Have ticket prices influenced your planning?

[corpcomp]

I think the average is much higher than 180, especially considering for several years the minimum purchase was 230 points.

Take a look at the point ownership discussion today to see what owners are saying about what they own.

Sorry but I can't figure out how to attach the link.

 

[dianeschlicht]

I certainly wish Disney would discount the MYW tickets to DVC members. AP's don't make sense for us since we will only being going once a year. I do think we would spend more time in the parks though if the MYW tickets were discounted.

BUT, even with going once a year, if you are able to or willing to shift your dates by a week one way or another on consecutive years, you can still get two trips on 1 AP.

 

[mjy]

Actually, I have an annual pass and hardly ever hit the parks on my vacations. But, at the same time, I am in the parks almost every day and that's why I consider the annual pass to be the most cost-efficient way for me to go.

How can I say that I hardly "hit" the parks but go every day? Well, I really enjoy many of the restaurants that are inside the parks, or the shows, or the end-of-the-day fireworks displays. So, while I may be other places throughout the day, I'm usually in the parks in the evening to enjoy things other than the rides.

 

[Chuck S]

Take a look at the point ownership discussion today to see what owners are saying about what they own.

Sorry but I can't figure out how to attach the link.

Here's a link Point Ownership

But the poll really doesn't say 180 points, but 101 to 300. That's a big gap, and a substantial number of people own 301 to 500 as well.

 

[HockeyKat]

We have APs this year, and as we just bought DVC, will likely continue to get them. Yay for the discount!

However, we have already taken 2 trips on them and plan on taking 2 more. We have already used 11 days, and plan on 6 in May and 10 in Sept, so a total of 27 days.

We live 8.5 hours away, have no children, DH works a non-traditional schedule, and I have 3 weeks vacation, so like to take our vacations at least twice if not three times a year, and have bought points accordingly.

But for those who have to fly down here and work around school schedules, this isn't as possible. I think they should give 10-20% on MYW tickets, once a year, with the same restrictions as on AP discount.

 

[ebenmax]

We are considering the APs this year. But I have a question. . .are you permitted to buy them for your children too or does their name have to be on the contract in order to receive the discount? How does that all work?

TIA

Ellen

 

[DVC Grammy]

We've always gotten APs. Now, with DVC, we squeeze at least 4 trips in a year. It's our way of kidding ourselves that WDW is the least expensive vacation we can take.

 

[bobbiwoz]

Today I just booked Behind the Seeds tour at Epcot for next Thursday afternoon. With AP's we're able to do things like that, eat at Le Cellier and just call it a day without feeling we're wasting a ticket. I hope to spend next Thursday morning and early afternoon enjoyed the amenities of VWL! The DVC AP discount is wonderful.

Bobbi

 

[rigsby25]

We bought the DVC discounted AP's last January and got 4 vacations out of them. Now I don't know when we will go next because we justified the trips on the AP. I LOVED having the AP and the DDE! So I would say the price of tickets definitely dictates my vacations.

 

[diznycrazed]

I buy AP's for my family of four. We live in NJ and with the terrific air fares out of Southwest we are going down for a couple of days Easter week, the second weekend in June for Star Wars and then an extended family trip in August - will be using a GV at BWV for first time, can't wait!

Sure would be nice to get a discount on multi day tickets but I surely don't want to lose the DVC member AP price.

Terry

 

[CarolMN]

We are considering the APs this year. But I have a question. . .are you permitted to buy them for your children too or does their name have to be on the contract in order to receive the discount? How does that all work?

TIA

Ellen

Members may buy DVC-discounted passes for immediate family members who live with them. If your children live with you, you may buy discounted passes for them.

There is additional information on the Members website re maximum number and who qualifies as immediate family member.

 

[WDWDad]

I hope they never take the AP discount away either because I believe that it is the clear choice of a majority of DVC owners.

However, those of us for whom the AP clearly does not work would appreciate a multi day ticket discount that works for us. There are many reasons why an AP does not work for everyone. I will say that there have been times when we would have increased our use of the parks but declined to for monetary reasons. At times we just didn't feel appreciated for the committment we have made to Disney for our future vacation choices. Let me say right now that I do not believe that Disney owes me a park benefit. Only that if Disney expects me to continue to return to the same area over and over and Disney does not either reward me for my continued patronage, or, continually challenge my level of enjoyment of their parks why should I continue to return as frequently.

 

[simzac]

BUT, even with going once a year, if you are able to or willing to shift your dates by a week one way or another on consecutive years, you can still get two trips on 1 AP.

This is a good point, but if you don't go to the parks a total of 10 times between the 2 trips, the 10 day non exp MYW ticket is still a better deal. I know, because we only go once a year and only average 4 days per trip in the parks. This is why we will continue to purchase the 10 day ticket. JMO

 

[BWV Dreamin]

I am a very new owner (only 2 days! Just passed ROFR!). So not having gone to closing yet, can't call MS. Can anyone tell me the prices?

 

[Tiger926]

I'd like to start by saying that ANY perk given by DVC is a huge bonus. I appreciate all of them I really do. I would also like to see a blanket discount on park tickets. Penalizing those that don't do the AP seems a little silly. AP's don't work for the majority of DVC owners. I was told the average DVC owner has around 180 points. At 180 points I can't see where the AP would make sense even with staggering the trips each year by a week. Besides staggering isn't an option for many with the school breaks/holidays. Lets not lose the AP discount just add say a 20% discount to the MYW tickets.

Now ticket prices, I for one don't believe that the ticket prices are bad at all. Lets get real, they could charge much more if they wanted to. I pay $80a day to ski, sometimes more. Ski Resorts don't offer anywhere near the bang for the buck that WDW does. I respect that WDW isn't gouging guests for tickets and food. Both are reasonable when you consider the prices you pay at luxury resorts. I've paid $25 for a hamburger at a resort before. Kudos to WDW for not gouging us. Jay

Why do you make the statement that, "APs don't work for the majority of DVC owners"? What is this statement based on? Most DVC members I know, buy APs, and love the DVC discount. For us, it's the most economical way to do Disney as we spend a ton of time in the parks and do a lot of park hopping for meals and shopping. We spend a minimum of 12 days per year (park hopping almost each day) in the parks, so for us, it's great. Even if we only spent 8 or 9 days, we would still buy an AP as we love the freedom it affords us. By the way, we only have 175 points, and this allows us 12 days at SSR each July - so 2 weeks in Disney with our APs are great for us, plus, it allows us to buy our DDE card.

Tiger

 

[Maistre Gracey]

AP's don't work for the majority of DVC owners. I was told the average DVC owner has around 180 points. At 180 points I can't see where the AP would make sense even with staggering the trips each year by a week.

Don't forget to add the hidden AP benefits such as resort discounts, and the ability to purchase the DDE card.

Many folks here pay cash for weekends, and the resort AP rate alone can cover the cost of the pass.
Depending on your dining choices, the DDE can also be a huge money saver. The DDE savings can tip the scales in favor of an annual pass.

My favorite benefit of the AP?...
Freedom of coming and going without even considering days burned off my pass.

MG

 

[Maistre Gracey]

As I reread my post above, I see Tiger is saying essentially the same thing!

MG

 

[Tiger926]

My favorite benefit of the AP?...
Freedom of coming and going without even considering days burned off my pass. MG

This is our favourite benefit too as it has so changed the way we vacation now.

Tiger

 

[KirstenB]

OP, we do exactly what you do. We usually just go to WDW once a year, then a trip to HH. I know what you mean about the 10 days passes being $$. I hadn't thought about staggering them out, that makes sense. We've been members since 12/93, so for many years we got free passes. We can get 3 yrs worth of parks out of the 10 days passes, since we only go 3 or so days per trip.

Has it affected us? Absolutely. If tix were cheaper, we'd spend more days in the WDW parks. We have platinum Busch Gardens passes so we usually spend a couple of days at Sea World and BG Tampa. This is a neat bonus for us, since we always go to BG Williamsburg and Water Country in the summer here. Being able to get into Sea World and BG Tampa for "free" is a neat side benefit.

 

[JTimber]

I hope it was a good hamburger!

It wasn't but thanks for the thought. As a reference it was at the Grand Wailea Resort in Maui.


Jay