Annual Pass Sales

[KNovacovschi]

How do people feel about whether Disney will resume sales of the AP. I didn't renew mine when it expired at the end of 2019 because we were going to Paris in April 2020 and then not visiting WDW again until near the end of the year of 2020 so it didn't make sense to renew and then you know what hit. When they resumed sales last year I was going to purchase it but by the time I went to they stopped it again and I've visited the park twice in the last approx 7 months and will be visiting again a few more times this year and know it will just make sense financially for me to purchase it again. I'm just not sure if they will resume sales since they've recently stopped sales in DL. Just curious what others think.

 

[StoweFoSho]

I don't see them resuming AP sales at WDW until early next year. The recession could help speed that up, but other than that there's too much demand at WDW and not enough cast members or attractions.

 

[PalmettoPath]

I don't see them resuming AP sales at WDW until early next year. The recession could help speed that up, but other than that there's too much demand at WDW and not enough cast members or attractions.

Sadly, that's likely a fair assessment.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I wonder if the lawsuit against Disneyland for their Magic Keys has anything to do with it? I know they're different parks with a different annual pass system, but I wonder if Disney is holding off until that is resolved. I agree with the previous poster though.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

I believe they will but not anytime soon.

There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Disneyland lawsuit has any effect or if it will lead to a complete overhaul of the AP system in both parks (personal guess is it will lead to an overhaul at Disneyland. Maybe not WDW. with recession in the mix and a visit for most potential guests being an expensive proposition, things might swing back to the advantage of passholders at WDW.)

 

[lovethattink]

I moved this thread over to the Theme Parks Community Board since new annual passes aren’t being sold at this time, except the pixie pass.

My family wasn’t going to renew during the pandemic, but I’m glad we did. DS still has the Gold AP, expires Oct 1. And dh and I renewed switching to the Sorcerer’s pass.

We typically go once a week for a few hours at a time.

 

[KNovacovschi]

I moved this thread over to the Theme Parks Community Board since new annual passes aren’t being sold at this time, except the pixie pass.

My family wasn’t going to renew during the pandemic, but I’m glad we did. DS still has the Gold AP, expires Oct 1. And dh and I renewed switching to the Sorcerer’s pass.

We typically go once a week for a few hours at a time.

We are in Canada but go 2-3 times a year so financially it makes sense but I’m kicking myself for not just renewing but at the same time that’s a lot of money to have not used.

 

[Marionnette]

I believe they will but not anytime soon.

There is a lot of speculation as to whether or not the Disneyland lawsuit has any effect or if it will lead to a complete overhaul of the AP system in both parks (personal guess is it will lead to an overhaul at Disneyland. Maybe not WDW. with recession in the mix and a visit for most potential guests being an expensive proposition, things might swing back to the advantage of passholders at WDW.)

I think the lawsuit has teeth and will likely affect both DLR and WDW because the park reservation system is at the heart of the suit. You can't sell an annual pass with limited-to-no block out dates and then turn around and deny park access on non-block out dates while still allowing guests with single day and multi-day tickets to make theme park reservations because the AP bucket is sold out.

 

[MillauFr]

I think the lawsuit has teeth and will likely affect both DLR and WDW because the park reservation system is at the heart of the suit. You can't sell an annual pass with limited-to-no block out dates and then turn around and deny park access on non-block out dates while still allowing guests with single day and multi-day tickets to make theme park reservations because the AP bucket is sold out.

Why can't they as long as the restrictions are spelled out in the terms and conditions.

 

[Marionnette]

Why can't they as long as the restrictions are spelled out in the terms and conditions.

That's like saying "You have an annual pass with no block out dates* *unless we decide to block out some dates"

 

[MillauFr]

That's like saying "You have an annual pass with no block out dates* *unless we decide to block out some dates"

They problem is that they are not charging enough for the passes. It makes sense for us to buy one even if we are only taking 2 trips a year to Disneyland. They should just get rid of the annual passes for good and move to a points based model with dynamic pricing based off of demand.

 

[HopperFan]

I don't think it is a decision focused on the lawsuit. I mean block out dates is not the same as park reservations. You can have both. I do think it has given breath to the lawsuit but probably what is being tested more is the number of reservations being placed in the AP bucket vs the Day Ticket bucket. Those should be equal. Hotel reservations should have their own bucket. Honestly, the park system is not working in terms of guest satisfaction, standby lines, dining reservations etc. - kinda a failure. Parks were better run before so they have some round table work to do. Lawsuit may speed that up.

I think that sales won't reopen until after Tron opens and AP Previews have passed. They can never have enough previews for everyone, complaints blow up. Tron will be a huge demand, like GOTG. Right now parks are very busy, they just don't need the extra guests. I think the decision is based on capacity and fixing some of the problems they are having with Genie+, standby lines, restaurant capacity and bringing back some big capacity increasers like Nemo and Fantasmic. Baby steps.

I don't think they'll ever get rid of APs in Florida at least. There is the capacity there and UO is clipping on their heels for their money. Bottom line when things are tough AP provide the baseline of income. No we don't buy a daily ticket but we buy the upsells, the expensive drinks, the expensive meals etc over and over. Our in park budgets are less constrained.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

It's a good question and an interesting decision for Disney as a business. APs are very popular. The lawsuit is also interesting, just based on the very little I've read about it. On the one hand, people are saying you can't offer a pass for these days, and then not allow people with that pass into the park. On the other hand, those people had plenty of time (often months) to make a park reservation and chose not to, or didn't plan very well. So technically, Disney didn't really forbid them from making a park reservation. Park reservations absolutely eliminate any spontaneity in going to the parks - but it doesn't prohibit access to the parks with even a little planning. Like I said, 2 sides - heck, probably more than 2 sides. And I expect the legal experts will work that out, and then Disney will decide whether they want to continue with APs, and whether they want to (or are allowed to) continue with PRs. In my mind, the original intent of the PRs to control capacity while reopening during a pandemic has pretty well passed us by at this point.

 

[Marionnette]

On the one hand, people are saying you can't offer a pass for these days, and then not allow people with that pass into the park. On the other hand, those people had plenty of time (often months) to make a park reservation and chose not to, or didn't plan very well.

That's not the basis for the lawsuit. The complaint focuses on the fact that Disney had park reservation availability but chose to offer it to guests with theme park tickets while excluding passholders. APs went on sale at DLR on August 25, 2021 and quickly sold out of the Dream and Believe Keys.

DLR AP holders were limited to a total 6 park reservations (or fewer) at any given time yet by early November all park reservations for passholders had been spoken for until early January, leaving some passholders without the ability to visit the parks for 2 months unless they purchased a theme park ticket. The lawsuit alleges that Disney did not disclose that they would be throttling passholder activity (my choice of words) in favor of a more-profitable guest who purchases regular theme park tickets.

Shortly after the lawsuit was filed, Disney halted the sale of all annual passes at both domestic resorts with the exception of the most restrictive passes (Imagine Key at DLR and Pixie Pass at WDW). As of today, even the Imagine Key cannot be purchased. Current passholders are being told that they will be able to renew but with an expiration date no sooner than Aug. 25, 2022, Disney could change/eliminate the DLR passholder program before anyone gets a chance to renew (DLR terminated all pre-COVID APs, so there are no legacy APs that pre-date August 25, 2021).

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Today is July 9th and the 60 day renewal window opens for the character passes that we’re first sold on September 8, 2021. If anybody renews please let us know if you see anything new or modified about the renewal process or the terms and conditions of the renewed pass. Thank you.

Isn't today 61 days?

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

31 days in July and August causes some issues. Today, 60-day ADRs are 9/7. Seems like it would be the same for anything 60 days out for Disney.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

.