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

[Sytrace]

My problem with the price increase is as follows.
1. We are a family of 4 who have had Annual passes for the last 4 years and always enjoyed a nice renewal rate that gave us the illusion of actually getting value for our dollar. The passes have no blackout dates,include parking, magic bands and discounts on hotels, shops and some restaraunts. Last year we paid $459.00 pp. (this was the renewal rate offered to us according to the CM at GS today)
As of today, with a nice little email I read while at HS enjoying a nice lunch with my family ($50.00 plus tax for 4 people at Rosies... so it is darn good that they made some kind of profit off of us today ) that same AP is considered a Platnium for OUR renewal rate of $ 589.96 per person. Same exact pass with no blackout dates, free parking, magic bands etc. Same exact pass, but now with PP, which I don't want and don't use. I am sure this is a good thing for some people but not our family.
So instead of paying $1836.00 for our family of four to have the "benefit" of being able to go to Disney whenever we feel like it and park for "free" and use our pretty little Magic bands, NOW we will pay $2359.84 for that same exact pass. The difference is 523.84 /4 which is 130.96. Yes, I am a little angry and extremely annoyed. But mainly I am disappointed that clearly the folks at Disney place no worth on loyalty. Why this surprises me I am not sure as the business world is like this. I guess I mistakenly thought better of Disney.

2. Since we as a family would all like to go to Disney together, and my kids don't drive yet ( 12 and 14) as well as going to Disney on homeschool field trips and participating in educational tours and fun days with homeschool groups, downgrading to the Gold pass with blackout dates won't work for us. The downgrade to the Gold pass would be $496.90. (renewal rate)
But if we did downgrade we would ONLY be paying $372.00 MORE ($93 pp)for LESS product than we had yesterday. Defintely a bargain!

3. Only ONE person in our family of 4 would need to have PP and the other 3 wouldn't. So why should I have to pay the full amount for all 4 of us? As far as I know the options are not there to opt out of PP for any member of the party and certainly not for all.

The value is not there for us anymore, which makes the pass garbage for myself and my family. Hopefully, this will clarify the garbage comment noted earlier.

 

[crostorfer]

I too would be willing to make that trade off but I suspect Disney is more interested in the infrequent travelers - the ones who go once or every 5 years who always buy the souvenirs, who eat every meal on property, who try to cram in (i.e. spend a lot) as much as they can. DVC owners and AP holders I suspect are much less profitable in terms of spending once they get on property. The TiW and AP price hike are directed at frequent visitors, I think, and that can be seen in the Gold blackout dates as crowd control measures.

DING DING DING!!!!! We have a winner, folks! I've been saying this for years. I feel like it became glaringly obvious when MM+ rolled out, WDW does not care about its local annual passholders. They get the short end of the stick. And DVC "owners", they don't need you either. They've already got your money, locked and guarenteed, whether you renew your pass or not. They have your money, regardless of if you ever set foot on property again.

 

[karrit2000]

I honestly do not understand the reaction here at the Dis. Even knowing how negative some people are here about everything Disney does I'm shocked. Passes for us are up a whopping $80 and change. Sorry I do not feel that is excessive at all

While you may not think an $80 increase is excessive this is actually the second price increase this year. I'm newly retired so I am now on a fixed income. I just renewed my DVC AP last month and now no one seems to be able to confirm exactly what AP I'll be getting when I pick up my actual AP next month. One source says there is no change to my pass at all. Another says if I want the photo pass that is included with the new passes I have to pay $20+ for the Gold Pass with Blackout dates on top of my renewal. If I want to have no blackout dates & the photo pass now I have to pay $100 to upgrade my renewal to a Platinum Pass. Someone else comes in with a voucher for an AP renewal they get the Platinum Pass because it wasn't a DVC AP?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

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...?

Passes that were already active prior to the changeover - meaning they weren't certificates - will retain their previous benefits and terms.

Passes that are activated after the changeover - even if they were certificates purchased prior to it - will be part of the new system.

So, what you were told and what you read is correct. But it applies only to passes that were already active prior to 10/4.

 

[LvsTnk]

Passes that were already active prior to the changeover - meaning they weren't certificates - will retain their previous benefits and terms.

Passes that are activated after the changeover - even if they were certificates purchased prior to it - will be part of the new system.

So, what you were told and what you read is correct. But it applies only to passes that were already active prior to 10/4.

So at this point has it been clarified what the renewal DVC AP will be activated into as the crossover AP when we arrive at the park.

Thank you so much for all the information you have given so far.

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

While you may not think an $80 increase is excessive this is actually the second price increase this year. I'm newly retired so I am now on a fixed income. I just renewed my DVC AP last month and now no one seems to be able to confirm exactly what AP I'll be getting when I pick up my actual AP next month. One source says there is no change to my pass at all. Another says if I want the photo pass that is included with the new passes I have to pay $20+ for the Gold Pass with Blackout dates on top of my renewal. If I want to have no blackout dates & the photo pass now I have to pay $100 to upgrade my renewal to a Platinum Pass. Someone else comes in with a voucher for an AP renewal they get the Platinum Pass because it wasn't a DVC AP?

DVC has nothing to do with how certificates are handled. A DVC certificate is processed exactly the same way as a non-DVC certificate (with the exception of associating the DVC number to the transaction). The difference is between non-renewals and renewals. A non-renewal certificate is simply activated by the computer, and the computer turns it into a current pass type. A renewal certificate is just money in the form of a certificate, the computer can't turn it into anything. Why, I have no idea.

Anyway - what pass you will have for the next year hinges on whether or not your renewal is 'live' or you have a renewal certificate. If your renewal is live you will have whatever pass you paid for when you renewed, because it was active before the changeover. If you renewed through Disney's website directly, and you don't have a little green card that came in the mail, you probably have a live renewal.

If you have a renewal certificate, it will be applied to your renewal to give you a pass on the new 'tier' system - if your renewal cert is for an Annual, you should be getting a Platinum, and you should not have to pay the difference. If you got a little green card in the mail, or through AAA, or somewhere else, that's a certificate.

I'm off to work right now, so if I find out any new information, I'll report back this afternoon.

 

[LvsTnk]

That is really interesting. I guess where I got confused is to renew the DVC AP you have to call member services and do it over the phone then they give you a confirmation # and send you an email that says it's attached to your MDE. But the email does say renewal certificate just no green card.

Thank you again.

 

[fla4fun]

I honestly do not understand the reaction here at the Dis. Even knowing how negative some people are here about everything Disney does I'm shocked. Passes for us are up a whopping $80 and change. Sorry I do not feel that is excessive at all

Personally, I think a big part of it is the total surprise of the whole thing. We have grown used to finding out on a Friday evening that ticket prices were going up on Sunday, and so people could make a decision (granted, still a quick decision) whether to purchase prior to the increase. That option was taken away. So there are quite a few people who either could have renewed if they had known, but for whatever reason didn't, and people who were thinking of making an AP purchase, but hadn't for whatever reason. I was very lucky that I renewed the day before the increase because it just happened to work out that way - I hit my 60 days FP+ day and needed the renewed pass to book them. Otherwise, I would be very upset as well. Looking at the renewal rates, the increase is pretty much where I expected my pass price to be for NEXT year. I just would have been very unhappy to have to absorb two price increases when I hadn't budgeted for it. I run a realistic, but pretty lean, budget. So having something cost $100 more than I thought it would means I have to find another area of the budget to cut that $100 from. Multiply that by very many family members, and some people are taking quite a hit.

I also think the Photopass "perk" hit a nerve because there are a lot of people who don't use it. I haven't seen anyone complaining about getting the parking as a new perk on the lower tier passes, because that is a benefit that most people will make use of (and for some, it may even justify the increase in price).

I think this may make the package deals more appealing to some people who used to buy annual passes . . . . .

 

[mieuxmew]

Thank you for providing us with answers, Ravenclawtrekkie! Your posts are greatly appreciated!

In my opinion, most here are upset and a bit shocked that Disney completely changed all the annual pass products adding a combination of photos, parking and black out dates along with the significant price increases. No warning was given ahead of time, so this has taken many people aback trying to understand what all this means.

Disney has always been known for great customer service. I am hoping Disney gives some latitude to current AP holders who are currently in the renewal window (60 days before/30 days after). Disney should honor the previous renewal price (or at least something) to those folks in the renewal window. Also, Disney should upgrade all renewal passes free of charge that have been paid for and not yet started (whether active on line or voucher). Hopefully, Disney has some work around for these AP holders.

Just my 2 cents.

 

[Disneylover99]

Yep. Have to agree with fla4fun and mieuxmew.
The price hike that was sprung on everyone overnight was just plain sneaky.

 

[JohndeV]

Passes that were already active prior to the changeover - meaning they weren't certificates - will retain their previous benefits and terms.

Passes that are activated after the changeover - even if they were certificates purchased prior to it - will be part of the new system.

So, what you were told and what you read is correct. But it applies only to passes that were already active prior to 10/4.

The term certificate confuses me. I ordered my AP online in January. My AP will be activated Oct 24th. Does this mean my AP will be part of the new system thus will include Photopass?

 

[ravenclawtrekkie]

The term certificate confuses me. I ordered my AP online in January. My AP will be activated Oct 24th. Does this mean my AP will be part of the new system thus will include Photopass?

If your pass is not a renewal, yes. The computer will turn it into a 'new' pass type when it is activated.

That is really interesting. I guess where I got confused is to renew the DVC AP you have to call member services and do it over the phone then they give you a confirmation # and send you an email that says it's attached to your MDE. But the email does say renewal certificate just no green card.

Thank you again.

Thanks for that info, I've never had DVC and didn't know that you can't renew those passes on the website. I know I've had live DVC renewals come to my window, but I've also had people with DVC renewal certificates in the past, so I wonder what the procedural difference is on DVC's end.

Apologies for any formatting errors, I'm on my phone now.

 

[JenniferinFL]

I'm not surprised. The parks are packed full despite repeated price hikes over the last few years. There is no off season, at least, not if your hitting the park on the weekend. Now that the lower tiers of passes include parking, it will be more incentive to bump over to one of those with blackout dates. The whole reason we ended up with our current pass is because it made sense with parking.

 

[pangyal]

Passes that were already active prior to the changeover - meaning they weren't certificates - will retain their previous benefits and terms.

Passes that are activated after the changeover - even if they were certificates purchased prior to it - will be part of the new system.

So, what you were told and what you read is correct. But it applies only to passes that were already active prior to 10/4.

Thank you ever so much again for clarifying this! I was specifically told by the supervisor that our purchased but unactivated passes would not be converted, but I trust more what is actually happening!

So, if I purchased three DVC new (non renewal) annual passes on October 3 and one non-DVC new, non renewal annual pass on October 3, all online, all of those will be converted to Platinum when we arrive at the gates in December? And we will have PP on all of those passes for the duration of the year?

Can we downgrade them to Gold after a year and pay the $449 renewal price for Gold, and what are the chances they will refund my Memory Maker that I've already purchased if I call today and ask nicely? Is there a precedent for this?

I feel like you are really helping to lift the fog on this situation for many of us, it is so appreciated!

 

[PeasandCarrots]

For us as out of state APs (non DVC) who also bought memory maker at least once a year and we're a family of two this increase really only costs us $30 a year more total ($200 increase - $169 for memory maker). However, for almost anyone else I can see why they would not be happy about these changes. For me I'm happy to get photopass pictures from all trips instead of just one trip per year. That's worth the $30 difference.

 

[BuckeyeBama]

Dodged another bullet by renewing our APs is Sept. We generally only get APs every other year, and we do so based on the math. So we will do the math again in 2 years and see if they work for us then. We will not factor in the photopass benefit as we so infrequently get Memory Maker. For us, this is simply a ticket price increase.

 

[JohndeV]

If your pass is not a renewal, yes. The computer will turn it into a 'new' pass type when it is activated.

That's cool! Thanks for clarifying.

 

[Madteaparty001]

Memory Maker is a product that provides an entitlement for the download of Photopass pictures.

The Platinum Plus, Platinum, and Gold passes are also products that provide an entitlement for the download of Photopass pictures.

Yes, the passes with a photo entitlement do provide attraction and dining photos.

But does the PP include stock photos?

 

[hamilkm]

I renewed today as well first thing this morning at AK. They told me I was the first person to do so as well there. It was only $86 for me to upgrade, curious as to why it cost you a little more? Also, like you we've been taking pics all day. Have you tried to download them yet?? We have and it's still trying to charge us. Was told it will be until tomorrow before the system recognized the changes. Really interested in your experience with this. Thank you!

I'm not sure about the price. They acted like it would be different for everyone depending on how long you had left on your pass but who knows if that is right! I was able to download pictures immediately with no problems.

 

[jlwhitney]

I'm honestly surprised they included any added benefits. I was expecting just a price increase with nothing added.

As for the 5 year increase, could it be they were quite underpriced 5 years ago? Was that something of a price correction?

I am also surprised they added anything, especially free park to the lowest fl resident pass (silver).

I think you hit it with it being under priced. DH and I started going in 2008 when they were in the crazy deep discounting. Buying 4 nights getting 3 nights free on full packages and so on. They had to discount like crazy to fill the rooms and get people in the parks. Merchandise started to stink since there was zero choices. Parks were not that crowded. The economy was yucky and many were still recovering from 9/11 and fear of traveling. Now at 2015 things are going up and attendance is high they can fill rooms and restaurants with smaller discounts. Disney had to dig themselves out of their discount model. They are a high end vacation destination not a cheap local theme park. And the best part of all this is they are finally building lots of new things, very exciting to see things on the rise.