Is there any way new Gold AP won't come back?

[Kazi7]

Surely DVC members will be able to purchase a new AP at some point in the not-too-distant future, right? Is anyone speculating that they won't be coming back? My Gold AP expires today, and I think we won't renew because we aren't planning to go back until the summer of 2022. But the thought of letting it expire and never being able to get it back is making me hesitate. Ugghh.

 

[CarolMN]

I believe the Gold pass will become available again, but not until after the park capacity limitations are lifted. I believe that because it makes no sense to allow some new purchases and/or renewals if they intend to discontinue or significantly alter the annuals. Price increases are a good possibility if demand is high.

That said, I have no inside info and do not envy your decision.

Consider that if the Gold pass does not come back, there is no guarantee that anyone who currently has one will be able to renew. Again, JMHO.

Good luck!

 

[Sandisw]

It do think they will be coming back. I just don’t see them eliminating APs and the DVC God is the same as the FL resident gold.

It is scary to give up the pass. The only concern is that we really do not know when those will return and my opinion is not until sometime in 2022 when the do not need to limit new AP holders to only 3 park days..

I know for DVC owners, we book with a room resort, but the AP program is much bigger than us so I think that is why we are stuck until they can make it work for others as well.

What I would It would love to see right now is to come out with some level of temporary AP that can be used only with a resort reservation.. No days without it.

Just to help people who do visit multiple times like DVC owners.

 

[Evita_W]

I think there is a very real possibility that Disney announces that all AP programs for all Disney Parks will be sunsetted and replaced with whatever new program Disneyland establishes, making one unified system.

The latest rumors for Disneyland have seemed to be a system that should sound familiar to most of us. You buy in at a certain number of points that renew every year and you use those points to purchase tickets. With rumors being the more years you buy up front, the cheaper per year it will be.

If that is indeed the way they go, I definitely think that gets pushed to all Disney owned parks worldwide, as that increases the value.of the program if you can book at your nonhome park somehow.

 

[tjkraz]

Everything you hear / read is just opinion right now. Nobody has any insight into Disney's thinking.

Annual Passes have always played a role in Disney's business plan. I see no reason to think they would want to distance themselves from that group of park guests & locals once capacity restrictions have been lifted. Locals won't magically agree to pay $120 per day if APs are not offered.

Specifics like DVC discount and the Gold Pass are unknowns. Members didn't get ANY discount on APs until 2005-ish and the Gold Pass in 2015. I've long heard that the AP discount is subsidized by DVC...that some amount comes from DVC"s marketing budget to compensate parks for the discounted passes members receive. If so, it's more DVC's call to keep that discount in place once APs return.

 

[peabody58]

So glad we have one set of DVC AP Vouchers remaining for our next AP Year in 2024.

Also trying to stretch out and optimize the value of our remaining 4 NE Tics, which is resulting in us buying 3 Park Tics for our Jan 2022 trip. $$Ouch$$ We haven't bought Tics for ourselves since 2011, prices sure have increased!

We will seriously look at getting the Gold Pass if it returns.

 

[Brian Noble]

Is it possible it won't come back? Yes.

Is it likely? Hard to say. I'm of the opinion that Florida and California will settle on plans that are at least somewhat different, because the guest mix at the two resorts is very different. DLR is still largely a "locals park" (most guests drive and many do not stay overnight), while WDW is much more of a fly-to destination.

 

[Kazi7]

Thanks for all the opinions! I realize everything is speculation at this point. It's going to be really sad if I purchase PH tickets for our summer 2022 trip and aren't able to upgrade them to AP at some point. That would definitely make us less likely to travel again within the next 12 months.

 

[Matty B13]

It's going to be really sad if I purchase PH tickets for our summer 2022 trip and aren't able to upgrade them to AP at some point. That would definitely make us less likely to travel again within the next 12 months.

My family is the same boat, had 7 day park hopper tickets for our April 2019 trip and had to reschedule to August of 2021. Hoping we can upgrade to a Gold AP so we can do a April 2022 trip, but might skip it if we can't get the AP.

 

[mistysue]

I hope they come back. On our end, because it is SO much more expensive to take multiple trips without AP, but that also fuels my fear that they will discontinue it simply because they make so much more. We have our second of three trips this year next week. It's well over $1,000 per person more to do this without APs, plus now we have to buy memory maker and now we have to hurry to get our photos because they expire basically right away.
It would suck for us, but I would understand why they wouldn't.

 

[drusba]

Certain DVC members can actually buy a new gold pass now. If you had a gold pass in 2020 when the world shut-down and took the offer for a partial refund in 2020, leaving you without a pass and no AP pass to renew, you can now purchase a new gold pass and start your one year period by activating it the next time you go to WDW. That would seem to indicate that Disney is likely to bring back the gold AP generally sometime in the future.

 

[Castillo Mom]

I think there is a very real possibility that Disney announces that all AP programs for all Disney Parks will be sunsetted and replaced with whatever new program Disneyland establishes, making one unified system.

The latest rumors for Disneyland have seemed to be a system that should sound familiar to most of us. You buy in at a certain number of points that renew every year and you use those points to purchase tickets. With rumors being the more years you buy up front, the cheaper per year it will be.

If that is indeed the way they go, I definitely think that gets pushed to all Disney owned parks worldwide, as that increases the value.of the program if you can book at your nonhome park somehow.

I don't believe this will be the case since current WDW APs can renew their pass and agree with previous posters that they're likely awaiting increase in park capacity to restart sales. As a multi-year Disneyland AP holder and local, the demographic between both coasts is very different. Out here, Disneyland is referred to as a locals park and we far outnumber the casual day guest or out-of-state/international traveler. So much so, that we've had overcrowding issues to where many of us not only sensed, but wanted Disney to make changes to the AP program long before the pandemic. We had also received surveys pre-pandemic, but I believe COVID may have accelerated the process.

That being said, the rumors here are that there will likely be a tiered membership with the potential for a-la-carte add-ons such as parking, MaxPass, level of dining or merch discounts you may want (i.e. the higher the discount, the more costly the add-on will be), some with more black-out dates than others and the potential of the monthly installment going away. Time will tell, but California locals are waiting on baited breath!

 

[DL1WDW2]

Don’t forget DVC and WDW know members are just as happy to visit and not even enter themeparks... Is that why they created the DVC AP... ? They need us in the parks spending money on food and t-shirts. I am sure they are correlating data trends to create a decision soon.

 

[sethschroeder]

Members didn't get ANY discount on APs until 2005-ish and the Gold Pass in 2015.

There used to be discounts on length of stay sticks though during that time right?

There basically has always been a ticket discount available. It makes most sense for DVC to try and latch on to whatever FL residents get in the end.

 

[sethschroeder]

Don’t forget DVC and WDW know members are just as happy to visit and not even enter themeparks... Is that why they created the DVC AP... ? They need us in the parks spending money on food and t-shirts. I am sure they are correlating data trends to create a decision soon.

They have to have tracking of where people are.

The main reason I think they would never eliminate the AP for DVC/FL is because honestly its not like that group really takes up space. Yes there is a group of people but its not like they are all day park goers likely as a larger group.

I would just venture a guess that DVC AP holders are in parks far less than when they are DVC ticket holders. Disney should be begging for people to buy AP and only come in to the parks for 2-3 short wait rides and a meal.

 

[RoseGold]

The level of penny pinching has been beyond what I expected, like the 2.5 hour wait to talk to DVC on the phone. Gold pass discount costs money. I can totally see DVC making some lame discount on the platinum or doing a 6 day pass or something.

I think the FL pass has to come back, but I can easily see more blackouts or even only weekdays.

Id renew if it would be worth it to you to grandfather in. Who knows what Disney/DVC will do. I can tell you whose bottom line they care about, and it’s not yours.

 

[Brian Noble]

The level of penny pinching has been beyond what I expected,

Well, to be fair the crusie ships have been docked, movie theaters shuttered, and the theme parks have either been closed or running at very reduced capacity for more than a year now.

Do I wish there was more customer support? Sure. Am I surprised there isn't? Nope.

 

[RoseGold]

Do I wish there was more customer support? Sure. Am I surprised there isn't? Nope.

The MS phones come out of our dues, which have gone up the past two years, and we paid in 2020 anyway. So yes, I am surprised there isn't at least mediocre customer support.

 

[Brian Noble]

It's not just a matter of cutting the budget. It's also been harder to hire in some low-wage service industries for a variety of reasons.

 

[Bearval]

I think there is a very real possibility that Disney announces that all AP programs for all Disney Parks will be sunsetted and replaced with whatever new program Disneyland establishes, making one unified system.

The latest rumors for Disneyland have seemed to be a system that should sound familiar to most of us. You buy in at a certain number of points that renew every year and you use those points to purchase tickets. With rumors being the more years you buy up front, the cheaper per year it will be.

If that is indeed the way they go, I definitely think that gets pushed to all Disney owned parks worldwide, as that increases the value.of the program if you can book at your nonhome park somehow.

The market differences for the AP for DL and WDW is huge. 75% of DL passes are sold to residents while only 25% of WDW passes are sold to residents. I would expect to see some more changes to the price and or black out dates for the DL APs .