A recent Orlando Sentinel story compared declining attendance at the Walt Disney World Resort with increasing occupancy at the resort's hotels. (Yours truly is quoted.) One might think that the two figures would track together, but the increase in hotel occupancy suggests that the decline in Disney's attendance is being driven by people who do not stay on-site at the resort. Annual passholders are part of that crowd, and the Sentinel talked with some people who have dropped their APs.
In California, Disneyland stopped selling its Premium annual pass last year, forcing those passholders to decide between paying several hundred dollars more to upgrade to the no-blockout Signature Plus pass, or downgrading to a pass with blockout dates. One option was the Signature pass, which was priced only a few dollars more than the Premium and blocked out just the two weeks around the Christmas holiday. But anecdotal reports from fans suggest that many passholders opted to downgrade to the much more limited Deluxe pass, and some just dropped their APs altogether. While the crowds at Disneyland this summer didn't appear to be as down as much from last year as they were in Orlando, the parks still didn't seem as full as they were during the first summer of the Diamond Celebration last year... perhaps also due in part to fewer annual passholders holding no-blockout tickets this summer.
The opening of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter gave Southern Californians a new reason to consider one of Universal Studios Hollywood's new annual passes, while Knott's Berry Farm celebrated the 75th anniversary of its Ghost Town this year while continuing to offer its aggressively-priced season passes, which can be had for the year for about the price of just one monthly payment on Disneyland's Signature Plus AP.
Are those parks drawing former Disneyland passholders? Universal's attendance seemed to be up this summer compared with last year, while Knott's appeared to be about the same. Perhaps we'll get the answer when the annual industry attendance report comes out next spring.
Until then, let's pose the question to you. Are Disney's theme park annual passes a good deal for you? We're getting to the point in the year when Disney typically announces its annual pass prices for the next year. Is Disney providing enough value for you to renew (or consider) an annual pass? And if not, what do you need to see from the company to consider buying one?
And what about other theme park companies? Which parks do you think are providing the best annual pass value these days?
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Yeah at this point Disney passes are just way to expensive. Disney seems to be getting more and more crowded, and therefore days where I used to be able to ride 10 rides are now days where I can only ride 5 rides. Every once in a while there's a day that's a diamond in a rough, but those days don't come nearly enough for me to want to renew my pass.
However, the biggest reason for me deciding to no longer renew is the fact that Knott's and Six Flags are so cheap. To put it simply, for both Knott's and Six Flags I'm paying a combined $124 a year (I got a special deal on the Six Flags pass FYI) that gives me no blockout dates for Knott's which is open 364 days a year and no blockout dates for Six Flags which is open most of the year. Meanwhile my Disney pass (a SoCal Select) is $330 a year where I'm blocked out all weekends, all of summer plus some weeks, all days around major holidays, and on minor holidays.
So yeah, Disney just ain't worth it anymore.
-Can you visit regularly on off-season weekdays? If so, the So Cal Select is still a pretty good deal at $329 if you plan to visit at least three times.
-Do you plan to visit frequently? If so, the passes are absolutely a good deal. Even the most expensive pass pays off after 7 visits, so if you'll be going monthly or perhaps every month and a half it is worth investing in a pass.
-Do you prefer to visit for a few hours at a time instead of visiting for a full day? If so, a pass is better because you may not feel like you have to rush around to get your money's worth and can go at a more relaxed pace. Very few people are going to be willing to pay $95+ for an evening at the parks.
Now, let's look at a few scenarios where passes used to be a good deal, but now are no longer one...
-Do you visit several times a year, but less than once every month and a half? In this case, you are likely better off buying individual tickets for your visits. The exception is if you would qualify for the So Cal Select pass.
-Do you typically visit only one park instead of park hopping? Without park hopping, it can take up to 5 additional visits before you've paid off your pass (depending on pass level and which days you visit). Therefore, if you prefer to spend your day at only one park, it is generally a better idea to buy individual tickets unless you visit at least once a month.
-Do you visit for several days at a time? Passes used to be a good deal for this, but now multi-day tickets are the much better option.
-Do you prefer to visit during the peak periods? Despite tickets being more expensive, it is better to buy individual tickets than a more expensive pass if you'll be visiting primarily on peak days.
As for me, I am currently an on-and-off passholder. If I know I'll be visiting a lot (usually because a major new attraction has opened and/or I have a lot of out-of-state friends visiting in a given season), I'll purchase the lowest level pass that fits my needs and get the value out of it. The rest of the time, I do 1-3 full day visits during the year and that satisfies my need for Disney without paying for a pass.
The rules are a lot simpler for Southern California's other parks...if you will be visiting more than once in a year, it is a good deal to buy a pass. As a result, I always get a Knott's pass and SFMM pass as those are parks I visit every month or two. I do currently hold a USH pass, but I have only gone once and will likely only do one or two additional visits. In my opinion, that park has reached "once a year" status, but it has not reached "multi-visit" status yet.
After using the new pass for almost a year I feel that the product is overpriced, but Disney could off set that making pass members feel a little more special. SeaWorld Orlando opened a lounge exclusive to pass member, and it is terrific! In fact both SeaWorld and Universal offer their pass members more perks than Disney; the mouse could really learn a thing or two from them. My decision to renew the Disney pass will depend on this year's price increase. If they bump out too much I am afraid I will have to go without Disney visits.
Hi.
Luckily, WDW offers a beautiful pass for EPCOT that lets you in at 4pm with no block outs and the monthly payment plan makes this pass about $14/month. And since I "downgraded" I didnt have to pay a down payment, and that gives me access to Flower & Garden, Food & Wine, etc. Let's look at the facts here though (based on my criteria): I work all week and don't get out until 5pm anyway, it's 100 degrees outside every day until it hits 90 around 7pm, if we're lucky, and I enjoy this park. I thought to myself why the other parks don't offer a similar pass? Nevertheless, I chose to maintain passholder status in case I decide to upgrade ever again, which may happen eventually, but I saw this as a way to still hold on to Disney without forking out a small fortune, because when Food & Wine comes around, I spend far more than I ever mean to, but so worth it.
We LOVE going Disney World and are making great memories, but it's definitely pricey unless you go a lot. (Accommodations are free since we stay with friends...thats a nice perk).
I do also agree that Disney should do more for their Passholders. Maybe earlier access to FastPasses or something.
What I find interesting is that Disney are raising their pass prices while ski pass prices are, overall, going down, especially relative to day pass prices. For instance, Vail Resorts' 2nd least restrictive pass is $579 at its lowest price (prices increase closer to the season). The walk up price for a day ticket at Vail is now $159.
Everyone that complains/whines are the individuals that can no longer come out 'well above' break-even!
And all the "remember when" are struggling to balance TODAY vs yesterday.
All the "haven't built a ride" choose to ignore the ANNUAL capital spending of WDParks.
The advantage for customers would be the end of blackout dates, but the disadvantage would be having to buy all three season passes for year round access, or else being blacked out for months at a time. Disney would benefit by having a simpler system that would now be more like regional parks that offer season passes, but crowds would bigger in general in the off season due to a complete lack of blackout days.
I'm no expert but one thing is certain, Disney can't keep the status quo on theme park prices. The parks can only hold so many people, and they can only charge customers so much before hurting their reputation. It doesn't matter how profitable the theme parks are. If the mass perception becomes that Disney overcharges their customers and only sees them as a source of revenue and not valued customers, those customers may decide to avoid Disney in general. That could affect the company's bottom line as a whole.
Recently, I've found sanitation at the parks to be beyond unacceptable. My wife, told me Columbia Harbor House's bathroom were filthy and they had no toilet paper in the Companion restroom at the Ticket and Transportation Center. I've often noticed tables and floors of fast-service locations going uncleaned for times in excess of 30 minutes. It's clear they're cutting hours in janitorial and food service locations. I don't think I'm nitpicking because I'm a weekly visitor. These conditions are akin to something you'd find at a state fair.
NO!
"And if not, what do you need to see from the company to consider buying one?"
Fire Iger. Fire Chapek. Hire a CEO who actually cares.
Once I get back to the U.S, it's 50-50 that I'll be in SoCal. It'll be very interesting, and I cannot imagine at this time, what kind of pass I'll get because my familiarity with DLR is limited to having gone only once, 10 years ago.
Most likely, I'll get a two-day park hopper to get a taste. Then, depending on how I feel, I will get an AP. Which one, I can't say. I can see myself getting the BIG ONE for the first year, and then once I've had my fill, drop to a lower tier pass for future years when it's no longer a new experience.
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