Annual Pass vs. 10 Day MYW no exp.

[TriciaS]

Hi all, just hoping you could offer some help and suggestions.
My family and I will be traveling to WDW in July for our "first trip home" and we're trying to decide what tickets to purchase. We will be back in FL in Jan. for the marathon and hope to plan a trip for next Aug. Not sure if the AP is worth purchasing for the Jul & Jan trips (we will be staying 3 & 5 days resp.), for we will have to buy more passes for Aug.
What other perks are there for being an AP holder? I know there is the DDE(?) but how can I find out the cost or the details on how to purchase it?
Would appreciate any help!

Thank you!

[disneyfreak89]

Hi Tricia....I think its worth it for you to get the AP because that way you have unlimited access to the parks while your there not too mention its almost the same price as a 10 Day MYW no exp ticket. It would be nice if you could swing that pending August trip a month earlier, that way you'd be able to finish up using the AP and not have to buy more tickets.

The DDE card is $60 and here is a list of discounts for that: http://www.allearsnet.com/din/dde.htm

Here are the discounts for the AP: http://www.allearsnet.com/pl/apass.htm

Its well worth it not only for the discounts but for the flexibility as well.

[Blue&Gold]

I believe the conventially accepted break point is 7-8 days in the parks make the AP worthwhile. If you do the water parks, the 10 day no-expy with "plusses" might be better.

[tomandrobin]

AP tickets if going more then 8 days. Once you have the AP you can purchase the DDE card for 20% off of Table Service meals, including alcohol. Plus, you now have DVC and AP discounts at your disposal throught the parks.

[TriciaS]

Thanks for the advice, it's appreciated.
In your opinion do you find the DDE discount to work out better than the DDP?

[TW1]

I believe the conventially accepted break point is 7-8 days in the parks make the AP worthwhile. If you do the water parks, the 10 day no-expy with "plusses" might be better.

This was my first thought, but then I noticed the second trip is January and the benefit of those extra water park passes may not apply. Unless you loaded up on water park visits in the summer trip to get their full value.

[TriciaS]

Water parks are out for us so we can take that out of the equation.

[tomandrobin]

Thanks for the advice, it's appreciated.
In your opinion do you find the DDE discount to work out better than the DDP?

It all depends what and where you eat. If you are light eaters, then the DDE is a better value then the DDP. You really have to sit down and right it all out to figure out the true value of each.

[JimP]

It all depends what and where you eat. If you are light eaters, then the DDE is a better value then the DDP. You really have to sit down and right it all out to figure out the true value of each.

We do two TS meals daily (lunch and dinner)... but with small portions at each. DDE is a big win in this case.

/Jim

[JimP]

Not sure if the AP is worth purchasing for the Jul & Jan trips (we will be staying 3 & 5 days resp.), for we will have to buy more passes for Aug.
What other perks are there for being an AP holder? I know there is the DDE(?) but how can I find out the cost or the details on how to purchase it?
Would appreciate any help!

Thank you!

If you want the DDE, but the AP does not work out (or is close)... you can get just one AP and the rest get 10 day passes.

/Jim

[*Tink*]

When we went in Dec. of '07 I purchased an AP for me so that I could buy the DDE. The rest of my family got a 10-day park hopper pass. This was going to be it... our one trip to WDW. Getting passes for a family of seven was something we were not planning on doing again. We went on a DVC tour and joined during our vacation. :woohoo:

We were there for 12 days and upgraded the passes toward the end of our vacation because now as a DVC member you receive $100 off the full price of an AP. They redid our passes to full price (since we bought them online and it was a little cheaper than at the window) so they could then take off the $100. When they did this all the passes had a new expiration date, including my AP. This gave us nine days extra which was a nice treat. My AP would have expired on Dec. 3 of '08, but now it is good until Dec. 12 of '08. :clappingh

We are going again the first two weeks of December checking out on Friday Dec. 12.:dancingba

Now that we are DVC members we will always buy 10 day park hopper passes and then upgrade toward the end of the vacation to AP's just to get those few extra days. It made a big difference in our case to have those few extra days.:hyper:

[TriciaS]

Forgive my ignorance.....

Is the DDE valid at counter service restaraunts or is it just TS? Also I looked at allearsnet.com and under their list of TS restaraunts that accept the DDE, Tappan Edo in Japan is not listed. Was this an oversight or don't they offer a discount? This is important in our decision making for that is a favorite of my family.

[JimP]

Forgive my ignorance.....

Is the DDE valid at counter service restaraunts or is it just TS? Also I looked at allearsnet.com and under their list of TS restaraunts that accept the DDE, Tappan Edo in Japan is not listed. Was this an oversight or don't they offer a discount? This is important in our decision making for that is a favorite of my family.

Generally, the DDE is only for TS... but there are a few exceptions (I think when a resort has no TS restaurants). Teppan Edo is one of the few that do not honor DDE.

/Jim

[AZDVC]

Now that we are DVC members we will always buy 10 day park hopper passes and then upgrade toward the end of the vacation to AP's just to get those few extra days. It made a big difference in our case to have those few extra days.:hyper:

Oh my gosh! This is brilliant! I think we may steal your idea!
So the annual pass date is the day you upgrade not the day you originally started the 10 day ticket? That solves my 11 or 12 day trip problems!
Patsy