Disney World has announced a change to how payment plans work for its Annual Passholder program.
Disney World Annual Pass
While the prices of all four tiers of Annual Passes have not increased, Disney lowered the down payment and increased the monthly payment. And, as is typical any time Disney makes these sorts of changes — fans have THOUGHTS.
As it stands now, there are currently four tiers of Disney World Annual Passes. Florida residents can purchase all four tiers, including Pixie, Pirate, Sorcerer, and Incredi-Pass. Eligible Disney Vacation Club Members can purchase the Sorcerer Pass, and all guests can purchase the Incredi-Pass, which is the most expensive pass that offers the most flexibility. Florida residents have the option of purchasing their passes by making a lower down payment and then making monthly payments on the pass.
Annual Pass
But recently, Disney lowered the down payment price and increased the monthly payment prices on all its passes. Here is a breakdown:
Pixie Pass
- Old Down Payment: $205
- New Down Payment: $99
- Old Monthly Payment: $25
- New Monthly Payment: $34
Pirate Pass
- Old Down Payment: $205
- New Down Payment: $99
- Old Monthly Payment: $57
- New Monthly Payment: $66
Sorcerer Pass
- Old Down Payment: $205
- New Down Payment: $99
- Old Monthly Payment: $79
- New Monthly Payment: $88
Incredi-Pass
- Old Down Payment: $205
- New Down Payment: $99
- Old Monthly Payment: $121
- New Monthly Payment: $130
Scanning into a Lightning Lane at Disney World
It seems like this is a way to help Disney increase Annual Pass sales by making all passes just $99, but how do fans feel about this new system? We headed over to our Facebook page to find out.
Like It
While there were plenty of negative reactions to this news, not all fans felt that way. One reader said, “I think this is a good thing. The down payment being lower will help people that couldn’t afford it before,” which is likely one of the reasons Disney made this switch. Annual Pass sales have not been in as high demand as they have been in the past, so this could be Disney’s way of trying to change that.
Cinderella Castle
Others seemed to agree, with the caveat that they wished Disney would make the payment plan an option for out-of-state folks as well, since as of now, only Florida residents qualify for the payment plans. One reader said, “If they really wanted to increase pass sales, they would end their discrimination against [out-of-state] guests and open up more tiers and payment plans to those of us not as fortunate (or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it) to live in Florida who prefer short trips.”
EVERY SINGLE Disney World Annual Passholder Perk…And How To Use Them To Your ADVANTAGE
Don’t Like It
Of course, there were plenty of our readers who weren’t so happy about this change. Quite a few folks said they didn’t plan on renewing their Annual Passes, and this was just another contributing factor. A reader replied and said, “Honestly 90% sure I’m not renewing this year. I don’t go enough and I’m finding it less enjoyable when I do go. Florida resident discount on regular tickets would probably be cheaper. For [sic] the 2-3 times a year I might want to go.”
EPCOT
Similarly, one person commented, “Crowds are insane. No long [sic] a fun place to go. Skipping parks for the next 18 months,” while another said, “I think we are done with our AP’s. [sic] We had ours for 10 years but it’s not the same at the parks anymore. The magic isn’t what it was.” This certainly isn’t a new sentiment among Disney fans, but it seems this change has only added fuel to the fire.
Disney World Annual Passholder Dining Discounts
No matter how you feel, it’s clear that Disney World is going through quite a bit of changes right now — and we’ll be here for them all!
In the meantime, we’ll be on the lookout for more updates about Disney World’s Annual Pass program and the latest news from Disney World. Make sure you stay tuned to the Disney Food Blog so you don’t miss any news!
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I have 2 children with diagnoses…. autism and tourettes. It is increasingly difficult to acquire the DAS for them. The benefits of being a passholder, resident of Fl, our staying in property are also no longer there. I have been going to Disney since it opened in 1971. Disney has always been a business, but the attendees took precedent. Now it’s all about money, stakeholders, and bloated executives. We are not renewing.
I wish they would come out with a Senior or Day pass that gets you in the door, but no rides or attractions. It would let Seniors participate in the day with a young adult or toddler without going broke. It would allow for shopping and dining, but no rides or Limited attractions. I gave up my annual pass after my first visit with grandchildren. I rode the Peoplemover and the train for my $125.00 entry ticket.
The only reason we (out-of-state) tried an annual pass was that it was cheaper overall, after the AP room discount, than park tickets and no AP room discount. I really enjoyed getting the discounts on dining and shopping as well. We either weren’t aware of or didn’t pursue any of the other perks. I can sort of understand Disney not offering a payment plan to out-of-state guests – what’s to keep us from backing out of paying the rest once we’ve had our visit? But I do wish they would offer it to us though – lol! Maybe if AP sales are slow enough, Disney will figure out a way to be able to trust OoS guests with a payment plan. If they had an OoS guest payment plan, and the ‘countdown’ still didn’t start until your first visit, they could get some of my money today! As it is, since I’ll have to pay in full for the pass up front, I’ll wait to see if the room discount is at lesat as good as our last trip before buying. And we’re months away at best from knowing that.
Unfortunately WDW simply does not treat its APs well. Someone staying in the cheapest on property resort is treated better than top tier APs despite the latter likely spending a multiple of what that one-time visitor does. Add that on top of massive price increases, poorly maintained parks, no major additions, hundreds of eliminated or reduced features and replacing long term CMs with disinterested college students it’s a wonder WDW has any APs left.