Annual Passholder Celebration

[pelagoram]

We just received the announcement for the Annual Passholder Celebration to be held next month, for those whose passes are soon expiring. Looks interesting, though the description of the event on the invitation was rather vague, and the link on the the invitation actually brings up information about the past September event, rather than the upcoming November one.

Interested to hear any reviews of past events from those of you who have attended, and have a few specific questions. . .

How are crowds? Are these events usually pretty packed?

For past events, which attractions / rides have stayed open, and which have closed? Are all the restaurants generally open? Any special shows?

Any other tips / suggestions for making the most of the night?

Thanks-

P

 

[QueenBeeMB]

I went to the same type of event in Sept because my pass was up in Oct (I renewed)

It was in DCA, there were 5 character spots, all with extremely long (1+ hours) wait. The crowds were not horrible, but nothing was moving quickly. Some locations for food and drinks and stores were closed, some still opened.
Not all rides were operating but most were.
There were some special snack food offerings, screening of older mickey cartoons in the Muppet theater, and i think one street show style entertainment during the party.

We managed to do a little shopping (could have done at another time but hey we were there) some pin trading took picks with one of the characters (darkwing duck) and road tower of terror.

We took one walking lap around the park. We entered the park at exactly party start time ( i think 8 pm? ) but the sign in process and wristbanding outside the gates was a MESS not enough CMS to control the hoards of people the night we were there. all kinds of pushing and confusion.
We stayed for about 2.5 hours and left before it ended.

The party was nice, they don't have to do anything special like that for us and they did so we enjoyed it. But I wouldn't go with expectations of seeing all characters, riding all rides, and getting to participate in all special entertainment events etc. Pick a few things you want to enjoy and relax and enjoy them.

 

[pelagoram]

Right on - thanks for the info.

We are likely going to be in the park during the day that day. Does anyone know if we will have to exit the park and re-enter for this type of event? Can we pickup wristbands earlier in the day while inside the park to try to avoid the rush?

Thanks!

P

 

[QueenBeeMB]

We had to exit, sign in at cast members with i pads at the ticket booth area, get a wrist band and line up at the DCA turnstiles. All while DCA was being emptied for the party. It was a little hectic.

 

[CassieF]

You can pick up your wristband usually any time after 12:00 the day of and once you have your band you do not need to exit again. It works like the Halloweeen parties....once the regular hours are over you have to show your wristband for any rides or entertainment or to make your way through the park.

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

Did this invite come via mail or email? Our passes are expiring next month, but we haven't heard anything about this. What day(s) is this?

 

[CassieF]

It's probably for the passes expiring Dec through Feb, as they have been doing the parties before the expiration dates start.

 

[Vintage Mouseketeer]

Did this invite come via mail or email? Our passes are expiring next month, but we haven't heard anything about this. What day(s) is this?

Our passes expire in December and we received our invitation yesterday in the mail. So I am guessing you should receive yours by the end of this week. The date it is set for is Tuesday 11/18, 8PM-12AM.

I am excited since it is implying it will be Christmas themed.

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[Sherry E]

My AP expires in mid-November and my party (which I did not attend) was in September -- but not even during Halloween Time. It was at the very beginning of September. If it had been a party during Halloween or during the holidays, I would have been much more eager to go! The invitation -- which is a large postcard -- arrived via snail mail.

 

[Vintage Mouseketeer]

My AP expires in mid-November and my party (which I did not attend) was in September -- but not even during Halloween Time. It was at the very beginning of September. If it had been a party during Halloween or during the holidays, I would have been much more eager to go! The invitation -- which is a large postcard -- arrived via snail mail.

I am not sure if I will be attending to the party yet, but you're welcome to be one of my additional guest.

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[Hollyster2]

I have heard so little about this and am really curious! I wonder what the difference is as far as it being held in CA Adventure vs. Disneyland? I am hoping to get in on the registration

 

[DisneyJamieCA]

My AP expires in mid-November and my party (which I did not attend) was in September -- but not even during Halloween Time. It was at the very beginning of September. If it had been a party during Halloween or during the holidays, I would have been much more eager to go! The invitation -- which is a large postcard -- arrived via snail mail.

Ah! Mine expires the end of Nov and now that you mention this, we may have gotten the invite (or DD did anyway) to the Sept one. I just discarded it because I knew with an Oct & Nov trip already planned, there was no way we could swing Sept. as well. Oh well. The Nov one is the day before we get there.

 

[Sherry E]

I am not sure if I will be attending to the party yet, but you're welcome to be one of my additional guest.

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You're so sweet, Vintage Mousketeer! Thank you. That's really nice of you.

I am actually not yet sure if I will have an AP at the time of the party/celebration on 11/18. From what I recall seeing on the invitation I received for early September, the guests of the invitees all have to be Passholders too, correct? My current AP will have expired by the time of your party (it expires after 11/13 -- the first day of the Holiday season). I am currently in the process of trying to decide whether to renew it immediately (to take advantage of the nifty $60 discount), or let it lapse until December so I can get two December trips out of the one AP (this year and next year). Every year I face this decision and it never gets easier, but December is my favorite month to be in the parks so it makes more sense to get an extra December trip out of the deal!

 

[CassieF]

In the past, you have had to be a passholder to be registered as a guest, and it must be valid on the day of the party. You do not have to check in together, which is nice, just have a copy of the confirmation email.

 

[Viva Las Disney]

I got my invitation today also, my AP expires mid January.

I would love to go to this but will already be there all weekend for the Avengers half and am leaving on the 16th, terrible timing for those of us that have AP's due to the runDisney races and live out of state. If it were one night earlier I'd extend by a day but just can't justify 2 extra nights in a hotel, or away from work .

I'm already planning on renewing for next year, hopefully before another price increase, do I need anything for the renewal discount or do I just go to the ticket counter at the park?

 

[amylew]

I haven't received an invite yet. AP expires in December. We are actually going to be in the parks during the event, so I hope my invite comes soon!

 

[disneyobsessed808]

My pass expires in December. I hope I get an invite.

 

[ClosetDisneyJunkie]

Mine expires in late Feb and i got my invite yesterday via snail mail. Not sure if I'll be able to make this one. I plan to renew though so maybe next time.

 

[amylew]

Well, how 'bout that. Got my invite in the mail. I think I'll hope a check for a million dollars comes tomorrow. Anyone know if it's possible to add more to the reservation? We have a group of 10 and I'm the only one with an invite.

 

[Lain]

So DW and my Premium APs expire on November 25. We received an invitation for the AP event back in September but couldn't go. We haven't received an invitation (yet?) to the event on November 18.

I know the registration link is at disneyland.com/events

Is there anything stopping us from registering for this event even without a postcard invitation given that we'll have valid APs?