Annual pass changes coming........

[andyman8]

FWIW, I think these new prices are beyond absurd. This is the first time I've seen an AP price increase that has actually made me consider not renewing my pass. I rarely use MM and PhotoPass, and that is the case with most AP holders. Disney knows this, so they use this as a means of justification for a major price increase. As a standard FL Resident AP holder, I basically have to "upgrade" next year to keep no blackout dates for $90. And that's not the most absurd price. For a DLR AP without blockouts, you're talking over $1,000! I'm sorry, no thank you.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

I was planning to upgrade my park tickets to annual passes when I visit in December. Does anyone know if I'll still be able to do this? The chat CM I spoke with had no idea. I'm also wondering--we already paid for PhotoPass when we booked our tickets. Now that it's bundled in with the tickets, are they going to also apply the cost of the PhotoPass to the annual pass fee? We always pay for PhotoPass, so the change actually works in our favor--but only if they either let us cancel this one or apply it to the cost of the platinum passes.

Upgrading your tickets to passes is still do-able. Applying the cost of Memory Maker towards the upgrade is not. I've heard rumors that Guest Relations has been refunding Memory Maker purchases for people who get a pass with a photo entitlement, but I can't guarantee that and my knowledge of it is secondhand.

 

[nancyjo1998]

Anyone with an entitlement to download photos can download the photos belonging to anyone with whom they are "Family And Friends."



Guest Relations or any ticket booth can do the upgrade. The photo download entitlement is active immediately.

Thanks so much! I have only one more question (hopefully)! If I did the math correctly it will be cheaper for me to do the upgrade of my AP then buy MM separately. I'm coming up with about a 100 difference between the two AP's, where it would cost 169 to purchase MM. Does this sound right?

Thanks again for all your help!

 

[khertz]

Anyone with an entitlement to download photos can download the photos belonging to anyone with whom they are "Family And Friends."

Thanks so much!!

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

Thanks so much! I have only one more question (hopefully)! If I did the math correctly it will be cheaper for me to do the upgrade of my AP then buy MM separately. I'm coming up with about a 100 difference between the two AP's, where it would cost 169 to purchase MM. Does this sound right?

Sounds right to me. The price difference between an 'old' Annual and a 'new' Platinum is about $95, if I remember correctly.

 

[nancyjo1998]

Sounds right to me. The price difference between an 'old' Annual and a 'new' Platinum is about $95, if I remember correctly.

Awesome! Thanks!

 

[dkrauss]

We are done.
We will not be renewing our FL resident AP for the first time in 4 years. To do so would involve us paying $589.90 per person (this is the renewal rate on what would now be the Platinum pass) when last year we paid a renewal rate of 459.00 per person for the same pass.

I have no interest in Photo pass and find it ridiculous and insulting when I asked a GS CM at HS why I would pay more to have the same pass as I have held for 4 years at a higher rate. She told me that Photo pass would make up the difference. Well, that is great if you actually WANT and USE PP.

I have no doubt that Disney has arranged a loss margin in the P&L statement set aside for AP who won't be renewing.And I am quite sure that all the new passholders they get who will not blink an eye to purchase this piece of garbage pass will offset those of us who won't .

Very disappointed in this but thankfully there are other nearby theme parks who are not screwing over their guests (yet)

First off I mean no disrespect with this post to the person who posted the response I've quoted, I'm just trying to understand something. I guess I'm one of the "new" passholders who'll be purchasing the "piece of garbage pass". Since I've never had an AP before, I'm trying to understand why this pass (I'm not a FL resident so I'll have the regular AP when we do finally purchase) I'm looking to purchase is "garbage"? I've had to make a slight adjustment to the savings I have to make our purchase but its a small adjustment...........any price increase stinks but I anticipated this (not at this time.......). Disney is always raising prices........don't they?

For my wife and I we see an AP as an opportunity for some advantages that will allow us to visit more than once a year. To get discounts we aren't eligible for now. What about that is bad? Just curious................

Doug

 

[Planogirl]

I see occasional mention that all types of tickets might go up. Any rumors as to regular tickets somewhere?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

First off I mean no disrespect with this post to the person who posted the response I've quoted, I'm just trying to understand something. I guess I'm one of the "new" passholders who'll be purchasing the "piece of garbage pass". Since I've never had an AP before, I'm trying to understand why this pass (I'm not a FL resident so I'll have the regular AP when we do finally purchase) I'm looking to purchase is "garbage"? I've had to make a slight adjustment to the savings I have to make our purchase but its a small adjustment...........any price increase stinks but I anticipated this (not at this time.......). Disney is always raising prices........don't they?

For my wife and I we see an AP as an opportunity for some advantages that will allow us to visit more than once a year. To get discounts we aren't eligible for now. What about that is bad? Just curious................

Doug

Because the price increase was so large, and they used Photopass and free parking as a way to justify it. If you're happy paying more than you would have paid yesterday to go to the parks for a year, then good for you.

 

[tinkerhon]

Because the price increase was so large, and they used Photopass and free parking as a way to justify it. If you're happy paying more than you would have paid yesterday to go to the parks for a year, then good for you.

$86 more to renew our AP when we never use PP and/or use a car ---- those should have been optional "perks" with a fee charged for accepting if the buyer chose to --- the way they are going about this increase is so wrong on a number of levels.

 

[dkrauss]

I see occasional mention that all types of tickets might go up. Any rumors as to regular tickets somewhere?

Doesn't this usually happen in the early spring?

 

[dkrauss]

Because the price increase was so large, and they used Photopass and free parking as a way to justify it. If you're happy paying more than you would have paid yesterday to go to the parks for a year, then good for you.

Never done it before so........I have no perspective of paying more.

Doug

 

[Planogirl]

Doesn't this usually happen in the early spring?

Some people have said that it could be soon. I'm not sure what they mean by that.

 

[kataEbi]

Popping back in after getting this news.

Can't say I'm too bothered by it. As with tinerhon above, I'm never a car or PP user, but the value is still there. Especially if you're considering a long or multiple trips. Even at a bump of ~$80, that's still less than a regular day ticket. I'm sure there's some data that Disney has showing that AP users definitely average way more than the ~10 days of use they're priced at.

As busy as they've been around holidays and the like, I might even be a bit thankful that they didn't go up any higher than they did.
Just my two cents, of course.

 

[Slapshot1188]

We are done.
We will not be renewing our FL resident AP for the first time in 4 years. To do so would involve us paying $589.90 per person (this is the renewal rate on what would now be the Platinum pass) when last year we paid a renewal rate of 459.00 per person for the same pass.

I have no interest in Photo pass and find it ridiculous and insulting when I asked a GS CM at HS why I would pay more to have the same pass as I have held for 4 years at a higher rate. She told me that Photo pass would make up the difference. Well, that is great if you actually WANT and USE PP.

I have no doubt that Disney has arranged a loss margin in the P&L statement set aside for AP who won't be renewing.And I am quite sure that all the new passholders they get who will not blink an eye to purchase this piece of garbage pass will offset those of us who won't .

Very disappointed in this but thankfully there are other nearby theme parks who are not screwing over their guests (yet)

Totally agree. After 2 years of exploring the other parks we went back to Disney this summer. We paid quite a bit more than we had 2 years ago for our APs. We also just didn't find all that much new to do. Disney is GREAT and it is a wonderful place to be, but with crowds so high I suppose that corporate Disney just figures it's free money to raise the prices so much over the past few years.

In August 2010 the price of an AP was $499. Now 5 years later it's $750 (source is allears). That is a 50% increase in 5 years!! WOW!!!

This is honestly it for us. Our kids are older now and the other parts have greater appeal than they did a few years back. When our passes expire in August we will not renew. We can get passes for SeaWorld, Aquatica AND Universal for only around $500. For a family of 5 that is a savings of $1250! Staying onsite in US also give you unlimited front of the line access. No need to plan months in advance on which 3 rides per day we really want to ride...

If we want to come back and see Star Wars Land in 2018 (really.. 3 years?) we can always buy a package for a few days.

For younger families, sure.. there is NOTHING like Disney, but once you start to get into the tweens and teens I thin Disney is pricing themselves right into Universal's hands.

 

[rfc0001]

Thanks so much! I have only one more question (hopefully)! If I did the math correctly it will be cheaper for me to do the upgrade of my AP then buy MM separately. I'm coming up with about a 100 difference between the two AP's, where it would cost 169 to purchase MM. Does this sound right?

Thanks again for all your help!

Difference in price between non-Florida Resident/DVC Member AP is $95pp ($81pp renewal) + tax. Assuming you are upgrading two renewals, it would be $172 to upgrade, not $100. See:

Here is my Comparison Chart of old/new WDW Passes Prices/Benefits I posted on other forums last night (DIS was down):

(click for online spreadsheet, incl. After-Tax rates)​

Sources:
https://disneyvacationclub.disney.go.com/discounts-perks-offers/ticket-tour/walt-disney-world-pass/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/florida-residents/passholder-program/
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/m...enefits/WDW-AnnualPass-Blockout-Calendars.pdf
https://shop.omniticket.com/wdw/renewal/index.cfm

First off I mean no disrespect with this post to the person who posted the response I've quoted, I'm just trying to understand something. I guess I'm one of the "new" passholders who'll be purchasing the "piece of garbage pass". Since I've never had an AP before, I'm trying to understand why this pass (I'm not a FL resident so I'll have the regular AP when we do finally purchase) I'm looking to purchase is "garbage"? I've had to make a slight adjustment to the savings I have to make our purchase but its a small adjustment...........any price increase stinks but I anticipated this (not at this time.......). Disney is always raising prices........don't they?

For my wife and I we see an AP as an opportunity for some advantages that will allow us to visit more than once a year. To get discounts we aren't eligible for now. What about that is bad? Just curious................

Doug

It's all a matter of perspective. The APs still offer a lot value (as does TIW) in the right scenarios. There are always people complaining of change, but I think Disney truly wants to cause people to change behavior with this change -- opting for Gold over Platinum to keep the parks less crowded in peak seasons. E.g. if our existing AP voucher been mapped to a Gold AP, we would have been forced to cancel our December trip since Gold has a blackout of December, when our trip is. No way I'm going to pony up $400 on top of the price increase I already paid (renewed week after last price increase this year) just for one trip. Disney is definitely trying to thin the herd, and it seems to be working.

 

[jlwhitney]

$86 more to renew our AP when we never use PP and/or use a car ---- those should have been optional "perks" with a fee charged for accepting if the buyer chose to --- the way they are going about this increase is so wrong on a number of levels.

Guess what not every benefit of something is going to fit someone perfectly. There are many that use photo pass and are excited for the addition. Prices go up every year, pretty expected. Prices everywhere in the tourism/entertainment area, not just at Disney go up too. At least they didn't take anything away this time.

 

[pangyal]

If you bought NON-RENEWAL certificates for standard Annual passes, you'll get Platinum passes when those certificates are 'activated' by the computer.



Yes, standard Annual certificates are being activated to Platinum passes.



I sent a couple of texts to people who are still at work, and the answer I got back was that renewal certificates are being applied to the renewal of an equivalent pass (seasonal = silver, annual = platinum, premium = platinum plus) and the price difference is being 'vouchered off' meaning the guest pays nothing additional. This makes sense to me since it's how we handle other renewal certificates that are worth less than the actual renewal, like AAA discounted renewal certs.

Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to add your experiences !

Could you clarify something for me, though? A supervisor told me today that any annual passes bought or renewed before October 4th would retain their original benefits through their valid time frame; i.e., no photopass attached, no blackout dates. Once those passes were up for renewal, only at that point would a new pass be mandated, with its associated benefits and conditions.

A quick look at the T&C of the passes also indicates that all existing passes will continue with the same benefits as before, and upgrade time would be when the parameters would change.

Can I confirm that neither of these is actually true as per what Guest Services is being told to do, and all previously purchased annual passes in fact do not retain their original benefits and must be slotted into one of the new tiers?

Why would Disney add the photopass perk for free for previously purchased passes? It doesn't make sense to me...?

 

[tinkerhon]

Never done it before so........I have no perspective of paying more.

Doug

But Doug, wasn't the purpose of your original post trying to figure out why OTHERS were annoyed ?
( if not, I totally apologize)

The reason ( for most, I believe) that people are annoyed is like a PP explained --- the increase is pretty big, and the "extras" you are getting don't seem to be that great. In general, the prices of the annuals seem to be increasing at ridiculous levels --- I totally understand what you mean by having no perspective of paying more, but I would compare it with thinking that anything is overpriced.

 

[DisDadDVC]

What if the increase in prices led to a decrease in guests? Would customers be happy then? What if they doubled the price of the annual pass, but it reduced crowds 30%? I think I might be willing to make that trade-off....