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View Full Version : Ticket help, please - my head is spinning!



disneychick
05-20-2006, 05:28 PM
I'm hoping you guys can help me out!! DH, DS and I will be traveling to Disneyland mid-September for 7 nights and plan to use ALL that time in the parks :D I haven't been to DL in ages, and last I heard there was still a 7-day Park Hopper - now it seems like the most they offer is the 5-day.

Am I correct in assuming that I will need to purchase an Annual Pass to get the best deal for 7/8 days of entry? The price for 2 adults and 1 child for 5-day + 2-day Park Hoppers is $835 - the price for 3 APs is $687 (from what I can tell - do they discount the $229 AP for children? DS is three). It seems kinda' silly to get an AP for a one week visit, but I can see that the savings are there.

I was a bit concerned about the "blackout days" mentioned, but the Disneyland.com site shows that none of our dates (17-24) are blacked out - could this change? The only flaw in this plan is if we can't use the passes when we want to go!!:eek:

Lastly - it was mentioned that the AP gets you 10% off at selected restaurants in the resort and DTD....can anyone fill me in on what restaurants specifically? That would be a big help!! Also, does the AP get you a discount on merchandise at all?

Sorry for all the questions - but I really want to be sure I'm working all this out correctly, and making the best choice. Who better to ask than the experts?? :)

deltachiborn
05-20-2006, 05:42 PM
If the math works out that way, then you're better off going with the AP. Besides, then you can leverage to go again, since the tix are already paid for! If the DL site says none of your days are blocked out, then I'd believe that. Even if one was, there's a blockout day ticket you can buy for something like $20. As far as the discounts, you get 10% off at all the buffeteria-style or sit-down restaurants in the park, and the discounts in DTD vary by location. The only AP that gets the 10% merchandise discount is the Premium, which is $300 or so per person -- not necessarily in your budget. Of course, you could get ONE person the premium and have them make all the merchandise purchases.... ;) Hope this helps, and have a great time!

mw9955
05-20-2006, 06:28 PM
Hello!

I'm not an expert like many of the great folks here, but maybe my point of view will help!

If you do get the 3 deluxe APs, you may want to add the $49 parking pass with it if you are staying a driving distance away. If you are at an on-site hotel, then you don't need the parking pass.

No - they won't change the blockout days they already posted. Looks like mid-September is clear for you.

Deluxe APs come with a dining discount at SOME of the restaurants, but I don't think any shopping discounts.

If you get one premium, and the other 2 deluxe APs, then you will get the free parking (if you call it that after paying $349 lol), dining discount (some places 15%), and shopping discount of 10% over a $10 purchase. I think buying one premium and two deluxes will cost about $807. But that could save you the parking fees (if you staying off-site hotel) and the shopping dicounts - if you plan to load up on souvenirs.

Also, if you are staying at an off-site hotel, you will lose early entry with an AP. But if you are on-site, you still get it on all the early entry days even with an AP.

Good luck!

hlbtimes2
05-20-2006, 06:54 PM
YOu can get 7 or 8 day park hoppers from www.getawaytoday.com for $199 adult/ 169 children (3-9). You can get them by calling Disney travel as well. Not sure of the price going thru Disney. Or you could just get the ap's for $229, and then you would get a discount on food purchases and an tours you take.

disneychick
05-20-2006, 07:18 PM
Thanks for all the fast replies!! Thanks, too, for the link to that site and the info on the passes still being available in some places!

Can anyone tell me if this would work? If we bought one AP (the cheaper one) for either DH or myself, and then the 8-day Park Hopper for the other adult and child, would we still ALL get the discount for the restaurants that the AP gives you because one of us holds an AP? Doing it that way only works out to $30 more than 3 Park Hoppers - if we'd get the discount on meals, it would be really worth it to pay the extra for one AP.

We don't need parking as we're staying across the street.

kimmybear
05-20-2006, 07:42 PM
If we bought one AP (the cheaper one) for either DH or myself, and then the 8-day Park Hopper for the other adult and child, would we still ALL get the discount for the restaurants that the AP gives you because one of us holds an AP? Doing it that way only works out to $30 more than 3 Park Hoppers - if we'd get the discount on meals, it would be really worth it to pay the extra for one AP.



i believe it'll work as long as the person paying for the meal is the AP holder. have fun!!! :D

hlbtimes2
05-20-2006, 08:07 PM
i believe it'll work as long as the person paying for the meal is the AP holder. have fun!!! :D


That is right- as long as you have it all rang up as one purchase and the ap holder is there you'll be fine.

Typically, I would recomend buying everyone a park hopper, then upgrading after you've used an early entry day. But with 7 days in the park you might not need to worry about EE.

BarbD
05-21-2006, 05:53 AM
check carefully where you get discounts. I have delux and dont get discounts everywhere like a premium Ap does.

Darkbeer
05-21-2006, 08:35 AM
As for food discounts, everywhere a Premium gets a discount of 15%, all other AP's (Deluxe and SoCal's) get 10% off inside the parks and hotels. At Downtown Disney, the food discount is 10% for all AP's.

Merchandise, only the Premium gets 10% off inside the parks. In Downtown Disney, some locations offer 10% off to all AP holders.

You can find more info here...

http://www.mousesavers.com/dlmeals.html#annual

http://www.mousesavers.com/otherdl.html#annual

Also, all AP holders gets the same discounts on Disney owned Hotels, and at HoJo's.

Rhiannon8404
05-21-2006, 08:43 AM
Besides, then you can leverage to go again, since the tix are already paid for!

This is really the most important part to consider when deciding between tickets or APs. ;)