Someone, anyone, help me convince my hubby to renew APs...

AllthingsDisMom

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Jan 20, 2016
Hello! I'm dying here! From 2016 - 2017 my three children and I had gold APs and went as many times as we could to visit the parks in that time and had the time of our lives!!

We are a dual income household, which means we make the decisions together especially with such a big price tag.

Disney is not my DH's flavor ... he says it makes him queasy any time I mention this topic. He says we just can't afford them... my heart is broken. :( Even with the FL month-to-month and Silver, no dice.
SOS!
 
Hello! I'm dying here! From 2016 - 2017 my three children and I had gold APs and went as many times as we could to visit the parks in that time and had the time of our lives!!

We are a dual income household, which means we make the decisions together especially with such a big price tag.

Disney is not my DH's flavor ... he says it makes him queasy any time I mention this topic. He says we just can't afford them... my heart is broken. :( Even with the FL month-to-month and Silver, no dice.
SOS!

Is he right? I mean, is your income tighter, your expenses higher, or your need to save higher (like for 3 kids and college) than it was last year? It is a big cost for 5 people, even with the silver plan...so I can see it both ways.

I know my FL brother switches his APs every year so he does Disney one year and Universal the other (and then keeps Sea World b/c it's so cheap and his kids love it)...keeps the whole thing fresh and everyone happy...
 
Is he right? I mean, is your income tighter, your expenses higher, or your need to save higher (like for 3 kids and college) than it was last year? It is a big cost for 5 people, even with the silver plan...so I can see it both ways.

I know my FL brother switches his APs every year so he does Disney one year and Universal the other (and then keeps Sea World b/c it's so cheap and his kids love it)...keeps the whole thing fresh and everyone happy...

Thanks! Yes, but we can make it work (we did before). I feel like if were NFL annual passes or something he liked, we would make it happen. He doesn't enjoy going (which is fine), but I enjoy taking our kids. Love doing it actually. Oh the humanity!
 
You might start putting some of your own money away every payday until you have enough. Ask for passes in lieu of birthday and Christmas presents. Tell him that you plan on going so many times which will cost $ so the annual pass will end up saving money. Or as I would probsbly do, tell him You will save money in other ways and do it anyway. That’s just me. When I was working dual income meant we both had discretion over how to spend part of our own pay and as long as everything else was covered, neither complained. Again that’s just me.
 


DH and I have a similar disagreement. He would spend thousands of dollars on ski trips (gear, lift tickets, lodging, etc), but he balks at Disney. We took this year off from DL APs and are planning a week long trip to WDW instead. We may get DL APs again in the future, but to me the prices/crowds got to be too much. Plus I felt the kids weren't appreciating it.
 
Why not just take a year off? As a Florida resident who kids are 25, 23, 15, and 14, you can "over do" Disney and the kids will get tired of it. Where in Florida do you live? Perhaps switch it up with annual membership someplace else?

Are you close enough to exclude your DH? If you are less than an hour away, maybe just get AP for you and the kids and go without him?

My DH and three older kids (all boys) no longer care for Disney, so we enjoy other family vacations instead. We are traveling visiting new cities, etc. I suppose it depends on the ages of your kids, but teens do get tired of Disney eventually when they go too often.
 
I don't do the payment plan and pay for the entire pass up front out of MY fun money. I have our passes renewing on different dates so I'm not hit with such a big bill all at once. Four annual passes is a big chunk of money and I can see his point of view (my DH dislikes it too). It's $1800 for four silver passes (non-renewal rate)!!! If you really want them I'd find a way to pay for them with money not coming out of the family budget such as your fun money or be earning giftcards through places like swagbucks, selling items on ebay, etc.........
 


That's a tough one. My kids are all out of the house so it is just me & DH. He is a scuba diver and goes on trips I wouldn't enjoy, so I have APs for both Disney and Universal, and go to Orlando when he is on a boat for a week. It is a big expense with 3 kids, I wonder is there anything he spends money on that you don't enjoy, for bargaining purposes? If it that important to you and the kids, it seems some compromise is in order.
 
I would skip a year, and use that year to save up for the following year. It will give your kids a bit of a breather--maybe they'll miss it so much, they'll start clamoring to go back?

You can also take that time to think about what compromises you already make, or are willing to make. When DH and I were discussing a big trip, I agreed to wait another year before replacing my minivan with a newer, off-lease vehicle (the van is 8 years old). Could you eat out less and pocket the difference? Spend less on clothes? Cut down on energy use? Don't be afraid to get the kids involved--would they be willing to earn extra money for AP's (if appropriate--I don't know how old they are)? Chip in Christmas or birthday money? Asking the kids might also help you gauge just how important those APs are to the kids.
 
UGH I feel you- we just bought passes again first time in 7 years (we are FL residents too). We went last march for 3 days. My girls are teens now and passes were what they requested for Christmas so that helped convince my husband. He goes but its not his favorite.

My suggestion is to try and find ways to save up for the passes: swagbucks (Im currently doing this to cover food cost for our March trip) coupon, consignment shops for the kids clothes, unshop your grocery cart each week, collect change etc

Also, the one reason I love Disney is we can bring food into the park. I told my girls upfront that getting passes meant we would have to pack our lunches most of the days we go. That we would only eat onsite when we did our March trip.
 
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I'd take a year off. Use the money toward something else.( roof repairs, paint the house etc)

Don't act like you have a Disney addiction. Then in another year, have some money saved up and revisit the topic again.
 
Since the use year of a pass starts when you actually buy it, start saving for them. When you have the funds, buy the passes. It's not like it's a 'buy it now or you don't get to go' situation. Are you in Florida? That should help a lot.

You can also use some of the tips on this board and get discounted Disney gift cards to help pay for the passes and get an extra bit off.

I'm renewing my own pass this year and will save $50 because I took advantage of the Target gift cards at 10% off. Every little bit helps to reduce costs.

I also watch specials on websites that sell tickets such as Undercover tourist. They don't sell annual passes, but you can upgrade a discounted ticket to an annual pass and Disney may bridge the amount, which may also save a small sum.

The important part here is that you plan your purchase and include it in budgeted money so that it isn't a 'where are we going to get 3K for this luxury?' sort of issue.

You can also buy passes as you save the money and activate them once you have enough of them for all of you.
 
Since the use year of a pass starts when you actually buy it, start saving for them. When you have the funds, buy the passes. It's not like it's a 'buy it now or you don't get to go' situation. Are you in Florida? That should help a lot.

You can also use some of the tips on this board and get discounted Disney gift cards to help pay for the passes and get an extra bit off.

I'm renewing my own pass this year and will save $50 because I took advantage of the Target gift cards at 10% off. Every little bit helps to reduce costs.

I also watch specials on websites that sell tickets such as Undercover tourist. They don't sell annual passes, but you can upgrade a discounted ticket to an annual pass and Disney may bridge the amount, which may also save a small sum.

The important part here is that you plan your purchase and include it in budgeted money so that it isn't a 'where are we going to get 3K for this luxury?' sort of issue.

You can also buy passes as you save the money and activate them once you have enough of them for all of you.

FL passes year starts when you first use/redeem them not when purchased. I double checked before I bought mine this fall- they are a Christmas present. However I think renewals do start immediately
 
FL passes year starts when you first use/redeem them not when purchased. I double checked before I bought mine this fall- they are a Christmas present. However I think renewals do start immediately

Exactly! I worded badly but I actually meant what you are saying. Thanks for your help!
 
Just get AP's for you and the kids.... If its not his thing then don't make him go....It sounds like he's not into going, and doesn't want to say I don't want to go, and using the money so he won't have to go without saying I don't want to go... My son in law isn't a big Disney guy, so DD and my Sweet little grandson are AP holders, and he fine with it. I will say that he is becoming more and more into Disney especial since Avatar land has opened, and with Star Wars land coming... I know its just a matter of time before he want his own pass.

try that route...
 
I want to renew the passes. The kids and I truly enjoy going to Disney. What can we juggle in the budget to make this happen?


You have given him complete power over this yet you are in a dual income/decision model. Your voice and vote is every bit as valid as his stop waiting for him to give permission. You are not a child. If it is important to you and the kids, then make it happen.
 
I want to renew the passes. The kids and I truly enjoy going to Disney. What can we juggle in the budget to make this happen?


You have given him complete power over this yet you are in a dual income/decision model. Your voice and vote is every bit as valid as his stop waiting for him to give permission. You are not a child. If it is important to you and the kids, then make it happen.
Just get AP's for you and the kids.... If its not his thing then don't make him go....It sounds like he's not into going, and doesn't want to say I don't want to go, and using the money so he won't have to go without saying I don't want to go... My son in law isn't a big Disney guy, so DD and my Sweet little grandson are AP holders, and he fine with it. I will say that he is becoming more and more into Disney especial since Avatar land has opened, and with Star Wars land coming... I know its just a matter of time before he want his own pass.

try that route...

You aren't bold are you? lol

Well here's the problem with that scenario... I really want to make this happen for the kiddos, but I don't want to cause any tension in my marriage that the kids can sense (would be a bit counterproductive).

I'll think of something, maybe a part-time job in the evenings to support my Disney habit. Or an Etsy store!? Who knows? Stay tuned, appreciate the feedback!
 
Good luck.

I must have a different dynamic in my marriage. If something is important to me, my husband wants me to have it. If something is important to him, I want him to have it. We will both give things up if it is important to the other. And talking about our wants is not cause for *******. We may not always be able to make it happen, but we sure do try
 
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Thanks! Yes, but we can make it work (we did before). I feel like if were NFL annual passes or something he liked, we would make it happen. He doesn't enjoy going (which is fine), but I enjoy taking our kids. Love doing it actually. Oh the humanity!
Do you actually have the NFL season passes? If so, I'd say that getting Disney passes as well is only fair, unless it's one year Disney, then one year NFL, and so forth. If you've only done Disney so far and he wants NFL & you can't really afford both, maybe it's his turn to be indulged?

Or maybe you can do a Disney cruise & perhaps he'll get hooked on those? It's Disney, but a whole different experience than the parks.
 
We've been wrestling with the same idea.

We bought AP's last November for a 6 day trip, we did a 4 day trip in April and a 6 day trip in October.
We loved the freedom of going wherever we wanted, whenever we wanted, and how long we wanted.

Our next trip is planned for October again. It would likely be the only trip in 2018. I can't justify the $2,200 DVC member cost right now. I'm thinking to repurchase for the October trip and get 2-3 trips out of that AP cycle. Maybe Star Wars will be open toward the end of the AP term in 2019.
 

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