value Resort food courts, etcetera). As of latest information, some CS locations at AK were also still eligible for discounts. Note that the discount also includes alcoholic beverages, which may be important for a group of four adults. The 10-20% discounts you would receive by being an A/P holder without the DDE are usually for breakfast/lunch only, and do not include alcoholic beverages.

Quite honestly, if you were thinking about purchasing one A/P for general discounts, park admission and the purchase of DDE, that might work to your advantage. If you were planning on utilizing the DDE heavily in the 5 days you'll be there, you may find you'll save some $$$. Hard-telling until you crunch the numbers, since a standard A/P is $477 with tax + DDE of $65 = $542, and a 5-day hopper is $274. I gotta tell you, though, that the DDE has really saved us a chunk of change each trip, especially when you factor in cocktails at TS meals.

The determining factor on whether or not you'd get your moneys' worth on the DDE for such a short trip is whether or not you'd be utilzing the DDE card at the participating locations. Remember that it is not good at most counter service locations, and only at certain other participating restaurants. I don't believe that the DDE discount will be good at the various Food & Wine Kiosks either.

I agree with Flower that it has always been "hit and miss" with receiving the Mickey Monitor. I usually view it online way before it gets to my house - if it ever does!

No talk lately about A/P rate increases, but we've already purchased ours for July 2008/June 2009 "just in case". :mickey:

[sillyolbear]

I echo the other posters who advise not to buy an AP with a rooms discount as your motivation. Crunch the numbers based on your need for park admission and then use the discounts as added perks.

As for the Mickey Monitor--good luck getting one in the mail. Three years with an AP and I've seen three actually show up.

[Taja]

Remember, you don't have to have an AP in hand to book a room with an AP rate. You can wait and see what--if anything--becomes available and decide at that time.

Without room discounts, I determined my AP break even for park entry only at 14 or 15 days (can't remember which at the moment). The DDE isn't very useful for me--what I save is about the cost of it. So it doesn't enter into the equation.

Sometimes the AAA discount is about the same as the AP discount. Sometimes a bit more, sometimes a bit less. Occasionally, if pixie dust is blowing in your direction, the AP discount can be significant. That makes the AP quite worthwhile, even for a shorter visit.

You'll need to do the math to determine what works for you.

[Blueeyes_two]

Does anyone know if there is a price increase coming soon? last year it was in august and i would want to purchase our tickets before the increase. thanks Liz :thumbsup:

[kakn7294]

Here's another "adult" question: DD will be nearly 14 next March when her high school band travels to WDW. At that time, she will be an AP holder. If we are not with her, will she still be able to use her AP for discounts such as at WoD and eligible dining? She will, of course, have an adult pass but since she's not 18, I don't know how that works. Have any of you had success with a younger person using their AP for discounts?

[TiggeRia]

I was planning on purchasing an AP before my trip in December because I am returning to WDW in April. I would otherwise be buying 2 seven day park hopper passes for each trip, so I might save a few bucks by getting an AP. Plus I would probably purchase the DDE for April because it will be 5 or 6 adults traveling and I might save a lot on dining with that many adults...

Anyway, this is my question. If I purchase the AP now before ticket prices possibly go up next month, does my year begin when I purchase the pass, or does it start when I actually activate it when I go in December??

[Beast_fanatic]

Does anyone know if there is a price increase coming soon? last year it was in august and i would want to purchase our tickets before the increase. thanks Liz :thumbsup:

There are rumors that there will be a price increase next week. Disney has had August price increases in the past.

Here's another "adult" question: DD will be nearly 14 next March when her high school band travels to WDW. At that time, she will be an AP holder. If we are not with her, will she still be able to use her AP for discounts such as at WoD and eligible dining? She will, of course, have an adult pass but since she's not 18, I don't know how that works. Have any of you had success with a younger person using their AP for discounts?

I have no experience with this, but I don't see any reason why she would be able to get the discounts that her pass entitles her to.

If I purchase the AP now before ticket prices possibly go up next month, does my year begin when I purchase the pass, or does it start when I actually activate it when I go in December??

You pass will begin when you exchange the voucher for the actual pass in December.

[goofysbabe]

I've been thinking about buying an adult AP. We will be there in Dec. for 3 days then back again in Oct. 09. My question is with an AP do you get discounts on tickets for the rest of the family?? Is it better to just buy 10 day non-expiring and use 3 for one trip and save the rest for the Oct. trip?