Life Time Park Pass

[WilsonFlyer]

I have a friend that bought DVC in 1991 and it came with "lifetime passes." She still goes to WDW at least once each year and never has to pay for park addmission!

Nah. I've seen that one argued ad-nauseum over years and years and not one single person has ever been able to validate that claim with actual proof. I'd like to see it if it exists. So would a lot of other people.

Many have claimed someone who had one, but one has never actually been authenticated and proven to exist.

I think your friend's just messin' with you.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

Bolded below.

I think you're about right, Dean. At 5k, I'd probably make arrangements to jump on it, but I suspect it would have to be closer to 10k, and like you, that's pure speculation. People obviously have varying pain thresholds.

I'm sure this isn't an original idea from the perspective of the parks. they probably could use a standard pricing model based on statistics but like Dean said, it would be so outrageous in the eyes of most that they wouldn't sell enough to make it worthwhile.

The only way this would ever work would be if Disney would somehow finance the option. There's no reason they couldn't and it could prove quite profitable. Once they roll out the AP financing option beyond FL residents (assuming they ever do), who knows.

Personally, I think the financing of AP's for non-FL residents is a helluva step and I doubt we'll ever see very much beyond that.

Did I miss something? Do they now finance AP's for non-Florida residents, or were you just stating that would be nice? I remember reading several posts about people wishing they would do that, but I hadn't actually heard it had happened. Great news if so!

 

[Sammie]

I would not be interested.

 

[Dean]

Nah. I've seen that one argued ad-nauseum over years and years and not one single person has ever been able to validate that claim with actual proof. I'd like to see it if it exists. So would a lot of other people.

Many have claimed someone who had one, but one has never actually been authenticated and proven to exist.

I think your friend's just messin' with you.

I have a friend who bought early, I know 1991 and I think Oct, and they did not have lifetime passes of any type.

 

[Sammie]

I know Disney has given away lifetime passes but not aware of anyone getting them with DVC or being able to purchase one.

 

[bwvBound]

I know Disney has given away lifetime passes but not aware of anyone getting them with DVC or being able to purchase one.

Like waaaaaay back when for being born in Disneyland?

 

[Sammie]

Like waaaaaay back when for being born in Disneyland?

When ever they have a special event like 25th Annv. they have given life time tickets to certain guests, for lack of a better example say the 10 millionth guest.

 

[rmcildw2m]

I don't think they would sell many at that kind of cost as stated by others , but I meet a man once who owned at okw and when he bought in he got ap's for four for 7 years as part of his deal . Now that's a pretty good savings .

 

[joxer1014]

My two cents. I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s I vaguely remember seeing for sale one of the ticket options at WDW was some kind of lifetime pass. I can't remember the price or the fine print but I do think they did exist at one time or another. I also maybe remember a post on here a while ago about the same thing and someone did confirm what I just said. Now I could be wrong but for some reason the lifetime pass thing stuck in my mind.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

When ever they have a special event like 25th Annv. they have given life time tickets to certain guests, for lack of a better example say the 10 millionth guest.

Yep. You're right, Sammie, and I have heard about those. As a matter of fact, Disney usually makes a very big public spectacle out of it when they do this because, as you say, it's usually centered around some marketable event or happening.

So I'd like to modify my original claim. I actually was talking about in the context of a DVC purchase. The only tickets I've ever seen validated with a DVC purchase were the ones for early OKW purchasers as already outlined above. It's pretty obvious that Disney likely did this because it wasn't really sure (no precedent at all) if DVC would even sell so they did this because they thought it might sweeten the pot and add another layer to lure prospective buyers. As soon as they realized that there was no need to pay the Parks Division for those tickets and give them away, they quickly nipped that one in the bud and moved on without it. From what I have been able to put together, they never did it again or anything else involving park tickets aside from the discount we now receive on APs.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

My two cents. I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s I vaguely remember seeing for sale one of the ticket options at WDW was some kind of lifetime pass. I can't remember the price or the fine print but I do think they did exist at one time or another. I also maybe remember a post on here a while ago about the same thing and someone did confirm what I just said. Now I could be wrong but for some reason the lifetime pass thing stuck in my mind.

I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure Cheshire Figment has said that this ticket never existed. It seems to come up from time to time on various forums, mostly in the Theme Parks one, and I think he usually pops in and shoots it down.

 

[Candace]

Didn't Disney issue free AP's to DVC Members during the early days of OKW?

Bill

Yes, and I think VB was included too. They were good for 1/2 the number of people allowed in your villa. I bought in 1994, and the passes lasted until the end of 1999. It was great! We always stayed in a 2BR unit with just us four, so we all got the free passes since the villas sleep 8.

 

[pequele]

Disney will never attempt to price a model like that nor make one available. You have to account of people ages 4 v. 40, and expected life spans and such. It's not like a lifetime hunting license where they are not actually losing revenue by your not buying another one each year AND it's costing them to let you in.

While it would be nice, I'm quite certain I wouldn't be able to afford it, even if there were a such thing.

Ok but DVC isn't for a lifetime either so make a "lifetime" pass for say 20-30 years? A "magical" pass? A "golden" ticket? Ok Ok I'm dreaming....oooo a "Dreams Do Come True" pass! Ok I have to stop now

 

[bakenatj]

I could see a 5 or 10 year pass something that Disney could do. It would benefit both parties. Disney is guarantied that you will come a couple times a year for the next 5-10 years and gain revenue from dining, merchandise, and so on. Plus the sale of the pass. As for us we would get a discount for park entrance fees. For us DVC members it would be very tempting to purchase.

I think they could easily sell a 5 year for $1500 to $1700 and a 10 year for $3000 to $3200. That is enough of a discount that people would jump at the chance and we all know Disney would still make money hand over fist.

 

[disneypoor]

Bolded below.

Sorry! I was functioning without sleep and missed that. Just got back from Hawaii, and that overnight flight about did me in!

 

[jkevinmcg]

My two cents. I remember back in the late 80s or early 90s I vaguely remember seeing for sale one of the ticket options at WDW was some kind of lifetime pass. I can't remember the price or the fine print but I do think they did exist at one time or another. I also maybe remember a post on here a while ago about the same thing and someone did confirm what I just said. Now I could be wrong but for some reason the lifetime pass thing stuck in my mind.

I remember seeing the same thing on my first trip in 83. When we went back in 84, after Eisner took over, it was no longer available.

 

[Tamar]

Wow, would that ever contribute to addonitis!

I wish the annual passes would be 13 months (like the dozen bagel deals--or TiW).

 

[Goofy DVC]

Read the book "In Service to the Mouse" by Jack Lindquist. In the book, he talks about lifetime passes being awarded for special occasions only. I do not recall anything related to DVC. I do recall how much of a problem they are for Disney. FWIW, the book is a great read,one of my all time Disney favorites.

 

[Shamus]

As written, it specified only MK and MGM. When EPCOT came on board, Disney extended admission to be included (after much discussion) but did not do the same for AK which opened April 1998. I'm not sure if later POS were amended, they may have been. I can tell you it added greatly to the value of a studio getting the same number of passes as a 1 BR.

ETA: It is possible that they first said no then later allowed it as Tim suggests.

Not sure what you mean by "EPCOT came on board". It was open for ten years before DVC.

All three parks (MK, EPCOT, MGM) were included in the free pass program for the entire time the program ran. To my knowledge DAK never was.

Disney did give in on the issue of Borrowed Points during 1999 the last rear of the program. Originally they said reservations made with borrowed year 2000 points would not be elligable for passes. Not sure if it was the loud negative response this generated or the fact that it likely would have been a nightmare to track with their primitive system, but eventually they changed their mind and allowed borrowed points to be used.

I have always wondered why they haven't tied in some type of 10,20 or 30 year AP or LOS offering with DVC purchases.

As for A Lifetime Pass - They DO Exist - But I;ve never heard of them being for sale.

 

[Dean]

Not sure what you mean by "EPCOT came on board". It was open for ten years before DVC.

All three parks (MK, EPCOT, MGM) were included in the free pass program for the entire time the program ran. To my knowledge DAK never was.

Disney did give in on the issue of Borrowed Points during 1999 the last rear of the program. Originally they said reservations made with borrowed year 2000 points would not be elligable for passes. Not sure if it was the loud negative response this generated or the fact that it likely would have been a nightmare to track with their primitive system, but eventually they changed their mind and allowed borrowed points to be used.

I have always wondered why they haven't tied in some type of 10,20 or 30 year AP or LOS offering with DVC purchases.

As for A Lifetime Pass - They DO Exist - But I;ve never heard of them being for sale.

You're correct, I think I was bogged down in some technical issues and lost site of the big picture, thanks for bringing me back down. I edited my post so as not to be confusing to others.