Annual Passes

[wdwaggie]

So this just happened...My DW of almost 15 years that I have been desperately trying to convert to a Disney fanatic asked me if I would buy us Annual Passes....um YES!!!

My question is...Is there a better or best time to buy them? Are they good from the time I buy it for 12 months or are they a Jan-Dec thing??

[VWL Mom]

They are one year from the date of purchase not Jan-Dec. What you should do is sit down and decided when you'll be traveling and work around that to get the most trips possible on your pass. For example we like late summer, fall, and January so ours go mid August to mid August and we get 3 trips out of them.

EDIT: Should be one year from activation not purchase. So you can buy it online ahead of your trip and add it to MDE for FP. The clock wouldn't start ticking until you actually activate it.

Thanks to RunDMV for pointing out my error.

[Buttercup]

Last year they actually had a deal where you get 13 months for the price of 12! But they don't have that deal any more sadly. Who knows, it might come back! Keep your fingers crossed!

Just a note about AP renewals. When it comes time to renew, you can do it up to 60 days BEFORE your pass expires, or 30 days AFTER it expires, and you'll get a small renewal discount. So, to give you a specific example:

If your pass expires on August 15th, you can renew your pass starting from June 16th, or take your time and they'll give you a grace period until September 14th to renew and get that discounted rate. Keep in mind that your renewed Annual Pass will expire one year from your Anniversary Date, regardless of when you actually renew.

[RunDMV]

They are one year from the date of purchase not Jan-Dec. What you should do is sit down and decided when you'll be traveling and work around that to get the most trips possible on your pass. For example we like late summer, fall, and January so ours go mid August to mid August and we get 3 trips out of them.

I don't think this is accurate. They are valid for one year from the date of ACTIVATION, not date of purchase.

[VWL Mom]

I don't think this is accurate. They are valid for one year from the date of ACTIVATION, not date of purchase.
Correct, one year from date of activation.

[baldburke]

Correct, one year from date of activation.

Lynn keeps the straight again!

[iheartdisney]

Slightly off topic but.....when does getting APs make sense (how many days after it "pays for itself")?

And....

To the original poster....how did you get your wife to turn the corner? Married 19 years and I'm still trying to get DH on "Disney board!"

[faline]

Slightly off topic but.....when does getting APs make sense (how many days after it "pays for itself")?


Just doing some quick math - Disney lists it's 10 day tickets at a cost of $44.50 per day (This, however, does not give you the option of park hopping which is an additional cost). An annual pass has a base price of $849 (which does not include tax but does allow you to park hop and includes photo pass in the price). By dividing the $849 by 44.50, you would need to enter a Disney park on 19 days to break even.

[iheartdisney]

Just doing some quick math - Disney lists it's 10 day tickets at a cost of $44.50 per day (This, however, does not give you the option of park hopping which is an additional cost). An annual pass has a base price of $849 (which does not include tax but does allow you to park hop and includes photo pass in the price). By dividing the $849 by 44.50, you would need to enter a Disney park on 19 days to break even.

Thank you!

[Fangorn]

There is no fixed number of days where break even occurs. It depends on the number of trips planned during the year and the length of those trips.

Linda's math is correct, but only for the upper limit of the range.

At the lower limit, the number is 8 if we're talking only two trips. Two, four day trips would require 2 separate tickets at $455 (you do need to use the price for hoppers, since that's equivalent to having an AP), so total of $910. A 4 day plus a 3 day ticket is $825, just under the $849 AP.

The absolute lower limit is 7 days - three 2day trips and a 1day trip. 3 2day hoppers is $822. Another day trip puts you over the breakeven point.

So the breakeven range is from 7 to 19 days, depending on how many trips and how long each trip is.

Note, this is for US tickets only. UK has different length tickets with a different pricing structure. I'm not very familiar with that.

Steve

[dnickels]

Another thing to keep in mind regarding 'break-even' is that tickets are only part of the trip. If you typically spend ~$2,500 per year on trips to Disney and buying APs saves you $500, but you end up taking three trips to the tune of $6,000 for the year then you've actually spent more money on Disney for the year. It's like your spouse coming home with a bunch of new clothes or gadgets that were on sale and saying "Look how much money I saved honey!!!" when in fact they simply spent money.

Whether that's relevant to any individual or not is really specific to each family's annual budget, but just something that's a good idea to keep in mind anytime the 'should we buy APs' discussion comes up.

[iheartdisney]

Thanks! Because we typically go for about 8 days it might make sense for us if I can finagle at least one more trip per year. I like those numbers!

[Buttercup]

Yes to what Fangorn said.

Sure, I can go buy a 10-day ticket, but I'm not going to use that all at once (and I'm not even sure they do the "no expiration" option anymore). So that isn't an accurate comparison.

For me, I always figure if I take 2 trips a year with 5-day park hoppers each trip (or even one 5-day park hopper and a couple quick weekend trips), it's better just to get the annual pass. That means I get hotel discounts, merchandise and dining discounts, so it's great.

I don't, however, buy the annual pass for my kids or husband. I tend to go to WDW more often than them (with friends and Intercotees of course!) so it's just one AP for this household.

[Cinderelley]

And factor in free parking at the parks if you drive, the cost of Memory Maker if you enjoy a lot of photos, and discounts on food/rooms if they offer them the year you go.

[Mickey's 4Walls]

But if i bought one AP- would i be able to get a discount on the resort package and tickets for the rest of the family? Discount on purchases and food? Would that pay off?

[Fangorn]

But if i bought one AP- would i be able to get a discount on the resort package and tickets for the rest of the family? Discount on purchases and food? Would that pay off?

Yes. It's not necessary for everyone on the reservation to have an AP. You only need 1 AP. The person who has that AP will need to be the lead guest on any room to get the discount, and they will have to be the one making the purchases. Names on the credit/debit card, AP and ID are all supposed to match.

Steve

[Cass&KenziesMom]

Just doing some quick math - Disney lists it's 10 day tickets at a cost of $44.50 per day (This, however, does not give you the option of park hopping which is an additional cost). An annual pass has a base price of $849 (which does not include tax but does allow you to park hop and includes photo pass in the price). By dividing the $849 by 44.50, you would need to enter a Disney park on 19 days to break even.You also have to take into account if you're staying on property or not. In our case we don't stay on property due to family having a timeshare so the money we save on parking at the park is a perk for us.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[BriarRose0708]

So much good info on this thread. I am considering upgrading my ticket while on my trip in a couple weeks. Given the new park pricing structure, I'd rather have an annual pass and take more trips whenever I want than worry about which days in which parks cost more or less. Confusing! Maybe that's been their idea all along, lol!

If I upgrade while there, do I just go to Guest Services and have them take care of it? It is only a two day non-hopper ticket. Am I correct in remembering that if you upgrade on your current ticket you only have to pay the difference between that and the cost of the AP? Should I do it the first day of the trip or on the last day?

[Fangorn]

So much good info on this thread. I am considering upgrading my ticket while on my trip in a couple weeks. Given the new park pricing structure, I'd rather have an annual pass and take more trips whenever I want than worry about which days in which parks cost more or less. Confusing! Maybe that's been their idea all along, lol!

If I upgrade while there, do I just go to Guest Services and have them take care of it? It is only a two day non-hopper ticket. Am I correct in remembering that if you upgrade on your current ticket you only have to pay the difference between that and the cost of the AP? Should I do it the first day of the trip or on the last day?

Yes. To upgrade, you can go to Guest Services or to any ticket window at any park (including the water parks). You can upgrade from any regular type ticket to an AP. You will pay the difference between the value of the current ticket and the AP.

There is no financial advantage/disadvantage to upgrading on the first or last day. Your discounts and photopass downloads will start sooner if you do it on the first day as opposed to the last day, though.

Regardless of when you upgrade, the expiration date of the AP will be one year from the date of the first use of the ticket. If you use your 2-day pass on Oct 15 and then upgrade on Oct 16, the expiration date will be Oct 15, 2019, not the 16th.

Steve

[BriarRose0708]

Yes. To upgrade, you can go to Guest Services or to any ticket window at any park (including the water parks). You can upgrade from any regular type ticket to an AP. You will pay the difference between the value of the current ticket and the AP.

There is no financial advantage/disadvantage to upgrading on the first or last day. Your discounts and photopass downloads will start sooner if you do it on the first day as opposed to the last day, though.

Regardless of when you upgrade, the expiration date of the AP will be one year from the date of the first use of the ticket. If you use your 2-day pass on Oct 15 and then upgrade on Oct 16, the expiration date will be Oct 15, 2019, not the 16th.

Steve

Fantastic, thanks Steve!

[PopPhan]

So much good info on this thread. I am considering upgrading my ticket while on my trip in a couple weeks. Given the new park pricing structure, I'd rather have an annual pass and take more trips whenever I want than worry about which days in which parks cost more or less. Confusing! Maybe that's been their idea all along, lol!

If I upgrade while there, do I just go to Guest Services and have them take care of it? It is only a two day non-hopper ticket. Am I correct in remembering that if you upgrade on your current ticket you only have to pay the difference between that and the cost of the AP? Should I do it the first day of the trip or on the last day?

I did this on my November trip last year and am getting my third trip in on it in about 2 weeks.

One thing...Hopefully you can get it done before the 16th...Looks like there might be a price increase to go along with the 'daily' price increase...Nothing has been announced yet, but it would figure.....

[BriarRose0708]

I did this on my November trip last year and am getting my third trip in on it in about 2 weeks.

One thing...Hopefully you can get it done before the 16th...Looks like there might be a price increase to go along with the 'daily' price increase...Nothing has been announced yet, but it would figure.....

I was afraid of that. I am not going until the 21st so I'll keep my eyes peeled for any announcements.

[Cinderelley]

Maybe you can call and upgrade before you go.

[BriarRose0708]

Maybe you can call and upgrade before you go.

Recent home-owner related events have derailed my plans for an AP! Ah well. Maybe next year!

[Cinderelley]

Recent home-owner related events have derailed my plans for an AP! Ah well. Maybe next year!

Sorry to hear that, but it happens.