Annual Pass worth the winter discount??

[Mouseturtle]

So, I am coming January 1-6. Would it be worth it to buy an annual pass for 779, in the hopes of getting a discount of 35% off at the Yacht Club? The total room is $2556. So if I do the math it seems like it will pay for itself just in the room discount ($894). But that almost seems too easy HAHA. Thanks for any input!

 

[cutigerlady]

I highly doubt you'll see discounts for AP during that time. So many AP holders run in the marathon that they don't need to offer discounts at that time of year. You may see a small % off if they need to fill rooms, but unlikely 35% at YC which is in high demand for runners (any Epcot area resort because marathoners run right by).

We stayed at the BC last year during that time and the best discount I could get was 20% and it wasn't an AP rate. I've noticed that the good AP discounts seem to be showing up right before you are within 30 days of check-in.

 

[SoShiny]

You could wait and see if an AP discount is offered for YC during your dates, and if it is, you could buy an AP at that time.

 

[ulcards99]

I would not get an AP just for the room discounts. They have been very limited recently. We got one for the AP room discount this year and it's been a pain getting the room discount. Unless you know the day that the discounts come out and can call to get it applied, it'll be tough to get it. I keep checking every day here because it was only available on the phone at first (not online) for the September dates that we will be there, and I almost missed out. I didn't get one single communication that the discounts were out. I kept checking online, nothing was showing up. Then someone said you had to call to get them in a thread on here...ridiculous.

I would definitely wait to see what is offered and if you can even get the discount when it is offered before buying a pass. We won't be renewing next year.

 

[loves to dive]

Nope, don't get an AP for anything other the cost of park hopper tickets and memory maker if you use it. The room discounts are not a guarantee and even when they are announced, there are very few rooms that they apply to. I've had an AP for over 4 years and with at least 2 trips a year, sometimes 3, the AP discount on a room was only better than the general one twice. Otherwise, I use the general one and go to Orbitz and stack it with their discount.

 

[Marionnette]

So, I am coming January 1-6. Would it be worth it to buy an annual pass for 779, in the hopes of getting a discount of 35% off at the Yacht Club? The total room is $2556. So if I do the math it seems like it will pay for itself just in the room discount ($894). But that almost seems too easy HAHA. Thanks for any input!

An AP will cost you about $830 once you include the tax.

Your true "AP discount" would not be the full percentage but the difference between an AP discount and what you could have gotten with a general public discount. IOW, if the discount offered to the general public is 20% and the AP discount is 25%, then your true "savings" is 5% by purchasing an AP given that you would have gotten 20% without it.

And I will disagree slightly with PPs who say that there are no AP discounts for the first week in January. They do exist. Last year, it was 25%-35% off at select resorts. The higher discount was for the Deluxe Villas and not regular hotel rooms. I would not hope for a 35% discount at YC. And since AP discounts are designed to fill the rooms that no one else wanted, they are offered later in the year and will only include the "leftovers". Getting any Epcot area resort at a discount on marathon weekend will probably not happen.

Buy an AP for the year of unlimited theme park visits. The benefits can change and are just only bonus if you can make use of them. But if you don't take the possible savings from the benefits into consideration, you will never feel like you wasted money on an AP.

 

[wilkeliza]

Do not buy it in hopes of a discount. There is never a guarantee that there is one.

I am getting one because I'll be doing a couple trips in a 12 months span and any food discount or merch discount past the cost of tickets is a plus not something I factor into the reason to buy an AP.