You may have once heard the adage that Disneyland is a “local’s park,” whereas Disney World is more of a tourist destination. While Disney never releases the exact breakdown of their attendance, it’s not difficult to tell after just a few visits to the Happiest Place on Earth that there are a lot of Annual Passholders. Like, A LOT.
Disneyland Entrance
In fact, analysts suggest that Disneyland had upwards of one million Annual Passholders when the park closures began in March of 2020 and accounted for an average of 50% of the parks’ daily attendance numbers. Even if that’s just an educated guess, the fact that one million is a feasible approximation is bonkers! How in the world did Disney get to this point, and what could it tell us about the future of Disneyland’s most loyal attendees?
How did Disneyland accumulate so many Passholders?
First, we need to try to crack the code to exactly how and why Disneyland could have accumulated so many Passholders in the first place. While there could be a number of reasons, there are two prominent factors at play.
Disney California Adventure Park
First, there is simply a larger pool of locals to purchase Annual Passes. Since Orange County (CA) and its neighboring Los Angeles County are so densely populated, there are plenty of folks that want their Disney fix within arm’s reach of the parks. Rather than plan an elaborate week-long vacation months in advance like most of us do for trips to Disney World, there are countless individuals within a 20 to 30 minute drive to the Disneyland gates.
Crowds along Main Street, U.S.A. in Disneyland on the opening day of Rise of the Resistance in January 2020
Disney World may certainly attract more tourists on an annual basis, but it is also more likely to welcome families that visit only once a year, or less. Meanwhile, Disneyland attracts locals that could easily visit several times per month.
Storytellers Statue in Disney California Adventure
For added context, Orange County (FL) and its neighboring Osceola County have a combined population of approximately 1.8 million residents, according to the most recent Census data. Meanwhile, Orange County (CA) & Los Angeles County have a combined population of approximately 13.6 million residents. That’s more than seven times the amount of locals!
Disneyland’s Magic Happens Parade
The second reason Disneyland amassed a million Annual Passholders can be boiled down to their monthly payment options. Since the option was introduced, an Annual Pass that would cost $1,000 a year could be broken down into much more manageable payments of less than $100 per month.
Sleeping Beauty Castle
Suddenly that MASSIVE upfront fee can slide into your budget as just one of your monthly expenses. When a system that allows millions of people have access to Disneyland for less than $5 per day goes unchecked for decades, it’s easier to wrap your head around why it was nearly impossible for Disney to make any drastic changes to the system. Sure, Disney World offers monthly payment options for Florida residents with an Annual Pass, but again the sheer number of locals around Disneyland comes into play here.
Click here to read more about just how many Annual Passholders Disneyland had prior to the closures.
Why one million Passholders creates a logistical nightmare for Disney.
So now that we have a basis for understanding exactly where all these Passholders came from, let’s chat about the challenges this presents Disneyland as they aim to reopen from their prolonged closure in 2021.
Disney California Adventure
Disneyland is, in a word, tiny. It’s approximately 500 acres according to visitanaheim.org, compared to Disney World, which is closer to 27,000 acres, or 40 square miles. You’re virtually comparing apples to grapes, or a few city blocks to an entire city the size of San Francisco, or Manhattan Island. The entirety of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure could fit comfortably in EPCOT. It’s itty bitty in comparison, guys.
The Disneyland esplanade — from here, you are feet away from everything Disneyland has to offer!
While not every Passholder visits at the same rate of frequency as others, the pent-up demand of not being able to visit creates a logistical nightmare when determining how they would even fit. According to Orange County Register, “it would take Disneyland nearly 20 days just to let each passholder into the park once. 😳 DCA (California Adventure) would take nearly twice as long. And that’s without allowing a single daily ticket-buyer or Disney hotel guest into the parks.”
Sorcerer Mickey Rice Krispie Treat
California’s theme park reopening guidance mandates that the parks can operate at 25% capacity in the initial reopening phase. That “stretches the length of time it would take to get each passholder into the parks just once from days to months: Nearly three months for Disneyland and approximately five months for DCA.”
Carthay Circle
If Disneyland sold these Annual Passes on the premise that it gave the customer frequent if not constant access to the parks (which they did, depending on which level Pass was purchased), there would understandably be a good deal of frustration with these capacity restrictions. Disneyland will likely adopt a similar Park Pass Reservation System that currently exists at Disney World, further restricting the number of times a guest can visit.
Click here to refresh your memory on California’s theme park reopening guidance.
So what does Disneyland do with one million ex-Passholders?
When you look at the sheer volume of Disneyland Passholders along with the strict capacity restrictions that will be in place, it starts to make more sense why Disneyland had to make such drastic measures like “sunsetting” the previous program. Disney CEO Bob Chapek offered an additional perspective that the company was presented with an opportunity to improve the guest experience through major operational changes like overhauling the program.
Disneyland
At this time it’s still unclear what the full details of the replacement program will look like. We know that one is in the works, and that it will likely be very different from the Annual Passholder program locals were accustomed to.
Haunted Mansion Holiday
The Los Angeles Times worded it perfectly: “It’s a huge shift in Disneyland culture — many Southern Californians grew up with daily, weekly or monthly visits to the park during the nearly four decades the passes have been in existence.” No doubt we’ve all had to make major adjustments in the last year due to the pandemic, and shifting the Disneyland Passholder program is another sign of the times.
Annual Passholder Magnet
Driving around Southern California, it’s hard to drive down any street without passing several cars with Disneyland AP bumper stickers. We can only cross our fingers that the replacement Membership Program offers, as Ken Potrock stated, “choice, flexibility, and value for our biggest fans.”
Click here to read more about Disneyland’s decision to “sunset” their Annual Passholder program.
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Disneyland created their own monster, so there is no one to blame but Disneyland itself. They let this wild fire burn out of control for decades and did nothing about it. Now they are shortcahnging their loyal pass holders just to fix the mistakes and choices they have made with no compensation or concerns for the long time dedicated loyal pass holders. So much for “choice, flexibility, and value for our biggest fans.”
I live in San Francisco and held a deluxe AP up until jan 2019…it got too expensive. I would drive down about 3 times a year for about 4 days each. Pricing got too high and park too crowded….Disney basically locked me out from those multiple trips. Now imagine being a local AP how many of the locals go even cheaper and more often than me. It is def the locals who overcrowded the park from having a cheaper AP. A 1 price AP and a limit to number of days in a given 12 month period…. Would be my solution…or do away with them permanently. Id be content going 2 times a year for 4 days each.
The locals with their cheaper passes are the ones to overcrowd the park. I’ve had an AP since 2007, it was sad when I got the notice that my AP was going to be gone but at the same time, hoping Disney comes up with a better system so local AP holders can’t over crowd the parks. I normally would make it down to Disneyland 2 times a year, going when the parks would be less crowded but it didn’t matter when I went for the past few years, it is always over crowded.
Gus Hurt says: I agree, the locals are 50% ofd over crowding. But don’t blame them, DL was the one who promoted and encouraged them to visit as often as they could. Back in 1984 DL was kind of on a decline as attendance was slow, they would actually be closed on Sundays and Mondays except during the summer months. Back then they had an afternoon promotion for locals were form 2:00 or 4:00pm util the park closed, you could get in for like $10.00 bucks. Around that time they came up with and created the annual passes.
It became a huge success over the years and decades as Disneyland once again gained popularity and attendance increased over time just like DL wanted. It was now attainable and affordable for SoCal locals like me an my family and others to frequently visit as often as they could. It was no longer a once or twice a year visit. I was now a once or twice a month visit for families like mine. And the monthly payment option made it even easier. So again, DL created this issue not the locals. The SoCal locals just took advantage of a great deal DL offered them. It was DL that allowed it to get out of control, not the pass members.
But instead of having any loyalty or any concern for their dedecated pass members old and new, they just screwed them by canceling the entire pass system. They could have restructured it to accommodate both local and out of town visitors. They sort of did this before when they canceled and transitioned the “California” pass to the “California Select” pass. The new pass had less days, no Saturdays, not Holidays, and limited Sunday’s. But the loop-hole was if you could keep the California pass if you renewed not every year, so many members did. My point is they could have worked something out without betraying their biggest and loyal fans, instead of just leaving them high and dry. I hope they do bring back the passes even though I know they will be far more expensive and offer far less. But even if they do, the hardcore locals old and new will still pay and they will always come.
I’ve hade an annual pass for years and not once have I not been able to get I. We would normally go during the weekdays to beat the crowds. Forget weekends. We would have dinner get on a ride or two and buy little nick backs here and there. As a past employee, we were always told that AP members spent the most money on trips to the park because the could all ready get in, that they would always eat and buy things. Now reading that they don’t sounds fishy to me. Sounds like a way to just up the price for more profit. Mark my words, if they charge too much for a pass, then turn around in a year or two and bring passes back, it because of all the money the lost from locals.
I have been a pass holder for several years. Recently I read that Disney felt we weren’t spending as much in the park because we’d eat beforehand or bring snacks. I beg to differ. I might bring a few snacks for my young nephews but we’d always plan at least one meal there everytime we went. And another thing. We shopped for merchandise ALL THE TIME! As a pass holder, you have to wear the seasonal gear! But I’ll tell you what. Without a monthly payment plan, I can’t see dishing out $1500 all at once. Taking away that option would be a horrible way to treat your biggest fans.
Legacy pass holders from Utah. Paid for signature passes in full up front. Payment plans were never an option. We were willing to pay in advance for about 340 days in to the park knowing that we were planning on being there less than 25 days in a year. Paid for hotels shuttles and uber’s. Never left the resort for other day trips. Ate out every meal and always bought merch. We were a good deal for the parks. They chopped us off with out a thank you for our loyalty. Out of state annual pass holders have been completely left out.
My wife and I had annual passports for several years and saw an almost immediate change when payments became available. The crowding got so unbearable that by the second year of payments being an option we gave our passports up because it just wasn’t enjoyable anymore.
Our last visit (on single-day tickets) a few years ago had such awful crowding that we were literally stuck between the Matterhorn and Nemo for close to an hour because of the fireworks show blockages.
We’re locals and couldn’t take the experience anymore; I can’t imagine how disappointing it would be to make a long trip for that kind of a day. There might be a million passholders that feel like Disney owes them something but the park simply couldn’t handle it.
Andy: You re correct but as I mentioned before DL created the monster, not the pass holders. We always looked at the crowd calendars online to determine what days to go. Obviously spring, summer and winter break was not the time to go. But admittedly, with my job it is real easy to take a vacation/sick/personal day and/or leave work early, so we literally could go any day my pass allowed us to. This why we would usually go during the week, and avoid weekends. And being that we live close by, it was real easy to just do a Friday afternoon and evening as they would close at midnight on the weekends. I don’t think people like us abused the system, it was the system that failed, not the pass holders.
Have had AP a passes since the very begining …99 bucks initially….this is very frustrating and definitely I do t feel Disney is giving those loyal customers the consideration due them!!! It’s less than a month away to opening and they have yet to announce the reservation system or the process to get in…With the volume of pass holders and the restrictions to get in becuz of Covid it’s gonna be a nightmare just trying to get in ONE TIME…add to that our home has special needs which complicated things further….one can only hope that Ho,ding an AP a will at least allow one entry as a courtesy….I should know better!
I live in Arizona. I grew up in SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA. I had to pay the full amount of $1399.00 up front. I was alright with doing it. I would need to make reservations at a local hotel for the week. No problem because I new that I would be able to get into the parks. Believe me I spent a lot of money on merchandise, food and candy every day. I have bad knees so I took my time getting around. I was just really happy to be at UNCLE WALT’S. (that is what we called DISNEYLAND!) Now without the Annual passport it is going to be, DO I TAKE A CHANCE and pay the money for the hotel and the price of the ticket and wonder if I will be able to get into DISNEYLAND. One morning I was there when you stood at the rope. When the rope was removed the CAST MEMBER that I had been chatting with said ” are you ready the race is on.” I told him that those days are over and that is why I have my ANNUAL PASSPORT. HAVE A GREAT DAY EVERYONE!
I’ve had an annual pass since 1909 and use it about 20 times a year. Since I live 44 miles away I stay from 9Am to 11pm and eat at the park. There were several times that I didn’t renew for six months but when they stopped selling the California select and parking garzge pass and we were grandfathered in if we renewed on time, it was too expensive not to renew because the parking alone would cost me double. I met many in lines that were in a similar situation. If you loved Disneyland you were trapped. The solution is to drop time payment plans to halve the number of passholders and aleve the overcrowding
This message is for the annual passholders who actually used to visit the parks DCA and DL Daily!!! Yes you’ve read that right, daily! 🙄
I used to see these types of APs on Instagram particularly mommy’s bragging about taking their children to Disneyland every day, come rain, wind or shine. Or the ones that used Disneyland as their daily check in to avoid a strike! Those were the people who overcrowded and ruined the parks. Please Disney do not allow this grotesque display of self importance happen again.
I have been a Deluxe AP holder since the early 90’s and what ruined it was the monthly payment plans. That’s when the overcrowding started. It was always expensive to buy a AP without paying monthly but either you can afford it or you can’t . So bring on a new program that mirrors the one in the beginning no monthly payments, no special SoCal price , just plain everyday of the year or deluxe.
Everyone is being mean on the comments. That’s too bad that Disneyland is in California and we do live here in California. Deal with it mad people. We should feel like we are very privileged and welcome to visit anytime we feel like it. I don’t live in Florida so guess what.? I don’t visit there very often or never. We are going to keep overcrowding we live here in California where Disneyland is located. Disneyland please create a system where you limit the amount of people you let in its super overcrowded. Everyone would love this.
I am one of the original Pass Holders (1990) and have had the premium ever since. I feel that when they DO start up the new program they should give previous passholders preferential choice due to our past loyalty. I refuse to go until then as I feel Disney snubbed their noses at us for their mismanagement. They should limit the # of each type of passes. Just my opinion….
From New Mexico and the first time I took my girls to Disneyland was in 2012 in March, best trip ever. The crowds weren’t bad at all and got to do everything we wanted to. Next trip was in March 2014, and September 2015 getting a bit too crowded. Then early November 2016 getting horribly crowded and then finally in early May 2018 and 2019 (not grad nights) it was unbearably crowded. Have to admit as an out of state visitor kind of glad they got rid of the annual passes and really hope the control the crowds better. Though I understand it sucks for those who previously had the passes.
Araceli said everyone is being mean. I disagree. They are simply stating their experiences and opinions. I have to agree with them. The locals WERE crowding to place into a nightmare instead of a magical place. I understand wanting to visit a lot but as an AP I felt very disappointed that when we went in the last few years it wasn’t fun.Not being locals we couldn’t just leave after a few hours and come back another day. So, I agree that the AP system had to be revamped. So glad it’s changing. Maybe we can go now and have a magical time like we used to.