Should we buy annual passes?

[JessicaW1234]

We have 4 in our family, me, DH, DS(15), DD(15).

planning a trip 8/22 for 6 days w/hopper. Price is $2238 for tickets.

planning to return August of 2023 with same people. Do any of the new annual passes make sense to buy in this circumstance? Can you help me understand the calculations?

 

[twincruisers]

Are you guys FL residents or DVC owners?

 

[Disneyfan754321]

I think your price will come out about the same, how far do you live? Sometimes people like knowing they can sneak in weekend tips

 

[Marionnette]

We have 4 in our family, me, DH, DS(15), DD(15).

planning a trip 8/22 for 6 days w/hopper. Price is $2238 for tickets.

planning to return August of 2023 with same people. Do any of the new annual passes make sense to buy in this circumstance? Can you help me understand the calculations?

You'll need to sharpen a pencil and do some math.

Unless you're a FL resident or DVC owner, the only AP that you qualify for is the Incredi-Pass @$1299 + 6.5% tax.

That could get you some merchandise, food and hotel discounts but as always, you only need one AP to qualify. And there's always a possibility that discounts or benefits can be taken away.

I haven't calculated it all out, but my guess is that if you only consider the park admission days and don't factor in such perks as free theme park parking or the various incidental discounts, APs will cost you more than 2 6-day hoppers for each person.

Now, if you bring those benefits into consideration, buying an AP for one person and 2 6-day passes for everyone else, you will probably come out ahead, but do much would depend on your ability to take maximum advantage of the discounts.

 

[JessicaW1234]

Is there a list somewhere of the current discounts this pass would qualify me for?

 

[Marionnette]

Is there a list somewhere of the current discounts this pass would qualify me for?

The discounts can, and do, change. The only guaranteed benefit, aside from theme park entry, is free theme park parking.

Most dining discounts amount to 10% off at select table restaurants. Sometimes the discount can only be applied during lunchtime.

Merchandise discounts can range from 10%-20% at Disney-owned stores, and 10% off at other select merchandise locations.

Hotel discounts are probably your best perk, but again, they vary according to Disney's need to fill rooms. They are typically the very last ones to be offered a room discount and the rooms are the ones that no one wanted to book otherwise. The current AP discount is for 12/12-12/24/2021 and ranges from 10% at select value resorts to 25% at YC, BWI, AKL and RIV. FWIW, the Disney Visa has similar discounts (some better), was announced earlier and requires no OOP $ in order to qualify if you get the no-fee card.

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/passholder-program/passholder-benefits-and-discounts/

 

[Selket]

I agree with the previous poster that buying one AP (like for yourself) may be the most cost effective so you can use it for discounts. If there's any chance you'd have a 3rd trip in there (even an short one), then the AP is likely more worth it (for persons 2, 3 and 4). This is TBD of course since your trip is a long time off yet and there may be different AP benefits added or taken away - or better AP discounts for hotels, etc. I don't live close close to Orlando and generally the only time the AP has worked was if I had 3 or more trips in that year.

 

[Selket]

** deleted a double post!

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It might be a close call if you do have a return visit in 2023 that ends prior to the expiration of the APs, depending on the first day you would use them in 2022.

 

[KristaZ]

As others have said, AP might make sense for 1 person for the additional discounts, but unless you're going to sneak a 3rd trip in there, they likely don't make sense for the rest of the party. Because of the price increases, getting a new AP for just 2 trips (esp. if you're from out of state) doesn't break even anymore.

 

[_19disnA]

The math should be fairly easy to calculate. How many parks days/parking do you need to break even or come out ahead? I think other discounts are incidental since you may/may not ever use them. Far easier then trying to figure out if a Disney timeshare is worth it since they purposely obscure pricing with those 'points', how many points you need and the $/point. I think they try to be obscure so people don't easily figure out it costs $4,000 each time they go and would likely discourage purchases.

 

[Marionnette]

The math should be fairly easy to calculate. How many parks days/parking do you need to break even or come out ahead? I think other discounts are incidental since you may/may not ever use them. Far easier then trying to figure out if a Disney timeshare is worth it since they purposely obscure pricing with those 'points', how many points you need and the $/point. I think they try to be obscure so people don't easily figure out it costs $4,000 each time they go and would likely discourage purchases.

Date-based pricing and a lower cost-per-day when you purchase tickets with more days makes it much more difficult to calculate the break-even point. It’s not as simple as it used to be when all 6-day park hoppers cost the same regardless of when you went and you could purchase tickets well in advance in order to hedge against any price increases.

As for DVC pricing being convoluted, I think it’s about as straight-forward as their current ticketing structure. The cost per-point remains fixed for the entire year. The number of points per night varies based on resort, type of villa and time of year. In that respect, it’s no different than booking a hotel room.