Are AP blackout dates ever added within a current year?

[DavidNYC]

Title is pretty much my question . . .

Heading back as usual in early November during a potential Star Wars opening period. May get APs but want to make sure that at this point there won't be changes to already listed blackout dates (or least that there's no history with Disney adding black out dates this close in).

(I'd suspect once announced they're solid and if anything some blackouts may be lifted prior to opening but want to make sure).

 

[yulilin3]

I don't think it has ever happened.
Once you buy an AP you sign a contract with WDW where you agree to pay xxx amount of money and they agree to let you into the parks for xxx amount of days.
As of today the blackout dates are through Dec 2019 no real change/addition to the blackout dates for Gold (which is what I have) my renewal date is May and I'm expecting to keep the same Gold pass

 

[DavidNYC]

I don't think it has ever happened.
Once you buy an AP you sign a contract with WDW where you agree to pay xxx amount of money and they agree to let you into the parks for xxx amount of days.
As of today the blackout dates are through Dec 2019 no real change/addition to the blackout dates for Gold (which is what I have) my renewal date is May and I'm expecting to keep the same Gold pass

That was my instinct but that little notice on the bottom of the page that says "All information, including, without limitation, blockout dates and times of operation are subject to change without notice" gave me a little pause. I think there'd be a huge backlash if they did it but wanted to make sure there was no history of them doing that around major expansion openings.

 

[AngiTN]

Has a pass with zero blackout dates had them added? No. And they can't, even with the above wording because adding block out dates isn't changing them. The Premier Pass says NO blackout dates, and it will remain that until they change the pass and you have to change to it at renewal
Has a pass with some blackout dates had them changed (either reduced or added to)? Yes in DL. And I would not be surprised to see that happen
They've actually done the opposite in WDW where they removed blackouts early

 

[yulilin3]

Has a pass with zero blackout dates had them added? No. And they can't, even with the above wording because adding block out dates isn't changing them. The Premier Pass says NO blackout dates, and it will remain that until they change the pass and you have to change to it at renewal
Has a pass with some blackout dates had them changed (either reduced or added to)? Yes in DL. And I would not be surprised to see that happen
They've actually done the opposite in WDW where they removed blackouts early

I'm not familiar with the DL pass, so they added more days to the blackout dates? that's insane. I understand moving them around but keeping the same number of days that are blacked out but adding more? I would ask for a refund on those added days that I wouldn't be able to go into the parks.
I'm surprised that they didn't change Gold's b/o dates here, I as expecting them to be extended to the beginning of Dec.
maybe they are confident that SWGE won't open until January?

 

[dina444444]

Has a pass with zero blackout dates had them added? No. And they can't, even with the above wording because adding block out dates isn't changing them. The Premier Pass says NO blackout dates, and it will remain that until they change the pass and you have to change to it at renewal
Has a pass with some blackout dates had them changed (either reduced or added to)? Yes in DL. And I would not be surprised to see that happen
They've actually done the opposite in WDW where they removed blackouts early

They have yet to add blockout dates to a DL pass after publishing the dates, but some passes as the calendar has been released have had more blackouts added then they had in prior years. I think for DL there was one exception on the deluxe pass like 3 years ago where they blocked out a day in July but then gave back thanksgiving day.

 

[AngiTN]

They have yet to add blockout dates to a DL pass after publishing the dates, but some passes as the calendar has been released have had more blackouts added then they had in prior years. I think for DL there was one exception on the deluxe pass like 3 years ago where they blocked out a day in July but then gave back thanksgiving day.

Semantics I guess. To me, that's 6 of one and half dozen of the other. Published dates don't always go full length of a pass. The bottom line was, the dates were added after someone bought the pass. They were not able to make a determination of what worked for them before buying, changes were made after they bought.

 

[dina444444]

Semantics I guess. To me, that's 6 of one and half dozen of the other. Published dates don't always go full length of a pass. The bottom line was, the dates were added after someone bought the pass. They were not able to make a determination of what worked for them before buying, changes were made after they bought.

They go the full length if it were to be activated this month, but I get the Sig Plus or premier depending on if I have wdw trips and prior to that the premium pass so I don’t have to worry about blockout dates. Oh to remember the days of not too too long ago when an ap with only a handful of blockout dates cost less than a one day one park peak ticket.

 

[wfjny]

Has a pass with zero blackout dates had them added? No. And they can't, even with the above wording because adding block out dates isn't changing them. The Premier Pass says NO blackout dates, and it will remain that until they change the pass and you have to change to it at renewal
Has a pass with some blackout dates had them changed (either reduced or added to)? Yes in DL. And I would not be surprised to see that happen
They've actually done the opposite in WDW where they removed blackouts early

Technically, you are correct.

However, Disney has instead changed their operating model. I have the Premium Plus, basically access to all four parks, both water parks, and some other stuff for a full year.

Then Disney has added more and more hard ticket events. I have gone on about them before. Early Morning Magic, Disney After Dark, MVMCP and MNSSHP. None of our AP works with any of them. But those are now all days when the parks close earlier.

I am predicting that within a few years, Disney will be up to 365 hard ticket events a year, effectively enabling them to change admission for something almost on a daily basis. As others have said, no need to build a fifth park, they will get 5 parks worth of admission fees out of four parks every day.

Now, they are not adding any blackout dates, but IMHO, they are effectively adding some Blackout Times. in 2018, there were 34 Halloween Parties, and 22 Christmas Parties. That adds up to 56 days when the park closed early, and my AP could not be used. I also estimate that between the various parks, there was probably another 20 or more Disney After Dark dates.

For 2019, there are already 40 Disney After Dark dates posted, and that is just thru March.

So, I do agree, my guess is that they would not add any blackout dates. But as they add more and more hard ticket events, there will be less and less hours available for you to use your AP.

 

[AngiTN]

Now, they are not adding any blackout dates, but IMHO, they are effectively adding some Blackout Times. in 2018, there were 34 Halloween Parties, and 22 Christmas Parties. That adds up to 56 days when the park closed early, and my AP could not be used. I also estimate that between the various parks, there was probably another 20 or more Disney After Dark dates.

For 2019, there are already 40 Disney After Dark dates posted, and that is just thru March.

So, I do agree, my guess is that they would not add any blackout dates. But as they add more and more hard ticket events, there will be less and less hours available for you to use your AP.

You do realize there are more parks than MK? Your AP wasn't valid at MK during a party but you sure could use it to go to another park, or even a water park in some cases. Same goes for DAH. Yes, one park is unavailable. All the others are. So I'm not really getting your argument that your pass isn't valid.

 

[SaintsManiac]

Title is pretty much my question . . .

Heading back as usual in early November during a potential Star Wars opening period. May get APs but want to make sure that at this point there won't be changes to already listed blackout dates (or least that there's no history with Disney adding black out dates this close in).

(I'd suspect once announced they're solid and if anything some blackouts may be lifted prior to opening but want to make sure).

I had the same anxiety before buying new passes for this year. I decided to lean on the wisdom of these boards and my gut instinct that all would be okay.

 

[wfjny]

You do realize there are more parks than MK? Your AP wasn't valid at MK during a party but you sure could use it to go to another park, or even a water park in some cases. Same goes for DAH. Yes, one park is unavailable. All the others are. So I'm not really getting your argument that your pass isn't valid.

I guess what I am attempting to say is that any hard ticket event is effectively a blackout, even if it is for just that park. In 2013, there were 22 MNSSHP and 14 MVMCP events. Five years later, they went from 36 to 56 events. On those nights, I could not use my AP to enter the MK. What i am saying is that for the MK, those evenings were effectively a blackout, just for that park.

Same thing for DAH.

Not a big deal when you are talking about a handful of nights. But in 2019, we are already aware of 40 DAH nights in the first quarter. If we extrapolate that thru the rest of the year, we are looking at about 160 DAH nights, and about another 60 Halloween/Christmas Party nights. That would be approaching 220 nights were my "Disney Platinum Plus Pass" will not work in one of the parks. That starts to get annoying when you have a pass that has a street cost of $1,058.61.

Don't get me wrong. As a shareholder of Disney, I am loving this. People are paying essentially an un-discounted full one day admission for just three hours in the park.

However, as a passholder, my thought was I have already paid the admission fee, i do not want to have to pay another admission fee.

In the end, Disney is not changing the rules, but they are changing the game. No, they are not adding a blackout date. But they are choosing to close some of the parks early, and then reopen them. And while it was just a once in a while event previously (10% of the days in 2013), it is now becoming more commonplace. I do predict that within a few years, there will be an event in at least one park every night (or 365 events a year). Call me crazy, but what would you have said if I had predicted in 2013 that within 5 years they would have a paid for event every other night. And that would only be 180. We are on track for 220 this year.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I don’t think it’s fair to lump Disney After Hours into the same category as MNSSHP and MVMCP.

Sure, MNSSHP and MVMCP definitely “take away” or limit park time and nighttime entertainment options, which I think we can all agree on. The park closes well earlier than regular hours in place at the time, the park is actively cleared of non-party guests, day guests have no options for nighttime shows or fireworks.

Disney After Hours is different - it’s not a hard close event, day guests have access to all nighttime entertainment options, and to date (with maybe a few exceptions) there really haven’t been DAH events where the park closed earlier than the then-current park hours at the time. DAH is more like paid EMH than a hard-close event in how the park operates.

One could argue very long-term trends with DAH.... things like how EMHs used to be later, there were more of them, and they were 3 hours many years ago. Today you can pay for that similar experience via DAH. I get that argument to some extent, but it’s part of a slow shift of park hours and EMHs that has been going on for awhile, well before DAH was introduced as an offering.

 

[AngiTN]

I guess what I am attempting to say is that any hard ticket event is effectively a blackout, even if it is for just that park. In 2013, there were 22 MNSSHP and 14 MVMCP events. Five years later, they went from 36 to 56 events. On those nights, I could not use my AP to enter the MK. What i am saying is that for the MK, those evenings were effectively a blackout, just for that park.

Same thing for DAH.

Not a big deal when you are talking about a handful of nights. But in 2019, we are already aware of 40 DAH nights in the first quarter. If we extrapolate that thru the rest of the year, we are looking at about 160 DAH nights, and about another 60 Halloween/Christmas Party nights. That would be approaching 220 nights were my "Disney Platinum Plus Pass" will not work in one of the parks. That starts to get annoying when you have a pass that has a street cost of $1,058.61.

Don't get me wrong. As a shareholder of Disney, I am loving this. People are paying essentially an un-discounted full one day admission for just three hours in the park.

However, as a passholder, my thought was I have already paid the admission fee, i do not want to have to pay another admission fee.

In the end, Disney is not changing the rules, but they are changing the game. No, they are not adding a blackout date. But they are choosing to close some of the parks early, and then reopen them. And while it was just a once in a while event previously (10% of the days in 2013), it is now becoming more commonplace. I do predict that within a few years, there will be an event in at least one park every night (or 365 events a year). Call me crazy, but what would you have said if I had predicted in 2013 that within 5 years they would have a paid for event every other night. And that would only be 180. We are on track for 220 this year.

I guess as long as 3 out of the 4 are still available I'm not a bit worried or view that I'm missing out on something I've paid for. Let there be events at all 4 parks at once 220 nights of the year (or even 100 nights of the year) and I'll be on board with getting annoyed over it. I'm still more than getting my monies worth out of my AP. That's what it all boils down to for me, the question I have to ask, am I getting my monies worth for my AP? Right now, the answer is yes. It would cost me way more to buy tickets for each day I've attended. Essentially, Disney is losing money on my owning an AP. If it's me that starts to lose money, where my price per day exceeds what tickets would cost, that's when I'll re-evaluate things.

 

[Searc]

I don’t think it’s fair to lump Disney After Hours into the same category as MNSSHP and MVMCP.

Sure, MNSSHP and MVMCP definitely “take away” or limit park time and nighttime entertainment options, which I think we can all agree on. The park closes well earlier than regular hours in place at the time, the park is actively cleared of non-party guests, day guests have no options for nighttime shows or fireworks.

Disney After Hours is different - it’s not a hard close event, day guests have access to all nighttime entertainment options, and to date (with maybe a few exceptions) there really haven’t been DAH events where the park closed earlier than the then-current park hours at the time. DAH is more like paid EMH than a hard-close event in how the park operates.

One could argue very long-term trends with DAH.... things like how EMHs used to be later, there were more of them, and they were 3 hours many years ago. Today you can pay for that similar experience via DAH.
I get that argument to some extent, but it’s part of a slow shift of park hours and EMHs that has been going on for awhile, well before DAH was introduced as an offering.

Five years (2013) is many years ago?

 

[GADisneyDad14]

Five years (2013) is many years ago?

Fair point, semantics I guess. With as quickly as parks/hours/offerings change at WDW, 5+ years ago is a long time to me, might not be for others with longer Disney history.