Annual passes

[massachusetts]

I'm trying to decide whether or not to purchase annual passes for our May 2010 trip. Does anyone have any idea when they typically raise the price of the APs? Do they raise the prices every year? Do you think they will this year with the economy in the shape it's in?

[BMan62]

The latest price increases just went into effect in August. You should be good to purchase without worry for a while yet.

[KylesMom]

Do they raise the prices every year? Yes


Do you think they will this year with the economy in the shape it's in? Absolutely. Usually they only raise A/P rates once per year - lately it's been in August. However, a few years ago they gave us a double dose of increases - one in January, another in August. If I had the extra cash on hand, I'd purchase our A/Ps right now, even though we're not going until late July of '10!

[Iluvpooh]

I've also been thinking about getting APs this year, I thought I would surprise my family and upgrade them when we checked in. That way we could be assured of a vacation next year. WOW!! I was unaware that the prices had risen that much!!
For a family of 4 for 8 days it was around $925 for MYW passes.
For a family of 4 to get APs it was $1960!!
It actually comes out cheaper for us to buy 2 sets of 8 day passes each year.

I know-I know the discounts, That may be worth it for some of you guys, but not me. Heck, the general public discounts are pretty decent right now.

I would say in my opinion that unless you are planning on making at least 3 trips in a year that the APs are not a good option.

[KylesMom]

I would say in my opinion that unless you are planning on making at least 3 trips in a year that the APs are not a good option.
Instead of a set number of trips, I always suggest doing the math based on the number of days you plan on entering the parks for the duration of the pass. Any discounts on top of actual park admissions are truly "extras" for us but do not go into the equation when deciding about A/Ps. It also depends on if you're a park-hopping family.


It actually comes out cheaper for us to buy 2 sets of 8 day passes each year.
Based off the Disney website today for adult tix, with tax four 8-day MYW tickets without the park-hopping option would be $1,009.64. Double this, and you come up with $2,019.28 for two 8-day MYW trips for 4. Keep in mind this does not allow for park-hopping. If you were to include the park-hopping option, your total cost would go up to $1,231.16, or $2,462.32 for two 8-day trips for a party of 4 adults.

Annual passes, which include the park-hopping option, would be $2,083.16 for 4 adult passes with sales tax - a savings of $379.16 for you.

We go to Disney once annually for 15 days each - but we ensure that our dates allow us to use our passes for two trips (once in July, then in June of the next year before they expire). That means that each of us is getting 30 days' of park admission for $17.36 each per day, tax included. Based on an eight-day MYW w/park hopping option, the daily entrance fee per adult ticket is approximately $38.47 with tax - quite a difference. I know that we go for longer than a typical family is able to, but the figures are indicative of what you can save if you get enough park days in before your pass expires.

Anyway, I digress from the original post question - I would pretty much count on rates for A/Ps (and all other ticket media) to go up in 2010.