A lot has been on pause in Disney World over the past year.
Cinderella Castle
It’s been a while since we’ve seen fireworks, used a FastPass, or hugged a character; but those aren’t the only offerings we’re missing. It’s been a year since Annual Passes for Disney World were on sale. So, what’s the deal?
The Current Situation
Let’s rewind and talk about the current situation. With the 2020 park closures due to the global health crisis, Disney had to make a number of changes to the way the business was running. One of those changes meant that Disney World paused the sale of Annual Passes when the parks reopened in July of 2020.
Spaceship Earth
Since then, there have been severe limits as to who can purchase a new Annual Pass. At this time, existing Passholders have been able to renew their Annual Passes and those who canceled during the 2020 closure have been able to buy new Passes if they reach out to Disney directly. The only other group that is able to buy Annual Passes at this time is children who recently turned three that have a parent who currently has an Annual Pass.
Toy Story Land
For everyone else, Annual Passes have been completely unavailable at this time. So what is Disney waiting for? And why aren’t Annual Passes on sale in the first place?
Click here to learn more about who can buy an Annual Pass!
Why Annual Passes Aren’t on Sale
Annual Passes may not be on sale for a number of reasons. One could be because they want to manage the number of Passholders who are visiting the park. In an earnings call last August, Disney executives noted that locals (who are often Passholders) were accounting for 50% of park attendance. Imagine what the percentages could potentially be if they started selling more Passes; the balance could significantly skew.
We LOVE this big ball!
It’s true that in the time since last August, more non-local visitors have likely started to go to Disney World once more. However, Annual Passholders are still not the more profitable guests.
While Passholders are among Disney’s most loyal customers and they DO shell out a LOT of dough to buy that pass initially, they do not necessarily spend the most money while there.
Annual Passholders can save at select restaurants!
For one, many Annual Passholders are Florida Residents and may not need to book a night in a Disney hotel, opting instead to drive and stay at home. Passholders also have a tendency to spend less on food and souvenirs when in the parks because they are there more often. The profitability of non-Passholders might be a big reason that Disney is not encouraging new Passholders at this time.
Magic Kingdom
Plus, it’s very possible that Disney hasn’t figured everything out yet when it comes to park modifications and the Annual Pass program. Until they do, sales may remain paused. Remember, there have been a lot of question marks for Disney over the past year and the company may be waiting for more long-term certainty.
Want to learn more about the Passholder mix in Disney World? Click here!
What’s the Future of Annual Passes?
So, what’s the future of Disney World Annual Passes? Well, we can look to Disneyland which got rid of its Annual Passholder program completely during its closure. Disneyland is in the process of developing an entirely new program but they used the closures as an opportunity to revamp from scratch.
Galaxy’s Edge
Disney World could potentially follow the same path, but it’s also possible that Disney was already looking to rework the Disneyland Passholder program and seized the opportunity that the closures provided. With Disney World having been reopened for so long and no news of Annual Pass program cancellations, the program may return to what it was before the closures.
EPCOT
Keep in mind though, Passholders are some of Disney World’s most devoted guests. Take away their ability to have an Annual Pass and many would likely still be willing to shell out big bucks for a ticket (similar to what’s going on right now if former Disneyland Passholders want to visit reopened Disneyland). So Disney eliminating the current program doesn’t seem completely far-fetched.
Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway
As for the current statement from Disney, it remains unchanged. Cast members are still saying to keep an eye on the Walt Disney World website for any updates about the return Annual Pass sales. At the time of writing, if you do go to the Annual Pass page on the website, it redirects you to the Experience Updates page that speaks to all of the different experience changes as a result of the global health crisis.
©Disney
Overall, it’s entirely possible that Annual Passes will return as the capacity and demand levels return to normal in Disney World. With the recent health updates, such as masks no longer being required in outdoor spaces and fewer limitations when it comes to social distancing, we may be getting closer to that point.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Of course, we’ll keep you updated with all of the Disney World Annual Pass updates right here on DFB, so stay tuned.
To learn more about updated health measures in Disney World, click here!
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I guarantee if they got rid of annual passes and WDW, we would not shell out money for park tickets. We go more than enough to pay for the passes. Paying for hopper passes the amount we go would be too expensive.
Hi! In the last couple of weeks, I’ve heard from several different people on different occasions who have successfully purchased new annual passes in-person at the Disney Springs customer service desk, outside of the parameters listed (meaning it wasn’t for children, not a renewal of an existing pass, etc.) They all said Disney will sell the passes on a case-by-case basis. Have you all heard any similar stories? We’ll be there mid-July and will look into it ourselves. We’ll report back if we hear anything interesting!
Thanks for sharing, Paul. Have a great trip!
This entire article is fluff and speculative. No actual facts are being presented.
I am one of those “locals” who Bob C says that we don’t spend enough. Sans dropping over $900 for Platinum Plus pass, I eat there regularly, often buy some of the newest items there, and because I am a local, it do more sight-seeing than rides, thus not contributing to the line queues. Disney often sells limited edition, in-park only items causing my phone to light up from friends across the country begging me to go there any buy it for them. On top of that, the many family, friends, co-workers, and friends of friends that I help plan their trips, take a day off to be a tour guide, and make Disney a fantastic experience for them. All those things and yet over the past year I can find more than a hundred days where I tried to visit a park but couldn’t because Passholder limited were reached for the day…and Disney’s response was an “extra” 30 days added to our passes – pish!
Its sad that Bob puts this mighty dollar ahead of loyalty but if he thinks for a second that I would purchase a daily ticket, he is in for a very disappointing result. So many benefits have been eliminated or reduced that I have begun to question my commitment to remain an APH. From big programs like Tables of Wonderland to small things like a free magicband (the $1 to make but went up by an insane $5 last month), Disney keeps chipping away as they expect record crowds post-covid.
If it is tough on those of us as guests, it is worse for cast members. With the hourly rate going to $15, Disney isn’t paying more, they are keeping it flat by hiring less. I date a manager who has to cut, cut, cut at every opportunity while sales quotes in each line-of-business keep increasing. CM’s work longer hours and have to cover a greater area than before. Some love it and others do it because they have to. Whatever they reason, cast members deserve our thanks for working is less than ideal conditions to make our experiences magical. I just wish Bob could step off his pedestal and appreciate how everyone contributes to Disney.
I really need the Annual Pass available if I’m going to work for you guys or another Disney blog site as I currently live out-of-state and was going to buy one before I moved to Lake Buena Vista. Them taking the Annual Passes away at Disneyland was a major reason for me not to relocate there.
We are annual passholders and we would definitely not be going to WDW any time soon. We have been there MANY times and ridden everything MANY times. Why would we pay $125+ to ride something we could recite by heart? Have people figured out what the per-attraction price is? Let’s say you go on 10 rides on your visit. Is Space Mountain really worth $12.50 to ride? How may would pay $12.50 for Carousel of Progress? We live about 90 minutes away, so we do stay at hotels (off-site because of the over-priced rooms and ridiculous parking fee) and do eat at the park.
If Disney is so concerned with locals buying annual passes, (which is definitely not fair), how about DVC members. We’re coming down from Toronto for 23 days in September and purchased a 10 day pass thst has to be used in 14 days. If we had an annual pass we would dine at Epcot every night rather then a non Disney enterprise. Disney is missing out on another opportunity.
Do you have any idea when Tables in wonderland will be back? We love this perk!
Hey Paul, we were there over the weekend and you’ve heard correct, we were in Disney Springs waiting for our turn to pickup our renewal cards and a couple asked if it were possible to get annual passes, the cast member said “we are selling annual passes on a case by case basis. Explain to me what your looking to do.” My sister asked if she could purchase annual pass and if you repurchase within a certain amount of time from a lapsed pass they will issue you a new one.
As far as the future of Annual Passes, I agree with Jamie. 100%. Disneyland attendance with their former Annual Pass locals is not even a good comparison with WDW. You have 4 parks in WDW. Plus Water Parks. Subtract the Annual Passholders from last years or the previous year’s attendance, 50%, right? 50% less visitors. Yes I agree we are not the more profitable visitors. But we do spend. 50 % less in attendance. I don’t believe Florida annual passholders would continue to visit nearly as much if passes are done away with. 50% of attendance across 4 parks is ALOT OF PEOPLE, throughout the year. The only up side I would see to this is it would cut attendance down quite a bit making crowds and lines more manageable. We could get back to actual busy times and slow times for the parks.
@Paul I sure hope that is true!! I’m ready to buy 5 APs right now and currently at out of state prices!! 🤣😍
We are out of state passholders, and we pay a PREMIUM for our passes (because we don’t get Florida resident discounts). Being limited to three park reservations has been a nightmare for us. We have to plan ahead and shell out a ton just to come to Florida, then when we get there we can only do three days at a park because they are sold out? Our last trip was 9 days and we were only able to get 3 park passes. If this does not change and they continue to charge us fill price for half the Disney experience, we not only won’t renew, we will spend our vacation dollars elsewhere.
We are DVC with about 500 points… travel from Illinois to visit 3-5 times a year. Often we bring guests. We buy art work, Pandora charms, Vera Bradley, and lots of other stuff from Disney… It’s not just the discount, it’s the sense of being valued as a customer
I am also waiting for the return of annual passes. We to spend both a lot of time and money at WDW and buying regular tickets is a no show for us
I don’t live in FL so I do spend the money on hotel and food. But sadly if passes don’t come back October will be my last trip for awhile. I have been 3 times since Oct and have the 50h booked but after that there are no more trips:( I can’t afford to keep shelling out the park ticket prices!
My AP didn’t expire until September and I have a trip planned for October and I wanted to make park reservations which you can’t do until you have a valid ticket. The soonest I would be able to renew and make park reservations was early July.
I called and tried to renew early and was told no, they couldn’t do early renewals. I asked if he could check into it and see if someone else knew how to do early renewals as I had read on a board it could be done. Well, this story long-winded story has a happy ending!
While I was not able to renew early, the CM supervisor was able to extend my expiration date to cover my October trip! I was able to make park reservations and I can renew 60 days before my new expiration date in November.
I hope this helps someone that may be in the same boat I was in on their AP renewal.
I think they better tread lightly. Chapek made a lot of Passholders angry when he said we aren’t as important as non PH are. I was a Reservations Agent, and it is drilled into your head that PH are the most important guests Disney World has. If you do not acknowledge and thank a PH for being a PH on a call, and that call is Quality Monitored, you will lose points off that call.
I beg to differ, at least in my case. My wife and I have had annual passes for the past 10 years, from the full blown all the extras pass to the weeks day only pass in the past 3 years. When we had the passes, we would be somewhere on property at lease one a week and sometimes 3-4 days a week somewhere. Sometimes just to watch the fireworks, and maybe an attraction or two, but mor often than no for lunch or dinner. We did not go during peak times like the weekends or during the summer as we would travel up north for the hotter summer months, but with an annual park pass and an annual water park pass, we were spending money…every week and sometimes multiple days when we came with guests. Now that my pass has expired… Dec. 2019, no one offered to me an option of renewing prior to its expiration. I have not been in the parks since Jan 2020, and just think of all the money Disney has not collected from us. We are dying to get back in, but at $120.00 per day to get in to enjoy the surroundings and a meal, it just does not make sence. Now we do not even go to Disney Springs. as a Florida resident and a DVC member, an annual pass was a great addition to our package,
I say was, because we just can’t afford to go at all. Bad show Disney…
Maybe they could start with selling Annual Passes to overseas guests, and/or those who live outside a certain radius and therefore are more likely to want to stay on property (as opposed to locals who return home each day)? I am hoping to come next July (if my govt finally lets us travel overseas) & would like to get an AP. If I can get one, I plan to go to WDW 3 or 4 times in a 12 month period. I’ve had to reschedule my trip multiple times so far. Was originally scheduled for July 2020, then Oct, then July this year… sigh. I just want to go to WDW and I’m not getting any younger!
I would think that out of state AP holders would be beneficial to WDW. For example, last year I had two trips planned for Universal, December and last month, May. It was cheaper for us to purchase Preferred annual passes, and because we had the passes, good until March 2022, we have already planned THREE more trips at Universal, including on property hotel stays (we haven’t stayed on property yet). So because the AP was so affordable, Universal is going to get ALOT more of our money over the next few months. Disney on the other hand, had raised their AP’s to a whopping $1195 for nonresident platinum. If they lowered that for nonresidents they’d get more people wanting to fill those hotels, buying lots of food and merch. They woulnd’t be able to visit weekly like the locals, but when they visited they’d spend.
Vicki+Pierce, if you’ve got a Walt Disney World Resort hotel reservation, you should be able to book for Disney Park Pass for the full length of stay. You may need to call Disney to have the system override the AP limit. Of course, if you’re staying off-site, this info doesn’t help you at all.
Grace, still no word on this from Disney, unfortunately.
Jess, thanks for the info! We are now planning on heading over there the first weekend of July to check it out.
Vicki+Pierce, thank you for pointing out what happened to you with the three-day limit. I hadn’t thought about that. I’m guessing what you’re saying is that if you come down for let’s say a week-long trip, you can make park reservations for the first three days, but then after you’ve used the first day’s reservation and you go to make a new reservation for Day 4 of your trip, there is no availability at your desired park since it’s so close? (Basically you would need a pass for just a couple of days out). Hmmm, that’s interesting. I never thought about that. We currently have six small trips (with hotel, but four off-property) booked for this year, but I’m now realizing that we can only book three park passes total for all those trips that are off-property. For the rest of the park reservaations for those trips, we have to just hope there’s availability when it gets closer. That’s interesting, and I need to think about if that’s something I’m willing to do. Thank you so much for giving me some food for thought!
@Paul and @Jess, or anyone really, does anyone have any more details about going to Disney Springs to get a pass on a “case by case basis?” I live 30 mins away and have been dying to get an annual pass. I just moved here a few months ago, so I don’t have any lapsed pass or anything. Is that all they mean about a case by case basis or do they just randomly do it for some people to spread magic? If anyone’s been successful doing this, could you give me some pointers as to what you said to the cast member? Thanks!
DFB+Sarah, we have a time share, so we rarely stay on property. I came online this morning to make the point that staying on property gives you more options.
Paul, those who have made reservations for the big anniversary for three days will find themselves unable to go before then. It really impinges on week long trip
I think that Disney not respecting the fact that a lot of their annual pass holders spend a lot of money at the parks every year between the food and souvenirs that my kids get every trip,the arcades, snack shops Motorized vehicle or stroller rentals.We spend quite a bit of money in the Disney Parks. We have also stayed in the hotels at Disney several times when the prices were right.But out of state folks as well as foreigners stay outside the park at hotels as well so it is not fair to say that only the local Florida residents are more likely not to stay at the Disney Hotels. All depends on your hotel specials.I actually prefer your hotels because it used to come with the fast pass.But if you don’t even have that anymore than why pay the higher prices? All the cost none of the perks,rxcept the buses.Shich are great though Also you do nothing in your park to help disabled people anymore like you used too.This I found disgraceful.You let every Tom,Dick and Harry get a disability ride pass without proof that they were disabled and now all the truely disabled people have NOTHING We cant get the pass anymore.(Sorry that had to be said also)Bad bad ,Disney.. All I know is that Disney will lose a heaping of our yearly incomes by no annual passes.Bevause we will not pay park to park day to day because I am disabled and it takes us longer to see the parks and I know there are simular families that are the same.Shame on you Disney for not caring about your loyal local disabled passholders.
Natalie
As a DVC member since 1997. The loss of an annual pass would push us to sell our membership. To go up to 4 week per year would add about $4000.00 to our trip and add that to our dues of $2500.00 would be out of our reach.
Current Disney Park management needs to go. They are only concerned with money and not guest service. I normally go to WDW three times per year for seven to ten days each trip. Each time I go to WDW there are five to nine family members with me. If Disney does not reimplement annual passes, me and my family members will no longer go to WDW.
Just a thought- instead of increasing the price for out-of-country passholders, maybe a cheaper price would encourage us to come more often. I know we would for sure and we always stay at Disney hotels and eat on property, buy souvenirs etc.. Without an annual pass, we would come once a year instead of 3-4 times a year.
I was just at the Disney Springs guest services, and would not sale me an annual pass based on my circumstances. Not sure where info was coming from but it didn’t work. They said their hands were tied, and no one from that building has sold any annual passes to people except renewals, and people that just turned 3 that now require it.
we are DVC members and pre covid would go 2-3 times in 12 months – we spend less on t shirts but more on other items like food (want tables in wonderland back-! felt like i was saving when in fact i was actually spending more) – agreed with early writer that rides are less important so we are also less “wear and tear” – we also come with friends and family and they tend to spend. yes the park reservation system has some problems and i dont really care for fast pass reservations – i find it stressful to plan my vac so far in advance – when universal has front of line (for a fee or with certain higher end hotels) – but the rides there are a bit more intense than we like.
however 2019 -20 was a really odd set of circumstances so perhaps taking a step back and watch and see what happens – if the prices get too far out of hand or quality is too low i know what to do my money.
We are a family of 4 and have had annual passes since their inception. That’s a lot of years and a lot of money. Many of those years we stayed in Disney hotels, ate our meals in all the restaurants, and purchased all kinds of souvenirs. Other years we only entered a park a couple times to see a show, have dinner, or check out a new attraction (still ate food, still purchased souvenirs). The point is, the annual pass program captures the business of a massive sector of people that may not visit the same way as a first time guest. Disney knows this and they are certainly using this time to figure it all out. The fact is, like several people mentioned previously in their reply, as long as there are no annual passes, my family will not be visiting. Thousands upon thousands of family’s are in the same situation as us. It’s a huge revenue loss for Disney, and the data they’ve been collecting is showing it I’m sure. We’ll see y’all there when the annual passes are back and not a second before it. Oh yeah, my sister has a family of 7, my brother has a family of 5, my other brother has a family of 4, mom mom and pop pop are another 2, and it turns out my aunt and uncle and their 4 grown up children, and their kids, are all doing the very same thing. That makes 32 annual passes on hold in just my family alone. Anyone care to do the math? Lol
We are extremely upset about not being able to get Annual Passes, as I have been Passholders for 18 yrs. & my husband has been a passholder for at least 25+ years.
So now are Thanks from you is too bad, stinks to be you! We were dedicated guest who travel from out of state by plane, & must use your hotels, rental cars, etc.
For years we have supported Disney by eating on property which is not cheap! We usually stay at least 5-10 days, and come down several times a year.
Why penalize your loyal guest but not allowing us to purchase Annual Passes, which are not cheap! As a result we will not be going to your parks until you change the rules! Some people come 1 time every 4-5 years and they get the same benefit that we would get coming at least 5 times a year. You need to rethink your rules and make it fair for us too. What would Walt think about how you are treating your dedicated guests?
My family were pass holders with Disneyland for 10 years then moved to Florida and have been pass holders for 5 years. We spend a TON of money buying food, gifts for the kids and more. We were going twice a month and driving 3 hours round trip to get there. Pass holders are definitely “die-hard” fans. We are ready to purchase our annual passes as soon as they are available. But we will NOT be paying the daily rate to visit. We are hoping the Disney World will go back to normal soon!!
So my daughter is signed up with a talent agency and we live in the central florida area and we received an email for her on 7/13/2021 that Disney is casting to shoot a commercial for an annual pass commercial. Soooo….. I wonder when we will see them come back. I would love to see them soon as our son was not able to get his annual pass before they stopped it and he is the only one in our family who doesn’t have one.
Thanks for sharing, Adrienne!
Y’aaaaaaaalllllll!!!! I am trying to move to Orland ASAP but I really need some hard evidence of annual passes returning!!! Anybody got anything else rock solid??? Thanks a bunch, packing boxes readyyy!!!!
So we just came back from our four-day trip to Disney World (without annual passes). I learned a lot while we were there, and I have a new theory. Of course everything below is just my personal opinion, but as a 10-year annual pass holder, this is my assessment. Firstly, regarding the availability of getting new (non-renewal) annual passes at Disney Springs. I decided to call Disney Customer Service before we went on our trip to ask, because I didn’t want to go all the way to Disney Springs and wait on line to be told no. After being on hold for two hours, I spoke to a Disney representative and explained our situation. Before I could even ask about Disney Springs, all on his own he told me to go there and that they can take care of that type of situation there. So the whole “do they, don’t they” has been confirmed, which matches what I’ve heard from several people who successfully got passes. It’s clearly dependent on each individual situation. All that being said, after having spent several days there, we decided not to even bother. The reason we didn’t bother is the same reason I’ve come up with as to why I think they’re not selling annual passes. At this point, right now, there are still far too many “Disney experiences” closed to warrant visiting Disney World that frequently. Additionally, the “hospitality industry staffing shortage” is preventing Disney from accommodating more guests than they have right now. Again, this is just my personal opinion. You may feel differently. By “Disney experiences” I mean, restaurants, rides, transportation, parades, etc. All the things that make Disney, Disney. Don’t get me wrong. We had a great time during our visit. But much like several other people have commented, as annual passholders, we like to go to Disney World for a variety of experiences, not just parks. We like to go to the restaurants, shop, go to the water park, ride around on the monorail, etc. Much of that is still completely shut down (or very limited due to staffing shortages) due to Covid. I don’t think Disney can comfortably accommodate more guests right now. Even if they could, I think many annual passholders would be disappointed in the availability of current offerings. Want to go to the Boardwalk and enjoy Flying Fish? Shut Down. Feel like splashing around in Typhoon Lagoon? Shut down. Want a drink at Trader Sam’s? Shut down. (Technically they just re-opened a day ago). Oh Trader Sam’s is shut down? Let’s hop on the monorail and go somewhere else. Nope. Monorail is shut down. You finally make it to Magic Kingdom via ferry. Bite to eat at Columbia Harbour House? Shut down. Head over to Sanaa at Animal Kingdom Lodge? Limited menu. There’s limited menus at multiple places. OK how about Jiko or a drink at Victoria Falls. Shut down. Staying at Fort Wilderness and love the buffet at Trail’s End? Nope. Gone. Now it’s waiter service. And no fried chicken! Epcot: Monsieur Paul. Marrakesh. Nine Dragons. Shut down. We love the Beauty and the Beast Show at Hollywood Studios. You guessed it. Shut down. Same with Yachtsman Steakhouse and Crew’s Cup. You get the idea. We went to Disney Springs. At 5pm the Lime Garage was completely closed due to full capacity. We went to Orange garage and the hordes of people shuffling through the corrals to get through security looked like something you would see at Mardi Gras. I couldn’t believe how many people were there. There was a massive line to get into the Disney Store that stretched around the building, and they were encouraging you to download an app to pay for your items, presumably because they didn’t have enough cashiers to check everyone out in a timely fashion. Even the local Orlando area is completely overrun with people, and the staffing shortage is causing problems. I went to Walgreens to pick up a quick item. I have never seen more than 4 or 5 people on a line at Walgreens. I counted about TWENTY THREE people in front of me at Walgreens. It seemed to take ages to get my items. So all that said, at this point in time, we’re not in any rush to get an annual pass. We had an awesome time, but many of the experiences that make an annual pass worthwhile for us are either completely shut down and unavailable or are so busy that it’s not something we would do frequently. We have hotel reservations for the first week of August that we were going to use if we got new annual passes at Disney Springs. After this visit though, we’re cancelling that trip and will just wait until more restaurants and experiences are back open. I think once they open more restaurants and experiences and they feel they can accommodate the additional number of people, they will resume the sale of annual passes. Unrelated, we did score a last-minute reservation at Topolino’s Terrace and that restaurant is spectacular.
Paul, thank you for sharing your experiences and perspective.
So some things are shut down, big deal. I’ve already paid more than an AP for 14 park days By the way, a DVC member TALKED me out of renewing. Plus I’ve been DVC since 2008. Give me the AP. WHERE AM I GOING?
My husband and myself r out of state annuals and have been for thirty years and when we fo to Disney world we always stay on property and have e stayed at a lot of them and spend a lot of Money there we started going there about 40 years ago and have family n Florida that urged us to get annuals so we have been there overs 100 times and have been very faithful Disney fans so they need to think also that out of state annuals also spend money
I’m out of state and a DVC owner with 600 points. Sell me the pass that DVC talked me out of. I’ve been a pass holders since 2008. Enough already