News on Annual Passes

[Jrb1979]

But we have almost always seen reservations available for AP's over the last year. What ever restictions they have on AP attendance it has not been exceeded except on just a few holiday weekends.

I can see them opening up some blackout dates if need be. I don't see them opening up sales again til more people let them expire.

 

[aka Charles]

So why is Disney still offering the Pixie Pass? Tax reason or not or what?

Great Question!
I wish someone in the KNOW would let the "secret" out. lol

One thing to remember is that the Pixie Pass is for Florida residents, ALL of Florida.
That is much different than the Imagine Key at Disneyland that is limited by Zip Codes to southern CA.

Some say it may have something to do with a Florida law or regulation, but if that were true it would be easy to verify. Its not.
Some say it is because of an under-the-table deal, but too many in power have come and gone over the years for any deal like that to be still in place.

In reality, it is probably a combination of many things....

Some of which may have to do with not wanting to upset certain groups of people, including the following...
1. Actual locals like cast members' family and friends.
2. Owners and employees at Florida companies that supply WDW with everything from food to toilet paper.
3. Florida contractors that work on WDW construction and maintenance projects, large and small.
4. Local and state government officials, politicians, and their constituents.

Any one of those groups could directly or indirectly shut WDW down, costing millions, and they know it.

I am sure there are many, many other possible reasons, but we may never know.

.

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

Great Question!
I wish someone in the KNOW would let the "secret" out. lol

One thing to remember is that the Pixie Pass is for Florida residents, ALL of Florida.
That is much different than the Imagine Key at Disneyland that is limited by Zip Codes to southern CA.

Some say it may have something to do with a Florida law or regulation, but if that were true it would be easy to verify. Its not.
Some say it is because of an under-the-table deal, but too many in power have come and gone over the years for any deal like that to be still in place.

In reality, it is probably a combination of many things....

Some of which may have to do with not wanting to upset certain groups of people, including the following...
1. Actual locals like cast members' family and friends.
2. Owners and employees at Florida companies that supply WDW with everything from food to toilet paper.
3. Florida contractors that work on WDW construction and maintenance projects, large and small.
4. Local and state government officials, politicians, and their constituents.

Any one of those groups could directly or indirectly shut WDW down, costing millions, and they know it.

I am sure there are many, many other possible reasons, but we may never know.

.

Let me add one to your list. Annual Passes are "Space Available" tickets -- intended by Disney to fill the crowd when attendance is lower. That would explain why just Pixie -- with all the holidays and weekends blocked out. The non-holiday weekdays are the ones where passholder attendance is filling space available slots. "Space-A"

 

[Brian Noble]

ALL of Florida.
That is much different than the Imagine Key at Disneyland that is limited by Zip Codes to southern CA.

All of Florida is a little over 20M people. The ten Southern California counties are almost 24M. I think the zip code boundary is a little smaller than that area, but not by much.

 

[aka Charles]

All of Florida is a little over 20M people. The ten Southern California counties are almost 24M. I think the zip code boundary is a little smaller than that area, but not by much.

I was not referring to a difference in the number of people, but rather to the concentrated location of the people in CA eligible for the Imagine Key compared to those eligible for the Pixie Pass being spread out over the whole state of FL. That translates to two very different customer bases that will utilize their respective passes in very different ways. My point being is that most of Disney's decisions about the magic key program in CA are based on separate issues than what their decisions about the annual pass program in FL are.

 

[dclpluto]

Well yesterday was my last day for our annual pass. Today I get a email telling me it’s not too late I can renew. I’m not going to renew I have no plans on going back anytime soon. I usually go three times a week at a time for my annual pass than take two years off from wdw. Maybe I will regret not getting one but people are begging to get a annual pass and can’t and I let mine go and they tell me it’s not too late. Doesn’t seem right imo.

Anyone wondering what kind of annual pass I had it was the DVC one.

 

[jade1]

Well yesterday was my last day for our annual pass. Today I get a email telling me it’s not too late I can renew. I’m not going to renew I have no plans on going back anytime soon. I usually go three times a week at a time for my annual pass than take two years off from wdw. Maybe I will regret not getting one but people are begging to get a annual pass and can’t and I let mine go and they tell me it’s not too late. Doesn’t seem right imo.

Anyone wondering what kind of annual pass I had it was the DVC one.

Wish they transferable. My niece would love one, and she is DVC.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

Well yesterday was my last day for our annual pass. Today I get a email telling me it’s not too late I can renew. I’m not going to renew I have no plans on going back anytime soon. I usually go three times a week at a time for my annual pass than take two years off from wdw. Maybe I will regret not getting one but people are begging to get a annual pass and can’t and I let mine go and they tell me it’s not too late. Doesn’t seem right imo.

Anyone wondering what kind of annual pass I had it was the DVC one.

I’m letting mine go too. We have until October 24th to renew 2 adults/2 kids. It’s just too much on a just in case. $3500?

Instead of going 2 weeks next year (14-15 nights) we will go 8 nights and live in nicer accommodations (or not!)

 

[voxparse]

Can an AP (non DVC) be transferred such that I could buy one off of someone that is not planning to renew?

 

[TraderStitch]

Can an AP (non DVC) be transferred such that I could buy one off of someone that is not planning to renew?

I don't believe so. That's a great idea but you'd see a secondary market popup real fast and Disney would squash it lol

 

[voxparse]

I don't believe so. That's a great idea but you'd see a secondary market popup real fast and Disney would squash it lol

I figured that was the case as I would have expected to find something by now. Will continue waiting not so patiently.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Can an AP (non DVC) be transferred such that I could buy one off of someone that is not planning to renew?

Renewals can't be....
But if someone bought an AP voucher and never assigned it... I know a few folks that bought some "extras" back when they did not expire, but how would you put a "price" on those?

 

[princesscinderella]

Can an AP (non DVC) be transferred such that I could buy one off of someone that is not planning to renew?

For what it’s worth I just renewed my APs for our family and it does give the option to reassign the pass to someone else in the MDE app because technically even though it’s a renewal is still an unused ticket until we tap in and use it. I did call and try to get a pass for my son’s girlfriend. We are Florida residents so her only option would be to get a pixie pass for a year and then when it comes time for renewal she could then upgrade to one of the other less blockout date passes. We haven’t decided if we are going to do this for her yet as it’s basically worthless for her in the summer as any of the dates she could go is when it’s blacked out since they are still in school.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

For what it’s worth I just renewed my APs for our family and it does give the option to reassign the pass to someone else in the MDE app because technically even though it’s a renewal is still an unused ticket until we tap in and use it. I did call and try to get a pass for my son’s girlfriend. We are Florida residents so her only option would be to get a pixie pass for a year and then when it comes time for renewal she could then upgrade to one of the other less blockout date passes. We haven’t decided if we are going to do this for her yet as it’s basically worthless for her in the summer as any of the dates she could go is when it’s blacked out since they are still in school.

Wait, you can renew but then assign to someone else??

 

[princesscinderella]

Wait, you can renew but then assign to someone else??

That’s what it looks like is able to happen in MDE as it shows up as an option in my account. I won’t test it because we all still need our APs renewed.

 

[bbeagle]

I was not referring to a difference in the number of people, but rather to the concentrated location of the people in CA eligible for the Imagine Key compared to those eligible for the Pixie Pass being spread out over the whole state of FL. That translates to two very different customer bases that will utilize their respective passes in very different ways. My point being is that most of Disney's decisions about the magic key program in CA are based on separate issues than what their decisions about the annual pass program in FL are.

The furthest city from Orlando inside Florida is Pensacola. That's a 6 1/2 hour drive.
The furthest city from Anaheim inside California is Crescent City. That's a 13 hour drive. TWICE as far.

Just the southern half of California would mean the same distance as the entire state of Florida.

 

[jo-jo]

The furthest city from Orlando inside Florida is Pensacola. That's a 6 1/2 hour drive.
The furthest city from Anaheim inside California is Crescent City. That's a 13 hour drive. TWICE as far.

Just the southern half of California would mean the same distance as the entire state of Florida.

But 6 1/2 hours away going north is a different state. I think ??? aka Charles is saying why is lower tip of FL more valued than people in GA.

I feel the same way., I can see people within an hour or so of disney getting a special deal since they have to deal with traffic issues (but also probably offers more jobs , even jobs not at disney)

For the hundredth time, I'd love to get a pixie pass. Even if I used it 15 -20 days a year. Even with all the blockout dates.

 

[bbeagle]

But 6 1/2 hours away going north is a different state. I think ??? aka Charles is saying why is lower tip of FL more valued than people in GA.

Pensacola is in the panhandle of Florida, so it's all the way north, and then another 3 hours west.

Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC are actually closer to Orlando than Pensacola, FL is.

I don't get it. They should sell some sort of pass to DVC people who come twice a year.

 

[BaybeeYoda]

That’s what it looks like is able to happen in MDE as it shows up as an option in my account. I won’t test it because we all still need our APs renewed.
View attachment 706753

hmmm. But will it expire one year from date of renewal/expiration of old pass.

I just don’t want to waste $3200+

We *think* we are going in June but are deciding btwn 8 days and 14 days. Bc we don’t know our plans yet, we don’t know whether to renew. Any advice???

 

[aka Charles]

The furthest city from Orlando inside Florida is Pensacola. That's a 6 1/2 hour drive.
The furthest city from Anaheim inside California is Crescent City. That's a 13 hour drive. TWICE as far.

Just the southern half of California would mean the same distance as the entire state of Florida.

Southern California and Florida are comparable in size, with Southern California being a bit larger than the entire state of Florida, by square miles and by population. However, any populated area in Southern California is less than a 4 hour drive to Disneyland. (Even Las Vegas is within a 4 hour drive) A day trip to the park is very possible with a drive under 4 hours each way. Not so much with longer drives.

It is when comparing the population density in the immediate area of the parks, you can really see the difference that I was referencing.

Orange County, CA has a population of over 3 million with a population density of about 4000 per square mile.

Orange County, FL has a population of 1.4 million with a population density of about 1500 per square mile.

With over twice the population within a short drive, and even the availability of public transportation to the park, the demographics surrounding Disneyland are vastly different than the demographics surrounding Walt Disney World.

(Numbers are from the 2020 census)