Fast Disney Facts: Using Your Annual Pass to Book Room Discounts.

As you probably know, one perk of being an annual pass holder is the ability to get room discounts. These often range as high as 30% off at value resorts to 45% off at deluxe villas. These rates historically came out prior to general public room discounts, but this isn't always the case; sometimes they come out after.

Some people wait on the availability of room discounts before they decide to purchase their AP.  This is a smart thing to do if you'll be close to the number of park days you'll need to break even for the pass; remember, you'll need about ten days in the parks or two shorter trips to break even on your pass.  This way, you can factor in your number of estimated park days plus your discount to determine if you'll save money.  When AP discounts for your travel dates come out, call Disney or your travel agent and have them check on room availability with the discount.  You don't need an AP to do this or even a voucher, but unfortunately, you can't do this online.  Just explain to the cast member that you plan to purchase an AP prior to check-in.

If you book under an AP rate and don't have one or a voucher at check-in, you'll pay full rack rate for the room, but you don't need to have activated your AP at this point. The voucher that you buy online or from the Disney store is good enough. I recently checked in at midnight using an AP discount based on the voucher I'd purchased earlier in the day at the Disney store back home. Since the parks were already closed, it was impossible for me to activate the pass, but since I had he voucher it was no problem.