News Disney modifies monthly payment structure for Annual Passes

J

jpeden

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
donaldtoo said:
I, honestly, had no clue.
We don’t go to Disney all that often (once every year or two), so we have no use for APs.
As a result, we pay everything off we can for a trip before we even go, and any other expenses we have cash at the ready for, and have never had WDW bills to pay after a trip.
Are those AP finance plans straight up, or is interest involved…?
Probably a dumb question, but… :cyclops:
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It's a zero percent plan.
 
donaldtoo

donaldtoo

Well-Known Member
DarrenD said:
No interest, all the parks have similar payment plans. I used to work GR and 10000% the most popular way for people to pay. Only putting $200 down then having the rest as a $30-$50 a month 'subscription to go to Disney World' is a pretty good value proposition.
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I just cannot relate to any of this, sorry.
 
mrerk

mrerk

Premium Member
donaldtoo said:
I, honestly, had no clue.
We don’t go to Disney all that often (once every year or two), so we have no use for APs.
As a result, we pay everything off we can for a trip before we even go, and any other expenses we have cash at the ready for, and have never had WDW bills to pay after a trip.
Are those AP finance plans straight up, or is interest involved…?
Probably a dumb question, but… :cyclops:
Click to expand...
No interest.
 
J

jpeden

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
mrerk said:
Because a non FL resident would be more likely to walk away. Buy a pass, take the trip, stop paying on the pass. You just got your trip for the down payment and 1 months payment. Of course you would never be able to go again, but that is the angle some would play.
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It's really interesting because Universal DOES offer payment plans regardless of location, along with seasonal passes.

I can tell you that if they offered seasonal passes and payment plans we would absolutely have them. We live in SW GA and as such are only about 4 hours away and would love to go down Friday after work and come back on Sunday evening with our kids and just crash in an all-stars resort for the weekend and do the parks, but the structure of tickets make this super unaffordable, and I'm not spending $6,000 on annual passes for my family of four just to be able to do that.

In fact, we had AP's when it was just the two of us and we lived in NE GA and we were 7.5 hours away and would do the exact same thing (drive down on Friday after work, get there late, and power the parks Saturday/Sunday AM and then head home). Of course that was pre-COVID and AP's were less than $800 a person.
 
bmr1591

bmr1591

Well-Known Member
mrerk said:
Because a non FL resident would be more likely to walk away. Buy a pass, take the trip, stop paying on the pass. You just got your trip for the down payment and 1 months payment. Of course you would never be able to go again, but that is the angle some would play.
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Because someone from Pensacola doesn't have just as much a chance to do this? I mean, you leave Orlando, I feel like you're in a pretty similar place to anyone. And maybe it would be better, if this is actually a concern, to allow payment plans for people who have been APs before, showing they intend to pay and go.
 
V

vikescaper

Well-Known Member
DarrenD said:
Renewals typically don't have a down payment attached. It's usually just a higher monthly premium and just automatically rolls into the new contract.
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That’s what I figured. I was asking because my mom, sister, and I have the same renewal dates. I renewed last month and they are holding off until closer to the expiration date. I wanted to warn them if the price was going to be a little bit higher.
 
mrerk

mrerk

Premium Member
bmr1591 said:
Because someone from Pensacola doesn't have just as much a chance to do this? I mean, you leave Orlando, I feel like you're in a pretty similar place to anyone. And maybe it would be better, if this is actually a concern, to allow payment plans for people who have been APs before, showing they intend to pay and go.
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They absolutely could. I'm sure there are parts of GA that are closer to WDW than the panhandle. But they've got to draw the line somewhere. It's easier to just say FL resident than 300 mile radius. (or whatever the number is)
 
MrPromey

MrPromey

Well-Known Member
wdwmagic said:
It is a very popular option, if not the primary method that APs are sold.
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Yeah, there was a boom in adoption when they started to offer it. I honestly think that was the beginning of their "issue" with AP holders.

The price barrier of paying up front for multiple passes for a family visiting locally naturally limited the number of FL purchases.

It was after that, the AP events became impossible to get into due to filling up before all of the email notifications for signup had even gone out and when perks started to get more flimsy, I assume because of the sudden influx of additional pass-holders that had to be accounted for.
 
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Dranth

Dranth

Well-Known Member
Jrb1979 said:
That's not good for the swamp at all. Attendance has been flat. What's going to happen when travel is weakening?
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If it continues, everyone in travel is going to be hurting but on the plus side, that also gives them some cover to reset pricing if companies choose to take it.

As much as it stinks, a recession or worse, a depression is one of the quickest ways to get prices down. Not that we are there yet, but it certainly looks more and more possible.
 
larryz

larryz

I'm Just A Tourist!
Premium Member
J

J4546

Well-Known Member
I know this is a wildly unpopular opinion, and it would never happen but I wish theyd just get rid of APs all together. I know they make soooo much money and getting rid of them would be bad for many reasons lol ( i didnt say this was a good idea) but everytime I go to DL in the last couple years its just soooo packed its not even fun anymore. Just endless crowds packing every nook and cranny, no matter how wonderful and immersive the lands are, they are just too packed for me to feel the "magic" anymore. Maybe Im just getting old or something though...

But if everyone had to pay full price to go to the park it would be so much less busy and a much better experience imo
 

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