They DO Exist—I Met Someone with a Lifetime Pass

tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Over the past few years, several threads have asked if Disney ever offered lifetime passes to WDW. Many Florida residents vaguely remember passes being offered in the 70s and 80s for a few thousand dollars, but the tickets are so rare that nobody can find pictures. If they really existed, you would expect some rabid Disney fan to have posted a picture online by now. :D I can confirm they do indeed exist.

Today, I met someone with a lifetime pass. He was born and raised in the Orlando area, and his dad worked for a construction company Disney contracted. Apparently, whenever Disney completed a massive project in the 70s and 80s, they offered these tickets for sale to associated businesses. His dad purchased them for the family, and this man (now in his late 40s) still owns his. Although he is not sure about the particulars, he assumes his father had worked on EPCOT Center, because the ticket is only good for the MK and Epcot. (Disney tickets are only valid for parks existing at the time the ticket is sold.) Due to the original ticket's limitations, he has been purchasing a heavily discounted AP for decades; he keeps the original pass in a safety deposit box.
 
disneyrcks

disneyrcks

Well-Known Member
Wow that is really cool! How amazing must it be to have a Life Time Pass to the two best parks at WDW. Very cool that u met someone that actually has the pass! Thanks for sharing :)
 
tirian

tirian

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Yes, I expect this thread to suffer a quick death, since there really isn't much to discuss. :lol:

But I know this topic does come up occasionally, and I wanted to confirm that the passes were indeed sold, but only on special occasions. They are extremely rare. I have been told that some are only valid for the MK, while others are valid for both the MK and Epcot. I don't think any were sold after the Studios opened; now when someone is awarded a "lifetime pass" for a special event, that person simply gets an AP each year.
 
K

Krack

Active Member
Both my parents swear they were offered when they visited in 1971. The story changes (sometimes it was $50 a piece, sometimes $100) but they say there was a Disney employee asking people if they were interested as they walked up to the ticket booths and my parents said to themselves "Why spend the money? How often could we possibly come back?" They claim they were called Gold Passes.
 
puntagordabob

puntagordabob

Well-Known Member
Yeah.... reminds me of an offer my Mom told me about from the early 1960s in Florida... waterfront property.... $25000 per one acre lots ALL on the water.

I was like so cool but where?? It was Sanibel Island facing the Gulf of Mexico.

Today you couldnt touch a quarter acre for less than 3 to 5 million.

If ONLY we were there and knew what we knew now.....Id certainly own lifetime passes to wdw! :)
 
Figment82

Figment82

Well-Known Member
Krack said:
Both my parents swear they were offered when they visited in 1971. The story changes (sometimes it was $50 a piece, sometimes $100) but they say there was a Disney employee asking people if they were interested as they walked up to the ticket booths and my parents said to themselves "Why spend the money? How often could we possibly come back?" They claim they were called Gold Passes.
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When we still lived in MD, we had neighbors that swore the same thing happened to them. They were offered lifetime passes for (what is now) a low sum of money. At the time they had just gotten married and money was tight, so they had to decline. They say they're still kicking themselves today for not purchasing those passes. :)
 
The Empress Lilly

The Empress Lilly

Well-Known Member
Great story! That must feel special, a lifetime pass!



I too do seem to remember lifetime passes being offered to regular guests, in the 1970's or very early eighties.
I'm not sure about that though, it was a long time ago and I was just a child. Maybe the lifetime passes were given to guests as prizes, such as winning a night in the Castle suit is nowadays.
 
danpam1024

danpam1024

Well-Known Member
I met a man that worked on WDW with Walt. He had one, but said it was waisted because he was too old to go.:eek: i will never be that old:D
 
Eeyore

Eeyore

Mrs. WDWMAGIC [Assistant Administrator]
Premium Member
MormonBeliever said:
I'm just spreading my beliefs! The good Lord had a plan for me to come here and save your souls from the grip of Satan! Praise the Lord!
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Do you really not have anything better to do Enchantâmes? I don't find this cute or even mildly amusing. I think we have enough to deal with already, thanks.
 
VoiceGuy07

VoiceGuy07

Active Member
My wife's former boss tells the tale of getting lifetime passes when he joined DVC - one of the first. It was a long time ago and don't know if it's true based on this thread and how rare these passes seem to be. Maybe?
 
MoonMouse1

MoonMouse1

Member
My sister's friend's father and his wife have lifetime passes. He was one of the original lawyers for Disney back when it opened (he is now in his 70's). I'm pretty sure it was only good for Magic Kingdom, but their children were also able to get in free if the parents were present. I remember going with them to MK when I was younger and she had a fancy-looking paper pass...I think they may have had to get a manager or someone higher up to confirm that the pass was legit, show ID, and they were in free. :)
 

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