AP Pricing Concerns

[ohdanalee]

The select is worthless to me,I have silver and if they were to do something crazy like take away silver I would imagine a large number of passholders not renewing.Gold also isnt that attractive,who wants to go and sweat and get rained on all summer.Silver is the most popular pass for a reason,they mess with it people are not going to be happy!

Gold includes Memory Maker / PhotoPass as well which is why I purchased it and will renew it come this winter. That and my out-of-state sister wanted to go during July. And, there is plenty of rain and sweat to be had year-round in Florida.

 

[fla4fun]

I am still mulling over renewing the end of October or buying a voucher for a new pass now. I am platinum. The renewal discount is 15%. Many guesses are putting a price increase in that ballpark. However, if I buy the voucher and the increase isn’t as bad as predicted, I have the option to sit on the voucher for a year or two before activating it. If the increase is more than 15%, then I just activate the voucher in December when the old pass expires. The only drawback in this scenario is potentially paying twice this year if I end up renewing after all, but I wouldn’t really lose in the long run, and I have been getting some overtime at work, so it’s not a stretch budget wise. Does this make sense?

 

[mmps108]

DH and I are planning a five-night trip beginning 12/27/18. Our plan was to buy five-day hoppers, but if all goes well (financially) between now and then, we'd like to upgrade them to platinum APs our first day. We have another trip planned for end of January 2019, and tentatively one in November and December 2019.

With this new structure, would I be better off buying hoppers now and hoping the upgrade to AP works the same in December, or just bite the bullet and buy AP vouchers now?

I'd like to say we might have to cut a trip or two based on rising costs, but history shows we'll just find a way to go. We want APs because we are part of the group that wants to brave the crowds to see SWGE: the talk of blocking APs has me nervous. . .

I am in the same boat! We have 2 trips planned for next year (January and December) and AP make total sense but they are SO expensive now, but will it save us hundreds if we just bite the bullet? We were planning to upgrade PH to AP when we arrive in January BUT what if the price increase is insane? BUT, will be risking blocked dates when we go December 2019 when SWGE opens, I know they say no blackout dates now but what if they change their minds? AND the nervous buyer in me says, what if something happens and we don't go in December and we still have these AP? But if we just get 2 sets of PH from UT now to avoid the price increase, they expire at the end of 2019 too. But...like you, we always find a way! This trip in January is totally last minute because my husband is sad about Illuminations going away. LOL.

 

[SaintsManiac]

I am still mulling over renewing the end of October or buying a voucher for a new pass now. I am platinum. The renewal discount is 15%. Many guesses are putting a price increase in that ballpark. However, if I buy the voucher and the increase isn’t as bad as predicted, I have the option to sit on the voucher for a year or two before activating it. If the increase is more than 15%, then I just activate the voucher in December when the old pass expires. The only drawback in this scenario is potentially paying twice this year if I end up renewing after all, but I wouldn’t really lose in the long run, and I have been getting some overtime at work, so it’s not a stretch budget wise. Does this make sense?

Our passes expire Nov 17. I was going to renew to get some savings, but our next trip isn't until March. I'm just going to buy vouchers instead.

My dilemma is timing. I am not sure when the APs will see a price increase. I've got 6 day PHs in my account to make FP for March, so I don't need to buy right away or anything.

Decisions, decisions.

 

[fla4fun]

Our passes expire Nov 17. I was going to renew to get some savings, but our next trip isn't until March. I'm just going to buy vouchers instead.

My dilemma is timing. I am not sure when the APs will see a price increase. I've got 6 day PHs in my account to make FP for March, so I don't need to buy right away or anything.

Decisions, decisions.

Unfortunately, my old pass expires the end of December and my next trip is three weeks later, so I need to make a decision pretty quickly so I don’t miss out booking fastpasses in November.

 

[lovethattink]

I'm trying to figure out what to do for my son. His FL Gold AP expires in November. He can't go to a park until January because of his schedule. Not sure if voucher is the way to go or not? Dh and mine expire in June.

 

[Searc]

I am in the same boat! We have 2 trips planned for next year (January and December) and AP make total sense but they are SO expensive now, but will it save us hundreds if we just bite the bullet? We were planning to upgrade PH to AP when we arrive in January BUT what if the price increase is insane? BUT, will be risking blocked dates when we go December 2019 when SWGE opens, I know they say no blackout dates now but what if they change their minds? AND the nervous buyer in me says, what if something happens and we don't go in December and we still have these AP? But if we just get 2 sets of PH from UT now to avoid the price increase, they expire at the end of 2019 too. But...like you, we always find a way! This trip in January is totally last minute because my husband is sad about Illuminations going away. LOL.

I have at least two trips planned for next year (March and September) and I already know I won't be renewing my AP.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Unfortunately, my old pass expires the end of December and my next trip is three weeks later, so I need to make a decision pretty quickly so I don’t miss out booking fastpasses in November.

Yep that's tough. I think you probably are in the better position to renew unless you want the extra time on your passes.

 

[randumb0]

I'm trying to figure out what to do for my son. His FL Gold AP expires in November. He can't go to a park until January because of his schedule. Not sure if voucher is the way to go or not? Dh and mine expire in June.

You would save money by just renewing. You wouldn't save a lot but it would be cheaper

 

[Carriemel]

When people bought their APs, they bought them with the understanding that their passes would be valid as they were sold...meaning no added blackout dates in addition to those already in place. I would certainly hope they won't become more restrictive to passes which have already been activated.

 

[SaintsManiac]

When people bought their APs, they bought them with the understanding that their passes would be valid as they were sold...meaning no added blackout dates in addition to those already in place. I would certainly hope they won't become more restrictive to passes which have already been activated.

Exactly.

 

[mmps108]

My DH thinks, to give us time to save money, we should buy our 8 day PH before Oct 16th and then upgrade them to AP when we arrive in January. We have a 6/7 day trip planned in December 2019 and I don't want to risk the ticket prices skyrocketing between January and December.
My two concerns: will they change the APs between now and January. No one really knows. And, how easy will it be to take our UT 8 day PH to Guest Services and upgrade them to AP?

 

[EpcotQueen]

After reading several of the posts here today I renewed our annual passes. They were due to expire Nov. 13th. I renewed for the platinum passes (no wp). Would have preferred the gold but going in April again for our anniversary (51st!!) during black out dates. I'm lucky to have the DVC discount for renewal so the 2 passes were a little over $1300. With the changes for regular tickets looming 10/16 and knowing Disney typically makes AP changes relatively close to general ticket prices I did not want to wait. Only time will prove me right or wrong.

 

[AngiTN]

When people bought their APs, they bought them with the understanding that their passes would be valid as they were sold...meaning no added blackout dates in addition to those already in place. I would certainly hope they won't become more restrictive to passes which have already been activated.

The wording is such that they won't add block out dates to a pass that has no block out dates but they do have an opening in the wording to alter/change block out dates on passes that already have block out dates.

 

[AngiTN]

I am still mulling over renewing the end of October or buying a voucher for a new pass now. I am platinum. The renewal discount is 15%. Many guesses are putting a price increase in that ballpark. However, if I buy the voucher and the increase isn’t as bad as predicted, I have the option to sit on the voucher for a year or two before activating it. If the increase is more than 15%, then I just activate the voucher in December when the old pass expires. The only drawback in this scenario is potentially paying twice this year if I end up renewing after all, but I wouldn’t really lose in the long run, and I have been getting some overtime at work, so it’s not a stretch budget wise. Does this make sense?

Yep, makes a lot of sense. It all boils down to, do you gamble much? I think, if you have the funds, I'd purchase the Platinum Voucher now, just as an insurance policy.

My DH thinks, to give us time to save money, we should buy our 8 day PH before Oct 16th and then upgrade them to AP when we arrive in January. We have a 6/7 day trip planned in December 2019 and I don't want to risk the ticket prices skyrocketing between January and December.
My two concerns: will they change the APs between now and January. No one really knows. And, how easy will it be to take our UT 8 day PH to Guest Services and upgrade them to AP?

Actually, you can do it without visiting GS, in theory at least.
MDE offers the option to upgrade a ticket to an AP, once you are on site and once you've used at least 1 day on the ticket. I haven't done it myself so I can't comment on how well it works (or doesn't) but maybe someone has?
The difference is if you do it in person you don't have to use a day first.

 

[DisneyBelle27]

Yep, makes a lot of sense. It all boils down to, do you gamble much? I think, if you have the funds, I'd purchase the Platinum Voucher now, just as an insurance policy.


Actually, you can do it without visiting GS, in theory at least.
MDE offers the option to upgrade a ticket to an AP, once you are on site and once you've used at least 1 day on the ticket. I haven't done it myself so I can't comment on how well it works (or doesn't) but maybe someone has?
The difference is if you do it in person you don't have to use a day first.

I'm really glad you posted this! I'm about to be an AP newbie, so I'm still learning all of the ins and outs. I currently have a 3 day PH in my MDE for my 1st w/o Dec trip. The trip is with my fam, and my dad was generous enough to pay for the trip, so I was planning on upgrading my ticket my first day there. However, it's a super short trip, only 3 nights, and we're trying to get all the Christmas stuff in, and our arrival day is one of our full park days, and I was really dreading having to stand in a long GS line somewhere, so this is music to my ears (provided MDE actually works like it's supposed to )

 

[mamapenguin]

The wording is such that they won't add block out dates to a pass that has no block out dates but they do have an opening in the wording to alter/change block out dates on passes that already have block out dates.

This. They did this with the deluxe Aps at DLR. Added block out for most of June for Disneyland when Star Wars is supposed to open. It happened to purchased, but not activated passes. I was very close to being in that group.

 

[Texans_loyal]

I wish they would make an AP that excludes entry to SWGE and leave pricing as is. Here's to hoping and wishing

 

[kmc8826]

I am glad to know that I am not alone in my worries about what to do! I was going to post on the DVC thread but you all seem to have a pretty good grasp of what is going on.

My situation is that we are not able to renew our AP's until 60 days prior which puts us at October 17. I joined DVC this year so now can get the DVC gold and was hoping to renew to a DVC gold. It comes down to $95 ticket to renew versus just buying a DVC gold outright. I would just buy the vouchers directly and stop worrying about increases, but I have 5 to buy so that is almost $500! We go in October and then January which is why renewal made sense.

Any thoughts or insight of what you would do? I know we would like to think we would have a heads up when there will be an increase, but I remember last time the price was increased in October it was immediate and there didn't seem to be any rumblings ahead of time at all.

Thanks...

 

[CarolynFH]

I am glad to know that I am not alone in my worries about what to do! I was going to post on the DVC thread but you all seem to have a pretty good grasp of what is going on.

My situation is that we are not able to renew our AP's until 60 days prior which puts us at October 17. I joined DVC this year so now can get the DVC gold and was hoping to renew to a DVC gold. It comes down to $95 ticket to renew versus just buying a DVC gold outright. I would just buy the vouchers directly and stop worrying about increases, but I have 5 to buy so that is almost $500! We go in October and then January which is why renewal made sense.

Any thoughts or insight of what you would do? I know we would like to think we would have a heads up when there will be an increase, but I remember last time the price was increased in October it was immediate and there didn't seem to be any rumblings ahead of time at all.

Thanks...

When you are within the 60 day renewal window you should be able to call DVC Member Services and renew your APs as DVC Gold APs at the renewal price. You will have to call no matter what - you can’t get a renewal DVC Gold online.

Obviously we don’t know what will happen to APs on October 16, but I have fingers crossed that the changes to regular tickets are so massive that they’re going to wait to deal with APs later (and give you time to get your DVC Gold passes!).