Does an AP really save you money?

[southerngirl]

My DH and I just booked a summer trip to the World. We decided on the Swan, because it's the most economical, given that we get a special educator discount rate. However, we're considering upgrading for at least the last three nights of our trip to either the BC or another deluxe. We already have a December trip booked (Poly, club level), and we thought that if I bought an AP, it might save us money on both trips. However, I can't really figure out if it would result in any real savings. Can any of you AP holders offer me any wisdom? Thanks much!!!!

[laprana]

I think the rule of thumb is that if you're going to travel to WDW for more than 10 days in one year, then the AP will save you money. If you're going to be in the parks for 10 days or less, it might make more financial sense to stick with the park hopper or regular ticket. But, when you add in any AP rates you can get on rooms and discounts you get in shops, restaurants, etc. from being an AP holder, that's additional savings.

[KylesMom]

We've been A/P holders since 2002, and my response is - it all depends. First, how many days total will you be utilizing your pass in the parks? That really is the number one factor on the "worth" of an A/P. We take two vacations on our passes - the first in July/August, and the second in June of the following year. Even if we were only taking one trip, we still would find value in the pass because we go for 15 days each trip. It's sure cheaper than buying a 10-day MYW pass and a subsequent 5-day MYW pass! The "break even" point is currently around 11 days.

Next - we purchase the Tables in Wonderland discount membership for A/P holders for $75. This benefit takes off 20% of your total bill, including adult beverages. If you're into nicer table service meals, you may find this card highly beneficial. We don't do the dining plan, but we do schedule TS meals every day of our trip. This is a nice card to have for our particular dining habits.

Room discounts? Not dependable. Sometimes they're offered, and sometimes they aren't. It all depends upon the time of the year you are going and how occupancy rates are running. I'm always pleased when we can take advantage of A/P rates, but I never count on them when planning our yearly vacation budget.

I know this doesn't really answer your question about your particular savings situation, but it does give some insight on the benefits of an A/P. You really need to crunch the numbers & figure out what would be best for your particular situation! :mickey:

[southerngirl]

Thanks for the tips! We're going for four nights both trips, so we'll only have three park days. Sounds like it might be cheaper to just purchase park hoppers than to purchase an AP, unless I get some hefty room discounts.

[faline]

Room discounts? Not dependable. Sometimes they're offered, and sometimes they aren't. It all depends upon the time of the year you are going and how occupancy rates are running. I'm always pleased when we can take advantage of A/P rates, but I never count on them when planning our yearly vacation budget:

And sometimes, other discounts offer a better value than the annual pass discounts.

[WishingStar2006]

You often find that AP holders, to take advantage of some of the "deals" end up still purchasing a 1 day MYW ticket to qualify for the special...so sometimes the specials are too good to pass up, AP or not.

I purchased an AP this year for the first time. My package in March was a MYW package, so I purchased a one day MYW and then upgraded to an AP before entering the park for the first time. I was there for 10 days.

I'm going back next week for a 13 day visit using an AP discount.

I'm taking the family in August on a MYW deal and since everyone on the ressie has to have the same ticket and dining plan, I will have a 7 day park hopper that I will use towards the renewal of my AP for next year.

Always follow the rule of if you're going to be in the park for >11 days, the AP is always more economical...however, as previous posters said...AP discounts do not always come out when other deals are out...

[Amy_617]

We have been AP holders since 05' and LOVE it! That being said we travel to Disney usually 2 times a year at about 8 days each. The AP is more of a deal for us then buying two different 8 day park hoppers.

With Disney talking about cutting back on discounts, I wouldn't buy an AP just for that. But, then again, with that being said. I don't think we have been to WDW and paid regular price for a room. We have always gotten the disount. It is a nice bonus....but I would still go even if we had to pack rack rates!

The discount that we got for our upcoming May trip paid for the AP themselves! We saved 45% off DVC rooms. We are staying 4 nights at BCV and 3 nights at BLT and I will say we saved a total of $1400 on our room alone! That's wonderful! On this vacation the AP discount made it afforable to us to be able to stay in a deluxe!

You just need to work out the numbers and see if it comes out beneficial for you to buy AP's. I think if you go more then once a year, or have longer stays (over 10 days) it might be worth it for you to buy one.

HTH! :mickey:

[mermaidmarian]

You've received great advice.

I purchased an AP for several consecutive years, and it made great sense for us when there were more reliable AP room discounts and you were able to book more than one room on an AP. Since they have made that change to the room booking policy, together with more attractive promotional offers for non-AP guests, we have stopped purchasing our AP. We live too far away to be able to travel to WDW more frequently than once a year, and because of school and work schedules, it is now too difficult to stay much longer than 7 days when we do visit. Under these circumstances, AP no longer makes sense for us.

[Disney4]

The 10 day rule is a good guideline for us. We usually spend 22-30 days a year at the resort, so the ticket discount and room discounts, when available also help. I have stopped buying the TIW discount card since the gratuity is auto-added to the bill. You will find some food discounts come with the AP and don't carry the surcharge. Other discounts on property, including merchandise discounts add to the savings.

For instance, our June trip has the 40% discount for our BWV room, a discount on our rental car, and we have no ticket cost because we bought our APs for a 12 day trip in December. Our next trip in October will hopefully offer the same savings. That will make 31 days of use over 1 year for 3 Adult, 1 child at roughly $1,900 before other discounts are figured in as opposed to over $3,000.

[DizneyRox]

Being a DVC member, knocking $100 off the cost of an AP sure helps. But you should really only base the purchase on park admissions. Other perks can and have been changed in the past, room discounts being one of them.

Many think that AP holders should be rewarded for their loyalty (DVC members think the same way for the most part). It appears, however, that Disney doesn't share that sentiment.

Public discounts recently have rivaled those that AP holders saw in the past.

The TiW card is a great alternative to the DDP IMHO. Yes, the gratuity is added, but I was probably going to leave that tip anyway (quite honestly, I would probably tip more, but when they do the math, that's all they get regardless). If the surcharge isn't worthy, then I speak with a manager (Yes, I'm that guy!) The TiW card usually pays for itself after the second meal, at least for us.

When they changed the AP renewal terms (extend the good through date +1 year) much of the value of an AP went out the door for many people though. It's hard to squeak two trip out of a pass these days (one year apart) but even one trip, we've found the AP a good value.

+10 days, DVC discount and TiW card.

[Scar]

When they changed the AP renewal terms (extend the good through date +1 year) much of the value of an AP went out the door for many people though.Rox, can you explain this a little more.

[DizneyRox]

AP renewals used to be a voucher that would get reactivated with a new start/end date on your AP.

I forget when, I think back 2002 or so, renewing your AP just moved the end date out one year. This took some value out of the AP. Now, I don't renew unless I'm going to use the pass again within like 3-4 months of my old one expiring. I'd rather pony up the cash for a full year instead of letting a few months of non-use wittle away at the savings of a renewal.