AP's - Let's track our in park spending

[wolfy]

It might just show others how much we do spend in the parks when we go on a regular basis.

Hubby, Daughter and I went:

03-11-05

Blue Bayou - $83.00
Command Store - $11.00

This includes discounts of course!

How much do you spend each time you go?

[millionairegirl]

I probably spend on average $40 each time I go, which is only every other month usually. This year I did spend the night at the GCH so that upped the average of course, but overall I still think tourists who stay on site still have me beat. I'm definitely spending more on my trip to WDW than I will spend at the DLR over 2 years.

[BigPigletFan]

I spend a lot when I go because I only go every once in a while since I'm from out of state. Last time I went was in Jan with my boyfriend. I spent about $600 on my checkcard (which included $209 for his AP). I also had money in traveler's checks and he spent some money too. We did go other places, but we spent most of our money at Disney. We did dine at a lot of places (and enough to get the dining pin), spent a lot of money on pins, some plush, and two games. Not bad for 10 days, huh? And I'm a poor college kid. At least I saved up for my trip.

[wolfy]

What I kinda wanted to do with this thread was track spending on a daily basis, since I know a lot of us will be at the parks this weekend. Just curious what a person/family spends in one day at either one or both of the parks. Maybe we can prove we do provide a lot of money/profit for the parks as AP's!

[Cousin Orville]

I don't wanna track it. I think it avgs 200 or more bucks with a family of four inculding dinner at the GCH. One time we stayed over at the last minute and it hit over 800 bucks with the room and all. They made out on our APs.

[Goin2DL]

My husband, kids and I all have AP's. We come from Tucson 3-4 times a year. We usually stay for 3 or 4 nights, on-site (if we can get a good AP rate) and eat most of our meals in the parks. Not to mention I usually go home with at least a little something new for my house. Disneyland is where we spend most of our extra money.

[Lore]

California Annual Pass Disneyland visit this past Friday for Buzz & Tiki, stayed 3 hours. I'll be the first to admit I don't eat much, but I do shop. I almost bought some swords in fantasyland. Guess that'll be next time.

$10 parking
$10 pirate flag
$50 pirate game of life
$35 book - designing disney
$8.75 dinner
$0.25 Fortune Red Machine
Total $114

[Small Panda After All]

Last night my boyfriend and I went went and we spent

$36.00 - dinner at Zocalo (damn them for adding shrimp! so good, but pricey)
$16.00 - Star Wars Cookbook II
$10.00 - funnel cake and two cartons of milk
= $62 for one night...we were only there for about 5 hours

[HarajukuBoy]

Last Sunday:

$10 ODV
$9 plush
$25 ESPN Zone (technically not in the park)

I went with friends and drove so they spent money on me to pay me back, but I'm not sure how much that was. Everytime I go, I'm ready to spend, but never find anything I want, not even food

[WickedQueen]

I am sorry ... but I have a little bit of a problem with this thread! IS this becasue you wanna show even though after a few days your AP is paid for that you STILL spend a lot of money? Any theme park that you go to, any person you are ... some one from out of town on a vacation, an AP, or even a cast member?
Maybe i am confused ... maybe I just read a little too much into the purpose of this thread ... but I think that no matter which "brand name" you fall under ... you are gonna spend a LOT of money at Disneyland. I know me, personally, my paycheck goes right back to where it came from ... the Walt Disney Company. But I go there and spend the money because I enjoy it and get a thrill out of it. I don't go there and count up ALL the money I spend. Any time I go to Disneyland as a guest ... it is money worth spent!

[Cousin Orville]

I am sorry ... but I have a little bit of a problem with this thread! IS this becasue you wanna show even though after a few days your AP is paid for that you STILL spend a lot of money?

Yes, that's what I get out of reading it. Not a negative. The prevailing TDA wisdom is that AP's by and large aren't spending as much as normal guests and since they already bought a passport are a liability. It may be interesting to see how much is spent by AP's, especially if these were visits the WDC would have gotten at all if they didn't have one. I for one think all of that extra money is being spent by APs and none of us could afford to be at the park that much without an AP. So if you have one, then it becomes a frequent entertainment and dining option that didn't exist before.

[sediment]

The issue is that some people don't think AP holders spend enough money in the park to make up for the "free" admission, while others claim they spend a lot of money each time they go.
The outcome will not be unbiased, unfortunately. Also, we'd have to estimate a profit margin per item/service, as well as a marginal park expense per guest.

I think there are a small minority of AP holders who spend a lot of money, but I think a large majority of them do not.

[ModHatter]

Well, I just want to add... The good folks at Disney already track such things. So what we prove on this thread is something only a few stubborn anti-APs don't already know. Yes, we don't spend as much as tourists, but unlike WDW, DLR has not truly developed into a resort, and is dependent largely on income from locals, who we clearly outspend on average.

Quick story... Hadn't visited the park in at least six years. Didn't know if I really wanted to, but curiosity about DCA got the better of me. Found a good deal on APs and got Premiums. Wasn't on the boards back then, so imagine my horror to find the Subs gone. Think it was a struggle making enough trips to the park to break even. But, Disney was slowly getting into my blood again. So when 2003 rolled around, I had missed the DCA Monorail, but I had bought every one since. Started buying Disney DVDs and CDs, and seeing Disney movies in the theaters. Went to WDW for two weeks, bought APs because we were there so long, and since we still had the APs booked another couple weeks at the end of the year. Booked a weekend at GCH for the opening weekend of ToT, even though I'm just 20 minutes from the park. So, DLR has made plenty of money off of the AP they sold me in 2002, they way a pusher makes money off of free samples.

This year alone, that 20% discount coupon gave me my first taste of pin collecting. And darn them for that Main St. Station pin. They almost had me hooked on that stuff too... spent over $100 on pins in just two trips. Of course, I missed Pin 2, so that put a stop to that. But, considering Disney has made over $700 in 3 years on DLR ticket sales alone, from someone who would have otherwise only gone once or twice in the same period for under $100... I'd say APs more than contribute. We're talking about ticket sales alone that add up to at least $60 million each year, and that's if everyone is buying the cheapest possible APs.

But, for the official tally...

Last trip... just wanted to ride Matterhorn and see how Tomorrowland was looking. It was unexpectedly busy, so I turned around and left after less than an hour of looking. Didn't even ride the ride. But, I spent $60 on pins.

[E-ticket]

Went last night for about 3 hours... spent $26 on dinner (and would have plunked down another $15, but they're sold out of the Billy Hill CD!!)

[Giant Panda]

I just hope no one tries to do this (track their spending) and ends up going, "HOLY COW! I SPENT HOW MUCH???", and then starts going "on the cheap" ... Unless, of course, they have a "real" problem and need to curtail spending ....

[Michelle]

I played it really cheap this weekend
$15 on pins
$3 on ice cream
$7.50 at the newly reopened Juice bar
$16 on lunch for two

We really abused the free tortillas in DCA though.

But I think it is worth noting that I spent something like $120 last time I went.

[crinklebat]

And just as a converse - I have never had an AP and still don't, and I made many trips in high school where I paid for admission and a bread bowl of gumbo and purchased nothing else in the park all day - just smuggled in peanut butter sandwiches and water bottle. I had a period where I could pay a full adult non-discounted admission and still spend under $50 on a trip (this in the late 90's and early 00's). I guess you'd have to add a bit to that from splitting up the parking costs and gas.

So, you know, I probably would have spent more than $5 in the park all day if I'd had an AP. On the other hand, they would have gotten a less than $45 from me for getting in that day. I don't think I would have spent enough to make it even.

[Metal God]

$60 minimum I would say

[ModHatter]

On the other hand, they would have gotten a less than $45 from me for getting in that day. I don't think I would have spent enough to make it even.

See, that's the part I never get... Say someone actually used their AP enough to make their visits cost less than $45 on average. Say it only costs you $20 per visit. That's still $20 more than the $0 Disney would be getting. So, rather than thinking in terms of cost-per-visit, let's keep in mind total park earnings per year, relative to total earnings if the AP program didn't exist.

[StephanieA]

Last Friday with my sister:
Plaza Inn $13.00 (on chicken meal w/ AP discount)
Buzz store $7.00 (on ToT pin)

We only stayed for 2 hours, rode Buzz once and ToT twice. (We were also going to get a pineapple whip but we ran out of time, I had to go home to see my boyfriend)