>>The coronavirus pandemic could bring to an end monthly payments for Disneyland annual passes and eliminate a budget-friendly practice that has been blamed for a surge in overcrowding at the Anaheim theme park.
Disneyland is considering discontinuing monthly payments for annual passes, according to passholder surveys conducted by Disney.<<
>>The Disney annual pass survey question asks: Imagine that monthly payments were no longer available at the Disneyland Resort in California. Which of the following best describes what you would have done?
Prorated monthly payment plans have allowed the theme park industry to take annual and seasonal pass sales to a new level, according to Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles.
“Cheap monthly payments have driven record attendance throughout the industry, as many fans who feel priced out of daily tickets end up (somewhat ironically) finding annual passes a more affordable deal,” wrote Niles, a Southern California News Group theme park columnist. “That’s especially true at Disneyland, where reportedly more than a million Southern Californians have bought Disneyland Resort annual passes.”
Blooploop’s Lance Hart said the introduction of monthly payments was the tipping point for Disneyland’s crowding issues. The budget-friendly monthly payments convinced many Southern Californians it was worth the cost to be able to visit Disneyland whenever they wanted — even for just a few hours, according to Hart.
“From here Disneyland found itself with a bit of a problem,” wrote Hart, who compiles the Screamscape theme park news website. “Crowd levels at the California theme parks had now surged to the point where there was really no longer a slow season for Disneyland or California Adventure. Tourists arriving from afar who may have tried to plan a trip to visit in what they thought was a slower season were often shocked at how crowded the park was, no matter what time of year they would visit.”
Martin Lewison, a theme park expert at Farmingdale State College in New York, said Disneyland’s annual pass program is extremely popular and profitable.
“The introduction of monthly payment options had a stimulative effect — not just at Disney but across the industry,” Lewison said via email.
Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services, compares the theme park industry’s burgeoning passholder programs to climbing and coiling vines that have grown out of control.
“The season pass program has gotten out of control at all of the parks,” Speigel said in a phone interview. “You plant it and it just goes crazy and wild. I don’t think the industry has control over their season passholders.”<<
Disneyland is considering discontinuing monthly payments for annual passes, according to passholder surveys conducted by Disney.<<
>>The Disney annual pass survey question asks: Imagine that monthly payments were no longer available at the Disneyland Resort in California. Which of the following best describes what you would have done?
- Would NOT have a pass
- Would keep the pass but TRADE DOWN to a less expensive version
- Would KEEP the pass and stay at the same level
Prorated monthly payment plans have allowed the theme park industry to take annual and seasonal pass sales to a new level, according to Theme Park Insider’s Robert Niles.
“Cheap monthly payments have driven record attendance throughout the industry, as many fans who feel priced out of daily tickets end up (somewhat ironically) finding annual passes a more affordable deal,” wrote Niles, a Southern California News Group theme park columnist. “That’s especially true at Disneyland, where reportedly more than a million Southern Californians have bought Disneyland Resort annual passes.”
Blooploop’s Lance Hart said the introduction of monthly payments was the tipping point for Disneyland’s crowding issues. The budget-friendly monthly payments convinced many Southern Californians it was worth the cost to be able to visit Disneyland whenever they wanted — even for just a few hours, according to Hart.
“From here Disneyland found itself with a bit of a problem,” wrote Hart, who compiles the Screamscape theme park news website. “Crowd levels at the California theme parks had now surged to the point where there was really no longer a slow season for Disneyland or California Adventure. Tourists arriving from afar who may have tried to plan a trip to visit in what they thought was a slower season were often shocked at how crowded the park was, no matter what time of year they would visit.”
Martin Lewison, a theme park expert at Farmingdale State College in New York, said Disneyland’s annual pass program is extremely popular and profitable.
“The introduction of monthly payment options had a stimulative effect — not just at Disney but across the industry,” Lewison said via email.
Dennis Speigel, an industry expert with International Theme Park Services, compares the theme park industry’s burgeoning passholder programs to climbing and coiling vines that have grown out of control.
“The season pass program has gotten out of control at all of the parks,” Speigel said in a phone interview. “You plant it and it just goes crazy and wild. I don’t think the industry has control over their season passholders.”<<