Are Annual Passes Worth it??

[motherof4]

I am planning to go to WDW for 14 days and I heard that getting the Annual Pass was a good way to go for the passes. I don't know if I should buy a 14 day pass or get an annual pass. The annual passes are kind of pricey, so, are they worth it?

[hokies4life]

As far as I know there is no 14 day ticket. So you would have to purchase a combination like a 10 day and a 4 day. This would already bring your total to $485.65 for one person. And then if you add park hopping on to both tickets you would be up to $585.65.

So with that in mind, I would think the Annual Pass would definitely be the way to go. Plus you get the ability to come back within a year if that fits into your schedule and budget. There are also occasional room discounts with the APs and there are dining and souvenir discounts as well.

[Mousefan29]

We're on our second set of annual passes, and definitely think they're worth it if you'll be in the parks more than 10 days. Plus, you get free hopper and free parking (which is nice if you're staying offsite). We also like the option to go into a park for just a couple of hours and not feel like we're "burning" a day on our tickets. (With the regular tickets, we felt more committed to being in a park all day to get our money's worth.)

As previously posted, there are dining, shopping, and (usually) resort discounts, and it's good for a year. We've actually added on another trip this year since we have the passes anyway.

[faline]

If the price per day is equal to or less than the price per day of other types of tickets, you should likely get the annual pass. We're on our third annual pass though we don't renew our passes each time they come up for renewal. We only purchase annual passes when we know we will be in the parks enough days to at least break even.

[Ian]

Bear in mind that a 14 day stay doesn't necessarily equate to 14 days in the parks, though.

It's about $300 or so for a 10 day hopper pass, which is significantly cheaper than an AP. If you think you could do with only 10 days out of 14 in the parks (and maybe you have 2 travel days in there anyway) then I'd go with the hopper pass.

Unless you think you can come back inside of 12 months and get two trips out of the AP's. In that case, the AP is definitely the way to go.

[ibrowse17]

While we have AP's now, we have done a 14 day trip on a 10 day PH in the past. We built in off days, which I would strongly suggest on a trip that long. It all boils down to if either you want to be in the parks for the 14 days, or if you are going to go back again this year. If your answer to either is yes, I would go the AP route. Have a great trip

[KylesMom]

I don't know if I should buy a 14 day pass or get an annual pass. The annual passes are kind of pricey, so, are they worth it?

As pointed out, you won't be able to purchase a "14-day pass". You'll have to buy a 10 day plus a four day . . . which, once you add the hopping option, will make the A/P more attractive. Many folks have pointed out that you might not want to go to the parks all 14 days - but if you're like us, we can't imagine being so close to the parks and not going for at least part of the day!

In a word (or a few), YES the A/P would be worth it to you if you plan on visiting the parks all 14 days!

[IamBelle]

So, with an annual pass, you can still go from park to park in one day right? (I know, its a stupid question, but I just want to make sure)

[Melanie]

So, with an annual pass, you can still go from park to park in one day right? (I know, its a stupid question, but I just want to make sure)

Yes, you can park hop.

[joonyer]

Here's the key question to this decision. Is it likely that you will visit the theme parks more than 11 days within a 12 month period? If yes, then an AP is your best option.

As has been said you can not currently purchase a MYW pass longer than 10 days. For more visits you have to purchase a separate MYW pass (unless you have an AP).

And remember if you will take more than one trip to WDW in a 12 month period, you can really get the benefit of an AP pass. For instance, if you take a 14 day trip and another 7 day visit within 12 months, you could have as many as 21 days in the park for the cost of the AP pass. That would cost over $730.00 using MYW passes.

I used adult (age 10+) prices from the Official Ticket Center (Intercot Sponsor and as good a price as anybody) for the following comparisons. Taxes are included for both MYW & AP. These are prices for park hoppers, because the AP has hopping privileges.

MYW - 10 days $296.00
MYW - 11 days $434.13
MYW - 12 days $512.94
MYW - 13 days $570.00
MYW - 14 days $584.00

After 14 days and up to 20 days, the price only increases about $3.00 per extra day.

The Annual Pass currently costs $499.49, so if you are planning to visit parks 12 days or more, you come out cheaper with AP's. You also get free parking with the AP (worth $12 per day if you stay off-site).

[motherof4]

I was wondering if you can go to the water parks on an annual pass or would it cost extra.

[MarkC]

In answer to the last question-- if you want to go to the water parks or Disneyquest, you would need a premium annual pass, which I believe is about $125 more.

Have you considered doing a double trip? We have done this on 3 separate occasions, including last August and this August. For instance, we started our trip last year on August 8th and stayed through the 15th. This year we will go from August 1st-8th to maximize our passes. We actually ended up going on an unplanned trip during Christmas week when Nebraska ended up playing in Jacksonville for their bowl game. So we will end up making 3 trips on our annual pass, which for us is well more than worth it. If you can make that work, you can easily justify it. Good luck in whatever you decide. Mark

[tjstrike]

We always shoot for two trips on our annual passes plus being a dvc member each pass is $100.00 cheaper so it's definetaly worth it for us.

[joonyer]

I should have added that if you are going to WDW on two separate trips during a 12 month period, using MYW passes would require the non-expiration option. (regular MYW passes expire 14 days after first use)

A 10-day non-expiring hopper MYW pass is $496.00, so that makes an AP a no-brainer at $499.49 for any number of park visits in excess of 10 if you are splitting them between trips.
you can use the AP for an unlimited number of park admissions during the 12 months from first use.