Walt Disney World will begin selling annual passes to new customers Thursday. Sales of most of the levels of its passes have been suspended for months, a mid-pandemic move designed to help manage crowds in WDW’s four Central Florida theme parks.
Annual pass sales have been on hold since November 2021, so pent-up demand is anticipated. Here are five things to know, aside from “pack your patience,” going into Thursday.
—Sales on disneyworld.com will begin no earlier than 6 a.m. Thursday, Disney says.
—Expect an online wait via a virtual-queue system that estimates the time before an actual purchase happens. Last week, during a presale for select Disney Vacation Club members, potential buyers were notified that the wait would be “more than an hour.”
—Disney will use the same names of annual pass levels as before. They come with varied amounts of block-out dates, discounts and prices.
—The Incredi Pass, which has no blockout dates, sells for $1,399 for a year’s access. The Sorcerer Pass, designated for Florida residents and DVC members only, will be $969. It carries blockout dates around Thanksgiving and Christmastime. The Pirate Pass costs $749 and comes with blockout dates around more holidays such as Memorial Day and Labor Day.
—Disney has already been selling its Pixie Dust Pass, and its price remains at $399. It’s for Florida residents and gives access to the theme parks Mondays through Fridays.
—When announcing the return of Disney’s annual-pass sales, the company warned that a limited number of passes would be available and that it could suspend the sales again.
—Just need to renew a standing pass? Disney has been allowing this even when not selling new passes. So, with the expected high-traffic level on Thursday, it might be a good day to avoid for renewals. (Although Disney World’s website notes: “Pass renewal is subject to availability.”)
—Disney World first suspended sales of new annual passes during its four-month shutdown for the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. It resumed sales in September 2021 with new prices, restrictions and names, shedding the silver-gold-platinum names for annual pass levels before suspending sales again in November 2021.
