g
In short, so that if something like this ever happens again, I am covered for quite a few years. If they suddenly stopped selling DVC APs forever, i'm guessing they'd honor whatever you had already purchased. Honestly, we had a supply of 10 day no exp tix back in the day that lasted us for soooo long. Even now, those waterpark options never expire so we are set for LIFE on those since we don't waterpark very often (maybe just to hit the lazy river for a few hours once in a great while). So, I guess I'm just not at all averse to stockpiling. It has always worked out for us.
I buy APs as I earn the Disney Rewards Dollars from my credit card. Then I also watch for gift card promos all year (like my preferred grocery store will do bonus gift cards frequently and I use them for Disney gift cards that I can apply to APs) I also have unused tickets in my account (from previous years free dining bookings) that I can apply to our passes, but that has to be done in person (and I was planning on taking care of that in April). So, for me, it's not a big cash investment to get to the point where I could have any APs we are currently using + 1 set sitting in our account. Then just keep adding on.
When I bought DVC just a few years ago APs were only $550. I beat the last price increase (even if just for a few passes) by buying ahead. We won't typically renew APs. We do 1 trip per calendar year, 11ish months apart. Sometimes we may skip a year, sometimes not, but it makes more sense to not renew and buy new with the way we travel.
Who knows how long this park reservation crap will go on. If I've always got AP vouchers sitting there, I can always book parks. I just hate being tied down. We may only do 3 park days total for our January trip. But with AP vouchers sitting there, I can book parks for every day and add some flexibility to our vacation even if I end up just upgrading one of our existing tix to a 3 day park ticket.
TBH, I feel you on the January trip. I just changed my resort selections last night and it gave me a renewed sense of excitement, but the worry and disappointment in all that will be different is still underlying and drags me down a bit. It's been a rollercoaster for me. Some days I just can't wait to go and others I wonder if I even want to at all.