I just realized that I’ve been a Disney World Annual Passholder for about a decade now!
Annual Pass
Let me tell you, for the most part, these past 10 years have been an absolute dream. There’s nothing quite like the magic of being able to hop over to Magic Kingdom on a random Wednesday afternoon or grabbing a quick bite from the Japan Pavilion in EPCOT after work. But even though the decade has been magical, there’s this one Disney World rule that drives me absolutely crazy, so let’s talk about it!
Without giving too much of a history lession, back in the “good old” pre-pandemic days, Annual Passholders had the ultimate freedom. You could go to any park, any day, and just walk right in. No planning, no reservations, no hassle. Want to hit up Hollywood Studios in the morning and head over to Animal Kingdom by lunchtime? Done.
Animal Kingdom
But then the pandemic happened, and everything changed with the system. Disney introduced park reservations, and suddenly, all that carefree spontaneity I loved so much was gone. Sure, I get that they needed to manage crowds and keep things safe, but it’s 2024 now. The parks have way more guests in them and everything is back in full swing. So why are we still doing this whole reservation thing?
Magic Kingdom crowds
To be perfectly fair, things have improved a lot since the height of the pandemic. Nowadays, if you’re an Annual Passholder, we have “Good-to-Go” days where we don’t need a Park Pass reservation, and you can also visit most parks after 2PM without a reservation, Monday through Friday. Now, that’s great if you’ve got a flexible schedule and can roll in for a few hours during the week. But if you want to hit up Magic Kingdom on a Saturday or Sunday, you still need to make a reservation.
Magic Kingdom
To make matters worse, the water parks aren’t automatically included at my pass level anymore, which is a huge bummer. I used to love those summer days I’d spend relaxing in the wave pools with no reservations and no extra costs. Now, even if I wanted to go, it’s either I get an additional ticket or upgrade, which really makes me think about how much value it feels like Passholders have lost over the years.
Blizzard Beach
To be fair, it probably sounds like I’m nitpicking (maybe I am), but I thought the whole point of being an Annual Passholder was the flexibility. I mean, we’re talking about Disney World here. Isn’t it a place built on the idea of fun, magic, and freedom to explore. Having to pre-plan when you’ll have your park days doesn’t quite feel like the right vibe.
Hollywood Studios
Again, it is convenient that nowadays I can head to almost any park after 2PM, but it sure would be nice to go back to the days when we could decide on to go just a whim. Until then, I am hopeful that we’ll continue to see things loosen up, so here’s to hoping for the magic of spontaneity to return soon!
EPCOT
Those are just a couple of my thoughts on the Disney World rule that I think could use a tweak, and now I’d love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. Until then, keep it right here at DFB for all the latest from Disney World!
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I completely agree with you! Those same perks are what we miss also. I don’t understand the reasoning behind us no longer getting the water parks as part of our Annual Passholder package. We used to water park in the morning then head over to another park for the rest of the day. Sigh.
I agree with you. We just moved down here and wanted to be able to day run. But I got to reserve it.
One time we were just going by in the morning and wanted to stop in.
We hope you change it
I remember when we went to wdw and waited at the hotel bus stop and went to the park which bus came first !
That was fun be nice to do it again !
You are not being nit picky. The fact that AP holders still have to make park reservations is ridiculous. Especially now that we can book LL’s ahead of time. They know which park we are visiting first, so the excuse that it’s for staffing purposes no longer holds water. It’s not exactly a customer friendly model when you make it more difficult for your most loyal fans to visit the parks. But we all know they prefer the guests buying date based tickets. I doubt many AP holders have forgotten Chapek’s description of AP holders as undesireables.
You have just said out load what most of the Passholders are feeling. The fact that we are the ONLY ones that are limited as to when we can go without restraint has many questionings being a Passholder. It really feels like we have been relegated to a second-class status. Many of us have faithfully paid for years to be able to just get up and go enjoy the “magic” without these restrictions. If ANYONE deserves the freedom to go to the parks without reservations it should be the most faithful i.e. PASSHOLDERS! We have lost a lot of the benefits of being a Passholder and the price continues to go up every year. I sincerely hope the “power that be” will re-evaluate the treatment and restrictions placed on us.
I’ve been an AP holder since the late 1980’s and have seen many changes with the AP program. The big change that I remember was when they made your renewal date to be when your year was finished. When we first started buying the AP, you could renew your pass, and the date wouldn’t go into effect until the first day of your vacation when you used it to enter a park. I really miss the carefree days before COVID when you could just decide to show up at a park and not need a reservation. I really hope Disney changes this policy for AP holders.
My sister and I have been WDW annual passholders (Florida residents) for over 20 years and just last month went ahead and let our passes expire. We received renewal alerts from WDW but no discounts or that extra month they offered in past years. We looked at each other, listed the many things Disney has messed up in recent years, asked ourselves what on earth has Disney improved, and both quickly decided not to renew. We have plenty of fun at Universal Orlando!
I agree. We have visited twice this year and may visit again next year. We were Passholders prior to Covid but not any more. It would be a little cheaper to get a season pass but we won’t do it because we are coming in from out of town and you are only able to make 5 days of reservations at a time. We will not risk not being able to get into the Parks when we are driving so far to get there and making all the other plans of being there. It really is frustrating.
I passed Josh D’Amaro in a Disney park a few months ago and was soooo tempted to yell out “No park reservations for Annual Passholders!”
Agree 100%!! That’s why I’m not renewing my AP. It’s just not worth it anymore, financially or the hassle of planning & making reservations! Plus the bigger factors for me are the huge changes to Ft. Wilderness, where we spent every Christmas!! But the absolute last straw of sealing up Rivers of America is what really did it for me!! Seriously Disney?!!! That’s got to be the WORST idea ever!! But of course Disney only cares about the money now! Someday people won’t even know who Walt Disney is anymore!!
I have been an annual passholder for about ten years also, but I live in Massachusetts. Entry at 2 isn’t helpful. My vacations are made months in advance so “good to go days” are irrelevant. When I vacationed this spring I was the only one who couldn’t book the last park day for the group, could only book 5 days and hope that it would’ve available after i had used a few days. I was punished for having an annual pass! C’mon Disney!
Our family has been DVC since 2008 and top tier annual pass (we live out of state so are limited) for close to 10 years. As mentioned by others the prices have increased while perks decreased. During COVID requiring park reservations was understandable. However, at this time they certainly have the data to be able to model the various APs against daily attendance. To continue to require park reservations at most if not all levels is probably not at all necessary except for peak holidays and for higher levels not at all. I don’t mind paying for a service with additional value, but I don’t want to feel like I am being taken advantage of. One idea might be introducing an AP add-on that included lightening lane. As far as the ‘Undesirable’ reminder they would do well to remember that we often spend thousands each year before stepping foot into a park.
I never comment on these, but you make SUCH GOOD POINTS!!!
I have top tier passes at all 3: SeaWorld, Universal, and Disney, and ever since Disney started their reservation system, I’ve been finding myself at Universal more often. It’s just so much easier to be spontaneous there, plus I get discounts on food at the carts, Express after 4, preferred parking all day and all night, and I could go on. It just feels like a better value, and it cost me half as much as my Disney pass. (Though TBH if SeaWorld were to bring back their dining plan I’d be there every day, not gonna lie!)
I literally read this article and almost screamed that someone else “gets me” so I need to thank you for making me feel seen 🥰
I have to agree with everything mentioned. Whenever I return from a trip I send an email to WDW. One thing I always mention is the ridiculous park reservations. And Tables in Wonderland, if it’s not returning at least up the AP discount to 20%.
Unfortunately I have to agree with the other comments. Prices go up and up and perks go down and down. As a DVC member (since 2009) we usually buy an annual pass. This year when we renewed our Sorcerers pass we were dismayed to find that there were BLOCKOUT DATES! It’s not as if I would like to be in the park during the busiest days but the fact that the FLEXIBILITY has been taken from us. And, yes, it’s correct: we spend tons of money in the parks and it often feels that we’re treated as second class citizens. I can certainly see why people would opt for Universal instead.