News Walt Disney World to resume sales of Annual Passes (New sales resume April 20, 2023)

[kong1802]

We've already cancelled nights from our upcoming WDW stays, rented out those DVC points, purchased Universal annual passes, and booked nights at the Hard Rock Hotel, Royal Pacific, and Portofino Bay. Amazingly, the points we rented more than cover the cost of our Universal annual passes and 3 different stays at Universal's 3 Deluxe Resorts.

Here's a sample of September annual pass rates at Universal at their Deluxe Resorts:

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Here's are some rates at WDW hotels for the same nights:

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It seems crazy that you can get a room at a Universal Deluxe Resort for less than the price of a discounted Disney Moderate Resort.

No waking up in the morning to buy Genie+ or Individual Attraction Purchases, which add another $200 per day for a family for four. Instead, I get unlimited Express Pass all day long without having to go through the contortions Disney wants me to go through.

The Universal 2-park Preferred Pass is $449. Disney's Incredi-Pass is $1,299.

Disney must really believe the Pixie Dust is strong.

If you find yourself willing to pay $300/night for CBR, please reach out for help people!

 

[ToTBellHop]

We took a sky liner trip to Riviera just for fun one day and weren’t impressed at all. It was just so sterile and generic looking. I have no desire to ever stay there.

That’s how we felt. Not bad, just “meh.” I’d literally pick any DVC before it. It’s not awful, I just struggle to foresee using points there over somewhere else. Hope some people enjoy it. Disney music in other languages was fun.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

That doesn't make the system trash. Maybe they need to do a better job announcing the system is down due to weather though. Honestly if there are torrential downpours/heavy winds/lightning it should be common sense that the skyliner is not going to be running (though I admit common sense can be quite low at WDW especially after a long day at the park in the heat).

It's obviously not a system for everyone, but my family loves the skyliner and absolutely hope they expand it

I'd like a Skyliner connecting Animal Kingdom to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

 

[Chi84]

I'd like a Skyliner connecting Animal Kingdom to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

My husband is a big fan. We stayed at CBR shortly after the Skyliner was built and he asked why Disney wasn't building them everywhere.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I'd like a Skyliner connecting Animal Kingdom to Animal Kingdom Lodge.

I’d like a train as originally planned. Variety is the spice of life.

 

[Ayla]

Right? Just clickbait sites looking to bait some clicks

No, there are legit A LOT of people on this forum and twitter who had no idea out-of-staters weren't getting the same sweet deal FL residents have gotten all this time.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

I’d like a train as originally planned. Variety is the spice of life.

A train would be awesome! I didn't know if that was feasible, but if they planned it at one point point then it probably can be done. Since they didn't build the resort within walking distance of the park, they need something more than the bus. It's such a great resort with the worst transportation of all the Deluxe resorts.

 

[Minthorne]

That’s how we felt. Not bad, just “meh.” I’d literally pick any DVC before it. It’s not awful, I just struggle to foresee using points there over somewhere else. Hope some people enjoy it. Disney music in other languages was fun.

Riviera is completely ‘meh’.
When it first opened we were staying at Boardwalk and took the skyliner fo dinner at Topolino (also meh). It started raining during dinner and the skyliner was down when we were returning to our resort. They told us to take a bus to Disney Springs and from there to Boardwalk.

I changed my mind, Riviera sucks

 

[Unbanshee]

No, there are legit A LOT of people on this forum and twitter who had no idea out-of-staters weren't getting the same sweet deal FL residents have gotten all this time.

lol

 

[CJR]

I mean, you know that's a silly comment right? When they talk about "inclusive" they are talking about not excluding based on race, religion, gender, etc. not having every single person in the world visiting WDW.

Regardless, they absolutely do want people to buy APs... and then hopefully not use them much or when they do use them spend like the family of 5 coming for a once in a lifetime trip and buy all sort of food/merch/photos/whatever upcharges.

What they don't want in APs who come 100 times a year, bring their own food, don't buy any gifts and just "clog up" the ride queues or viewing areas for fireworks. There's nothing wrong with using a AP that way of course and I would hope guests would get as much usage out of them as they can. But it's not what Disney wants people to do when they sell the passes.

I won't get into the whole inclusive stuff, because I do believe their prices exclude many in the demographics they're campaigning for - just go to a Six Flags park and you'll see what I mean - but that's a debate for the politics thread.

I agree they do want to sell APs - why would they offer them and take the time to develop new ones otherwise? The truth is AP's are the spine of the resort's economic structure. Revenue is more limited, but it's there very consistently.

Honestly, I believe DVC people probably spend the least money at the parks, when it comes to food. For most locals, the drive is about an hour, but a huge selling point for DVC is the nice kitchens where they can escape to cook their own meals. That's arguably why they got hit the hardest here.

To be honest, the problem of people not buying things is a problem of Disney's own creation. If you want to talk about economics, the person who loses the most year to year, in terms of price increases, is the person that not only buys a ticket, but eats at the restaurant and buys merchandise. They literally just raised the prices on several merchandise items last week, a lot of things by $5 each.

Dining costs go up pretty much annually. AP's like myself can complain all we want about the base cost of a ticket, but it's those extras that really hit our wallets - and I've probably spent more money on food in the last year than I ever have at WDW, so I speak on a personal level there. We haven't even visited Be Our Guest yet either, that'll be this winter.

The real truth is that Disney increases prices all across the board and no one really wins except Disney Executives and their fellow shareholders, which they are a part of. Prices have yet to really sky rocket either, next year, we'll downgrade to the Pixie Dust pass and spend significantly less, I think, than this past year. They'll probably make up for it elsewhere though, and they can do it easily.

They're toying with us really. They could easily make that Incredi-Pass $2000 and the cheapest pass (Pixie) $1000 - arguably they could go even higher or not offer passes at all. I'd give it just a few years though and that Incredi-Pass will probably hit $2K (a person). Likewise, I predict Genie+ will be $30 pp in under five years.

They strategically raise prices in a way that will allow them to increase again later, sometimes within a year - all so they can "grow the company" without actually building new things like theme parks, restaurants, and stores. I would include hotels in that, but thanks to DVC mostly, we've seen some progress in true growth.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Tell that to the woman in a scooter in the Beach Club lobby during a torrential downpour who was told to just drive back to the front of Epcot to wait for a bus to Riviera. How deluxe…

I know there were discussions of offering buses from Crescent Lake to SkyLiner resorts. Have they acted on that?

This is all nonsense I just don’t need. BoardWalk is simply better. Better transportation, better food, better entertainment (when it’s all back). Riviera just isn’t for me. I like nothing about it.

But this is off topic.

All that to get to “riviera sucks”?

Yes…it’s true…but it was never NOT going to suck

 

[Demarke]

I won't get into the whole inclusive stuff, because I do believe their prices exclude many in the demographics they're campaigning for - just go to a Six Flags park and you'll see what I mean - but that's a debate for the politics thread.

I agree they do want to sell APs - why would they offer them and take the time to develop new ones otherwise? The truth is AP's are the spine of the resort's economic structure. Revenue is more limited, but it's there very consistently.

Honestly, I believe DVC people probably spend the least money at the parks, when it comes to food. For most locals, the drive is about an hour, but a huge selling point for DVC is the nice kitchens where they can escape to cook their own meals. That's arguably why they got hit the hardest here.

To be honest, the problem of people not buying things is a problem of Disney's own creation. If you want to talk about economics, the person who loses the most year to year, in terms of price increases, is the person that not only buys a ticket, but eats at the restaurant and buys merchandise. They literally just raised the prices on several merchandise items last week, a lot of things by $5 each.

Dining costs go up pretty much annually. AP's like myself can complain all we want about the base cost of a ticket, but it's those extras that really hit our wallets - and I've probably spent more money on food in the last year than I ever have at WDW, so I speak on a personal level there. We haven't even visited Be Our Guest yet either, that'll be this winter.

The real truth is that Disney increases prices all across the board and no one really wins except Disney Executives and their fellow shareholders, which they are a part of. Prices have yet to really sky rocket either, next year, we'll downgrade to the Pixie Dust pass and spend significantly less, I think, than this past year. They'll probably make up for it elsewhere though, and they can do it easily.

They're toying with us really. They could easily make that Incredi-Pass $2000 and the cheapest pass (Pixie) $1000 - arguably they could go even higher or not offer passes at all. I'd give it just a few years though and that Incredi-Pass will probably hit $2K (a person). Likewise, I predict Genie+ will be $30 pp in under five years.

They strategically raise prices in a way that will allow them to increase again later, sometimes within a year - all so they can "grow the company" without actually building new things like theme parks, restaurants, and stores. I would include hotels in that, but thanks to DVC mostly, we've seen some progress in true growth.

With Genie/Fastpass being an additional cost now, there is incentive for a regular guest not to “waste” time they paid for the Genie pass with a sit down restaurant. That’s the question I have, does charging for fastpass replace most guests being willing to spend 1.5-2 hours a time or two a day at a table service restaurant when a few front of the line passes were free?

 

[DorysDitty]

We're in complete agreement.

I just think when people on here talk about being "priced out" or that it's now "too expensive" or whatever, some confuse that for saying you can no-longer afford it.

They chime in with the "It was never meant to be accessible to everyone" crap (which itself is somewhat debatable) and like in your situation, that's often not the personal circumstances being discussed.

It's more a matter of, does it feel like the value is there for what they're charging and offering or are there better ways to spend that same money on a vacation for a better experience?

I can't tell if these people really are that blind to what they're defending or if they're just trying to ignore it for the point of debate but it annoys the heck out of me, as does that musky smell of elitism in their subtext while talking about, of all things, a theme park.

Bolded statement EXACTLY! I could afford to buy the new passes, but I'm not going to. We've had a good 3 year run, but there are a lot of other destinations out there we haven't tried yet. We're out of state APs, so for 4 APs + Photopass it is ~$6000. We could do at least 3 other vacations with that amount of money! We drive down from GA, stay at Windsor Hills, and rarely do sit down meals because A) They take forever and B) the food is just food, not worth what it costs. With these Covid early closing hours, we've eaten better food for 1/2 the price at the Logan's Roadhouse on 192! We got our last AP's value when we went right after re-opening. These last few trips with long lines and no fastpasses, coupled with the latest and greatest announcements, have made me at peace with giving up or APs. Yes, we'll miss it. Yes, we are "that Disney family" to everyone we know. But Disney's asking for a lot right now pending that most of the special things that make Disney Disney are completely gone - shows, streetmosphere, characters, parades.

 

[MrPromey]

My husband is a big fan. We stayed at CBR shortly after the Skyliner was built and he asked why Disney wasn't building them everywhere.

and a simple answer is, in Florida, we have what's called "hurricane season" which is literally half the year. While most storms during that time are not hurricanes or even anything approaching a tropical storm, we get a lot of them and things like lightening and high winds will shut these down.

Also, bad-ish storms sometimes don't always check the calendar so even though we're called "the Sunshine State" we see a lot of hard rain pretty much all year. It might only last for 20-30 minutes though lighting in the area can take hours.

When it's just an attraction, it's not that big of a deal but when it's a relied upon form of transportation, it can be really problematic.

This would never work as a reliable transportation network expanded through the resort because they will always have a need to have buses on standby with drivers for any resort that uses these.

It makes sense that for the few resorts this is directly meant to support, they can juggle things around when they need to but if it were larger, it would create inefficiency that I think would tip the cost/benefit ratio out of their favor.

 

[Little Green Men]

We took a sky liner trip to Riviera just for fun one day and weren’t impressed at all. It was just so sterile and generic looking. I have no desire to ever stay there.

I've enjoyed my two stays there. The resort is convenient with skyliner access, has some of the best food on property, especially Topolinos and Primo Piatto. The rooms are nice, I like the pull out in the living room being so easy to fold back up. Great views from the rooms.

 

[matt9112]

Someone earlier in this thread said something along the lines of "they don't want you there" as an AP.

For a company campaigning about being inclusive, they sure are working to be exclusive.

Financially excluding people is socially acceptable.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

Honestly, I believe DVC people probably spend the least money at the parks, when it comes to food. For most locals, the drive is about an hour, but a huge selling point for DVC is the nice kitchens where they can escape to cook their own meals. That's arguably why they got hit the hardest here.

We are DVC and have had APs for many years. We don't cook on vacation. We eat at the parks and different resorts every trip, so spend a lot on food and beverage. We aren't local, so that probably makes a difference. About the only off-site place we eat is at Waffle House for breakfast on a few days while we are there. We will be getting the Sorcerer Pass as we would never go during Thanksgiving or the last 2 weeks of December anyway. When we visit in December, it's always the first 2 weeks. We also won't miss the Photopass, as that isn't something we have used in years. We don't care to go to the water parks either. Not crazy about the price increase (we always had the Gold Pass), but it's still a lot cheaper for us than buying separate park tickets.

 

[Sirwalterraleigh]

Riviera is completely ‘meh’.
When it first opened we were staying at Boardwalk and took the skyliner fo dinner at Topolino (also meh). It started raining during dinner and the skyliner was down when we were returning to our resort. They told us to take a bus to Disney Springs and from there to Boardwalk.

I changed my mind, Riviera sucks

The check minuses far outweigh the checks at riviera…

…not terrible…certainly not worth the prices and nightly point chart.

 

[Chip Chipperson]

We are DVC and have had APs for many years. We don't cook on vacation. We eat at the parks and different resorts every trip, so spend a lot on food and beverage. We aren't local, so that probably makes a difference. About the only off-site place we eat is at Waffle House for breakfast on a few days while we are there. We will be getting the Sorcerer Pass as we would never go during Thanksgiving or the last 2 weeks of December anyway. When we visit in December, it's always the first 2 weeks. We also won't miss the Photopass, as that isn't something we have used in years. We don't care to go to the water parks either. Not crazy about the price increase (we always had the Gold Pass), but it's still a lot cheaper for us than buying separate park tickets.

As another DVC member, I agree that we usually eat in the parks or at resort dining locations. Most DVC rooms are studios that only have a kitchenette - small fridge, small microwave, coffee maker, and a small sink. There's not a lot of room to store refrigerated food and no way to cook anything that can't be microwaved. Even when booking a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom villa, we rarely make out own meals. With the recent added costs - car rental over DME, paid FastPass, increased APs, and PhotoPass becoming an upcharge for APs - it's becoming more likely that we're going to eat more meals in our room. Our most recent trip was our first time renting a car down there and stopping at Target for groceries was very easy. We only ended up getting water and Gatorade plus enough food for 1 lunch and a couple quick breakfasts on days we had early starts, but that might become a lunch, a dinner, and breakfast for most of our stay now that we're being squeezed on multiple fronts. I'm sure we won't be the only ones, either. Will it make a noticeable dent? I have no idea. It might just make it easier for others to get dining reservations, but at least we'll be saving some money. And we'll also be reviewing blackout dates before deciding what to do with our APs. If we can downgrade then we will.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

As another DVC member, I agree that we usually eat in the parks or at resort dining locations. Most DVC rooms are studios that only have a kitchenette - small fridge, small microwave, coffee maker, and a small sink. There's not a lot of room to store refrigerated food and no way to cook anything that can't be microwaved. Even when booking a 1-bedroom or 2-bedroom villa, we rarely make out own meals. With the recent added costs - car rental over DME, paid FastPass, increased APs, and PhotoPass becoming an upcharge for APs - it's becoming more likely that we're going to eat more meals in our room. Our most recent trip was our first time renting a car down there and stopping at Target for groceries was very easy. We only ended up getting water and Gatorade plus enough food for 1 lunch and a couple quick breakfasts on days we had early starts, but that might become a lunch, a dinner, and breakfast for most of our stay now that we're being squeezed on multiple fronts. I'm sure we won't be the only ones, either. Will it make a noticeable dent? I have no idea. It might just make it easier for others to get dining reservations, but at least we'll be saving some money. And we'll also be reviewing blackout dates before deciding what to do with our APs. If we can downgrade then we will.

There is a Publix only about 5 minutes from Disney property (Disney Springs side) that I would highly recommend using for groceries.