Any idea when we can buy WDW annual passes?

[dbprimeaux]

Ugh! I just can’t see spending so much on day passes (or APs) and now most live entertainment is cancelled, too. We don’t really go for the rides anymore, we like sitting and enjoying the street performances, shows, etc...just sad

 

[Minerva Mouse]

From reading the AP cancellation thread, it seems like those who made Disney go to the trouble and expense of issuing a refund are being welcomed back with open arms and are allowed to buy Annual Passes. The rest of us can pound sand (excuse me, I mean buy day passes for the same number of days we would have entered the parks with an annual pass). Can anyone explain to me the logic of this decision? The way I see it, as of today, you either own an annual pass or you don't. It shouldn't matter if you used to own an annual pass. If you got a refund, you don't own an annual pass. That makes you the same as me, someone without an annual pass. Why do you now get to buy one and I can't?

Right, I'm not understanding this logic either. I'm even making hotel reservations, and they still won't let me buy a pass.

 

[Minerva Mouse]

I’m not sure what to do either.... I have rescheduled our trip 5 times now! The first four times was due to COVID, and this last times is due to Hurricanes Laura and Delta. We got hit twice....house is totaled. So, I scheduled us for the week of Christmas (because we need a break), and we are DVC Members and we might lose our points.
Anyway, it’s going to cost us a fortune to buy day passes....as much as our usual APs..... do I wait and see when APs will be available or do I buy day passes....

I"m so sorry to hear this, that's a lot of trauma for one year. I hope 2021 brings you better blessings.

What if you visit so you don't loose your points, and just take a break. Visit Disney Springs, take a day and go to the beach, explore Orlando, go to Universal (lol), or just lounge around the hotel. Can you sell your points? I don't know how all that works, just trying to be helpful.

 

[briternik]

Right, I'm not understanding this logic either. I'm even making hotel reservations, and they still won't let me buy a pass.

And what about that AP pop up shop? We can't get in because we don't have AP's, not because we don't want them, but because they won't sell them to us? It's like they are saying, "Please come look at what you aren't allowed to have".

 

[gottalovepluto]

And what about that AP pop up shop? We can't get in because we don't have AP's, not because we don't want them, but because they won't sell them to us? It's like they are saying, "Please come look at what you aren't allowed to have".

If it makes you feel better I saw a couple reports saying the one in Epcot was lame

 

[mikeamizzle]

Ugh! I just can’t see spending so much on day passes (or APs) and now most live entertainment is cancelled, too. We don’t really go for the rides anymore, we like sitting and enjoying the street performances, shows, etc...just sad

I'm right here too. As a long time AP, I have no desire to go back to the parks with no live entertainment.

They're turning WDW into Six Flags. An AP today has literally HALF the value it did a year ago pre pandemic and cutbacks. I don't understand the rush to buy back in right now. Would appreciate some thoughtful responses.

 

[Minerva Mouse]

I'm right here too. As a long time AP, I have no desire to go back to the parks with no live entertainment.

They're turning WDW into Six Flags. An AP today has literally HALF the value it did a year ago pre pandemic and cutbacks. I don't understand the rush to buy back in right now. Would appreciate some thoughtful responses.

I understand your concern about the "value" but I'm looking at this from a different perspective, or at least I think I am. As a local, and as someone who believes that masks help, AND as someone who believes that we somehow have to coexist with COVID and live life as normally and safely as possible, I feel limited in what activities I deem as "safe". Believe it or not, I feel that the theme parks are one of the "safest" things we can do right now. So even if I feel that the value has been stripped, I feel limited in my options for coexisting with virus during a worldwide pandemic.

We are UOAP's (Universal Orlando Annual Passholders) and go there often, sometimes just to walk around, or to eat, or to shop, and occasionally to ride the rides. Since June I have stayed in one of Universals Hotels, literally once a month for a minimum of 1 or 3 nights, and for the most part feel relatively safe there. We have not been to the movies, we have not been to the mall, and we have dined indoors, in a restaurant, only a handful of times. Pre COVID we ate in a restaurant at least 2-4 a week. Other than going to the themeparks, I'm not sure what else to do. I want to be outdoors, I want to support our local businesses, and I want to spend my money there, but I feel like Disney is making it impossible for me to do so. I guess I'll keep booking hotels at Universal, instead of Disney since Disney won't sell me an AP.

So basically the value for me, is just the idea of having something to do, that I feel safe in doing, even if it has "half the value" that it normally had pre COVID.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

I'm right here too. As a long time AP, I have no desire to go back to the parks with no live entertainment.

They're turning WDW into Six Flags. An AP today has literally HALF the value it did a year ago pre pandemic and cutbacks. I don't understand the rush to buy back in right now. Would appreciate some thoughtful responses.

I'm moving to Orlando in a month and would like an AP. I have no interest in spending hundreds of dollars on a day ticket since I'd like to go all the time. And I won't. I'll be holding out until they sell APs again. Until then, Universal can have my money.

 

[20minutesaway]

So I sent Disney my fourth email, trying to find out why I can't buy an annual pass. I basically got the same old email about Annual Pass sales being paused. However, I specifically asked why someone without an annual pass can buy one (if they cancelled their annual pass) but someone without an annual pass can't buy one (if they didn't have one before COVID). Here's the gist of their email:

"At this time, the sale of new annual passes is temporarily paused. However, current Annual Passholders may still renew their pass. Annual Passes that expired during closure period, or have been cancelled during the closure period, after March 16th, 2020 may be eligible for an Annual Pass.

Each sale is decided on a case by case basis. If you place the request to purchase a new Annual Pass, and are eligible to purchase a new Annual Pass, our Annual Passholder Team can set up a call-back request."

That's a pretty arbitrary and illogical policy. A person who cancelled is the same as me, does not own an annual pass. In fact, I would argue that someone who cancelled and demanded a refund cost Disney money. But for some reason that I cannot fathom, someone who cancelled and got their money back can now buy an annual pass and I cannot. I can even understand if your annual pass expired during COVID. Sure, let them buy new ones. But if you made the decision to cancel your annual pass, why do you now get a new one when I cannot get one? I just moved here a few months ago, so I didn't really have the ability to own an annual pass before because of my geographic location (due to my military career). Why I'm shutout from "the club" now, I don't know. It really irks me and is counter to my sense of fair play when a somewhat arbitrarily designated group can get something, and others cannot.

And look at that last section of what I posted in quotes. Talk about wiggle room, that's the most absurdly non-committal response I've ever seen. IF you make the request, AND you are eligible under our really not public decision making process, we MIGHT call you back. BUT we'll make the decision on a case-by-case basis. Thanks for clarifying Disney. I now know that I think I might not be eligible for an annual pass. Day 112 of living in Orlando without going to a Disney park.

 

[yulilin3]

So I sent Disney my fourth email, trying to find out why I can't buy an annual pass. I basically got the same old email about Annual Pass sales being paused. However, I specifically asked why someone without an annual pass can buy one (if they cancelled their annual pass) but someone without an annual pass can't buy one (if they didn't have one before COVID). Here's the gist of their email:

"At this time, the sale of new annual passes is temporarily paused. However, current Annual Passholders may still renew their pass. Annual Passes that expired during closure period, or have been cancelled during the closure period, after March 16th, 2020 may be eligible for an Annual Pass.

Each sale is decided on a case by case basis. If you place the request to purchase a new Annual Pass, and are eligible to purchase a new Annual Pass, our Annual Passholder Team can set up a call-back request."

That's a pretty arbitrary and illogical policy. A person who cancelled is the same as me, does not own an annual pass. In fact, I would argue that someone who cancelled and demanded a refund cost Disney money. But for some reason that I cannot fathom, someone who cancelled and got their money back can now buy an annual pass and I cannot. I can even understand if your annual pass expired during COVID. Sure, let them buy new ones. But if you made the decision to cancel your annual pass, why do you now get a new one when I cannot get one? I just moved here a few months ago, so I didn't really have the ability to own an annual pass before because of my geographic location (due to my military career). Why I'm shutout from "the club" now, I don't know. It really irks me and is counter to my sense of fair play when a somewhat arbitrarily designated group can get something, and others cannot.

And look at that last section of what I posted in quotes. Talk about wiggle room, that's the most absurdly non-committal response I've ever seen. IF you make the request, AND you are eligible under our really not public decision making process, we MIGHT call you back. BUT we'll make the decision on a case-by-case basis. Thanks for clarifying Disney. I now know that I think I might not be eligible for an annual pass. Day 112 of living in Orlando without going to a Disney park.

Over on the TPaS board we have a dedicated AP renewal, cancelling, refund thread. These phone calls are happening sometimes weeks or sometimes days after the person request them, so if you have decided to join the AP family get ready for many, many more arbitrary and illogical Disney decisions.

 

[tlmadden73]

So I sent Disney my fourth email, trying to find out why I can't buy an annual pass. I basically got the same old email about Annual Pass sales being paused. However, I specifically asked why someone without an annual pass can buy one (if they cancelled their annual pass) but someone without an annual pass can't buy one (if they didn't have one before COVID). Here's the gist of their email:

"At this time, the sale of new annual passes is temporarily paused. However, current Annual Passholders may still renew their pass. Annual Passes that expired during closure period, or have been cancelled during the closure period, after March 16th, 2020 may be eligible for an Annual Pass.

Each sale is decided on a case by case basis. If you place the request to purchase a new Annual Pass, and are eligible to purchase a new Annual Pass, our Annual Passholder Team can set up a call-back request."

That's a pretty arbitrary and illogical policy. A person who cancelled is the same as me, does not own an annual pass. In fact, I would argue that someone who cancelled and demanded a refund cost Disney money. But for some reason that I cannot fathom, someone who cancelled and got their money back can now buy an annual pass and I cannot. I can even understand if your annual pass expired during COVID. Sure, let them buy new ones. But if you made the decision to cancel your annual pass, why do you now get a new one when I cannot get one? I just moved here a few months ago, so I didn't really have the ability to own an annual pass before because of my geographic location (due to my military career). Why I'm shutout from "the club" now, I don't know. It really irks me and is counter to my sense of fair play when a somewhat arbitrarily designated group can get something, and others cannot.

And look at that last section of what I posted in quotes. Talk about wiggle room, that's the most absurdly non-committal response I've ever seen. IF you make the request, AND you are eligible under our really not public decision making process, we MIGHT call you back. BUT we'll make the decision on a case-by-case basis. Thanks for clarifying Disney. I now know that I think I might not be eligible for an annual pass. Day 112 of living in Orlando without going to a Disney park.

I agree .. it is silly to NOT sell a product to customers who want one. I don't think offering more APs COST Disney anything besides the worry that the parks are going to get "too crowded" because of all the local AP holders.

I just don't get it .. the price of most APs are so high you need to go at least 12 days in two separate trips (for the Platinum passes) to have Disney "lose" money (if you bought normal tickets stand alone). Yet without getting a decent "deal" on tickets via AP .. some people are avoiding the parks altogether. Again .. Disney seems to be operating with the "Maybe come visit and spend money please .. but not really" attitude. They want to be open, yet they don't at the same time.

Not sure if I mentioned it here. I called the AP line to try and buy an AP for my family because I have one un-activated AP in my account right now (for my daughter). So even though I have one AP in the family .. they still won't let me buy more to have a consistent ticket base for the entire family. (My plan was to turn the 5-day tickets I have for myself, wife and son into APs (before COVID)) and got on 2-3 trips over the course of a year.

The fact remains that demand for APs will be much lower than normal simply because of all the COVID stuff and restrictions (and the perks from an AP aren't there (park hopping, parking (if staying at a resort). So I guess I don't understand the business decision for withholding them .. meanwhile other theme parks across the country offer insane incentives to actually get people to buy their AP (including Universal, Six Flags and smaller parks (like Tweetsie Railroad here in NC).

 

[DisFanDad]

I'm right here too. As a long time AP, I have no desire to go back to the parks with no live entertainment.

They're turning WDW into Six Flags. An AP today has literally HALF the value it did a year ago pre pandemic and cutbacks. I don't understand the rush to buy back in right now. Would appreciate some thoughtful responses.

I generally don't disagree, that tickets of ANY kind, are worth less today than they were pre-pandemic. I've used this argument for the last decade as we've seen disney cut things and most people here just disagree, and will point to other, newer shiny things to say, yea but they added X ... and yadda yadda.

In this case, for us at least its JUST a economics calculation. We are planning to go three times, late May 2021, Aug 2021. early may 2022. The APs will cover all three trips, we are DVC members so we pay a slightly lower rate on the Gold pass (which is still DOUBLE the price of the gold pass from just a few years ago). Basically, we save money over buying 10 day passes 3 times.

That's it.

 

[20minutesaway]

I'm moving to Orlando in a month and would like an AP. I have no interest in spending hundreds of dollars on a day ticket since I'd like to go all the time. And I won't. I'll be holding out until they sell APs again. Until then, Universal can have my money.

And that's what is happening with us too. We moved here in July and we haven't been to a single Disney park yet. We've been to Seaworld and Universal but not Disney. While Disney is crying about money loss and laying off cast members, they are turning away paying guests. If we had an AP, we'd be at the parks at least once a week, eating dinner, buying stuff, etc. As it is, Disney has gotten $0 from us to date. I don't understand that business model. I really don't.

 

[CaptAwesome]

We've been here since the beginning of October, and we're doing the same thing. We'd probably be in the parks twice a week. Sure, Disney won't make any money on park admission from us, but they'll quickly make it back in food and merchandise. I'm just waiting on them to open it back up.

 

[OhioStateBuckeye]

And that's what is happening with us too. We moved here in July and we haven't been to a single Disney park yet. We've been to Seaworld and Universal but not Disney. While Disney is crying about money loss and laying off cast members, they are turning away paying guests. If we had an AP, we'd be at the parks at least once a week, eating dinner, buying stuff, etc. As it is, Disney has gotten $0 from us to date. I don't understand that business model. I really don't.

We've been here since the beginning of October, and we're doing the same thing. We'd probably be in the parks twice a week. Sure, Disney won't make any money on park admission from us, but they'll quickly make it back in food and merchandise. I'm just waiting on them to open it back up.

We could form a sad little club, hahaha.

We also plan to go several times a week (at least until we get tired of it, which could be a while).

For now it'll just have to be Universal for several times a week.

 

[CaptAwesome]

We could form a sad little club, hahaha.

We also plan to go several times a week (at least until we get tired of it, which could be a while).

For now it'll just have to be Universal for several times a week.

Yeah, we bought Universal passes.

It's not the same.

 

[jamesweikamp]

We could form a sad little club, hahaha.

We also plan to go several times a week (at least until we get tired of it, which could be a while).

For now it'll just have to be Universal for several times a week.

Starting January 1, I will join your sad club. We are coming to Kissimmee for a couple months because my work is remote and so is my kids school. My wife and I have our APs but Disney won't let me buy any for my two kids. So frustrating.

 

[OHVolunteer]

We moved to the area in August and purchased the 4-day resident ticket deal, so we've spread out our days 1 day per month, which has worked out but hoping AP sales open up next year. We also did the Universal resident deal buy 1 day get in free until 12/24.

 

[Crystal824]

We bought 10 day park hoppers to convert to passes during our June trip. That trip didn't happen obviously. We just went last week. We had to structure the trip to use all 10 days of the pass because we couldn't buy APs. We had originally planned to do a week trip in June another week trip next June and a long weekend in Dec.

Due to the closure, we did 10 days in Oct. If we can get APs, we will do a summer trip and then go again next Oct. They put our information in a file, and we can purchase retroactive APs if they become available. If they do not, we will likely not do the parks. We will still use our DVC points, but probably go to Universal.

 

[jamesweikamp]

We bought 10 day park hoppers to convert to passes during our June trip. That trip didn't happen obviously. We just went last week. We had to structure the trip to use all 10 days of the pass because we couldn't buy APs. We had originally planned to do a week trip in June another week trip next June and a long weekend in Dec.

Due to the closure, we did 10 days in Oct. If we can get APs, we will do a summer trip and then go again next Oct. They put our information in a file, and we can purchase retroactive APs if they become available. If they do not, we will likely not do the parks. We will still use our DVC points, but probably go to Universal.

When you say "put your information on file" do you mean they agreed to credit the money you spent on tickets toward a future AP? I asked if they would do that last time I called ticketing and could not get a straight answer. If so, I feel a little better about buying tickets for our stay in FL in early 2021 at least up to the cost of APs.

Thanks!