Surprise AP & Ticket Increase

[dclpluto]

Haven’t been to Disneyland since 2011 even thou I have own points at California all that time. One reason is the prices at Disneyland. I can get a gold annual pass at wdw for 649.
Five days at Disneyland is 470 with park hoppers and the max pass. I’m from New Jersey so yes that’s another big reason. I’m going to Disneyland this year in December because we are going to aulani. Only been to Disneyland two different times. Love it there but them prices are outrageous imo. Maybe I’m thinking the prices are outrageous because I’m thinking about the reasonable price of a dvc gold annual pass and I go about three times during the year. Last time was four. Than I take about a year and a half off of wdw.

 

[Malcon10t]

I will be livid if I upgrade his pass to Sig and renew my Sig and we get blocked for the summer like Deluxe or blocked from Star Wars.

The block out calendar will not change much, if at all.

 

[B3rlingirl]

Oh no...

I planned on buying my tickets (if I go cause I still don’t know how much the flight will cost me) next week or so because I wanted to avoid that increase... I even planned on buying maxpass as well so I get that price locked...can’t believe I missed it... that’s quite a price bump now for 5day park hoppers with maxpass...
I thought they would wait tat least a couple of weeks or so...
But without flight tickets there wass no way I would have payed 1000$ for park tickets I might not be able to use cause I am on another continent...

 

[beachdreamr1229]

I'm not surprised. Still sad that my family of 6 can no longer afford APs, but it is what it is. Thankfully there are other theme parks in the area that don't price gouge quite as much. I do go through withdrawals sometimes now that we don't have APs, but it makes the few trips we do get that much more exciting and special.

I still miss the 90s when APs were $100 and so cal resident day ticket promotions were $21 per day.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

For those looking to buy tickets now:
As other posters have noted, GAT still has tickets at the old price. aRes may still have old stock, too. Mousesavers.com usually has tips on how to get tickets at the old price after an increase. Even if MP has gone up in price, getting tickets at the old price can offset that somewhat. But move fast if you are planning on getting tickets. Once the old stock is gone, that's it.

 

[DizMe]

Can you buy a voucher to renew an AP? Would you maintain your grandfathered benefits if you did this?

edited to clarify: my AP doesn't expire for several months.

 

[pharmama]

Well I guess I’m glad I renewed in december even though I don’t have a trip planned till May. But I sure I wish I’d upgraded to Sig+ Which I had considered doing. I too am worried that there will be “adjustments” to the Sig blockout calendar this summer but hopefully those won’t materialize.

Off to buy GAT tix for DD and her friends that I’m taking in May...

I am impressed how well Disney kept this one under wraps...

 

[l4dyj8]

I’m not surprise but I didn’t expect it this early.

I’m nervous on what the secondary wave of increases would be. I debated last month whether to upgrade from a Deluxe to a Signature . I hated doing the holiday events on a single Sunday. I’m ok with skipping DL over the summer but I’d hate to see the impact on CA. CA is usually our escape from the heavy DL crowds.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Can you buy a voucher to renew an AP? Would you maintain your grandfathered benefits if you did this?

edited to clarify: my AP doesn't expire for several months.

We've done this in the past, but not lately. I have asked for information here, but have not read anything recent (i.e. in the past two years) from anyone reliable who says they've done this for a renewal, not for buying a new AP. I've heard from CMs and other posters that Disney has cracked down on guests using vouchers for renewals. You can still use the vouchers for a new AP. Lots of people let their passes expire (CMs have told me to let at least 24 hours go by first), then bought a new pass with the voucher. You are supposed to lose anything that was grandfathered in, but I think this is up to the discretion of the CM doing the transaction.

 

[theluckyrabbit]

I’m not surprise but I didn’t expect it this early.

I’m nervous on what the secondary wave of increases would be. I debated last month whether to upgrade from a Deluxe to a premium...

Just to clarify: Premium APs no longer exist. The choice now would be either Signature or Signature Plus. If the main issue is holiday events, just be aware that Signature is blocked the two weeks right around Christmas and New Year's.

 

[pharmama]

LMTClub is still selling tickets at DISCOUNTED prices on the OLD rates. Just purchased 3 day park hoppers for Memorial day weekend at $301 each. Don't have the actual vouchers yet, just a confirmation email, but I'm hoping it will all go through...

 

[theluckyrabbit]

Thanks for posting about that! It should go through. These third party vendors want to sell all of their old ticket stock. The question is usually how long the stock will last. A day? A few days? A few weeks? Good for you for jumping on this!

 

[azdisneylover]

I know it isn’t now, but I just worry with the language used with the Sig pass that they will block it for DL when Star Wars Land opens. I was shocked that Deluxe got such a huge block for summer. That pass really has a terrible value now.

With the horrible block for Deluxe along we did not renew our passes. Now, I cannot see us getting passes again, because the value isn't there for our family. The next time we visit the parks, I am looking forward to seeing the parks, especially Disneyland, in all her glory. Nothing needing to be painted, chipper CMs, great food that was once replaced with generic, get it anywhere stuff, back (bring back fill in the blank). The parks will be sparkling and litter free, Storytellers will have the option of a menu again, Whitewater Snacks will have the individual pizza and salad on the menu. Born and raised in So Cal, moved to neighboring state for work, Disneyland was always a part of my life. I LOVE DISNEYLAND. The value for me isn't there now if everything is kept the same, but constant price increases.

 

[VandVsmama]

We’ve never been able to afford APs since life gets in the way of us going multiple times a year. We were already planning on skipping DL this year because we want to avoid the insane crowds for the first several months that SWGE is open.

The price increases are NOT a surprise. I kind of expected them to raise the Max Pass pricing and I thought last year when they came out w/ MP that they’d probably increase it to $12-15 a day by the time SWGE opened. For our family of 4, that means an extra $60/day for MP.

But you know what? I’m still going to pay it. We will just skip table service restaurants. We’ll eat at CS instead. Normally, we like to eat once at the Plaza Inn for the character breakfast. The total for that usually comes to about $200 including tax and tip. 3 days of MP for 4 of us is $180. So yeah, after having used MP on 2 different trips, considering the crowd levels in the parks for SWGE, I will gladly pay it. And I’ll probably end up purchasing our park tickets directly from the DL website so I can buy MP ahead of time.

The price increase on Signature APs is significant, but not if you look at it from the point of view of Disney trying to steer AP holders away from attending this summer.

BUT if you do NOT have an AP, then I’d almost prefer to go on a day in which So Cal APs are blocked. Because those days which will allow So Cal APs in will surely be totally insane.

 

[McKelly]

So, if I booked a package for July last year, but only put the $200.00 down, will I have to pay the increase in tickets/Maxpass once I pay the full package off?

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

The block out calendar will not change much, if at all.

I hope you’re right! I’m not trying to be argumentative but I don’t think anyone expected Deluxe to get blocked out that much time this summer. And Disney has made a point now that they can and will change the blockout calendars at any time. Just makes me nervous.

 

[azdisneylover]

Drop the payment plan.

Unfortunately, they will not because it is their way to keep a steady monthly cash flow. I bet they hope people will purchase the highest costing one on payments, then, they can't make it to the parks nearly as much as they hoped. I see some bean counter say, hey, let's open up the payment plan to neighboring states!! That will help with generating even MORE steady revenue!

We are passing on APs and since we have a trip already booked since last year, we will still go, but after that, who knows. We have Knotts APs now too, so, we will do other things.

 

[dina444444]

So, if I booked a package for July last year, but only put the $200.00 down, will I have to pay the increase in tickets/Maxpass once I pay the full package off?

No. If you bought a package then the price stays the same. Only increase would be maxpass if you didn’t pre *** it to the tickets you selected in the package.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

LMTClub is still selling tickets at DISCOUNTED prices on the OLD rates. Just purchased 3 day park hoppers for Memorial day weekend at $301 each. Don't have the actual vouchers yet, just a confirmation email, but I'm hoping it will all go through...

Undercover Tourist has 3-day hoppers for $300 right now, too (the ones with an expiration of January 13, 2020.

 

[OneThree]

Increases are not surprising but still unfortunate. For us it’s not the ticket prices so much as all the other increases. Now increased cost of MaxPass, food prices will undoubtedly creep up as well, hotel prices most certainly will also increase.