Disney World just announced their new Annual Passholder Program!
©Disney
The new Annual Passes will go on sale starting September 8th and will include all-new pass options. There will only be 4 pass options now — the Incredi-Pass, the Sorcerer Pass, the Pirate Pass, and the Pixie Dust Pass. The passes have varying perks and blockout dates — you can find out more about each pass here. With a ton of new information, it’s easy to get confused and miss important details, so we want to tell you about things that are hidden within all of this new information that is particularly time-sensitive!
Passes Could Sell Out
Yep! Annual Passes could actually sell out when they go on sale. Disney said in their announcement to “Please note as we continue to manage attendance to provide a great experience for everyone, at any time, Annual Passes may be unavailable for purchase.”
Annual Pass
So, Annual Passes are at risk for “selling out” in the future. We do not know what these limits look like or when that could possibly happen. So, you may want to consider purchasing passes sooner rather than later!
Click here to learn more about Annual Passes selling out
Your Current Pass Could Automatically be Transferred to the New System
If you have an inactive Annual Pass certificate, this is where you need to pay attention! To keep the exact pass you have a certificate for, you need to go to Disney World and activate it by September 7th. If you do this, you will have that pass and all of its benefits for the next year.
Annual Passholder Shirt
If you do NOT activate your Annual Pass certificate, it will be automatically converted into one of the new Annual Passes. Your pass will be converted into a pass with comparable benefits, and Disney will NOT take away any of your perks like PhotoPass or the Water Parks and Sports Option if it is already included in your pass. These will remain a part of your pass for free.
Blizzard Beach Water Park
But, if you want to keep the exact pass you have a certificate for over the next year, you need to activate it SOON!
If You’re in Your Renewal Period, You Could Lose Perks if You Don’t Renew Soon
If you’re in the renewal period for your Annual Pass right now, you can renew your Annual Pass with the current system until September 7th. So, if you have the Platinum Plus Pass, you can renew now and keep that pass for the next year. However, if you are in your renewal period and you don’t renew by September 7th, your only option will be to renew with one of the new pass options.
Annual Pass
This could be an issue because PhotoPass and the Waterparks and Sports Option are not included in any of the new pass options. So, if you have those perks included in your current pass, you will have to pay extra to add on those perks if you wait to renew and can only purchase one of the new pass options. If you renew before September 8th, you’ll keep all of the benefits on your pass.
©Disney PhotoPass Magic Shot
If you are not in your renewal period, don’t worry! Nothing will change with your pass. You will have the same pass until your renewal period arrives and then you will have to renew with the new pass options.
Buying a New Annual Pass
Passes go on sale September 8th through the Disney World website and My Disney Experience. You can also buy an Annual Pass by calling Disney at 407-W-DISNEY (407-934-7639), or you can visit the theme park ticket windows or the Disney Ticket Center in Disney Springs.
Animal Kingdom Ticket Windows
If you’re buying online or over the phone, you could experience very long wait times due to demand. So, if you’re able to, buying your pass in person might take less time!
Hollywood Studios Ticket Booths
However, we do not know for sure what in-person lines will look like when passes go on sale. So whether you’re buying online, over the phone, or in person, it’s best to try and get your pass as soon as possible! Get to the ticket booths early, call Disney as soon as the passes go on sale, or act fast on the website or My Disney Experience to get your pass.
On the other side of that (as long as the passes don’t sell out) waiting a day or two will likely mean shorter wait times.
You Can Only Upgrade Tickets into Annual Passes In Person or Over the Phone
If you have already purchased tickets to Disney World, you can upgrade them into Annual Passes and Disney will apply the money you spent on the tickets to the passes. However, this HAS to be done in person or over the phone, upgrades will not initially be available on Disney’s website or on My Disney Experience.
Transportation and Ticket Center
So, if you want to get this taken care of, get to the ticket booths early or call as soon as possible in order to upgrade your tickets! There will probably be a long wait for ticket upgrades as well as pass sales, and remember, Annual Passes can sell out.
Click here to read more about upgrading your tickets
Those are all of the time-sensitive things about the new Annual Passholder Program that you need to be aware of! Stay tuned to DFB for more Annual Pass updates.
Click here to read more about the new Annual Passholder Program!
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We renewed our (Gold DVC) passes a couple of months ago, but won’t be able to activate them until we go to WDW in December. I hope Disney holds true with letting us keep the PhotoPass feature at no extra cost. Have they said anything about this on the official site?
Couple of questions I haven’t seen answers for. If you upgrade a ticket on the 9th over the phone, does it activate immediately or when first used (basically is it a voucher)? Also can you upgrade via DVC member services? I think the DVC member site mentions the member services phone number.
Thanks
Do you know what time the annual passes go on sale online and on the phone on September 8th?
Hi, I am a 72 year old women who has always gone to Disney to do a lot of walking and ride a couple rides 3-4 times weekly. My pass expired during covid so now I am looking at a pass with $700 or 1300 price. You only get 18 extra days for that extra few hundred but now that I will have to make reservations, do you think the extra money gives me a better chance of actually getting 3 reservations weekly. Is it extremely hard to even get a reservation now. I have been going to Universal four time weekly for a year and it has been so easy. I cannot afford to waste money. Please advise.
So we were in Disney World two weeks ago and activated our Platinum passes which we only had a certificate for. So am I to understand that had we not been in Disney World to activate our passes in person, they would’ve been turned into the new passes on 9/8, BUT we would’ve kept the same benefits an additional fee like memory maker? Then what is the point of Disney in converting them into the new passes if you’re just going to keep the same benefits? I don’t get it??
Arlene, if I have to guess I’d say that it’s so there’s continuity in the system with regard to what things are called, but your guess is as good as mine.
Patty, Disney says their phone lines open at 7AM.
Bill, I believe you can upgrade over the phone with DVC Member services. My hope is they’ll have all the info you could possibly need when the time comes for launching the new Pass system. My understanding is that the Pass will be good from activation not from purchase, but do double check with Disney on that.
Jan, they have not specified on the official page, that I know of. The info we have is directly from Disney, and our understanding of that info is that if you renew (as you did) before September 8, but you will be activating at a later date, you will activate into a new Pass type, but you will keep your current Pass benefits.
Our Annual passes are due for renewal in Dec. Do I need to renew before then to keep my PhotoPass?
I bought a Silver pass for my son before covid hit, it has not been activated yet. We plan on going Columbus weekend. I don’t think it is fair for them to do this. We didn’t ask for this virus. We paid for Silver and that is what we should get. If they change it to what is comparable then it will block him out of that weekend. We have already made park reservations. We have resort ressies as well. What do you recommend me doing? Thank-you!
I’m so glad I renewed before this announcement!
Will DVC members be able to use DVC website to purchase new AP’ s intended for DVC members? Will they be activated the day you buy or not until the 1st day of use? What do you recommend the DVC site or the general WDW tickets website?
Ajay, I’m not sure about the DVC site to buy the APs. I think you might want to give DVC member services a ring to see if they can tell you for certain. The AP should be valid from activation, not purchase.
Michelle, I think you might give Disney a call and explain your situation. They may be able to alleviate your concerns, or they may be able to share your options so you’ll know what to expect. Having that info might not relieve your frustration at the changes, but hopefully you can figure out a solution. Good luck!
Jeanie, you’d need to renew and activate by September 7, I believe. Give Disney a call to see what they suggest.
Would love to get annual passes but it is soooo expensive, less benefits and very complicated. If I buy the most expensive pass, I still might not be able to get into the park I want to? so sad that Disney is so corporate hungry for money that they lost sight that Disney is for making special moments with families. Now it only special moments for rich families. I was there when WDW was just coming together in Orlando. My father was with one of the senators who were making the deal for Disney to have the land. They got Disney to agree not to develop on certain lands for preservation. The Disney execs were so excited to bring Florida a place for them and their families. Discussion were had about prices and tickets and making sure that a family of 4 could come at least twice a year and not break the bank. Everything about Disney is $$$$$$. I love Disney but it breaks my heart. I see people saying they won’t be able to buy AP tickets. Not sure what I am going to do. Anyone else debating?
My trip is not until December, and since I already have a park hopper pass I’m not rushing to buy a Sorcerer Pass. If they sell out, they sell out. I’m not even sure I can switch to an AP online so there’s that.