Disney News, Discussion & an Element of Fun - 2023 Edition

[HokieRaven5]

Annual Pass Pricing:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1643963064784396288

 

[Smugpugmug]

Disney World to Resume Selling Annual Passes April 20th
Disney fans, we heard you loud and clear! Wherever you can find us, you’ve been asking about Walt Disney World Annual Passes. It’s great to see how many Disney fans are interested in becoming a Passholder and making memories time and time again in our theme parks. If you’ve been one of the many fans asking about Annual Passes, then we’ve got great news for you.

New sales of the Disney Incredi-Pass, Disney Sorcerer Pass and Disney Pirate Pass will resume and can be purchased online beginning on April 20! Please know, as we look to provide a great experience for our Passholders, the quantity of passes will be limited and passes, or a pass type, may become unavailable for purchase at any time.*

For eligible DVC Members, we’ve got great news for you too, as you’ll have the opportunity to purchase the DVC Disney Sorcerer Pass online beginning April 13 as part of your Membership Magic benefits.**

We are so grateful for our Passholders who have a deep, strong connection to Walt Disney World, and we are looking forward to welcoming more of you to the Annual Passholder family, just in time to experience the feelings of a Disney Thrill this spring and summer.

It’s an incredible time to be a part of the Walt Disney World Annual Passholder program as we’ve taken the feedback we received from Annual Passholders and are making exciting changes. Passholders now receive access to select Disney PhotoPass benefits (age restrictions apply) and, beginning April 18, Annual Passholders can visit the theme parks after 2 p.m. without needing a park reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park. Pass blockout dates continue to apply. Passholders, if you’re planning on visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios any time soon, I recommend you try out the new Disney PhotoPass Muppet*Vision 3D Lens – it’s a lot of fun!

These updates will help Passholders enjoy some of our newest Walt Disney World experiences. We’re celebrating the return of the “Happily Ever After” nighttime spectacular at Magic Kingdom Park, the world’s first Toy Story-themed table-service restaurant Roundup Rodeo BBQ at Disney’s Hollywood Studios opened just a few weeks ago and Journey of Water – Inspired by Moana is coming later this year to EPCOT. This month, we’ll also commemorate the 25th anniversary of Disney’s Animal Kingdom, home to one of my favorite lands, Pandora – The World of Avatar.

For the latest news, current Annual Passholders can check out The Passholder Buzz available on the My Disney Experience app. To learn more about renewal and pass upgrade options, visit DisneyWorld.com/AnnualPass.

*Passes are subject to the Walt Disney World® Resort Annual Pass Terms and Conditions. All offerings are subject to change or cancellation without notice.

**To purchase the Disney Sorcerer Pass, Disney Vacation Club Members must be eligible for Membership Extras. Membership Extras is an incidental benefit – these offers are subject to availability, change or termination and may require a fee. General terms & conditions of the program are in the Membership Extras Acknowledgement and Disclosure Statement. Program terms and conditions are subject to change without notice.

Does this also mean those with an annual pass (for example, a Pixie) can upgrade to a higher tier on the 20th?

 

[Mome Rath]

Annual Pass Pricing:

https://twitter.com/x/status/1643963064784396288

At least they are still giving a renewal discount, I was curious about that.

 

[Jennasis]

Just got the AP sales email from DVC. NICE.

 

[jpeterson]

Just got the AP sales email from DVC. NICE.

Same here and I rushed over here to see if I had missed the news. Turns out I had.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

Such excellent news. I've thankfully kept my AP through renewals, but this is such a great thing for the DVC community. Happy to see some positive change!

 

[jpeterson]

Such excellent news. I've thankfully kept my AP through renewals, but this is such a great thing for the DVC community. Happy to see some positive change!

I'm also taking it, along with return of resort discounts, as signs that travel demand is leveling off or even slowing down a bit.

 

[HopperFan]

What bothers me about this (and we were discussing it on the DISabilities) is if they're not going to be more lenient for guests utilizing DAS (and there are reports they haven't been).

The point of a DAS return time is that it is open ended and the guest can return whenever is possible for them.

Since there is no "traditional" way to get a DAS time right now, I personally feel like all DAS guests should be accommodated at returning later than their time because that's the very nature of disability- you don't know when your disability will prevent you from doing something and how long it will take before you're able to function again.

We would love to make it exactly on time every time, but my partner's disability has foiled us many times and delayed us literally hours.

We have a DAS user in the family and I certainly get how they are doing can impact one's day. We've had days where we never left the room. We've also held popular ride DAS, waited most our time ... then had to leave the park losing the chance to ride. Last trip we got our VQ for Guardians, a ride he loves. I was happy I was able to get it. Guess what? He couldn't make it until our boarding time so we lost out.

You can't really ask for an advantage over all other guests, that is not the point of the DAS. If they are enforcing return times for all other guests, that should be the same for DAS guests. It's not like DAS guests don't already experience enforced times, they do with the Advance Selections.

You can't get the DAS the "traditional" way because neither can any other guest wait the traditional way. Doing so would give the DAS holders an advantage. Giving DAS users an advantage also risks more folks fraudulently applying for one.

I greatly appreciate the DAS for my son and it is up to us to make it work the best we can.

 

[jlundeen]

At least they are still giving a renewal discount, I was curious about that.

I renewed in February - the discount was about $40 less that what the Incredi Pass is selling for now. But I had added the photopass option too....

 

[HokieRaven5]

Disney World Annual Pass Upgrades Return April 20th

 

[HopperFan]

I renewed in February - the discount was about $40 less that what the Incredi Pass is selling for now.

I have not kept up with prices - Pixie cost the same, did any of the others go up in price? $40 is not much of a discount, my Pixie was $70 discount.

 

[OKW Lover]

Does this also mean those with an annual pass (for example, a Pixie) can upgrade to a higher tier on the 20th?

In the past its always been possible for you to upgrade to a higher (or down grade to a lower) level of AP when you renew. If you try to do that during your AP term though, the price was not pro-rated.

 

[Hummingbird]

Does this also mean those with an annual pass (for example, a Pixie) can upgrade to a higher tier on the 20th?

Yes.

Renew Your Annual Pass​

Passholders may choose to renew into any available pass type during their renewal window (60 days before and 30 days after expiration) with a special renewal benefit.
Beginning April 20, 2023, existing Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will have the option to upgrade their Annual Pass into any available pass type outside of their renewal window on our website or via the My Disney Experience app. The difference in price must be paid in full at the time of the upgrade and the new pass will have the same expiration date as the original pass.

 

[Smugpugmug]

I have not kept up with prices - Pixie cost the same, did any of the others go up in price? $40 is not much of a discount, my Pixie was $70 discount.

I think the Sorcerer went up by $69 (was $899 and is now $969). Unless that change happened a while ago? Nevermind, I just saw those price increases were from a few months ago.

 

[Mome Rath]

I renewed in February - the discount was about $40 less that what the Incredi Pass is selling for now. But I had added the photopass option too....

Mine is showing a $132 discount, I decide whether or not to renew this month.

 

[jlundeen]

Mine is showing a $132 discount, I decide whether or not to renew this month.

Is that with the Photo Pass option?

 

[HokieRaven5]

Another day, another sellout of Genie+ at $35

 

[sdk1231]

Annual Pass Sales Resume. Wow!

 

[Brocktoon]

Another day, another sellout of Genie+ at $35

I figure it will be sell-outs until sometime next week

EDIT: to add ... will they go above $35 for Fri/Sat/Sun ???

 

[Mome Rath]

Is that with the Photo Pass option?

No, but I'm assuming the $1,399 new price isn't with it either. The included photopass experiences are limited to attraction photopass, like park hoppers are, as that is what is linked in the official Disney release of the AP news.