Out Of State APs Continue To Take A Beating

[White Rose]

Oh yeah, I'd hate to suffer with the thought of some extra traffic to walk in on a random Tuesday instead of fighting traffic to the airport and paying 2K to fly 3.5 hours and hop in a cab to get to my hotel.



It's not the increase that bothers me, it's the whole system.

No there is something to be said about extra traffic. I live about 50 minutes to 90 minutes from a few very popular vacation destinations. (Atlantic City, cape may, wildwood, Long Beach, sea isle, six flags, digger land, margate, brigintine, ocean city etc etc etc)

It seems Everyone from NY and PA heading “Down the Shore” passes through my roads.

We do not leave the house any time after 3 pm till about 8, on a summer Friday and around 3 on a summer Sunday till about 6. Since I am driving home from work on fridays at 5, it doubles my commute home.

And also 4th of July, Labor Day, Memorial Day, the weekend before and after those two…are just so brutal…everything is jammed up. We just stay home or I volunteer to work!

 

[StuckInKS]

Agreed. And I don't mind paying more than locals, but $399 vs $1,299?! As an out of town occasional passholder who prefers to go when it is slower, why not give us a lower-priced option with the same blackout dates as the $399 local AP. Doesn't have to be $399, but lower than $1,299 would be nice. I have to buy 8 of these things.

 

[StuckInKS]

No there is something to be said about extra traffic.

We lived near Disney for nearly a year in 2019 and the traffic is not bad. It honestly was about the same as the traffic in our part of Kansas...maybe better.

 

[PinkTink63]

The locals are valuable because they can plug holes in attendance at a moment's notice. Unfortunately out of state APs generally aren't seen as able to fill that role.

Perhaps they figure you'll keep coming several times a year with or without an AP?

I'm not defending it. Just saying that might be the thought process.

Well…they would be wrong! We fly 3,000 miles to come there! We have been coming there for over 20 years. We invested in DVC and get 2-3 trips out of our AP. Our usual stay is between 10-14 days. We justified the airfare and the cost of staying and eating at Disney because of the value and perks of our AP‘s. The quality and perks keep going away while the price skyrockets! They keep making things more complicated and stressful! We go there to leave our stressful life behind. My husband just said, “We’re Out!!” It’s sad because it has always been our happy place. Gotta say to Disney…”Not feelin’ the Magic!” That said, I am sure people will pay it! I think we will put our money toward Europe at this juncture. The cost will probably be less!!

 

[cakebaker]

So with the news today those of us who are out of state took another gut punch.

With only the top tier available it seems more and more like they don't actually want us there anymore, or at least they don't want us to come back multiple times in a year.

I never understood the pricing structure for out of state since we generally stay at their hotels, buy their food and visit less often yet we get punished for it by paying the most for APs.

Using my scenario as an example, I try to get down from the Boston area about 3 times a year, if possible, usually totaling about 20ish days. I never come down at any peak times (ends of August/April/February for the most part), stay on site and never leave.

Why can't I get a Pirate Pass? Why can't I pay monthly? Is there some FLA to MA currency conversion that I'm not aware of?

I have no problem with residents getting limited access passes for a significantly reduced cost. Disney isn't looking to save you money, they're looking at what fills their parks when they need them filled. You going a few times a year doesn't do it, but a resident who will go every week or several times a month during slow periods does. So what reason do they have to give you a cheaper price? None.

On the other hand, I have no problem with them bringing residents costs for an unlimited pass up to what non-residents pay. Why should they get the same exact access non-residents get when they actually use it much more and spend (on average) much less once inside the parks? Again, Disney uses residents to fill their parks at times they want them to be there. They don't need AP's filling the parks during the holidays or the busiest seasons, so if residents want to go then, they have to pay the same price non-residents pay.

People need to remember that Disney does what they do to make as much money as they can. Bottom line- will you stop going to WDW because you can't get the resident rate? I bet not.

 

[tony67]

will you stop going to WDW because you can't get the resident rate? I bet not.

What makes you think that? I was an AP holder for several years and would make 2-3 trips a year - at that point an AP was not much more than the 10 day hopper tickets so it made sense to get the AP and you actually got decent room discounts as well.
For many reasons beyond the price increases I walked away and stopped going all together in 2016.
I know for sure I am not the only one - and over the last few weeks many more have walked away or feel priced out.

As for the FL resident pass 399 for m-f and blackout dates seems a bit much to me and 699 if you want weekends with a lot of blackout dates.
For 399 you can get a Universal pass with no blackouts dates for the two parks.

Most of the locals I know were already unhappy with Disney and the FP+ system that drove them to Universal.
They will get tickets to Disney when there is some special 4 visit ticket for the summer for locals

Unlike Disneyland, Disney World is far less interested in locals they don't make the same $$s per person they do on the out of state visors and there is no question that is the most important thing to Disney - they have basically said to shareholders they want less attendance and more $ per person. Locals are less likely to stay or eat on property so you cant sell them a very overpriced meal.

 

[NotAtDisney:(]

For the past 3 years, I’ve been at WDW for Marathon Weekend. This year, we’re doing a family trip in October and I’m coming back in January. Since I’ve managed to recoup over $700 in airfare vouchers for the October trip (which i’ll use for a summer 2022 trip) perhaps this will be the only time I’ll be able to get the value of an AP for myself.

 

[DISNEY1975]

Oh yeah, I'd hate to suffer with the thought of some extra traffic to walk in on a random Tuesday instead of fighting traffic to the airport and paying 2K to fly 3.5 hours and hop in a cab to get to my hotel.



It's not the increase that bothers me, it's the whole system.

The whole system drives me crazy, but I keep going. Not only do FL residents get the discounts, but employees get something like 50% off (and there are thousands of them!!) and can book rooms/tix for out of state family/friends etc..

Europeans get a buy 7, get 7 free deal AND free dining practically year round.

FL residents get an annual waterpark pass for some ridiculous price like $130/year! I pay $800 for 2.5 months of summer at our local swimming pool!

As for your $2K in airfare. Not sure if you are referring to your whole family or a ticket bought moments before the flight leaves, but if you preplan 2 or more weeks out, you can get to MCO around $400. ($250 during non school out times, I just saw $135 non stop RT on Delta for mid September.) BTW, Im a Bostonian too. Wouldnt it be nice if we got Pats/Sox/Celtic tix discounted for the traffic we have to deal with on game days

 

[nkereina]

Umm...practically every park anywhere has reduced pass prices for locals. It absolutely does plug in holes. Locals show up during slow times when others are less likely to vacation. They also show up in times like the pandemic. after 9-11, and hurricane seasons when out of towners were reluctant to travel.

Another reason could be that locals have to suffer the extra traffic and chaos caused by a park in their state. Thus, this is a nice perk to keep the locals happy.

I'd absolutely appreciate a lower price to any park I was local to.

Anyway - this changes nothing for us oyt of towners. It's a small (rather normal) price increase but otherwise nothing much changes between the Platinum Pass and the Incredi Pass that I can tell. Out of towners were never entitled to any other APs other than the DVC Gold Pass.

Perhaps I'm wrong, but I don't think the OP is saying local residents shouldn't have discounted prices. I think the OP is saying what is the reason out of state people can't have access to all passes as well? FL residents could still get a discounted rate on the same passes, but why limit the lower levels to FL residents only? I believe Universal offers all levels of APs to anyone regardless of where they live. I've purchased their seasonal pass before, the lowest level AP, and I live in NY. It seems like they could offer all passes to all people with two separate pricing tiers - one for in state and one for out of state. But that's not what's been done, and since only the highest priced AP is available to out of staters, that will probably deter people from purchasing it.

OP, the only plausible thing I can think as to why its not offered to out of staters is because from Disney's perspective, we are already spending the money on flights/hotel anyway so would the fact that we can't get a lower level AP really be the one thing stopping us from going? Probably not. We'll either cough up the money for it or we'll buy length of stay tickets each time, if that's cheaper. Even though most of us are tired of the nickel and diming, its likely not going to stop a lot of us from going. Disney knows that, and that's the problem.

 

[Romans]

I live in GA about 5 hours away and we got annual passes last year right before they stopped selling them. Didn't start using it until Jan of this year and we planned to renew but with no more photopass and a price increase we wont be. Will probably switch back to universal next year since they at least let you do payments each moth and we don't have to get the highest tier. Will probably just go back to a week long disney trip every few years.

 

[Selket]

The times I bought an annual pass I usually went 3x which included flying down, hotels, food, etc. I definitely don't go as often without the AP. I think there's probably some untapped market that a less expensive out of state AP with more date restrictions would help them fill hotel space .... assuming they need hotel space filled. I did eat on Disney property also (all meals). I have often wondered why it doesn't make financial sense for Disney to offer this.

After not going during the virus it will be now almost 2 years since I've been - the sticker shock for an upcoming trip at the end of this year is real and makes me reconsider my vacation dollars....sadly.

 

[Wmuflyguy]

I’m Not sure why this was surprise to anyone. Out of staters have never been able to purchase anything by the top tier. Why would Disney change that and eat into regular ticket sales?

I think people had unrealistic expectations.

 

[MATTERHORN]

Oh yeah, I'd hate to suffer with the thought of some extra traffic to walk in on a random Tuesday instead of fighting traffic to the airport and paying 2K to fly 3.5 hours and hop in a cab to get to my hotel.



It's not the increase that bothers me, it's the whole system.

There is one solution! Move here and suffer the local traffic like the rest of us! LOL

 

[cakebaker]

What makes you think that? I was an AP holder for several years and would make 2-3 trips a year - at that point an AP was not much more than the 10 day hopper tickets so it made sense to get the AP and you actually got decent room discounts as well.
For many reasons beyond the price increases I walked away and stopped going all together in 2016.
I know for sure I am not the only one - and over the last few weeks many more have walked away or feel priced out.

I was referring to the person I was responding to but at any rate, I'm sure there are people who will walk away but even you said you quit going for reasons just beyond the price increase. Disney has never given non-residents and residents the same rates for their discounted passes, I don't know why anyone would expect them to. Unless it's just a local park to start with, most all parks give significant discounts to residents for all the reasons I listed. And no, $400 a year for a pass with a few black out dates seems like a huge bargain to me.

We are waiting to return too, but it isn't because Disney isn't offering something they've never offered before.

For 399 you can get a Universal pass with no blackouts dates for the two parks.

If only Universal was WDW, but it's not.

 

[tony67]

a few black out date

I guess your definition of a few and mine are quite different

Disney has never given non-residents and residents the same rates for their discounted passes, I don't know why anyone would expect them to.

And I would not expect them to - that is standard practice. I never said that FL residents should not get a discount - they pay a lot of taxes that support both Disney and Universal and all the other tourist stuff.

Out of staters have never been able to purchase anything by the top tier.

That is news to me since I had an AP for many years - maybe they only offer top tier recently.

If only Universal was WDW, but it's not.

Thankfully

 

[NotAtDisney:(]

The whole system drives me crazy, but I keep going. Not only do FL residents get the discounts, but employees get something like 50% off (and there are thousands of them!!) and can book rooms/tix for out of state family/friends etc..

Europeans get a buy 7, get 7 free deal AND free dining practically year round.

FL residents get an annual waterpark pass for some ridiculous price like $130/year! I pay $800 for 2.5 months of summer at our local swimming pool!

As for your $2K in airfare. Not sure if you are referring to your whole family or a ticket bought moments before the flight leaves, but if you preplan 2 or more weeks out, you can get to MCO around $400. ($250 during non school out times, I just saw $135 non stop RT on Delta for mid September.) BTW, Im a Bostonian too. Wouldnt it be nice if we got Pats/Sox/Celtic tix discounted for the traffic we have to deal with on game days

First off - I need a CM bestie for that 50% off room & tickets for out of state friends.

Secondly - Airfair sucks for me! No direct flights - which means I have to fly to another state to get a direct flight. While Southwest has been the best priced, I'm finding more airlines becoming more competitive and beat SW pricing.

I'm really second thinking becoming an AP. I'm coming out with family in October, back for Marathon Weekend, but I would need to do a 3rd trip to break even. Without room discounts for October/Marathon Weekend, it's quickly becoming not worth the AP price. Perhaps I'll go check out Universal in January?!?!

 

[DISNEY1975]

Secondly - Airfair sucks for me! No direct flights - which means I have to fly to another state to get a direct flight. While Southwest has been the best priced, I'm finding more airlines becoming more competitive and beat SW pricing.

Im sure airfare stinks for many. I was responding to the OP, who stated he is from Boston, as I am. Im familiar with the flight schedules and prices to MCO from here and the $2000 he stated just seemed way off. I have seen it though from Alaskan Airlines and Copa, where you fly from Boston, make a stop in Alaska or Panama, then to MCO. Typically trip is over 24 hours...not sure who would actually buy it! Maybe the OP??

 

[NavyDad]

Haha - OP is not looking for actual reasons or logic about why Disney is making these decisions. They are just looking to vent. A lot of people use this forum for that reason.

 

[Devil13]

I think some of you are missing my point. I never said locals shouldn't get a discount or that I expected anything to change.

Just that the new system was announced and it's EXACTLY what I thought it would be. Prices go up, value goes down and OOS APs get screwed.

No surprise, just venting.

Would love to move down there eventually and have the traffic to deal with.

@DISNEY1975 - Yeah, the 2K was for the whole family. As a Patriots season ticket holder, I'm wondering if the Floridians complaining about traffic have had the pleasure of paying $60 to park at Gillette and have to wait almost 3 hours to get out of the parking lot. No discount either

Looking hard at Universal now though - Might make sense

 

[gharter]

That is news to me since I had an AP for many years - maybe they only offer top tier recently.

I don't ever recall seeing any AP offered to OOS except the top tier except if you were DVC then you had 2 options.
The price change didn't surprise me much, just disappointed that they took out perks that have been part of APs for years.