Being a Disney Parks fan hasn’t been nearly as easy as it used to be. Before the global pandemic, things were good. You could visit the parks at your leisure. If you had an Annual Pass you could visit every single day if you wanted to, which some people did. FastPasses were (mostly) easy to get and use. Sure, prices always increased, but that always happened in small doses that allowed people to adapt.
But after the pandemic, things changed. The reservation system made visiting Disney parks more complicated. Annual passes went completely away at Disneyland and became hard to get at Walt Disney World. Price increases became more frequent and more significant. Things that used to be free at Disney World now cost money. It became increasingly harder to find the joy that the parks used to bring.
But recently, we’ve begun to see a shift back in the other direction. A number of changes at both Disneyland and Disney World have rolled back previous price increases, relaxed the reservation system (if only slightly) and even made things that used to cost money now free. And most recently, we’ve seen that Annual Passes are going to be released for sale at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World.
The Return Of Annual Pass Sales At Walt Disney World And Disneyland Is A (Small) Return To Normalcy
Last week, it was announced that Annual Passes will be on sale at Walt Disney World once again beginning April 20, with Disney Vacation Club members able to purchase their exclusive Sorcerer Pass beginning April 13. Today it was revealed that Magic Keys, the Disneyland Resort version of the annual pass, will also go back on sale starting April 11.
This is certainly good news for anybody who has wanted to purchase a pass, but I’d argue it’s equally good news for any Disney Parks fan because it’s an indication, however small, that Annual Passes are becoming important to Disney once again. This means things are going back to the way they used to be in this small way.
Former CEO Bob Chapek made it clear that APs were never a significant part of his financial strategy in the parks. It was under him that these passes became limited commodities that were largely unavailable. He spoke about the fact that “the family from Denver,” a phrase he used when describing the family taking a once-in-a-lifetime vacation, was more important to him than the frequent guest with an AP because the vacationing family tended to spend more money.
Magic Keys first went back on sale in January, and while all but the most expensive option did eventually sell out, making it clear that the passes would not be on sale forever. Still, the fact that we’re now seeing passes going back on sale so soon at Disneyland, with passes also back at Disney World, indicates a small shift back to the old way of doing things, which will likely make many people happy.
Disney Parks are (Slowly) Becoming More Like They Were Pre-Pandemic
The return to Annual Passes isn’t the only way we’ve see things slowly shifting back to the way things used to be. In fact, the return of Annual Passes at Walt Disney World is happening (almost certainly not coincidently) alongside another big change, the first exception to the reservation system that we’ve seen.
Beginning April 18, APs will be able to enter the parks of Walt Disney World without a reservation starting at 2pm (Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom excluded). It’s a small change in the grand scheme of things, but still a significant one that may make the AP a very enticing option for a lot of people.
Part of the fun of having an annual pass at Disneyland was always the ability to just drop in. I don’t live in Southern California, but I used to find myself there often enough that having a pass was worth it. I would work during the day and then just drop in the park at night, and it was a great deal of fun. I expect a lot of people felt the same way and a lot of Disney World pass holders are about to have it back.
There’s certainly no guarantee that the reservation system will ever go away, or even see significantly more changes, but this one exception at least opens the door for that. If the reservation system ever went away, fans would rejoice. There’s no clear indication that the system is actually managing attendance in a way that makes the parks easier to enjoy, which has been its primary selling point.
Since Bob Iger has returned as CEO we’ve seen a number of changes at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World that are clearly meant to make a Disney vacation feel more valuable. Everything from free parking at Disney World hotels to free Photopass at Disneyland Resort gives guests a little bit more than they had for the money they’re already paying.
Iger himself has admitted that Disney Parks' price increases had been too aggressive. He seems to appreciate that there's a balance between making money in the short term and keeping customers happy, which ensures one can continue to make money in the long term.
Some Changes Likely Won’t Ever Go Back To The Way They Were
To be sure, I don’t expect things to go back to the way they were pre-pandemic entirely. Disney Parks may be places where nostalgia rules, but they’re also the parks that will “never be completed” as things are always changing, and that goes for guest policies as much as it goes for the future of attractions.
Genie+ isn’t going away. The pay-for-play FastPass replacement has started selling out regularly and has only become more expensive in the last couple of weeks. I would love to see a return to traditional FastPass, but that’ll never happen. However, we have seen things like Photopass added to it at Walt Disney World for free, so maybe we’ll continue to see value added to it, making it feel more worthwhile to spend the money.
But even as somebody who probably won’t be buying an annual pass anytime soon, I’m glad to see them going on sale again. These passes will likely sell out. There will come a point in a few days or a month or so when these passes aren’t available anymore, but as long as we see them offered to guests on a regular basis, that will be good enough. The fact that Disney Parks wants to sell more annual passes isn’t simply an indication that they want the money. They want the passholders, just like they used to.
