DVC Member 10+ years - Park visits / Annual Passes / Florida Residents - Opinions

[DavidRoss]

Hello All,
I am just wondering if others are feeling the same way I do. I have been a DVC member since 1999. I find that I tend to get annual passes but really only go to the parks maybe a few hours a day when I stay at Disney now. I have gone so much over the years that I don't really need to go as much anymore. I am not planning on renewing annual passes for my family simply because the value I get for the price I would have to pay with all the increases no longer seems worth it. I do not live in Florida so I am not eligible for Florida Resident rates. But if Disney ever offered DVC members who bought direct, the option to purchase tickets that Florida residents get, I would certainly jump on that bandwagon.

I still love going to Disney and staying in the DVC resorts. And I know perks and discounts were never guaranteed with membership. But I also look at it as though I have spent a ton of money over the years at Disney (475 points direct). It wish that with that level of commitment, that Disney would allow us to purchase Florida resident tickets.

Does anyone else feel this way?

 

[Maistre Gracey]

I think DVC Members already get a good deal for their commitment. Accommodations much cheaper than non-Members, discounts on AP’s, food, TIW, merchandise, special events, etc...

Plus, there is really little longterm commitment, as a Member can sell at any time.

 

[Sandisw]

Sure, it would be nice to have other discounted options for tickets than just the current AP.

But, even though I am like you and don’t hit the parks for very long, I still think what we do have makes it’s a good deal over what everyone else pays for regular tickets.

 

[Spartan86]

Yes we find it an interesting conundrum. We go down regularly (17-20 park entry days per year) but many of those days it’s an hour or two, one or two attractions. If we were burning a park entry day on a regular ticket, it would seem insane to do so little. Not that burning 1/17th or 20th of an AP makes it a good deal, but we can’t really see ourselves staying DVC and not having access to the parks. We like “the bubble” and all it has to offer. I don’t want to stay in an offsite resort and visit the parks and don’t want to stay onsite and not visit the parks, save a night here or there. We are comfortable with the cost for now. If our household income/expenses change significantly we will have to revisit the issue. But for us and why we purchased DVC, and what we want to do while there it is somewhat unthinkable to not have the AP.

 

[AnnaS]

Owners since 2000. The AP is great. We buy it and don't worry if we spend an hour or 10 hours in the park.

Having said that. We miss the non-expiry tickets and we wish we were also offered some other type of park discounts. I have also done two non-park vacations. One with DH and one more or less alone (my dd and her friends did the parks). I actually had an AP but did not want to activate it until I went the next time with DH. We go so often, if I have one non-park vacation every few years - it's fine. Two in almost 20 years

I know what you are saying. Half of our trips are now just hubby and I. I would not mind an after 4pm ticket/weekday tickets - yes, similar to the Florida discounts would be nice.

The accommodations are much cheaper than the non=dvc accommodations - - but we paid/are paying for those accommodations (in the past/now/future).

Not complaining - but would definitely welcome similar Florida discount or at least one other option. But, it will never making everyone across the board happy. We will take what they give us and hopefully it works for many/the majority

 

[bwvBound]

We joined in early 2004, so now almost 16 years. We'd love to see some of the variety of passes offered to FL residents such as the Epcot-after-4p (?). That said, we didn't purchase for the parks. Most of our visits have been without parks ... but had a busy conference to keep us entertained instead. We've held WDW APs maybe 3 times each (more likely twice?) in all the years of ownership.

Loving the Moonlight Magic events!

 

[bobbiwoz]

Bought in 2003. I love the park fireworks, July 3,4 and December 30,31, so we still buy the APs that include those times.

Getting older, and want to enjoy when I can!

 

[keishashadow]

I find that I tend to get annual passes but really only go to the parks maybe a few hours a day when I stay at Disney now. I have gone so much over the years that I don't really need to go as much anymore. I am not planning on renewing annual passes for my family simply because the value I get for the price I would have to pay with all the increases no longer seems worth it.

Often it’s just a 5 hours or so for us too but more of an endurance issue lol.

I’m happy with the APH discount perk. Tix disc would be nice but think it would be difficult to monitor the tix were being used for the owners or their guests staying at DVC

Will say, even with the briefer time spent at the parks, I cannot imagine staying at an onsite resort and not going into the parks. Have friends who do book concierge at AKV and just do short resort stays. To each their own I suppose.

 

[Deb & Bill]

We bought in 1997 and usually always bought APs, too. We had an extra one that we bought long ago and activated last year, plus bought a Gold Pass so we both could go. When those expired, we were lucky to have moved to Florida and bought the Weekday Annual Pass. It has lots of times that are blacked out, but none of them affect us. We go for the festivals and we can go for two, three or four night trips instead of the old 10-12 nights trips we used to take when we lived 14 hours away. This year when we bought our Weekday pass, we also had two Waterpark APs that we bought several years ago. We live 1.7 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and have a pool in our yard, so we didn't have any need for those water park passes. So we used them towards the Weekday passes and that brought our cost down to about $500 for the two of us. We'll get 15-20 days on each of those passes, so they work for us. Had we not moved, we might have just sold our points or gone without going to the parks. We still like to spend the evening in the villa watching our normal evening television shows and reading.

 

[TCRAIG]

DVC for 10 years and AP (usually Gold unless great deal offered) as well...go 4X a year - staying 6-7 nights each time. We also tend to spend less and less time in the parks. Most of the new rides are not really geared towards old fogies like my husband and myself...I don’t do heights, he doesn’t do anything with a lot of motion...so no roller coasters or FOP type rides for us..I would LOVE a less expensive ticket option than our current Gold AP but it’s not a deal breaker.

 

[Judique]

I'm happy to have the gold AP. It seems to work for me as I don't do xmas and easter anymore.

Compared to an AP for a regular customer, it's a big discount. Maybe I should stockpile another before the price goes up!

 

[disney junky]

We buy the annual passes every couple years, and then we plan our trips around them. So in that 12 months period, we will take a number of trips which we might not otherwise take. I don't think we've ever renewed those passes. As stated above, what the regular APs cost, we're fortunate.

 

[Chuck S]

I've been a member since 1992, I still get the gold pass. I'm a morning person, so I'd be bored to tears waiting for the after 4pm pass. It is rare for me to spend all day in a park, but do so occasionally.
Usually it is about 5 to 6 hours. That said, I do go enough days throughout the year that it is worth it, plus the photopass downloads. When you consider going to the theater when a Broadway play is in town, or going to a sporting event is easily $150 for a few hours of entertainment, I still think WDW is reasonably priced with an annual pass. Again, that is assuming you spend enough days in the park annually to justify it.

 

[bobbiwoz]

This year may be the last we go for NYE. IF so, it’s our last year for that inclusive annual Pass.

 

[bwvBound]

I'm a morning person, so I'd be bored to tears waiting for the after 4pm pass. It is rare for me to spend all day in a park, but do so occasionally.

Huh. That is a good point. I'm a morning person, too. I s'pose I hadn't factored that into my desire for the after 4p pass as I'm also West Coast ... which allows me to, perhaps, sleep a bit later in the mornings provided I don't see the sunlight.