Why are APs so cheap?

[HolleBolleGijs]

I'm only in Paris for a semester, but I bought an annual pass because it pays for itself in 2-3 visits depending on which one you get. They even have a student pass for a about $100 when a one-day park-hopper is about $90.

Mine cost just under $200, which is nothing compared to other resorts. Tokyo, WDW, and DL are all between $500 - $800.

 

[cdd89]

I was just thinking about this today - coincidentally!

All Disney annual pass pricing (in fact, all pricing altogether) is really regressive. Annual Passes are rarely more than a few (separated) days' admission. But Paris takes it to an extreme, where it can (if you do it the right way) be cheaper than a 3-day visit.

I think part of it, is that Disneyland Paris is very much a weekend-trip park, and the cheapest pass ("Francillien") blocks out a LOT of days, most/many of which are weekend days. But "Fantasy" is only marginally more expensive, and allows many weekends, so it isn't a complete explanation.

Maybe another part of it, is that it's very clearly NOT targeted at non-locals. It's only available on the French website, and all the documentation is only in French. I haven't seen many non-French people in the parks with the passes. But again - I'm not sure why that would impact the price.

A final thought is that additional costs (restaurants, hotels, etc) are several times more expensive than other resorts - so perhaps they hope to make their money that way instead? I suspect that is the most likely explanation, but I've got no evidence. And they're clearly not trying to drive hotel sales through the pass, since Extra Magic Hours is a benefit of being a Fantasy or Dream passholder.

So this is really just a long post to say - I've absolutely no idea!

 

[peep]

Probably because they're aware that the European mindset is that if it appears cheap people will buy them and come back more frequently. Which should result in more money spent on merchandise and food and drink. Although the passes provide discounts in those areas that would still drive people to spend more. A lot of people try to bring food and drink into the resort which obviously means less sales for Disney, and enticing these guests in with discounts would probably also help sales in their food and merchandise areas.

I recently discovered that Hong Kong also have very similar pricing in place with lots of additional benefits. The other three Resorts don't have similar pricing structures (probably) because they're aware that their regular visitor market would be willing to pay higher prices.

 

[StarWarsGirl]

This is just a theory...but perhaps because it's not as popular a park as DL and WDW, so lowering the prices of the annual passes encourages more people to visit. Supply and demand. When the demand is low, but the supply remains basically the same, price naturally decreases.

 

[cdd89]

Just thought I'd add to this to say I'm going with my friend for two days and, due to the change in pricing structure where weekend tickets are now more expensive, it made sense to buy an annual pass even though they have no plans to return within a year: staying offsite, only £17 more than a 2-day ticket, and it gets Extra Magic Hours.

That said:

Probably because they're aware that the European mindset is that if it appears cheap people will buy them and come back more frequently.

has worked a treat on me.

 

[Bolna]

I think the annual passes are only really advertised on the French website, so they are definitely meant for the "locals", not for people who come for longer visits.

 

[phrog]

For the year we are going to DLP we were just going to upgrade our WDW annual passes. At the current price structure it seems that leaving the annual pass alone and just buying an additional annual pass for DLP might be more economical.

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

For the year we are going to DLP we were just going to upgrade our WDW annual passes. At the current price structure it seems that leaving the annual pass alone and just buying an additional annual pass for DLP might be more economical.

What do you mean upgrade your WDW pass? You can do that?

 

[phrog]

I thought that was what I read. I don't know anymore.......lol

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

I thought that was what I read. I don't know anymore.......lol

If you can that would be awesome; maybe I could upgrade my Paris one!

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

I thought that was what I read. I don't know anymore.......lol

Just got off the phone with WDW. According to the CM I spoke with, it's possible to upgrade a DLP annual pass to a WDW annual pass, but I'm not sure if it works the other way around. Although I just checked my expiration date for my DLP pass, and if I had just purchased it a week later then it would be able to upgrade it, but it expires just before my WDW trip

 

[Stevie Amsterdam]

Sorry to hear that @HolleBolleGijs Depending on how long you're planning to stay at WDW, maybe it's worth to extend your DLP annual pass and then upgrade to a WDW one. Would that work out in your favor, economically?

 

[HolleBolleGijs]

Sorry to hear that @HolleBolleGijs Depending on how long you're planning to stay at WDW, maybe it's worth to extend your DLP annual pass and then upgrade to a WDW one. Would that work out in your favor, economically?

I don't think I can do that until next month, but it would be too expensive anyway. We're only at WDW for 5 days, so upgrading would cost more than our 5-day ticket normally, but I thought it might be worth it for discounts and such. Plus I might have to upgrade in person, so I wouldn't be able to book FP+ in advance. Oh well...I got excited at the thought of having a WDW AP, but it's not a big deal!