Flex Pass Superthread: Disneyland Resort Introduces New Annual Passport that Combines Value and Flexibility

[cmwade77]

Parking is still included with those passes.





I've got a bad feeling that this Disney Flex Pass is about to replace both tiers of the SoCal Pass.

I'd bet money that they eliminate one or both of those tiers of passes when they introduce this pass later this month.

Actually, I was reading a few different articles that all specifically stated that they are not eliminating any of the other existing pass levels or the so cal level that many are grandfathered into, they will still have the option of that level as well.

 

[cmwade77]

So interesting... I was receiving surveys over several months last year on this specific issue. And now they've actually gone ahead with it. USH and Sea World were sending me surveys on this type of pass, too.

Yeah, it makes sense as they can more accurately predict crowds this way and staff accordingly. This allows them to save money on labor costs, which why there can be the lower price.

 

[cmwade77]

I agree with those who say this is Disney trying to make up for sales of lower ap’s being down. They thought they could block people out of Disneyland for 3 months during the summer while only allowing them access to DCA. Well apparently the people have spoken with their wallets finally. This new pass definitely will make it harder to predict when it might be a light crowd day at the Resort.

Actually if we can see when there are still reservations available, it will make it substantially easier to figure out, but not until 30 days out or so.

 

[Rich M]

My concern is what time will the reservation system open. I always hate that Est opens at 7 AM for Disney World stuff and forces me to get up at 4 am. I think if you have your dates picked out and our online right when it opens at the 30 day mark there shouldn't be much problems with getting the day you want. For me this pass seems like the best option because I don't want to come on busy weekends and I don't want to come on holidays. I just hope I can upgrade my ticket on May 21st when I am down there because that ticket would pay for half the pass.

 

[Barnabus Collins]

I think this might be a very good thing for a lot of people. For those who like to plan in advance, this may be a great pass to have. I do believe that Disneyland is slowly moving in the direction of WDW, where advance reservations will be a must for visiting the park.

 

[cmwade77]

My concern is what time will the reservation system open. I always hate that Est opens at 7 AM for Disney World stuff and forces me to get up at 4 am. I think if you have your dates picked out and our online right when it opens at the 30 day mark there shouldn't be much problems with getting the day you want. For me this pass seems like the best option because I don't want to come on busy weekends and I don't want to come on holidays. I just hope I can upgrade my ticket on May 21st when I am down there because that ticket would pay for half the pass.

Generally speaking, reservations for everything on the west coast opens at midnight Pacific Time.

 

[cmwade77]

I think this might be a very good thing for a lot of people. For those who like to plan in advance, this may be a great pass to have. I do believe that Disneyland is slowly moving in the direction of WDW, where advance reservations will be a must for visiting the park.

I don't mind a reservation for a particular date, but I don't want to schedule FPs in advance at all or plan restaurants out more than 30 days in advance.

 

[IAmDis]

I don't like it at all. Not only does this pass seem appealing to the casual existing pass-holder, but this now invites a lot of others who were thinking about it, but didn't want to pay for a Signature, now wanna jump right in. As long as they don't include parking (I doubt they will), I guess we will see how this pays off. But my guess is, it won't go well and the guest experience will suffer.

This really isn't a locals pass. This is perfect for the vacationer who will plan things out. I don't see Locals wanting to plan out a DLand trip when they just want to go on the fly, but it will grab the casual DLR guest who wants to come 6-5x a year. I'm guessing 15k-25k slots available for Reservation days.

This invites even MORE people to the park. From Disney's side, they think it's a good idea because it will maximize off days and help them plan the busy Fri-Sundays, however this will backfire, as a lot of decisions they come up with do. Don't understand Disney's logic here. The #1 reason guests have a bad time is because it's too crowded, lines are long and nobody wants to be around THAT many people (max capacity). But yet they introduce a pass that will bring the MASSES to the park that will already come anyways for SWGE. They're basically adding more and more people to busy Summer days who want to make a reservation.

This is even more evident with Disney announcing seemingly everywhere that they may have to close the park and lands to capacity. This shouldn't be a goal of Disney to hit capacity every day - it literally makes the guest experience the worst, and makes zero sense.

They're going to get the crowds for SWGE - I'm talking capacity crowds buying tix everyday after June 23rd. They keep saying they know it will be packed, but are they really sure they know the amount of people coming into this place? On some level, I think they're being naive about it and thinking they can handle it, but they need to prepare for the absolute worse, and coming out with this pass right before the opening of a major land just boggles my mind.

Just all seems too early to make this move. They haven't even found their price point yet. They should be waiting till after Summer to find out how far they can raise prices to a point where they receive a lot of backlash. Their priority should have been to introduce another price hike come September AND remove all monthly payment options off passes and THEN see how it thins out. This is when they introduce the Flex and make everyone happy, who were tired of Disney's high prices. They would look like heroes.

Problem is, the DLR isn't Disney World. There is no space here. All they're doing is cramming every single inch of the park with guests. This will hurt the guest experience, especially when you think that the population only grows each and every single day, more and more people will want to come to the park - not to mention that more and more people enter the middle and upper-middle class every day - but yet they bring out a pass that invites the entire world to come during a time they're literally renovating trees and curbs to ease guest experience. They're trying to be Disney World and they're not. They can't ever be Disney World unless the city of Anaheim let's them bulldoze the surrounding 3 miles.

Idk, just think it's BAD... but only time will tell...

 

[IAmDis]

I don't mind a reservation for a particular date, but I don't want to schedule FPs in advance at all or plan restaurants out more than 30 days in advance.

Problem is, if they keep introducing more and more people to more affordable options, they're going to have to. And we all will have to start doing this to plan out FPs and ADRs because Disney just wants to keep cramming people into the parks 365 days a year to capacity, when ideally, they need to keep raising the price ceiling until they find their breaking point (as mentioned in my above post).

 

[bethwc101]

I agree that I don't think this is a locals pass. And its exactly the annual passholders they want. They want the AP holders who will also be staying on property and eating at their restaurants, purchasing merchandise, and buying their treats. It's smarter to cater towards them from a financial standpoint than the AP holders who will just show up for the day, then head home for lunch. I think the out of town AP holders are where the money is at.

 

[Rich M]

I agree that I don't think this is a locals pass. And its exactly the annual passholders they want. They want the AP holders who will also be staying on property and eating at their restaurants, purchasing merchandise, and buying their treats. It's smarter to cater towards them from a financial standpoint than the AP holders who will just show up for the day, then head home for lunch. I think the out of town AP holders are where the money is at.

I think that's exactly right. They will probably sale more of this to us in Northern California and Arizona and Nevada. We are the ones who will benefit from the needing only 2 days in the park.

 

[ardanxela]

I'm local and am considering getting this pass. I was going to buy a one day ticket for my SWGE reservation next month anyways so will probably use that towards this new Flex Pass. We always plan in advance so really no difference other than we'll have more days to choose from now. I've only had the So Cal Select pass in the past.

 

[dieumeye]

I agree that I don't think this is a locals pass. And its exactly the annual passholders they want. They want the AP holders who will also be staying on property and eating at their restaurants, purchasing merchandise, and buying their treats. It's smarter to cater towards them from a financial standpoint than the AP holders who will just show up for the day, then head home for lunch. I think the out of town AP holders are where the money is at.

It'll be interesting to see which guests gravitate toward this pass and how they use it. However, don't discount how much locals spend at the parks. I know there's at least one local AP who regularly eats at the restaurants, purchases merch, buys treats, and even stays on property on occasion, despite being less than an hour away from the park! That stuff isn't only for out of towners!

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I agree that I don't think this is a locals pass. And its exactly the annual passholders they want. They want the AP holders who will also be staying on property and eating at their restaurants, purchasing merchandise, and buying their treats. It's smarter to cater towards them from a financial standpoint than the AP holders who will just show up for the day, then head home for lunch. I think the out of town AP holders are where the money is at.

That's funny. I was thinking just the opposite...that this pass seems best for locals. As a non-local AP, I wouldn't want to plan a 3-5 day trip to Disneyland/DCA unless I knew I was going to get in for all 3, 4, or 5 days that I would be in the area staying in a hotel. I would only be able to hold reservations for 2 days in advance of any given trip and couldn't get a reservation for day 3 until I had visited for day 1. That stress of not knowing if there will be availability on the day(s) I want to go when I'm already there and paying for a hotel and have travelled some distance to be there wouldn't be worth the cost savings. If I was a local though who only planned to visit the park for one to two days in a row and I was somewhat flexible about when those days could be, this pass would be a great alternative to the deluxe pass. I know some others have commented that Disney has said they aren't eliminating any of the current annual pass tiers. That may be true now, but if this flex pass proves popular and is a better way for Disney to manage attendance (remember Disney's attendance goal is not about making the parks less crowded, it's about keeping the park attendance as high as it can on a daily basis while maintaining whatever level of overall guest satisfaction they have deemed acceptable to them), then I can see the deluxe pass within one or two years going the way of the southern California (not select) pass, grandfathered in for those who have it but no longer sold new.

 

[gerilyne]

So have we confirmed (maybe I missed this in the thread) what counts as a reservation? Is it a day or is it a block of time? For example, if I am going the first week of August which looks like is all reservation days, is the week considered a reservation or only 2 days?

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

So have we confirmed (maybe I missed this in the thread) what counts as a reservation? Is it a day or is it a block of time? For example, if I am going the first week of August which looks like is all reservation days, is the week considered a reservation or only 2 days?

From the blog post announcing the new pass: "Guests can hold two reservation days up to 30 days in advance with the new passport, while also enjoying good-to-go days*."

And from the FAQ:

• Each Disney Flex Passport can hold 2 reservations during a 30-day window.
• If you have 2 reservations during a 30-day window, you’ll have the opportunity to make another once your first reservation date has passed or if you cancel an existing reservation.

 

[msjstricker]

It is included for those levels. In the past you could add parking onto the lower levels; that’s no longer available unless you are grandfathered in.

This is one of the factors which causes me to get the higher levels of AP. Parking and discounts more than makes up for the cost difference (I tend to go overboard on merch).

Same here. My fiance has a lower pass and I have a Signature for the parking and discounts. The parking cost alone is worth the high cost of my AP. I don't want to come on a Friday night at 7 pm through midnight and pay $25 each time I do that. Worth it (to me)!

 

[ardanxela]

So have we confirmed (maybe I missed this in the thread) what counts as a reservation? Is it a day or is it a block of time? For example, if I am going the first week of August which looks like is all reservation days, is the week considered a reservation or only 2 days?

Two days only.

 

[twodogs]

It seems pretty clear a reservation is for a day. You can book two at a time. The only way this would work for someone on a 10 day trip during reservation windows is if they were willing to be flexible and know they may not get in every day.

Then this makes sense only for locals or people who can drive in for a short trip. I live in Texas, and I fly in. This is basically useless for me because I can't make a flight reservation and then just hope that I can get into the parks more than one day of my trip... I'm not flying all the way out there for one park day (or maybe no park days if I have to book my flight before 30 days, and then I can't get a reservation at all). I work and have school aged kids so doing a mid week trip on the "good to go" days would not work either. Oh well...

 

[Barnabus Collins]

It'll be interesting to see which guests gravitate toward this pass and how they use it. However, don't discount how much locals spend at the parks. I know there's at least one local AP who regularly eats at the restaurants, purchases merch, buys treats, and even stays on property on occasion, despite being less than an hour away from the park! That stuff isn't only for out of towners!

I am in the same boat. I live 16 miles from the park, and do all the above.