So, how many of you are renewing your season passes?

[Starbuc71 162]

I read yesterday the 2015 was the year of price gouging at WDW. Our annual passes look like they are going up close to $100 each. The kids will be upset but I'm really considering to tell the mouse to stick it and go back to camping only at the fort.

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

As out of staters, we rarely renew, and often have a year or more here and there without tickets, then we do belly up and buy Annual Passes and have a "Disney Year"

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

We never renew.  We buy APs one year when we visit, and then we visit again the next year right before our APs expire.  The APs we purchased in October of this year were actually cheaper than the ones we got in 2013. 

[caveat lector 181]

By the time I'm in a position to do multiple trips in one year, I will have to sell an organ to afford APs

[Duane 150]

I'm good through November of 2016. This coming November I then will look at the DVC Member renewal price. So far, it hasn't been too painful.

 

Disney sort of "hooked me up" this past year... For the past several years my renewal date has always been on June 22.  This past  year I called and renewed the AP around the 6/22 timeframe.  I knew I wouldn't get to Disney before our November trip, so just sucked it up and waited.  When we arrived for our recent trip, I went to Disney Springs with my voucher to activate the AP like I was supposed to, and instead of making it active on 6/22, she moved it forward and activated it on day in November that I picked it up. So now this AP will expire in November instead of June...  I thought that was a win!

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm good through November of 2016. This coming November I then will look at the DVC Member renewal price. So far, it hasn't been too painful.

 

Disney sort of "hooked me up" this past year... For the past several years my renewal date has always been on June 22.  This past  year I called and renewed the AP around the 6/22 timeframe.  I knew I wouldn't get to Disney before our November trip, so just sucked it up and waited.  When we arrived for our recent trip, I went to Disney Springs with my voucher to activate the AP like I was supposed to, and instead of making it active on 6/22, she moved it forward and activated it on day in November that I picked it up. So now this AP will expire in November instead of June...  I thought that was a win!

 

I heard they weren't doing DVC renewals anymore. They are? 

[jayco1 15]

By the time I'm in a position to do multiple trips in one year, I will have to sell an organ to afford APs

 I would be interested in a Wurlitzer. 

[twiceblessed....nacole 433]

We renewed this year, but only for two reasons:

 

- we purchased using a AAA discount around May (so before the rates when up)

- we knew we could wait to activate the annual pass until the end of October.... which is when we went for 2.5 weeks (and then back at Christmas).  Plus we knew that we would make at least 2 trips in 2016, before it expired.

 

In 2017, we'll visit the Fort in the fall... but will probably only do a few days at the parks, so I don't see us buying another AP.  It's just getting too expensive  

[ceemike...Mike & Judy 50]

We just renewed our APs with the new Platinum Plus passes. We used to get the DVC discount price, but we sold our membership last year and bought a place in an RV park so now we get the FL resident price, which is the same. We're snowbirds and we go to the parks frequently so the APs are a pretty good deal for us. We like the new free PhotoPass feature.

[ependydad...Doug 176]

I'm not sure yet. With changing our residency to FL, she's excited about a discount from what we paid. But, I just don't know how many park days we will really have.

[Hammer bird 6]

My DD is a CM so we visit frequently and an AP just seemed like a no brainer (trying to use her family and friend passes is a pain with blackout dates)   I just "upped" mine to the platinum since it has the "photopass" option.  

[Travisma 1,317]

We will be renewing out FL Resident Seasonal (now Silver) at the end of the month. I hate to see the price increase, but now we get the free parking, and we leave all the summer black out dates to you crazy Northerners!

I see that we can't go to the parks next year until January 3 2017 after the Christmas blackout. This year we could go on the 2cd, and we did. Just got back home a couple of hours ago.

[Starbuc71 162]

Well, after spending this past weekend with the mouse, we decided to not to renew for 2017. Our passes expire on 1/16 and with sorin closed till summer, Hollywood studios closing many attractions and will become an absolute mess for 2 years, avatar land probably not opening til next year and the MK always over crowded, I figured this would be a good year to skip and save a couple grand

[wendinator 109]

My annual pass expired Oct 2015 and with the Canadian dollar so low against the American dollar it makes it just too expensive to justify renewing - even at the discounted renewal rate.

[Helmsey......Todd 134]

Ours expire Oct 2016 and we will likely not renew. We upgraded our tickets while we were there on our last trip because we were there for over a week, plus we are doing 2 trips in 2016. I think we will be taking a "Disney break" after the trips this year.

[shoreline99 137]

Just got our renewals. After 4 trips in the past year we've decided not to renew, although a trip to DL is on the agenda.

[stacktester 78]

I renewed mine in October and my daughter's last night even though hers expired in November we didn't have any trips and I didn't see the discount making up for 2 months of her being absent. For many years we were annual passholders then seasonal. I'm just not going to be hot and in a crowd. I'm surprised to see the I'm not renewing crowd here. IMO the value isn't there. I figure we'll keep the seasonal pass and visit during less busy times. Someone is willing to keep shoveling it out bcuz they're still packed but just not me. I love the fort and Disney but we've kinda moved on to other hobbies. A long weekend can cost 5 or 6 bills and I won't spend that. Sorry. I know I miss it but the cutoff passed by me. I doubt us not renewing gives someone else a spot.

[BradyBzLyn...Mo 2,023]

We never renew.  We buy APs one year when we visit, and then we visit again the next year right before our APs expire.  The APs we purchased in October of this year were actually cheaper than the ones we got in 2013. 

 

Same here, and ours just expired in November.  Last time around we bought discounted tix through Undercover Tourist and upgraded them, which saved us about $150.  I'm wondering if, with the changes in APs and all the talk of peak season pricing, if that's even going to be an option next time around.

[Travisma 1,317]

We will be renewing our FL Resident Seasonal the end of the month.

 

Don't like the price increase, but now have parking.

 

One thing I didn't like, we got our renewal notice around the 60 day mark.

 

If I renewed then, in 2 days time they were going to charge my card for the monthly fee, so for 2 months I would be paying for my old card and my new one.

 

So because of that little gotcha, we are waiting until the end of the month to renew.

 

We have gone over to the parks later on a weekday after I get off of work (OK, I leave a couple hours early) and have found it to be a lot less crowded, usually a little cooler, and way more enjoyable.

 

I think we're going to try to do that once or twice a month depending on if we go over on weekends.

[Starbuc71 162]

I did one last ditch effort last night to see actually how much more the new passes would be. With the new passes we would be forced to get the platinum FL resident pass due to Disney blocking out just about everyday the kids are out of school including spring break, all of summer and the end of year holidays. Right now on the FL resident monthly payment plan we pay $138 per month for 4 passes. The new cost would take us up to $198 per month. As Donnie said, even the short weekends are putting you 100's of dollars. I'm just not doing it. We will still camp at the fort, but no parks for us this year

[Travisma 1,317]

Busch Gardens and Sea World just announced they were increasing their AP prices this year.

It's going from $156 to $168 a whopping $12 or $1 a month on the payment plan.

I know they don't have the parades, allure, or cute characters the Disney does, but they don't have the same prices also.

[dblr....Rennie 224]

We had AP's when they had the great offer thru DVC but not again unless they offer a deal like that. We are planning our summer long trip and looked into a platinum pass with dinning for the Cedar Fair parks, we could hit Dorney, Kings Island, Worlds of Fun and Cedar Point  and maybe squeeze a trip to Kings Dominion also, the cost would be $300 @ person and you get into the park, free parking and 2 meals a day, if you like coasters I feel that is a pretty good deal as long as you make it work for you like that.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

We renewed our annual (now platinum) pass when we were up there over Christmas. The CM I talked to kept tring to play up the free photo pass as worth the price increase. I'd rather pay less and not have the photo pass.

The photo pass isn't something we ever used before but now I will be getting my picture taken every chance I can. Haha

[Starbuc71 162]

We renewed our annual (now platinum) pass when we were up there over Christmas. The CM I talked to kept tring to play up the free photo pass as worth the price increase. I'd rather pay less and not have the photo pass.

The photo pass isn't something we ever used before but now I will be getting my picture taken every chance I can. Haha

I agree, they threw the photo pass in to justify the price. They must have figured that if you were an annual pass holder especially a Florida pass holder you most likely would not even use this free option. I have more pictures from the parks than I know what to do with. Unless the photo pass photographers followed TCD around for his whole trip report, it's not worth it

[LONE-STAR 370]

To me they should have a photo pass guy on a golf cart driving around the fort offering to take your picture and even take a pic of your site. Which later Chip and Dale would appear in the pic. And you should be able to call and request him to come to a location in the fort.