2018 Price Increases

[dina444444]

A few AP questions (since I may be getting one tonight or tomorrow):

- I assume the AP can only be purchased direct through Disney (unlike other tickets)
- Can you use Disney Gift Cards to purchase it (Thinking about the 5% discount by buying them at Target to save even more money (but getting THAT many gift cards at once may be a challenge (and it would take a while to scratch them all off!).
- If I purchase it now, I can use it (even if not activated) to look for Annual Pass hotel discounts?
- Where do I go to look for Annual Pass hotel or dining discounts that are available (or may come available)? (looking at my November trip where I already have a room-only booking made for All Star Movies).
- If I understand it correctly, I can use my 5 day MYW (non-hopper) tickets I bought in Feb of 2017 (for $349) to go towards the cost of an AP. Can that be done over the phone? That may help my NEXT question:

and most importantly:
- Any advice on "breaking" the news to the wife that I want to spend almost $2500 on future Disney tickets? (Especially since I already have 9 days of tickets already purchased and saved up LOL).

Gift cards can be used to purchase. For discounts if you do not have an active AP you need to use a travel agent to book an AP rate, you can’t do it online yourself. You may be able to by phone.

 

[MelDane]

Will Disney also raise the prices of the dining plan around the same time

 

[dina444444]

Will Disney also raise the prices of the dining plan around the same time

No, those prices were raised at the end of 2017 for 2018.

 

[Roxyfire]

A few AP questions (since I may be getting one tonight or tomorrow):


and most importantly:
- Any advice on "breaking" the news to the wife that I want to spend almost $2500 on future Disney tickets? (Especially since I already have 9 days of tickets already purchased and saved up LOL).

Be ready to duck from any flying projectiles I guess?

 

[tarak]

A few AP questions (since I may be getting one tonight or tomorrow):

- I assume the AP can only be purchased direct through Disney (unlike other tickets)
- Can you use Disney Gift Cards to purchase it (Thinking about the 5% discount by buying them at Target to save even more money (but getting THAT many gift cards at once may be a challenge (and it would take a while to scratch them all off!).
- If I purchase it now, I can use it (even if not activated) to look for Annual Pass hotel discounts?
- Where do I go to look for Annual Pass hotel or dining discounts that are available (or may come available)? (looking at my November trip where I already have a room-only booking made for All Star Movies).
- If I understand it correctly, I can use my 5 day MYW (non-hopper) tickets I bought in Feb of 2017 (for $349) to go towards the cost of an AP. Can that be done over the phone? That may help my NEXT question:

and most importantly:
- Any advice on "breaking" the news to the wife that I want to spend almost $2500 on future Disney tickets? (Especially since I already have 9 days of tickets already purchased and saved up LOL).

I have enough tickets for two future trips (family of 6) but they don’t have expiration dates on them (well, they have that random 2030 date). I also have two of the ten-day non-expiring passes with six days on each. So that’s 14 passes of various lengths. Plus an AP certificate that I’ll use at some point. I say go for it.

 

[mab2012]

It astounds me that they are able to increase the prices the way they do and yet more and more people come. I keep thinking that they are really going to suffer a LOT the next time there is a severe economic downturn.

100% agree with this. I assume they will have to heavily discount, but even then...

I wish I understood what they are doing here (besides the obvious of trying to suck as much money out of people as they possibly can). I remember looking at WDW tickets for the first time about a decade ago, and thinking how cleverly they were priced. The first couple of days were crazy expensive (well, it seemed that way at the time), and then after that the incremental per-day increase dropped dramatically. So you were encouraged to buy a longer ticket than you really wanted or needed, and maybe wouldn't even use some of the days you paid for, or would spend fewer hours per day in the parks. Now they seem to be going in totally the opposite direction. People have already pointed out how single day tickets could actually cost less per day than multi-day tickets in some situations, and if the numbers we're seeing posted hold, it looks like some AP options will be cheaper than the longer multi-day hoppers. Assuming $60+ for hoppers, a 5-day hopper is going to be near $580, compared to $589 for the gold AP (for those who are eligible). You've got to figure that 6-day or longer hoppers will actually cost more than the gold AP at that rate. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing (and why!) but on the surface it doesn't seem to make much sense.

I'm strongly tempted to buy another set of gold APs for my family now, but I already have a handful of non-expiring 5 day tickets, and we have no firm plans to go back after our upcoming March trip. It's hard to justify a nearly $2400 expense (almost $3k in my currency) for an unspecified future date. Our kids keep getting older (go figure), and by the time we've used the tickets we have, maybe they won't be so interested in going to Disney, or they'll want to spend some time at Universal. The way ticket prices are going, they are quickly eliminating the cost advantage of staying exclusively at Disney, so there would be no reason not to split the tickets and spend a couple days at Universal instead!

 

[elizabethswan]

question. we have aps which i just renewed. i know we can only renew them 60 days prior to expiration and luckily we were within that window before the projected increase. what i don't understand is how people are buying multiple ap's to use in the future. are they forgoing the renewal discount because the projected price increase justifies just buying the ap outright in multiples now? sorry i just find this confusing. thanks in advance for any explanation : )

 

[TheMaxRebo]

100% agree with this. I assume they will have to heavily discount, but even then...

I wish I understood what they are doing here (besides the obvious of trying to suck as much money out of people as they possibly can). I remember looking at WDW tickets for the first time about a decade ago, and thinking how cleverly they were priced. The first couple of days were crazy expensive (well, it seemed that way at the time), and then after that the incremental per-day increase dropped dramatically. So you were encouraged to buy a longer ticket than you really wanted or needed, and maybe wouldn't even use some of the days you paid for, or would spend fewer hours per day in the parks. Now they seem to be going in totally the opposite direction. People have already pointed out how single day tickets could actually cost less per day than multi-day tickets in some situations, and if the numbers we're seeing posted hold, it looks like some AP options will be cheaper than the longer multi-day hoppers. Assuming $60+ for hoppers, a 5-day hopper is going to be near $580, compared to $589 for the gold AP (for those who are eligible). You've got to figure that 6-day or longer hoppers will actually cost more than the gold AP at that rate. I'm sure they know exactly what they are doing (and why!) but on the surface it doesn't seem to make much sense.

I'm strongly tempted to buy another set of gold APs for my family now, but I already have a handful of non-expiring 5 day tickets, and we have no firm plans to go back after our upcoming March trip. It's hard to justify a nearly $2400 expense (almost $3k in my currency) for an unspecified future date. Our kids keep getting older (go figure), and by the time we've used the tickets we have, maybe they won't be so interested in going to Disney, or they'll want to spend some time at Universal. The way ticket prices are going, they are quickly eliminating the cost advantage of staying exclusively at Disney, so there would be no reason not to split the tickets and spend a couple days at Universal instead!

I to am trying to figure out their thinking - and obviously they have tons of data that we don't. Seems like they either want you to do 1-2 days or like 5+ ... and as you point out, the jump to AP seems smaller than in the past. So maybe they want to get a couple days from people for whom WDW is part of their vacation and then a week plus - or even multiple trips via AP for WDW focused people (maybe trying to reduce/eliminate the people that do 3-4 days at WDW and then 2-3 days at a Universal?)

 

[rileyz]

Wow, close to a $200 increase (for 3ppl) if I want to renew our annual passes this year. Granted I don’t have to worry about it until December but yikes. They’ll keep doing it as long as they can and it gets more crowded, not less.

 

[Agswin08]

Last year was my first time with an AP. It expires in June so I'll miss the window for the lower renewal rate. My question is if i choose to renew, the AP is activated as soon as my current pass expires, right? And if I purchase a voucher, then the clock will not start until I activate it? I probably won't have another parks trip until 2019 so renewing wouldn't make much sense for me if that's the case. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to purchase a new AP before tomorrow. Thank you all for your help!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Last year was my first time with an AP. It expires in June so I'll miss the window for the lower renewal rate. My question is if i choose to renew, the AP is activated as soon as my current pass expires, right? And if I purchase a voucher, then the clock will not start until I activate it? I probably won't have another parks trip until 2019 so renewing wouldn't make much sense for me if that's the case. I'm trying to decide if I'm going to purchase a new AP before tomorrow. Thank you all for your help!

yeah, if you renew it extends from your expiration date and you have (I think) 30 days post the expiration date to renew - but obviously at the lower renewal rate

whereas a new one only starts when you activate it

 

[Agswin08]

yeah, if you renew it extends from your expiration date and you have (I think) 30 days post the expiration date to renew - but obviously at the lower renewal rate

whereas a new one only starts when you activate it

Thanks! Sounds like buying a voucher before the increase will be my best bet. I appreciate the help!

 

[ADS2508]

Have they actually made an announcement yet, or do we think they are just going to spring it on everyone tomorrow? Or is it just expected? I know the current southern AAA annual pass discount expires on the 15th.

 

[crazy4wdw]

Have they actually made an announcement yet, or do we think they are just going to spring it on everyone tomorrow? Or is it just expected? I know the current southern AAA annual pass discount expires on the 15th.

No information has been posted by the Orlando Sentinel.

 

[tlmadden73]

I mean, in one way, price increases spur demand (sorta). How many of us here are going to buy tickets for the future NOW to save 10%? (which is significant).

I bought 5-day tickets last year before the price increase and before tickets started expiring just to have them "for the future".

I am considering getting an AP NOW instead deciding until November (or) just because I know it will save me $70/person .. which is pretty significant savings (heck I could save another 5% if I could somehow feasibly get $2500 worth of gift cards from Target!)

I just have to decide how much I will use it (and worth the cost now) .. or if I am just pressuring myself to throw down that amount of cash

 

[Geoff_M]

Have they actually made an announcement yet, or do we think they are just going to spring it on everyone tomorrow? Or is it just expected? I know the current southern AAA annual pass discount expires on the 15th.

Undercover Tourist has a banner message on their home page that their annual price increases are about to happen.

 

[mystery222184]

question. we have aps which i just renewed. i know we can only renew them 60 days prior to expiration and luckily we were within that window before the projected increase. what i don't understand is how people are buying multiple ap's to use in the future. are they forgoing the renewal discount because the projected price increase justifies just buying the ap outright in multiples now? sorry i just find this confusing. thanks in advance for any explanation : )

I can answer from my perspective
I will be returning to Disney in December and then again sometime between Sept-Dec 2019. I can renew my AP today, but then it’s activated and will only last 12 months from my renewal date. If I pay the full price (before price increase), it won’t be activated until I arrive in a December and I will be able to use that AP for this and next year’s trips.

 

[KAT4DISNEY]

question. we have aps which i just renewed. i know we can only renew them 60 days prior to expiration and luckily we were within that window before the projected increase. what i don't understand is how people are buying multiple ap's to use in the future. are they forgoing the renewal discount because the projected price increase justifies just buying the ap outright in multiples now? sorry i just find this confusing. thanks in advance for any explanation : )

There's that but there's also the point of when your trips are. There's no benefit to renew and save a small amount of $$$'s and only get 1 trip in vs buying a new pass and getting 2 trips in. If your renewal is timed so that it occurs just prior to your next trip and you'll have another trip or two in the year following that it makes sense. But if you have months until your next trip and then another trip planned within a year after that a new AP would almost certainly make more sense.

 

[Tiggr924]

question. we have aps which i just renewed. i know we can only renew them 60 days prior to expiration and luckily we were within that window before the projected increase. what i don't understand is how people are buying multiple ap's to use in the future. are they forgoing the renewal discount because the projected price increase justifies just buying the ap outright in multiples now? sorry i just find this confusing. thanks in advance for any explanation : )

We typically forgo the renewal discount. When we can time our APs right, we can get 3 trips out of it (2 summer trips and a December trip). We also don't go every December. So we end up buying the APs about every 2 years or so, I believe. This is a newer tradition we started and have only done it twice so far. But in the end it makes more sense for us to buy a new AP than it does to renew.

 

[1lilspark]

This is just a price increase and no changes to tiers/benefits on various passes correct