DVDizzy Forum

Yesterday I receive a survey from Disneyland in which they ask for opinions on the acquiring of passports method and it seams like the want to sell them also in payment like bimonthly or quarterly... it seams like they want more people in to the annual passport business, I do not know but for me would be better keeping the prices in order to keep people going...payments do not look for me more attractive in any way...

Just my opinion - Disney may be finally realizing that there is an upper limit to what they can charge for admission, in this case with the annual passports. A payment plan allows people to buy an annual passport and attend the parks (and spending money on food and in the shops, or at least Disney hopes so), while spreading out the costs of the passports.

I don't know how well a payment plan will go over, since it's going to be limited in scope. Annual passports have limited markets: they're generally sold to Southern Californians and Floridians, those who live close to the parks. Most everyone else is better off buying 3, 4 or 5 day passes for when they are actually visiting the parks.

And the biggest hurdle, I'm not sure how many people are going to want yet another bill coming into the house, because that is exactly what a payment plan is, yet another bill. I know that if I lived near Disneyland or WDW, I wouldn't bother with this idea because I definitely don't need yet another bill coming into the house.

hey, im new to disneyland stuff, whats an annual passport?

is it like an unlimited entry yearly pass? plus how much are they? they sound expencive the way you are talking.

Lion711 wrote

hey, im new to disneyland stuff, whats an annual passport?

is it like an unlimited entry yearly pass? plus how much are they? they sound expencive the way you are talking.

An annual passport is a yearly pass to whichever resort you buy it from. Some allow unlimited entry throughout the entire year, others have blackout dates or exclude certain parks (the water parks at WDW, for example).

And, yes, they are very expensive. The current rates for annual passports (per person) at the two US resorts are

Disneyland-
$229.00 - good 315 days out of the year. The blackout dates are mostly Saturdays and Holidays.
$349.00 - no blackout dates, good all year long, including Saturdays and Holidays.

Walt Disney World-
$415.00 - good all year long, allows park hopping, water parks like Blizzard Beach are not included.
$539.00 - good all year long, allows park hopping, water parks are included.

Basically a family of four would end up shelling out $1396 for four annual passports at Disneyland or $2156 at WDW for unlimited passports. Now you could save some money by buying the lesser expensive alternatives ($916 for Disneyland or $1660 for WDW) but by doing this you're giving up some flexibility.

No matter what, it's definitely a lot of money for a family to shell out and if you don't live near the parks, I don't know that it is really worth it. After all, the annual passports don't include the costs of getting yourself there or of your hotel room. And even if you do live close to the parks, unless one visits somewhat frequently, I'm still not sure it's worth it. After all, Disney has its money, whether you visit or not. If you suddenly find yourself getting busy (job, school, whatever) and are unable to visit, you're out the money you spent on the passport.

I am the Doctor wrote:Just my opinion - Disney may be finally realizing that there is an upper limit to what they can charge for admission, in this case with the annual passports. A payment plan allows people to buy an annual passport and attend the parks (and spending money on food and in the shops, or at least Disney hopes so), while spreading out the costs of the passports.

I don't know how well a payment plan will go over, since it's going to be limited in scope. Annual passports have limited markets: they're generally sold to Southern Californians and Floridians, those who live close to the parks. Most everyone else is better off buying 3, 4 or 5 day passes for when they are actually visiting the parks.

And the biggest hurdle, I'm not sure how many people are going to want yet another bill coming into the house, because that is exactly what a payment plan is, yet another bill. I know that if I lived near Disneyland or WDW, I wouldn't bother with this idea because I definitely don't need yet another bill coming into the house.

Completely agree with the Doc. ...

Lion711 wrote:hey, im new to disneyland stuff, whats an annual passport?

is it like an unlimited entry yearly pass? plus how much are they? they sound expencive the way you are talking.

as a southern Californian (my case) and living kind of close to the park there are other options with their own limitations, we have the Southern California annual passes, there are also tickets for a year around, like the ones mentioned above, the SC ones are quite convenient and not expensive IF you live close to the parks because there is only admission during weekdays excluding the whole weekend or just the Saturday, and if you plan go to Disneyland a least 2 times per year the cost would be the same (between 150 and 100 per ticket) this tickets are also hoppers for entering both of the parks...BUT forget about vacations seasons and holidays they are all block...
For a family of Three like mine (with a 2 year old child who do not pay entrance) this is quite a convenient method for going to Disneyland a lot of sundays avoiding the busy times and taking some snacks for lunch... otherwise it would be worthless.