Disneyland New "Flex" Annual Pass

[fctiger]

Looking at todays prices it’s hard to believe that a no blackout pass cost $779 ~3.5 years ago

It really speaks to how out of control these prices have gotten. In reality a pass shouldn't be anymore than $7-800 tops today. They can only get away with it because of the monthly payment plan. And why they will never go away. Disney has jacked these prices up to a ridiculous level, few people will want or can afford to pay for a $1,000 pass out of pocket. . What does it say when APs cost more for DLR than they do WDW which has twice the number of parks?

Another reason why the flex pass looks like so much a steal. Its a reasonable figure for an AP. Although if you go a lot or even just twice a month you will still end up paying hundreds in parking fees. Thats why its a pass really meant for casual park goers who go a few times a year.

 

[Touchdown]

Is it really out of control though? $1149 I paid for my pass in October.

I will have gone by the time it’s over 8 days in Oct, 5 days in Dec, 6 days in Feb, 3 days in June, 6 in July and 5 in Oct again. 33 total days which works out to $34 a day. Am I willing to pay $34 a day for a park hopper, you bet. Therefore I don’t view the costs as out of control.

 

[Darkbeer1]

Remember that Disneyland is fairly easy to get to without you driving there. Both LA and Riverside County have good limited stop bus service. OCTA has multiple routes including the faster Bravo service. ART also has 23 routes to Disneyland. Metrolink and AMTRAK trains service the area. And of course Uber/Lyft and taxis. Friends can drop you off at both Harbor and DTD.

You don't have to park at a Disney owned lot, in fact I strongly suggest you don't park at Disney this summer.

 

[fctiger]

Is it really out of control though? $1149 I paid for my pass in October.

I will have gone by the time it’s over 8 days in Oct, 5 days in Dec, 6 days in Feb, 3 days in June, 6 in July and 5 in Oct again. 33 total days which works out to $34 a day. Am I willing to pay $34 a day for a park hopper, you bet. Therefore I don’t view the costs as out of control.

Since no other AP is close to that price (and that includes all other Disney APs worldwide which also has two parks) I would say yes. WDW top pass is still $200 less and that includes 6 theme parks when you add in the water parks. DLR is really the only pass that has shot up to a ridiculous level but that's also because the demand is there obviously. I'm not saying they shouldn't charge it, if people are paying then by all means but its no way it would be close to that price now if it wasn't for the payment plans. It would be hundreds less easily.

 

[fctiger]

Remember that Disneyland is fairly easy to get to without you driving there. Both LA and Riverside County have good limited stop bus service. OCTA has multiple routes including the faster Bravo service. ART also has 23 routes to Disneyland. Metrolink and AMTRAK trains service the area. And of course Uber/Lyft and taxis. Friends can drop you off at both Harbor and DTD.

You don't have to park at a Disney owned lot, in fact I strongly suggest you don't park at Disney this summer.

I hear you but as someone who has taken the bus to the resort, its still a real pain. And the other issue is that if you are in the L.A. area (which the majority of locals are) then its a hassle trying to make all your connections because plenty of busses stop early. And in fact you probably have to leave the park at 8 or 9 if A. You want to get home by bus and B. You want to get home by midnight if you live in L.A. county. Of course if you live within 30 minutes of the resort it may not be as bad. Its cheaper but its not convenient. At all unfortunately.

And Uber is very expensive. It would cost me $30 to get to the park, one way! I live 30 mins away.

 

[Touchdown]

I don’t think it would, Disney is a premium product and theme parks still cost much less then other forms of live entertainment (Sporting event tickets, ski lift tickets, Broadway Shows, concerts) I fully expect prices to continue to rise. I think a whole lot less people would own passes but I don’t see why they would cost less. You’re still looking at recouping the cost of your pass in under 15 visits (based on a one day ticket.)

 

[socalifornian]

I hear you but as someone who has taken the bus to the resort, its still a real pain. And the other issue is that if you are in the L.A. area (which the majority of locals are) then its a hassle trying to make all your connections because plenty of busses stop early. And in fact you probably have to leave the park at 8 or 9 if A. You want to get home by bus and B. You want to get home by midnight if you live in L.A. county. Of course if you live within 30 minutes of the resort it may not be as bad. Its cheaper but its not convenient. At all unfortunately.

And Uber is very expensive. It would cost me $30 to get to the park, one way! I live 30 mins away.

The weekend $10 train is really the only route that makes sense for me in Santa Clarita, as far as cost and travel time are concerned. Have to leave the parks at 6 tho. Weekday costs are ridiculous. Otherwise it’s a 3+ hour trip between a commuter bus, subway and 460 Metro

Edit: There’s this

 

[DanielBB8]

In The Mummy, “Death is Only The Beginning”. You pay for the pass you can afford, then you pay for the day’s incidentals including parking. Since everything can be budgeted monthly, I really don’t see a problem with paying $100 to $200 a month minimum for a Disney habit. The only reason I don’t do this every year because I can get tired of doing Disneyland every single year. I take 4 years breaks between each annual pass. My preferred annual pass is SoCal, which is no longer offered. So I’ll take the Flex Pass most likely next year after Rise of the Resistance opens. I will never take the bus. The good feelings from park visit will be ruined from a delayed bus and ruly bus riders.

 

[Touchdown]

I don’t do it every year either, I hop between DL, WDW and Universal Orlando

 

[Ismael Flores]

Depending on how many reservations they allow, not to mention you are limited to two days in 30. This amazing deal may be a bust if Disney limits the reservation spots.

is it limited for two days in 30 or is it two open reservation in 30?
so for example. you make a reservation for the next two saturdays. that fills up your two open reservations. then the first saturday arrives and you visit, that opens up one reservation of the two so can you make a new reservation on Sunday for the next saturday if space is still available ?

at any given time you only have two reservations open but can in theory you can go every saturday if there are still open spots.

 

[mickEblu]

It really speaks to how out of control these prices have gotten. In reality a pass shouldn't be anymore than $7-800 tops today. They can only get away with it because of the monthly payment plan. And why they will never go away. Disney has jacked these prices up to a ridiculous level, few people will want or can afford to pay for a $1,000 pass out of pocket. . What does it say when APs cost more for DLR than they do WDW which has twice the number of parks?

Another reason why the flex pass looks like so much a steal. Its a reasonable figure for an AP. Although if you go a lot or even just twice a month you will still end up paying hundreds in parking fees. Thats why its a pass really meant for casual park goers who go a few times a year.

It’s really a smart move because it basically tells the AP not to go more than once a month. Because anymore than 12 times a year then you may as well just buy the Signature. Unless you are a family of course at which point one person can buy the Signature and the rest of the family gets the flex pass.

So basically Disney wants MORE annual pass holders (or at least the same amount) going to the parks LESS and they want the crowds spread out more evenly and predictable. Whatever they make by selling more of these APs will offset what the average AP would have spent in food and merch on those extra visits. Its can also be offset by what they will do with the reservation system data which is staff CMs accordingly. Long term it can also help by keeping Disneyland at at least tolerable crowds so people don’t get turned off from going in the future. The way crowds have trended the past few years I would imagine the tipping point wasn’t too far away.

 

[Kram Sacul]

Remember that Disneyland is fairly easy to get to without you driving there. Both LA and Riverside County have good limited stop bus service. OCTA has multiple routes including the faster Bravo service. ART also has 23 routes to Disneyland. Metrolink and AMTRAK trains service the area. And of course Uber/Lyft and taxis. Friends can drop you off at both Harbor and DTD.

You don't have to park at a Disney owned lot, in fact I strongly suggest you don't park at Disney this summer.

It's great if you don't mind the riff raff and waiting for a bus and train full of riff raff. Uber and Lyft is too expensive unless you live down the street from the parks.

 

[fctiger]

I don’t think it would, Disney is a premium product and theme parks still cost much less then other forms of live entertainment (Sporting event tickets, ski lift tickets, Broadway Shows, concerts) I fully expect prices to continue to rise. I think a whole lot less people would own passes but I don’t see why they would cost less. You’re still looking at recouping the cost of your pass in under 15 visits (based on a one day ticket.)

I get all of that. My only point is for literally 30 years, passes remained a steady price and only went up nominally. In the last eight years they have shot up at an exponential rate, more than any other theme park out there. This is the only point I'm making. In the 90s a Ap for Disneyland was around $1-200. Compare that to Tokyo Disneyland where a pass was around $600 at the time, the most expensive in the world.

Today, the DLR is now way more expansive than TDR, at $1150. The TDR pass however is around $800. That is not a normal rate. Again, I'm not saying its not worth it, but yes the price is certainly out of whack due to the monthly payment program. It would probably be around $800 now.

 

[Ismael Flores]

Honestly I think everyone at SoCal Select is going to upgrade to the Flex Pass and everyone on the other tiers will downgrade. Weekdays will probably be nice again like you mentioned. In my case I feel why would I pay 1200 to go on Saturdays when I can pay 600 instead? I doubt most people even go more than once a month anyways.

If this happens then Disney will have more control of when passholders are showing up on peak days because of the reservation numbers. this at the end might mean less crowding depending on how many reservations they allow.
it would be a win for tourist and better guest satisfaction

 

[fctiger]

The weekend $10 train is really the only route that makes sense for me in Santa Clarita, as far as cost and travel time are concerned. Have to leave the parks at 6 tho. Weekday costs are ridiculous. Otherwise it’s a 3+ hour trip between a commuter bus, subway and 460 Metro

Exactly! And I've done the 460 Metro a few times in the old city I lived in. It would take me about 20 minutes by Metro rail just to get to the 460. But it would take another 10-15 minutes just to get to the Metro rail by bus. Then the ride from 460 via Norwalk is another 2 hours. So basically its 3 hours by public transportation. And of course that doesn't include all the waiting between transit. Now imagine getting there, spending a long day at the park and going back again. I did it three times total and decided never to do it again. And I love taking public transportation when I have to. Other Disney parks worldwide, its not a problem at all. They ALL have subways stations that drops you off at the resort, you can go back into the city usually past midnight and most are no more than 40-60 minutes tops from the major cities like Paris and Hong Kong. And I mean from one end to the other.

But for SoCal its a MAJOR pain if you don't live in Orange County already.

 

[socalifornian]

Exactly! And I've done the 460 Metro a few times in the old city I lived in. It would take me about 20 minutes by Metro rail just to get to the 460. But it would take another 10-15 minutes just to get to the Metro rail by bus. Then the ride from 460 via Norwalk is another 2 hours. So basically its 3 hours by public transportation. And of course that doesn't include all the waiting between transit. Now imagine getting there, spending a long day at the park and going back again. I did it three times total and decided never to do it again. And I love taking public transportation when I have to. Other Disney parks worldwide, its not a problem at all. They ALL have subways stations that drops you off at the resort, you can go back into the city usually past midnight and most are no more than 40-60 minutes tops from the major cities like Paris and Hong Kong. And I mean from one end to the other.

But for SoCal its a MAJOR pain if you don't live in Orange County already.

Man that brought back some memories, I’ve taken the 460 a few times too. This is the second largest city in the country yet we still can’t have anything half decent. Those cities sound nice. Then Metrolink has the audacity to post those ads along the freeways saying we should take the train so we can relax instead of sitting in traffic. It’s pretty useless and lackluster for work and Disney for me. I can see how it could work for 9-5ers tho if you work next to the tracks

I thought this video was interesting a while back

 

[shambolicdefending]

Remember that Disneyland is fairly easy to get to without you driving there. Both LA and Riverside County have good limited stop bus service. OCTA has multiple routes including the faster Bravo service. ART also has 23 routes to Disneyland. Metrolink and AMTRAK trains service the area. And of course Uber/Lyft and taxis. Friends can drop you off at both Harbor and DTD.

You don't have to park at a Disney owned lot, in fact I strongly suggest you don't park at Disney this summer.

Once Pixar and the presumed Eastern Gateway are built, I'll be interested to see how the increase in supply affects the daily parking rates, and their rate of increase.

It's already close to a wash between parking and Ubering for a lot of folks, and that radius expands every time the price goes up.

 

[Professortango1]

Remember that Disneyland is fairly easy to get to without you driving there. Both LA and Riverside County have good limited stop bus service. OCTA has multiple routes including the faster Bravo service. ART also has 23 routes to Disneyland. Metrolink and AMTRAK trains service the area. And of course Uber/Lyft and taxis. Friends can drop you off at both Harbor and DTD.

You don't have to park at a Disney owned lot, in fact I strongly suggest you don't park at Disney this summer.

If public transportation ran 24/7, I would use it. But having service stop after business hours makes it an impossibility for me. I love using the train for traveling to meetings in the city, but if I want to stay after my workday and do something while I'm out there, I'm stranded.

 

[shambolicdefending]

If public transportation ran 24/7, I would use it. But having service stop after business hours makes it an impossibility for me. I love using the train for traveling to meetings in the city, but if I want to stay after my workday and do something while I'm out there, I'm stranded.

Public transport seems like a great option if you're a Signature AP who can come and go from the park as they please, whenever they want.

If you only get to visit DLR in short windows and really have to maximize your time while you're there, public transport doesn't work nearly as well.

 

[Professortango1]

Public transport seems like a great option if you're a Signature AP who can come and go from the park as they please, whenever they want.

If you only get to visit DLR in short windows and really have to maximize your time while you're there, public transport doesn't work nearly as well.

When I had an AP, it still didn't work out. I'd go after work and arrive at the park around 7. I'd sleep in on the weekends and get there around 2 to stay until about 10/11. Maybe Public transit works for folks who are AP's and don't work a regular 9-5 job, but for most people, it doesn't cut it.