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

[PeterPan1031]

I hear ya. In the past you could always upgrade passes but we aint in 2019 no more... .

I know depending on who you talk to you will get a different answer, but did you stop by the ticket place in Disney Springs and talk to them in person to ask what todays policy is about pass upgrades?

Still new to the area, had no idea I could do that. I'll definitely stop by the ticket place this weekend! thanks for the info!

 

[drizgirl]

Don’t understand why APs have to be this difficult. Me and my friends went 5-6 times a year, stayed at the resorts and spent loads of money on food and merch. I’ve only returned once since my AP expired early last year with no plans to return until next year right now. I wonder how many people are in a similar boat.

Disney just isn’t into guests like this right now.

Your definition of “loads of money” might be differ from Chapek’s definition.

 

[mattpeto]

The overwhelming majority of APers are locals. While some are big spenders in the parks, others go once a week making each visit cost less than $20. And they eat at home or locally rather than the overpriced food venues in the parks. And they're not leaving with bags of merch each visit. And they go when its crowded (that's why lower tiers had blackout dates).

So, it's those local APers that are the issue.

Now, for you and me who do several week-long trips to WDW are probably very much treasured by Disney since we live in the bubble for a week. The AP was, in effect, a discount on tickets for us, but we get lumped in with the local APers (in fact, local APs can go even more cheaply because of FL discounts).

It'd be nice if Disney instituted a type of membership club that gave a discount to tickets so that those who go several times throughout the year can get back their frequent-guest discount. (In fact, such a thing would solve all the AP issues, IMO.)

This seems too easy and obvious, right?

The could also create a new AP tier that is able to get park reservations with resort reservations only.

 

[Disstevefan1]

It'd be nice if Disney instituted a type of membership club that gave a discount to tickets so that those who go several times throughout the year can get back their frequent-guest discount. (In fact, such a thing would solve all the AP issues, IMO.)

I always wanted them to create a loyalty program based on how much you spend.

Disney Data KNOWS how much MONEY you and I spend after all.

 

[pdude81]

Hey - yes I considered this - but there's conflicting info about upgrading I can't get a straight answer lol

My advise is to buy the pixie dust pass. If they start selling passes again before your year is up, you can upgrade if it makes financial sense. If not, you can upgrade in a year when your pass expires.

 

[bhg469]

Still new to the area, had no idea I could do that. I'll definitely stop by the ticket place this weekend! thanks for the info!

The ticketing office is super handy to go to there! Way easier than dealing with the booths at the parks.

 

[JoeCamel]

I always wanted them to create a loyalty program based on how much you spend.

Disney Data KNOWS how much MONEY you and I spend after all.

Casinos do that.....

 

[sullyinMT]

Casinos do that.....

Well, landing a VQ for whatever the newest ride is at the time is referred to as a “lottery,” so ….

 

[Disstevefan1]

Well, landing a VQ for whatever the newest ride is at the time is referred to as a “lottery,” so ….

Landing a VQ for whatever is the newest ride at the time you want can be like playing roulette, albeit roulette has better odds.

 

[MisterPenguin]

Casinos do that.....

Next time I'm at Savi's, I expect my room to be comped.

 

[JoeCamel]

Next time I'm at Savi's, I expect my room to be comped.

You can expect all you want but you will accept what small token we choose to bestow upon you. This is Bobland now.
Check your my magic account for details of the offer - hint its a bogo coupon.....

 

[Hcalvert]

The overwhelming majority of APers are locals. While some are big spenders in the parks, others go once a week making each visit cost less than $20. And they eat at home or locally rather than the overpriced food venues in the parks. And they're not leaving with bags of merch each visit. And they go when its crowded (that's why lower tiers had blackout dates).

So, it's those local APers that are the issue.

Now, for you and me who do several week-long trips to WDW are probably very much treasured by Disney since we live in the bubble for a week. The AP was, in effect, a discount on tickets for us, but we get lumped in with the local APers (in fact, local APs can go even more cheaply because of FL discounts).

It'd be nice if Disney instituted a type of membership club that gave a discount to tickets so that those who go several times throughout the year can get back their frequent-guest discount. (In fact, such a thing would solve all the AP issues, IMO.)

I agree. I just let my out-of-state AP (whatever it is called now) expire a few days ago. We would go at least three weeks over two trips a year. We would eat at the resaurants, buy merch, and spend a good amount of money since we do not live locally.

I don't want to get harrassed by others in this forum, but I do think the local passholders have ruined the product a bit for everyone. Just look at how many violate the terms and buy merch to resell for ungodly profits. I am in a Loungefly group and they have approved "personal shoppers," who I know are passholders. They get a 20% discount on the merch and charge a 20% upcharge on top of retail for the product. So, a $75 bag in the park, they buy for about $65 with tax and try to sell it to me for at least $110 plus shipping. Just disgusting. I know this is not all local passholders, but it the pool of these "scalpers" seem to be growing exponentially.

 

[bhg469]

I agree. I just let my out-of-state AP (whatever it is called now) expire a few days ago. We would go at least three weeks over two trips a year. We would eat at the resaurants, buy merch, and spend a good amount of money since we do not live locally.

I don't want to get harrassed by others in this forum, but I do think the local passholders have ruined the product a bit for everyone. Just look at how many violate the terms and buy merch to resell for ungodly profits. I am in a Loungefly group and they have approved "personal shoppers," who I know are passholders. They get a 20% discount on the merch and charge a 20% upcharge on top of retail for the product. So, a $75 bag in the park, they buy for about $65 with tax and try to sell it to me for at least $110 plus shipping. Just disgusting. I know this is not all local passholders, but it the pool of these "scalpers" seem to be growing exponentially.

I can definitely see that.. it is definitely a small minority that do things like this as most of us have jobs and cannot dedicate the time to obtain all this merch. That's Disney's fault for allowing it though. My wife and I are at Epcot 85% of the time just walking, grabbing some snacks at a festival booth and getting some overpriced beverages. We have definitely paid a lot of money doing this. Weekends we will typically hit one of the other parks again for a walk primarily and food and attractions second. I don't know if we are atypical but I'm sure there are many different ways people use APs..

I will say we are very close though. If you're familiar with the area, we live very close to Osceola which is basically the road that leads directly to Animal kingdom lodge. On a typical day, we can be on property in 15 minutes.

 

[wutisgood]

If I knew the ins and outs of profiting on merch I would probably buy and sell some as a way to pay for my Disney tickets. It's actually pretty time consuming though and just not my interest. I would rather do some uber on the side for the extra cash. I think a lot of products are priced based on resellers so I don't have much interest in most of it.

 

[Touchdown]

I wonder if we are going to get a far less tiers, and they will be ridiculous. Imagine there being only a weekday select at both parks for locals only that is park specific and requires park reservations (WDW or DLR) and then the only other option which is a premier pass for both parks with photopass, parking, which still has reservations required (with no blackouts) but no reservations needed if you are staying at a resort hotel, has no monthly payment option, and is double the price of the current high level passes.

Disney allows the undesirables on weekdays, significantly increases the cost of the other option, pushes them to spend more (your pass is good on both coasts, you should go, and when you do there is less hassle if you stay at our hotels.)

 

[Tha Realest]

It'd be nice if Disney instituted a type of membership club that gave a discount to tickets so that those who go several times throughout the year can get back their frequent-guest discount. (In fact, such a thing would solve all the AP issues, IMO.)

I can’t pinpoint it but during the AP sales pause didn’t Chapek or someone of similar standing float the possibility of a loyalty program of sorts replacing the AP? Obviously that’s not what happened but I feel like it was to be a program that tethered the benefits/discounts to the spending done by the customer.

 

[Tha Realest]

This is what was said at the time. Not sure if the Magic Keys are a step in this direction, but they did envision a loyalty program

 

[PeterPan1031]

I hear ya. In the past you could always upgrade passes but we aint in 2019 no more... .

I know depending on who you talk to you will get a different answer, but did you stop by the ticket place in Disney Springs and talk to them in person to ask what todays policy is about pass upgrades?

Did this and they said I’d be able to upgrade assuming Disney doesn’t change a rule they’ve always had lol. So I bought the pixie dust pass. Thanks for the tip!!

 

[HauntedPirate]

Don’t understand why APs have to be this difficult. Me and my friends went 5-6 times a year, stayed at the resorts and spent loads of money on food and merch. I’ve only returned once since my AP expired early last year with no plans to return until next year right now. I wonder how many people are in a similar boat.

You aren’t the target consumer, haven’t you heard? Only day guests who stay on-site are valued, AP holders don’t spend money.

 

[jaxonp]

You aren’t the target consumer, haven’t you heard? Only day guests who stay on-site are valued, AP holders don’t spend money.

I know. It’s us lowly DVC members whom are the worst of the worst. It’s a shame that the day guests who came with me each visit haven’t been back since I stopped going. They keep asking about the next trip but I ain’t going until I AP up.