Is it cheaper to buy a season pass?

Are you planning multiple trips to Disney within 12 months of each other? If you are and you plan on visiting the Disney theme parks more than 7 or 8 days total, then the Gold (only available to DVC Members and Florida Residents) or Platinum annual pass may be good for you…maybe! Plan on doing a lot of water parks during those trips? Or maybe an extended stay of a few days longer? Then the Platinum Plus may be best for you…maybe!

If you are not a Florida Resident or you do not own Disney Vacation Club, your choice is limited to the Platinum or Platinum Plus pass. But if you are eligible to buy the Gold or Silver, you can get a separate water park annual pass for $138.45 and you’ll have both theme park admissions and water park admissions and still pay less than the price of a Platinum Plus pass.

Do you wish to have the opportunity to drop into a theme park on your arrival day
for an hour or so without having to worry about burning a whole day from your ticket? Or maybe go into
a park on the morning that you are leaving for home just to soak up some “streetmosphere” to hold you
over until next trip? Then one of the annual passes may be right for you.

Free downloads of PhotoPass photos are now a benefit on the Gold and both Platinum passes. If you’re the kind of person that wants lots and lots of photos of your visit, this can save you a lot of money thus making the annual pass a much better bargain

On the other side of the coin, are you more likely to visit the Disney parks for
only 1 or 2 days on any one trip and do other off site entertainment other days? Or maybe you’re not
the “commando tourist” type and prefer to take a day or two off from the parks during your trip. If
these are more what you prefer on each trip, you will probably find that an annual pass isn’t right for you. You would be a candidate for regular multi-day theme park tickets.

You must also consider what you would get when you purchase a theme park ticket. A new Platinum annual pass with no blockout dates
runs $1,191.74 including tax. You can get a Theme Park 7 day ticket with Park Hopper Plus extras for under $600. That means you would get 7 days in the theme parks with park hopping ability as well as 7 Plus visits (which the Platinum annual pass doesn’t have) for at least $500 less than the Platinum annual pass. If your trip(s) will include about 10 days total in the theme parks, you may well want to consider the base 10 day ticket around $500. But if you plan on more than 10 days over multiple visits within the year, then an annual pass may work better than regular Theme Park tickets that will expire 14 days after first use on each trip.

If you want a ticket that has everything and you’re planning on multiple visits during a 12 month period, the Platinum Plus annual pass ($1058.61) which will expire in one year, gives you unlimited theme park admissions as well as unlimited admissions to the water parks, Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course and Wide World of Sports.

And keep in mind that all Disney World annual passes can be renewed at about a 15% savings over the price of a brand new pass. That too will increase your savings in year two.

Ski season passes are worth it if you ski enough days to break even. The more days you ski, the cheaper it is. Also, passes have other benefits such as free days and discounts at partner resorts, making it cheaper to ski.

But how many days do you have to ski to make a season pass worth it?

How to Calculate if a Ski Season Pass is Worth It?

Divide the price of the season pass by the number of days you ski in a year. This is how much it costs per day to ski with a season pass. If it’s less than the price of a day ticket, the pass is a better value. 

If you want to calculate the break-even value, start with five days and run the equation. Increase the number of days until the price is just lower than a day ticket. This is your break-even number. If you ski that many days the pass is worth it.

Love skiing? Learn about the six types of skis.

What Does a Ski Season Pass Include?

Season passes included unlimited access to a specific ski resort or group of ski resorts. They can also include discounts on food, buddy passes, and free tickets to partner resorts.

Now onto the important question.

Which Season Pass Should You Buy?

There are two types of season passes you can choose from. A local pass or a mega pass.

A Local Pass

A local pass is a season pass to your home mountain. This is how season passes first began, an unlimited lift ticket to your local hill. Local passes are great if you love skiing one mountain. They are also a great way to support your local mountain because they get all of the profit.

If you have a family, check to see if your local mountain offers pass bundles. Typical resorts offer adult passes paired with a children’s pass at a reduced cost. This is a great way to get the family into skiing. 

Nowadays, local passes will have some benefits to compete with mega passes. Such as discounted food, discounted buddy tickets, plus discounted and free tickets to some sibling mountains. Most ski resorts are part of either the Mountain Collective or Powder Alliance, so check those websites to see what benefits you’ll receive.

However, the benefits can be limited, and you have to ski the majority of your season at that one mountain.

A Mega Pass

The other option is a mega pass. These include the Ikon, Epic, and Mountain Collective passes. 

These pass options are relatively new. For one price, these passes offer a number of days at resorts all across the US and the World. Some of them also include unlimited skiing and riding at select mountains. 

These passes have exploded in popularity in the last few years. They offer tremendous value and flexibility for tourists and locals alike. It’s tough to beat a reasonably priced season pass that gives you access to 25+ ski resorts.

On the other hand, ski communities are seeing the negative consequences of these mega passes. Ski resorts are more crowded than ever, and travel traffic is at an all-time high.

When Do Ski Season Passes Go on Sale?

Ski season passes go on sale in the late spring and early summer. They are on sale all the way up until the ski season starts. However, the earlier you buy the pass, the cheaper it is. Ski resorts raise the price as winter gets closer.

If You’re Serious About Skiing, Get a Pass

If you love skiing, I recommend you get a season pass. Season passes are the best value, and they make skiing a lot more affordable. You just have to get over the initial sticker shock of the price.

I hope you found this information useful. If you have any questions, please leave a comment or shoot me an email!

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