The Current Disneyland Annual Pass Program Has Been Cancelled

[dieumeye]

My next family trip is in June - basically to experience Avengers Campus.

But after that... I’m not really sure when I’ll be back. I’m not too interested in booking trips throughout the summer without knowing what or when something will be announced about a new AP program.

I wonder if availability of reservations will affect how soon they announce the new program. I’d imagine there will be a spike after June 15 as out of state guests start to visit. But if the calendar doesn’t fill up quick, I wonder if they’ll speed up the unveiling of the new program.

I’m anxious for the info. I can get a Knott’s AND a Universal season pass likely for less than whatever the new AP at DLR will cost. And I’m tempted to do it if it’s going to be a long time before the new AP program is announced.

 

[tippity]

That's just the bloggers presenting their own interpretations. Disney got rid of the AP in name only, but it will absolutely NOT be replaced by a discount only program. The surveys earlier in the year about potential a potential new program mentioned "pass" over and over again, as a way to differentiate it from a day ticket or multi day ticket. They will bring back a pass that allows more frequent access, but my guess is rather than being an "annual" pass, it will be a "monthly fee" membership program that you can terminate at will. I suspect the monthly program will allow a set number of visits per month for a flat rate, and you will pay more for perks like parking, Maxpass, Photopass, etc.

This is why they eliminated the "annual" from the name. It's most definitely NOT going to be what Len Testa pontificated about in his recent podcast.

All Len Testa did was read aloud from the earnings call transcript. Bob Chapek used the terms "loyalty program" and "frequent visitor program" .

Once again, we will have to wait and see what Disney decides, but I don't believe their decisions will be based on AP guest survey results.

 

[DLgal]

All Len Testa did was read aloud from the earnings call transcript. Bob Chapek used the terms "loyalty program" and "frequent visitor program" .

Once again, we will have to wait and see what Disney decides, but I don't believe their decisions will be based on AP guest survey results.

That's not "all he did." He went on to speculate about a "buy x Park admissions, get one free" would work, going so far as to provide price breakdowns. Disney has not hinted at anything at all like this type of concept.

 

[Epicnemesis]

All Len Testa did was read aloud from the earnings call transcript. Bob Chapek used the terms "loyalty program" and "frequent visitor program" .

Once again, we will have to wait and see what Disney decides, but I don't believe their decisions will be based on AP guest survey results.

And in Vegas there are more ways to get status in casinos than just gambling.

A loyalty program and frequent visitor program does not by default remove the possibility of an annual pass program. Heck it might even just be a feature of an AP program as a way to gamify more spending in the parks by pass holders, particularly the evening crowd that doesn’t really spend (allegedly)

 

[tippity]

That's not "all he did." He went on to speculate about a "buy x Park admissions, get one free" would work, going so far as to provide price breakdowns. Disney has not hinted at anything at all like this type of concept.

"Loyalty Program" and " Frequent Visitor Program" doesn't sound anything like an annual pass, and this is coming from the CEO of Disney. So maybe Mr. Chapek was telling everyone what has been decided by Disney.

 

[DLgal]

"Loyalty Program" and " Frequent Visitor Program" doesn't sound anything like an annual pass, and this is coming from the CEO of Disney. So maybe Mr. Chapek was telling everyone what has been decided by Disney.

I've been an AP holder for like 20 years. I would definitely call myself a frequent visitor.

The name change is an emotional play. They want people to feel special when they pay an arm and a leg for passes.

 

[tippity]

I've been an AP holder for like 20 years. I would definitely call myself a frequent visitor.

The name change is an emotional play. They want people to feel special when they pay an arm and a leg for passes.

As I said before, we'll have to see what happens. I hope you're right, but I remain skeptical.

 

[DontSpamMe]

Nm

 

[dieumeye]

With the “loyalty program” language, I wonder if the new program will be more like what Six Flags does. They have various memberships that allow you to go to the park (and levels of parking, discounts, etc), but on top of that, they also have a Rewards program where you get points for doing things - visiting the park, riding rides, BUYING stuff like food and merch. Those points can be traded for even more perks like free food, merch discounts, ride passes, even discounted friend tickets.

You get points for almost everything you do, so there’s incentive to log everything. And that gives SF detailed data on your habits in the park. It also rewards people who spend the most. Spend more, get more points, which can be redeemed for more perks.

It certainly seems like there are APs who spend a LOT at the parks, and also some who use their pass to enter but never spend a dime. With all the talk about “value for shareholders” maybe this is a way for Disney to differentiate between who they are “getting value” from and who they aren’t.

Whether this is a good idea, or “fair”, or greedy is a mater of perspective. But I’d be in favor of something like this if it means the passes are otherwise more or less like they used to be.

You could trade in points for pretzels, or an extra FP, or exclusive merch, or dining credit, or any number of things.

 

[Evita_W]

With the “loyalty program” language, I wonder if the new program will be more like what Six Flags does. They have various memberships that allow you to go to the park (and levels of parking, discounts, etc), but on top of that, they also have a Rewards program where you get points for doing things - visiting the park, riding rides, BUYING stuff like food and merch. Those points can be traded for even more perks like free food, merch discounts, ride passes, even discounted friend tickets.

You get points for almost everything you do, so there’s incentive to log everything. And that gives SF detailed data on your habits in the park. It also rewards people who spend the most. Spend more, get more points, which can be redeemed for more perks.

It certainly seems like there are APs who spend a LOT at the parks, and also some who use their pass to enter but never spend a dime. With all the talk about “value for shareholders” maybe this is a way for Disney to differentiate between who they are “getting value” from and who they aren’t.

Whether this is a good idea, or “fair”, or greedy is a mater of perspective. But I’d be in favor of something like this if it means the passes are otherwise more or less like they used to be.

You could trade in points for pretzels, or an extra FP, or exclusive merch, or dining credit, or any number of things.

I suspect a combination of this with Sea Worlds EzPay system, but modified a little:

You will pay for your first year up front, after the first year, you membership will renew on a month to month basis at 1/12 of the current price for your membership level. They might even offer an ongoing discount if you say buy two years up front. But I think the minimum will be one year all at once and then you can have monthly payments.

Combined with this points loyalty system and it would encourage spending.

But I also think they will be very careful not to call it a pass, as doing so makes certain people feel entitled.

 

[Kit Jackson]

With the “loyalty program” language, I wonder if the new program will be more like what Six Flags does. They have various memberships that allow you to go to the park (and levels of parking, discounts, etc), but on top of that, they also have a Rewards program where you get points for doing things - visiting the park, riding rides, BUYING stuff like food and merch. Those points can be traded for even more perks like free food, merch discounts, ride passes, even discounted friend tickets.

You get points for almost everything you do, so there’s incentive to log everything.

I like the overall idea, especially that you can don't have to spend money to get points and can earn them by riding rides. Unless you use FastPass, how would Disney know you went on a ride? How would this work for something like Peter Pan that does not have FastPass? There would be no way to get credit for riding it. I know this is all hypothetical. I was just trying to picture it in action.

 

[dieumeye]

I like the overall idea, especially that you can don't have to spend money to get points and can earn them by riding rides. Unless you use FastPass, how would Disney know you went on a ride? How would this work for something like Peter Pan that does not have FastPass? There would be no way to get credit for riding it. I know this is all hypothetical. I was just trying to picture it in action.

At Six Flags, you open the app and click on a button that says you went on a specific ride. The button is only active if you are right in front of that specific ride. Move even a few yards away and it won’t let you activate it. Of course, it has no way of knowing if you actually rode, but they at least know you were standing in front of the ride.

So in theory, could someone run around the park and spam the “I rode this” button on each ride to generate points? Yes. But...

Riding a ride earns +3 points.

Spending $15 on food earns +375 points.

So, you can already see what activity is being incentivized more heavily at Six Flags.

 

[mlayton14]

Why on earth would disney reward someone for riding rides ? I think the concept here would be to incentivize and reward spending , not use of their facilities

 

[PirateBrigade]

Why on earth would disney reward someone for riding rides ? I think the concept here would be to incentivize and reward spending , not use of their facilities

I agree, I look to airlines’ rewards programs for guidance. Everything is moving toward total spend, and that’s what creates highest value for Disney.

This was their chance to blow an old program up and start over, you bet there are consultants upon consultants that will find every way to incentivize spend and maximize revenue while decreasing physical park visits. They just have to not look sleazy in the process.

The days of getting your average daily gate costs to under $20-30/visit are essentially over.

 

[dieumeye]

Why on earth would disney reward someone for riding rides ? I think the concept here would be to incentivize and reward spending , not use of their facilities

Awarding even a small number of point for visiting an attraction incentivizes people to log the attractions they visit while they are in the park (this is what Six Flags does). That is specific usable data that Disney would not otherwise have. Data about customer habits is very valuable.

 

[DLgal]

Awarding even a small number of point for visiting an attraction incentivizes people to log the attractions they visit while they are in the park (this is what Six Flags does). That is specific usable data that Disney would not otherwise have. Data about customer habits is very valuable.

Yes, this is true. Although they do their own daily and hourly rider counts already.

 

[Epicnemesis]

Points for rides gives them demographic data to go with the raw throughput numbers for a ride. Also it is a low barrier entry into whatever the points system would be. (Similar to how that “free” game on your phone gets you to download and then play a few rounds before showing just how monetized it all is.)

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Yep. And Josh D'Amaro was at Knott's last week. You know he saw some of those Disney shirted people.

You can't be Disneyland and have parks like Knott's and Universal BOTH offering low cost AP's and then just say "too bad, so sad, pay full price or don't come."

I agree that if they offer a new pass, it will be comparable in price to the Signature/Signature Plus level passes. The Southern CA level passes will never come back. I expect prices of between $1200-1500 per. If we turn that into a monthly fee "program", I'm saying $100-150 per month, the high end being a pass that includes parking, Maxpass, and Photopass.

They'd do well to offer a pass like that and guarantee monthly visits where people will spend more money once in the parks, than to abandon the entire concept and rely on people to just buy day tickets a few times a year.

Our family spent $335 last Saturday on food, drinks, and merch. That was on top of the $600 we spent on park hoppers for the 4 of us. We won't be doing that every month with the way the tickets are now. As it stands, we won't be back until July.

I think this maybe exactly what Disney is hoping for? For people to come less frequently but spend more money while they're there? If you have an AP, you may go 20 times in a year but spend far less each trip rather than going 2 or 3 times but spend just as much in total. From Disney's perspective, (and maybe for guests too) that might be a win because it will take care of the crowding problem while at the same time generating the same amount of revenue. Either way, Disney won't make everybody happy whatever they decide.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I think this maybe exactly what Disney is hoping for? For people to come less frequently but spend more money while they're there? If you have an AP, you may go 20 times in a year but spend far less each trip rather than going 2 or 3 times but spend just as much in total. From Disney's perspective, (and maybe for guests too) that might be a win because it will take care of the crowding problem while at the same time generating the same amount of revenue. Either way, Disney won't make everybody happy whatever they decide.

I think the problems of the old AP passes weren't because people were coming too much, they were coming at the wrong times. Local AP holders used Disneyland the way folks in other parts of the country treat their local mall arcade, city park, and waterfront bar.

DL was still relatively uncrowded at certain times -- Like any given Tuesday or Wednesday morning in the 2nd week of September. The puzzle for Disney is how to incentivize people to go during those times, but keep them out of the park on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays. It became a maze of pass tiers and blockout dates while they tried to finesse/refine the system. Flex pass was the last iteration of that attempt before they threw the whole thing out.

So to address your statement, I don't think DLR minds someone showing up 20x a year... if they show up Tuesday-Thursday, at DCA.

Put another way, even at the highest cost pass level (~$1500 per person), a couple who goes to the park only once a week on a Friday night ends up spending just under $29 per person/per visit. That's the cost of going to the movies and buying popcorn + drink... I'd rather wander around Disneyland.

I was one of these people, my girlfriend at the time and I would finish class up in college and just scoot down to the park, ride Space Mountain, eat a churro, and wander around. I even sat on a bench in front of the castle and studied for chemistry, because I could. Yeah, I guess I was part of the AP problem.

 

[DLgal]

I think the problems of the old AP passes weren't because people were coming too much, they were coming at the wrong times. Local AP holders used Disneyland the way folks in other parts of the country treat their local mall arcade, city park, and waterfront bar.

DL was still relatively uncrowded at certain times -- Like any given Tuesday or Wednesday morning in the 2nd week of September. The puzzle for Disney is how to incentivize people to go during those times, but keep them out of the park on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Holidays. It became a maze of pass tiers and blockout dates while they tried to finesse/refine the system. Flex pass was the last iteration of that attempt before they threw the whole thing out.

So to address your statement, I don't think DLR minds someone showing up 20x a year... if they show up Tuesday-Thursday, at DCA.

Put another way, even at the highest cost pass level (~$1500 per person), a couple who goes to the park only once a week on a Friday night ends up spending just under $29 per person/per visit. That's the cost of going to the movies and buying popcorn + drink... I'd rather wander around Disneyland.

I was one of these people, my girlfriend at the time and I would finish class up in college and just scoot down to the park, ride Space Mountain, eat a churro, and wander around. I even sat on a bench in front of the castle and studied for chemistry, because I could. Yeah, I guess I was part of the AP problem.

I was one of those passholders that Disney probably loved. I NEVER went on a Friday evening, but usually went weekly, during the week, usually on Tuesdays or Thursdays, early morning to midday, while my kids were in school. It was my weekly lunch date with myself (my husband would come occasionally on random weekdays off from work). In addition to these solo visits, I'd often just drive over, park in DtD, go into the parks JUST for lunch and a treat, and then leave. And then as a family, we went ever other weekend, and dropped at least $150-200 each time.