What if you could visit Walt Disney World any time you wanted? For many Disneyphiles, this scenario would be a dream come true, though it probably feels like a dream that could never come to pass.
For Walt Disney World annual passholders, particularly Florida locals, that dream becomes a reality. Disney Passholders get access to loads of perks like discounts on dining, shopping, resorts, and special events. They get free souvenirs at Epcot’s festivals, have access to Fastpass+ 30 days ahead of time almost all year, and they event get free parking at the parks. Annual passes are a pretty sweet deal, but they’re also surrounded by mystery and misconceptions. As prices increase every year (unfortunately making passes more and more difficult to afford), confusion about annual passes has increased too.
We wanted to take a look at seven popular misconceptions about Walt Disney World annual passes. Have you ever heard any of these?
1. Only Florida residents can get them
Image: Disney
There have been times in Walt Disney World’s history where, for all practical purposes, Florida residents were the only ones who had access to annual passes. Many of these years, the non-resident passes were priced so absurdly high that it would never make sense for a non-resident to invest in them.
Florida residents do have access to the best deals on Walt Disney World annual passes, but several options are available to non-residents. Disney Vacation Club members get the best non-resident deal with access to the Platinum Plus, Platinum, and Gold tier annual passes, all of which allow park hopping and include Photopass. While the Platinum passes are the most unfettered, the blackout dates on the Gold pass are extremely rare and fall in days where you probably don’t want to book a Walt Disney World vacation anyways (because you read Theme Park Tourist and know the crowds aren’t worth it!).
Non-residents who aren’t a part of the DVC have access to Platinum and Platinum Plus passes—the main difference is that the latter allows access to Disney’s water parks and the Wide World of Sports. While these may seem stunningly expensive, many experts feel that if you will be taking two 5-day Walt Disney World vacations in a year’s span (say 11 months apart?), it can pay to get at least one Platinum Annual Pass. You only need one pass to get access to Photopass downloads, along with discounts on dining, shopping, and resorts. Many families opt to buy one annual pass to access these perks, then buy standard tickets for the rest of the family. You will have to do some math, but for many visitors, this trick really pays off.
2. Only crazy/super rich people get them
Image: Disney
Who the heck has the money to visit Walt Disney World multiple times a year? Before we were Florida locals, I’ll admit that we thought our friends who were Disneyland or Disney World Passholders were nuts. It can be easy to assume that only the super-rich or the super-in-debt would ever be able to purchase a Disney annual pass.
While we’ve touched on the issue of avoiding crippling debt while visiting Disney World (resist the dark side!), for Florida residents, Walt Disney World annual passes can actually be pretty reasonable if you compare them with the prices non-residents pay just for a week vacation. While Disney is the most expensive of the Florida annual passes, you get access to much more than you do with Universal or Busch Gardens (despite those both being amazing parks) when you consider dining, atmosphere, shopping, attractions, and special events like Epcot’s festivals.
Florida residents get access to lower tiers of annual passes with varying levels of blackout dates and restrictions that all reduce the cost of a pass. The Silver pass is the most flexible, including blackout dates during the busiest seasons only. The Weekday Select pass is very appealing to adult visitors who want to skip weekend crowds. The new Theme Park Select pass is pretty restrictive—including special blackout dates for Magic Kingdom and huge blackouts for attraction openings like Galaxy’s Edge—but it can still be a lucrative option for some families. Finally, if all you care about is Epcot, there is even an Epcot-After-4 pass for those who just want to cruise World Showcase and ride a few rides.
Florida residents also get access to monthly payment plans that all them to pay off the passes in monthly installments. While it is still a serious commitment, this allow locals to treat their passes like a monthly subscription instead of one giant payment, making passes accessible to many families who otherwise wouldn’t get a pass.
3. They’re only useful if you take big trips
Image: Disney
When talking about non-resident passes, we mentioned that the best way to get their value is to take two big trips to Walt Disney World in one year. For Florida residents, however, taking giant week-long Disney vacations may not even factor into the equation.
We’ve mentioned how Florida residents get some unique perks visiting Walt Disney World. The biggest of these is, for local Passholders, the pressure to take huge Disney trips is lifted off. You can just drive to Orlando on a day off, have a fun day in the parks, then head home. You may plan some overnight visits or a larger vacation some time in the year but having an annual pass actual makes visiting Disney World a lot more relaxing. You can just have fun and soak in the magic.
4. Florida Passholders get access to discount tickets for friends/family
Image: Disney
This is one of the most common misconceptions around, and things can get a little awkward when it comes up. Most Florida passholders with friends or family visiting Disney World have been asked a familiar question: “Hey, if we send you money, can you get us discounted Disney tickets?”
The truth is that Walt Disney World annual passholders and Florida residents do not generally have access to discounted tickets for friends and family.
Promotions for friends and family do happen sometimes—they are just extremely rare. The only time in the last few years they did this was in September of 2017 and June of 2018. Passholders had a small window where they could bring up to 6 guests for a one-day substantial ticket discount (around $80 a ticket). However, the passholder had to physically be in the park with those guests and purchase the tickets in person that day—meaning no advanced Fastpass+.
While it would be nice if Disney offered passholders the option to purchase a few discounted tickets a year, there is unfortunately just too much potential for abuse for Disney to risk it. It wouldn’t be hard for people to hop online and sell those “friends and family” tickets for a profit, which Disney doesn’t like. As for Florida resident tickets like the ones residents can purchase at grocery stores, these are only available to residents with a Florida driver’s license. Sorry, fam!
5. You can visit whenever you want
Image: Disney
Remember how we mentioned the dream of being able to visit Walt Disney World any time you want? This is only partially true.
Most passholders (with the exception of Platinum) have blackout dates on their passes. These vary depending on the tier of the pass. When considering passes, some people freak out over blackout dates, worried that they might mess up a future trip if they get anything but Platinum.
The truth is, perhaps with the exception of the Theme Park Select pass (which is… weird in so many ways), the blackout dates on the other passes are a blessing in disguise if you don’t like crowds. The reason Disney puts blackout dates on some passes is partially to prevent the parks from being overfilled with passholders on busy days. It is already hard enough to find an “off-season” at Disney anymore—in most cases, blacked out dates are times you aren’t going to want to be at Disney World anyways. The restrictions get harder for families with kids who may not be able to do the Weekday Select passes, but the blackout dates on the Silver pass still leaves times open where kids are out of school.
6. The monthly payments are too high or will include interest
Image: Disney
Monthly payments are one of the best perks for Florida residents who want a Walt Disney World annual pass. Despite rumors to the contrary, Disney does not charge interest on annual passes paid monthly, and most people don’t realize you can actually get that monthly price down a little lower if you’re determined.
While this may change in the future, visitors have reported that you can actually get the monthly payment price on your Disney annual pass down if you put down a higher down payment when you purchase them. This can be very appealing if you want to stay out of debt but don’t have the entire sum for your passes when the time comes to purchase or renew. The catch is that you physically have to visit the parks to do this since Disney’s website and phone system can’t take higher down payments. However, some guests have tried this and found it worked to lower the monthly cost of their passes. You can celebrate paying it off early by going to Disney World! Woot!
7. The discounts make Disney World CHEAP!
Image: Disney
This one is partially a matter of perspective. The discounts offered to Walt Disney World annual passholders are awesome, particularly for shopping and dining. They do make a difference in bringing down the cost of Disney vacations, and they can prove extra lucrative when discounts come in for resorts, pet care, free parking, and other perks.
However, it is important to remember that Walt Disney World is still an expensive place, and to be honest, the discounts may not make a big enough dent to necessarily make Disney cheap. They also don’t apply at most Disney quick service dining locations or at many Disney Springs restaurants not owned by Disney. Discounts help bring down costs to be more appealing to locals, but even with discounts, Disney’s prices are higher than counterparts in Orlando or other parks like Universal Studios. The discounts help take some of the “ouch” out of spending at Disney, but if you’re visiting on a budget, don’t throw that budget out just because of the discounts.
What are some other misconceptions you’ve run into about Disney World annual passes?
