First Time AP Questions

[MusicalMouse]

Hey guys!

So I just graduated high school and my graduation present from my mom is a Disneyland Annual Pass! Needless to say, I'm excited. But I had a few questions:

1) What are the current hotel offers for APs? I know they get discounts but what is the average percentage off the rack room rate?

2) What's better, buying online or at the gate?

3) The first day I go to the park with the pass, what do I have to do? I heard you must have your picture taken etc. Where do I go for that?

4) Are there any other perks APs get that I might not know about? I will be the only one in my family to ever have an AP and I really wanna get the most out of it.

Thanks!

[monkeyboy]

Hey guys!
So I just graduated high school and my graduation present from my mom is a Disneyland Annual Pass! Needless to say, I'm excited. But I had a few questions:
1) What are the current hotel offers for APs? I know they get discounts but what is the average percentage off the rack room rate?
2) What's better, buying online or at the gate?
3) The first day I go to the park with the pass, what do I have to do? I heard you must have your picture taken etc. Where do I go for that?
4) Are there any other perks APs get that I might not know about? I will be the only one in my family to ever have an AP and I really wanna get the most out of it.
Thanks!

Hey, first off, congratulations on graduating and that is a great graduation gift -- I got a matching pen and pencil set when I graduated, but that was many MANY years ago...
In part answer to your questions - you would have your picture taken inside the park. Once you've activated your pass they can direct you to where CMs with cameras are located in the park.
As for other perks, depending on the pass you get certain percentages off on food and souveniers in the parks and Downtown Disney. If it's a Premium it's up to 15% off dining, and up to 20% off merchandise, all others are up to 10% off dining/merchandise. I think there is a link somewhere that spells it all out, if anyone has it handy?

[cdcooper]

If you have the Premium Annual pass you also get free parking at Mickey and Friends.

[Sailorjedi]

Hey guys!

So I just graduated high school and my graduation present from my mom is a Disneyland Annual Pass! Needless to say, I'm excited. But I had a few questions:

1) What are the current hotel offers for APs? I know they get discounts but what is the average percentage off the rack room rate?

2) What's better, buying online or at the gate?

3) The first day I go to the park with the pass, what do I have to do? I heard you must have your picture taken etc. Where do I go for that?

4) Are there any other perks APs get that I might not know about? I will be the only one in my family to ever have an AP and I really wanna get the most out of it.

Thanks!

1) Current hotel offers are at least 10% off rack rate. Depending on the season, it could go up to 30-35% off (subject to availability).

2) Online. That way you get the voucher and can go thru the turnstile. They will then give you a paper ticket, which you will eventually need to exchange for a hard AP. But, obviously, you'll have to be careful and not to lose it before you exchange. So, I typically go and buy the AP myself (they have separate booths (near the ticket booths) for APs (at least when I went last weekend, I saw them near the ticket booths closer to Harbor).

3) Go to any Photopass photographer.

4) Dining discounts (10-15% depending on level of pass) and merchandise discounts (10-20% depending on level of pass). Also, there are special AP events which you have to sign up for (either online, sweepstakes, or at the gate).

If you mom can afford the cost up front, you might want to see if you can find a grocery store that is still selling the APs at the old prices (they raised on 5/20). That would be $499 for a Premium (versus $649 now), $379 for a deluxe (versus $479 now). I would definitely go for the premium because parking is included in the premium pass (and is $120-130 extra to add onto the other level of passes). Which means, it's only a $15-20 difference once you add in parking to a deluxe vs. premium.

[AnotherJenny]

Some of the hotels on Harbor also offer AP discounts (HoJo and Candy Cane Inn come to mind). As far as the Disney hotels, in the past you were able to call Disney (714-781-4567) and ask about AP hotel rates. I believe you don't need the annual pass to book the room, only when you check in. So if you wanted to book a room for your visit, you can activate the pass before checking into the hotel.