The Current Disneyland Annual Pass Program Has Been Cancelled

[PirateBrigade]

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.

Yeah, your AP photo is probably on a powerpoint slide somewhere deep in the marketing department with the words "IDEAL VISITOR" on it

 

[PirateBrigade]

I wonder if it's feasible to create a pass that blocks out an evening -- kind of like a reverse twilight ticket. Like, make it so you have to enter the park before noon and it shuts off entry after that.

But then how many people would you see leaving the office at 11am (if people still work in offices)? Ahh... can't win, sorry Disney. Y'all too popular.

 

[Epicnemesis]

It’s all about reservations. It self solves the evening overcrowding problem and helps Disney tweak everything.

A lot of day visitors on a given day? Throttle the AP reservations allowed.

Off peak low amount of day visitors? Throttle up a the AP reservations allowed.

Hell, attendance is so low today, come on down for an impromptu trip after work like the good ole days.


Disney gains full control over the type of guest they allow in, whether that’s AP or day ticket holder. They are able to both capture that high profitability segment and that contribution margin AP holder while staying in full control of the crowd.

It’s so clearly the way forward and will be the one lasting legacy of COVID on the parks, 2023 and beyond.

It’s also why I am so bullish on the AP program staying at a similar price level. Instead of increasing prices dramatically, they are going to just control supply. Disney would rather have 1 million pass holders at an average price point of $500 than 250k pass holders at an average price point of $1200

 

[DontSpamMe]

Been saying this since I went to Disneyland in 2016 with the kids. The crowds alone make it hard to justify the price point for a DLR hotel and multiple day tickets for the family. So glad they are retooling the program

 

[PirateBrigade]

It’s so clearly the way forward and will be the one lasting legacy of COVID on the parks, 2023 and beyond.

The seeds were sewn with the flex pass…honestly, I think the reservation-less AP program was doomed with or without Covid. The pandemic just have them the opportunity to do it sooner and cleaner.

 

[Corpsebride]

My DH and I had the top teir APs for years. We went at least 4 x's a month. We almost always ate at carthay or LLL. In a nutshell, spent a small fortune. Loved every minute of it. But, here's the thing. For us, the less magical times were when all the other pass levels were blocked and it was only tourists or non-AP's. Always max busy. I loved the non-busy days. Of course. Who doesn't? But, I really don't need to qualify how much magic I experienced because I could go so often. If it was as lackluster as going to a mall or arcade, id just go there. I miss my passes. And when Bob Paycheck figures out how to create a new pass situation while squeezing every penny he can out of it, we will get those. We will go as often as we can. Spend what we spend.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

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 am a family of 4 with small children. We used to have the flex pass and come twice a year for 10 days at a time. We pretty much went to the parks everyday for a few hours, back to hotel, then go back in the evenings. Made us a lot less stressed about trying to ride everything and it was great. We always came during non-peak seasons in January and October and never reserved park days on the weekends. But I gotta say, the weekdays were very crowded, even during these so called non-peak seasons. I could only imagine how much more crowded it must be on the weekends. I'm not sure if Disney can discern when the right and wrong times are for people to come to the parks to evenly spread the love. But I DO think that the price point is the main problem. If it costs too much for families and individuals to come to the parks, then they will come less frequently, and would probably lead to less crowds. But I honestly don't think Disney cares either way. Some people complain, some people don't. But the common denominator is that people still come. That's all that matters.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

I wonder if we will also see more changes to multi-day tickets, as they re-think AP offerings. It might be interesting to be able to buy 10-day or even 14-day tickets, and reserve days at different times, in theory supporting the 2-3 trip a year kind of traveler who previously would spend that many days total in a given year.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I wonder if we will also see more changes to multi-day tickets, as they re-think AP offerings. It might be interesting to be able to buy 10-day or even 14-day tickets, and reserve days at different times, in theory supporting the 2-3 trip a year kind of traveler who previously would spend that many days total in a given year.

I would be for this. I would even support a 21 day pass for like $40 a day

 

[Jaina]

I would be for this. I would even support a 21 day pass for like $40 a day

This would be ideal for some of us! I would love a customizable pass where you could pick what add ons and schedule were best for you, and pay for that level of access.

 

[PirateBrigade]

I wonder if we will also see more changes to multi-day tickets, as they re-think AP offerings. It might be interesting to be able to buy 10-day or even 14-day tickets, and reserve days at different times, in theory supporting the 2-3 trip a year kind of traveler who previously would spend that many days total in a given year.

I would be for this. I would even support a 21 day pass for like $40 a day

This would be ideal for some of us! I would love a customizable pass where you could pick what add ons and schedule were best for you, and pay for that level of access.

Me, three! I'm trying to remember the survey that went out to Legacy AP holders about potential future options, I could have sworn this type of ticket was floated. I'd consider buying a 14 day visit "punch card" if the nominal price was < $55/day. That price ($770) was close to equivalent with the old Deluxe AP.

The only part I don't like is it's still a finite ticket, so when we fly in Friday/fly out Monday for a long weekend trip, it would be tough to burn an entire day's ticket for like... Friday 5pm entry, and we probably wouldn't do what we did before at check out, which is go on 2-3 rides and be off to the airport by noon/1pm. Psychologically, the drive would be to maximize your day...whereas one of the biggest perks (as @HIRyeDVC noted) of the pass was a more relaxed way to experience parks.

But times are a changin,' and I get it.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

The only part I don't like is it's still a finite ticket, so when we fly in Friday/fly out Monday for a long weekend trip, it would be tough to burn an entire day's ticket for like... Friday 5pm entry, and we probably wouldn't do what we did before at check out, which is go on 2-3 rides and be off to the airport by noon/1pm. Psychologically, the drive would be to maximize your day...whereas one of the biggest perks (as @HIRyeDVC noted) of the pass was a more relaxed way to experience parks.

But times are a changin,' and I get it.
[/QUOTE]
I love going to the parks just for the evening but I think this alone would alleviate some of the crowding issue.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

Not sure it will change crowding that much; just means the park is more likely to be crowded all day, versus mornings/evenings.

 

[PirateBrigade]

Not sure it will change crowding that much; just means the park is more likely to be crowded all day, versus mornings/evenings.

And we did see that before -- on days that were blocked, the parks seemed less crowded. Even today, the first reservations to disappear from the calendar were for Tuesdays/Wednesdays, not coincidentally the cheapest ticketing days under dynamic pricing.

As much as people love Disney and will go no matter what, those same people definitely respond to prices as well.

 

[FeistyDisneyMom]

And we did see that before -- on days that were blocked, the parks seemed less crowded. Even today, the first reservations to disappear from the calendar were for Tuesdays/Wednesdays, not coincidentally the cheapest ticketing days under dynamic pricing.

As much as people love Disney and will go no matter what, those same people definitely respond to prices as well.

That does make sense. Lots to think about for planning and vacation priorities now!

 

[PirateBrigade]

That does make sense. Lots to think about for planning and vacation priorities now!

I agree! So many factors coming into play. One that's been weighing on my mind is the rise of workplace flexibility for high income folks and the rise of home schooling (or private schools that are more lax on attendance and where family trips are much easier to plan in terms of pulling kids out).

IMO, that's one of the reasons why we see increased traffic during the historical "slow" days...and I feel that gets more pronounced as time goes on. I wish I had data or there were studies on this, but it's what I feel I've been seeing. I work in a hospital and many of my nurse friends work 3 days/week x 12hr shifts, many of them work weekends by choice and take trips during the week with their kids. What will non-healthcare work look like post-pandemic and will WFH arrangements continue? That will drive a lot of DL traffic changes, I feel.

 

[AquaDame]

A lot of my friend's companies have committed to allowing employees to continue to work from home. It works, their employees are happier, and they're saving $ on rent. Win/win all around IMO. Meanwhile my company keeps lamenting the loss of our "culture" if we continue to all work remote... people are pretty vocal about wanting to keep it, and many more want a hybrid situ (that would be ideal for me, I do like going in from time to time) so we'll see. Regardless it wouldn't allow us to go down to Disneyland more anyway... I don't think working all day and heading to the parks when I wrap up at 4 would be worth the price.

 

[DL1WDW2]

Not the first time
Disneyland Resort resumes Sale of Annual Passports March 2001

DCA opening Day was empty as Diserted (deserted) because the media scared everybody away and most Passholder s had visited with all the Special Preview Days… I was there staying at ParadisePier

 

[DL1WDW2]

If I remember Disney discontinued the Annual Passes in Feb because they thought the popularity of DCA would overwhelm the parks with visitors and by March , they quickly realized DCA was overwhelmed with “local rejection” and criticism of the new Disney California Adventure … and returned the sale of Annual Passes to the guests.
I think a 2 park price was incentive to keep DCA alive.
I have always loved DCA .
Unfortunately they decided to open DCA later and close earlier…. And the concrete and minimal trees to offer shade in afternoons kept DCA kinda empty .
Im trying to remember but the preview Grand Californian price for resort stays might have been $119 and then went up to $159… I used to visit monthly from Kansas City cause Southwest was really cheap then too…like $59 cheap ! Good times

 

[DL1WDW2]

The check- in packages were exquisite Once Upno a Time…