New WDW AP Program (2021)

[Joe]

The number of people (many on here) who don't blink an eye at $550 for 39 nights of HHN with Express but balk at $900 for 346 days of WDW without Express illustrates how much of a GSAT-killer long lines truly are.

I wonder how much the HHN pricing is due to the fact every year is "new". Also, I think with the Express passes are predominantly sold to very wealthy people and super fans like us and imagine most of the passes sold are base RoF or Frequent Fear.

 

[HandsomePete]

Today was the first day of my 60 day renewal window for my Silver pass. Was able to lock that in for another 12 months.

After it expires I will need to go with a Sorcerer pass for 900 dollars, because Pirate has random Saturdays blocked all year instead of the two solid months of summer blocked out.

That means my annual pass price just doubled... just so I can still go on Saturdays in the fall.

You looking at the correct Pirate calendar? There are 41 Saturdays open over the next 14 months. And what's blocked in the fall isn't exactly random - it's the 50th, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and (circling to next year) Labor Day.

I mean, Pirate basically gives you the entire summer back in exchange for holiday weekends like MLK and Presidents Day.

 

[Alicia]

You looking at the correct Pirate calendar? There are 41 Saturdays open over the next 14 months. And what's blocked in the fall isn't exactly random - it's the 50th, Columbus Day, Thanksgiving, and (circling to next year) Labor Day.

I mean, Pirate basically gives you the entire summer back in exchange for holiday weekends like MLK and Presidents Day.

Yup, I retract most of my complaints re blackout dates. Except Dec 4th. Freaking mystery on that one lol

 

[Vyrus]

Yup, I retract most of my complaints re blackout dates. Except Dec 4th. Freaking mystery on that one lol

Typically when they film the Christmas Day parade and show.

 

[HHN Yeti Lover]

So as an out of stater, my only choice is the highest pass and I have to pay $1300 upfront, smh.

 

[PerceptiveCoot]

For better or worse, Disney has cemented itself as a part of the American youth experience. They know families will do almost anything to get their kid one trip there growing up no matter the financial situation, sometimes as dangerous as maxing out credit cards or going into debt.

All my friends who only went once as kids barely remember it and could care less about theme parks, so it seems those once-in-a-lifetime visits won't translate to longterm interest as it would for repeat visitors or APs. The few things that have gotten my friends into theme parks have been announcements that percolate into the mainstream like the 'real' lightsaber, which won't be in the parks anyway.

 

[Nick]

Yup, I retract most of my complaints re blackout dates. Except Dec 4th. Freaking mystery on that one lol

Isn't that when Jersey week and Pop Warner typically collide? Other than that I can't think of anything.

 

[Yabbadabba Doh]

Isn't that when Jersey week and Pop Warner typically collide? Other than that I can't think of anything.

Jersey week is in early November. (I’m in NJ).

 

[MrRoamer]

I wouldn't even be so upset if it wasn't for just how complicated the new blackout dates were. It's not even about the money, it's about being able to understand how my old pass is blacked out Spring Break, Summer, and Xmas week, to now, scattered blackout dates every single month, including most Saturdays, for the new equivalent version.

Paying for a confusing product that looks like it was written by an algorithm to maximize profits doesn't sit well for me, much more than the cost.

Thank you for bringing this up, I didn't realize the dates were up and yeah.... I cannot understand most of the reason for the dates and does look like some AI thing went to town on it. The fact that almost all of summer isn't blacked out for the Pirate seems odd to me especially with how bad the Pixie Duster is. They should have called it the retiree pass or something.

 

[Alicia]

Thank you for bringing this up, I didn't realize the dates were up and yeah.... I cannot understand most of the reason for the dates and does look like some AI thing went to town on it. The fact that almost all of summer isn't blacked out for the Pirate seems odd to me especially with how bad the Pixie Duster is. They should have called it the retiree pass or something.

I only realized it later, but most of those weekends are federal holidays, like Labor Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King, Jr, etc. So, Silver was blocked out all summer, Pirate is blocked out all holiday weekends instead.

 

[MrRoamer]

I only realized it later, but most of those weekends are federal holidays, like Labor Day, Memorial Day, Columbus Day, Martin Luther King, Jr, etc. So, Silver was blocked out all summer, Pirate is blocked out all holiday weekends instead.

Ahhh that makes much more sense then. They should just say don't plan on comin if its a holiday. The thing that is a small bummer is that just makes it a given I'm not going to be at Disney for my birthday again. Oh well Grand Floridian was a good send off I spose.

 

[deadbydawn]

Those names....yuck.

 

[GAcoaster]

I'm kind of mystified why they are excluding non Florida residents except for the highest tier. It seems to me that a non Florida resident purchasing ANY pass would most likely be a big money maker for Disney. The residents are the ones that congest the parks, not the non-residents.

 

[Mad Dog]

Thank you for bringing this up, I didn't realize the dates were up and yeah.... I cannot understand most of the reason for the dates and does look like some AI thing went to town on it. The fact that almost all of summer isn't blacked out for the Pirate seems odd to me especially with how bad the Pixie Duster is. They should have called it the retiree pass or something.

Perhaps because summers are no longer as crowded at WDW as they were previous to guests changing their vacation patterns. Busy crowds seem more dispersed throughout the entire year, except for September and
non holiday weeks of Jan./Feb. Those are about the only slow times left.....in a normal non covid year.

 

[HandsomePete]

The bottom one (I refuse to call it by its name) is basically a Weekday Select. It wasn't particularly popular, but it's a good option for a specific type of person, be it retirees, people who have weekday weekends because they're in service industry, or 9-5 people who just want to go after work when it isn't busy.

If I were to get one, it would probably be that purely because I already have 365 day access at the other two parks in Orlando and the Disney parks would be a good mid-week option because they're usually open later than Uni/SW in the offseason.

 

[Bort]

All my friends who only went once as kids barely remember it and could care less about theme parks, so it seems those once-in-a-lifetime visits won't translate to longterm interest as it would for repeat visitors or APs. The few things that have gotten my friends into theme parks have been announcements that percolate into the mainstream like the 'real' lightsaber, which won't be in the parks anyway.

I think the general WDW life cycle experience is kinda like this:

1. Your parents bring you as a kid. Despite the family spending a ton of money, you the child don’t remember much, or really care.

2.You take a vacation/honeymoon there with your boyfriend/girlfriend/spouse/etc. Might not spend money on kids toys, but probably drop coin on a fancy restaurant or two and lots of drinks.

3. You have kid(s), and bring them when they’re old enough because it’s something you vaguely remember doing and everyone else in society does it. Your kids nag you for all the toys and you cave because you want them to have the best time ever.

4. Repeat with the next generation.

I don’t think they care about translating guests into frequent visitors/annual pass holders. There’s a couple million kids born in the US alone every year so until that well runs dry, they’ll be fine taking $5-10,000 from each of the one time trip families.

I don’t mean to be cynical, but also don’t want to sugar coat the Disney experience. There’s a reason why my last 3 trips started with a few days planned at Disney, and all of them got nixed to stay within budget.

 

[OhHaiInternet95]

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[Mad Dog]

I hope Uni keeps at least some balance between appealing to locals and to tourists.

I'm guessing Uni will use this, like they've done during the past year, to pick up some more disgruntled WDW AP holders.

 

[tielo]

There are quite a few out of state and even European travelers who visit 2 or 3 times a year (or just one long period like 10 week (as I often do) who buy annual passes. In the end it's a bit cheaper but you only use it a very limited part of the year so it won't crowd the park but get those guests eating, drinking and shopping for 2 or 3 times a year. If I had to pay $1300 plus tax for my USO ticket I wouldn't go anymore and I guess I'm not the only one.

 

[shiekra38]

It's crazy how many of my Disney Simp friends are switching over to Universal

All I keep hearing is "I want to ride Velocicoaster"

If this is the temperature of a lot of other folks then good news for the Epic Universe fund