17 Mar Disney Annual Pass 2023
An annual pass is your ticket to the magic. Disney paused annual pass sales on both coasts during the pandemic. The closure, then uncertainty and need to minimize the number of guests in the parks caused this to happen. Time passed and many things started to get back to normal. What hasn’t returned to normal, at all, is the Disney annual pass situation. Annual pass sales have opened but were paused again once Disney felt they had reached some sort of unshared quota. This had not happened prior to 2020.
So can you buy a Disney annual pass in 2023? It’s anticipated that Walt Disney World, which we’re mostly focusing on in this article, will resume all annual pass sales in 2023. We don’t have a date announced for when that will happen at this time. For now, the answer is a little more complicated as only some people can purchase a certain annual pass.
Can You Buy a Disney Annual Pass 2023
Can you even buy a 2023 Disney annual pass right now? The answer depends on where you live and when you want to visit. Most annual passes are listed as currently unavailable on the Disney World site and have been for months. There are some great benefits for Florida residents including access to some special annual passes.
2023 Walt Disney World Annual Pass Types
In 2023, Disney is operating with a whole new, post pandemic annual pass system. Note that the Disneyland version is completely different. Now the Disney World annual pass types are as follows, accompanied by their official descriptions:
Disney Incredi Pass
Admission to one or more Walt Disney World Resort theme parks during the year with an advance reservation
This pass can hold up to 5 reservations at a time on a rolling basis.
No blockout dates apply
Standard theme park parking
Save on select dining
Up to 20% off select merchandise in store
Disney Sorcerer Pass
Florida Residents and Disney Vacation Club Members Only
Admission to one or more Walt Disney World Resort theme parks during most times of the year with an advance park reservation
This pass can hold up to 5 reservations at a time on a rolling basis.
Blockout dates, on select days during select holiday periods
Standard theme park parking
Save on select dining
Up to 20% off select merchandise in store
Disney Pirate Pass
Florida Residents Only
Admission to one or more Walt Disney World Resort theme parks during most times of the year with an advance park reservation
This pass can hold up to 4 reservations at a time on a rolling basis.
Blockout dates apply, including peak and holiday periods
Standard theme park parking
Save on select dining
Up to 20% off select merchandise in store
Disney Pixie Dust Pass
Florida Residents Only
Admission to one or more Walt Disney World Resort theme parks Mondays through Fridays during certain times of the year with an advance park reservation
This pass can hold up to 3 reservations at a time on a rolling basis.
Blockout dates apply, including peak and holiday periods
Standard theme park parking
Save on select dining
Up to 20% off select merchandise in store
Disney Annual Pass Water Park Add On
The water park and sports add on is $99. This includes Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park and Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park options. Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, FootGolf at Disney’s Oak Trail, Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course, Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course and ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex are also part of this add on. There are some restrictions like for mini golf you can enjoy one round prior to 4:00 p.m.
Disney Annual Pass Photo Pass Add On
The Disney PhotoPass add on is $99. Years ago, Disney justified raising the price of an annual pass by providing free PhotoPass photos to passholders. Fast forward to today and prices have gone up on passes again and the option to get PhotoPass photos is now an additional cost. It does include downloads for the duration of your pass. With so many PhotoPass photographers and on ride photos, this is a nice way to capture your memories.
Which Disney annual pass can you buy right now?
The Disney Incredi Pass, Disney Sorcerer Pass and Disney Pirate Pass are “Currently Unavailable” at the time this article went live. Prices are not listed on Disney’s website. We see annual pass prices go up every year. These will probably be higher than the last asking price shown when they come back on the market. The one Disney annual pass that is available right now at Disney World is the Disney Pixie Dust Pass. It is priced at $399 or $18.33 per month after a $205 down payment. The Disney Pixie Dust Pass has a lot of block out dates, most of which align with holidays, long weekends and other school breaks. The catch is, it is only for Florida Residents. Disney does verify residency with each purchase.
Why isn’t Disney selling annual passes?: A brief history
Annual pass sales originally came to a halt when the parks closed in 2020. This was natural as no tickets were being sold while the parks were shuttered for an unknown amount of time. There were different options for annual passholders at the time to choose from including cancelling and getting a refund or having additional time added on to make up for the closed months.
Upon reopening later in 2020, those who still had an annual pass had additional block outs via the park pass reservation system. It was difficult to visit as reservations were very limited for annual passholders. Disney worked to adhere to important preventative guidelines and prioritized the health and safety of cast members and guests. Additional park pass reservations were added so passholders could use their passes again.
Annual pass sales did finally resume in the fall of 2021 and with an all new tiered system which we explore below. The prices that debuted with the new annual pass types were much higher. This window of all annual passes being available for purchase again only lasted for a few months. Since then, only the lowest tier of Disney annual pass has been available at Walt Disney World. This particular pass is called the Disney Pixie Dust Pass, has major block outs and is only available to Florida Residents.
So why isn’t Disney selling annual passes? Leaders of The Walt Disney Company have since shared on stockholder calls that they want to ‘manage’ annual passholder attendance. This is true for Disney World in Florida and Disneyland in California. With pent up demand and record guest spending over the last few years, management decided annual passholders were not a priority. It has been more important to make the parks less populated for tourists who will spend more money.
These executives have also mentioned resuming annual pass sales as a way to boost income as demand lessens for pricey magical vacations. Former CEO Bob Chapek admitted on one of these investor calls that the reservation system and having less people in the parks allowed the company to staff more strategically. He meant having less people working in the parks allowed Disney to save money on labor. While Disney is a business seeking to make the most profits, there comes a point when lessening the experience to save money ends up.. costing money. Damaging relations with annual passholders could end up costing Disney in the future. Hopefully with the new management, additional changes will bring more value back to passes.
Annual Pass Park Pass Reservation Changes
Josh D’Amaro, who leads the parks division of the company, has been straight forward about guests feedback regarding value. In 2023, Disney took some actions to try to add more perceived value to their experiences. This includes a big change for annual passholders. As of April 18th, 2023, annual passholders will be able to enter the parks without a park pass reservation after 2:00 p.m. with some restrictions. This rule does not apply to Magic Kingdom on the weekends. Passholders will still need a reservation to enjoy Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays.
It’s unclear how park hopping will work at this point. Technically if you have a park pass reservation for another park, you should be able to park hop to Magic Kingdom on the weekend after 2:00 p.m. I’m not sure how it helps to prohibit passholders from being able to go after 2:00 p.m. It kind of just adds a few hoops to jump through but if an annual passholder still wants to visit Magic Kingdom on a weekend afternoon, they can.
The timing of all of this could be due to Disney pacing themselves in making changes because of the draws at Magic Kingdom these days. With Happily Ever After fireworks returning and TRON Lightcycle / Run opening, this will bring a lot of people to this park. However, the spontaneity is a big draw for having an annual pass. You used to be able to just pick up and go. I believe that is the model that best serves Disney guests and would love to see it return. When you have an annual pass, especially one with no block out dates, you’ve already purchased your ticket for every day of the year. Disney should be able to accommodate that.
Other Disney Annual Pass 2023 Details to Know
Remember children under three get into Disney for free. At this time, the beloved dual coast annual pass is no longer offered. Yes, it was possible to have a fancy annual pass that got you into the two Disneyland theme parks in California and the four Disney World parks in Florida. It seems those days are gone.
Even More Magic with DVC Resale
A Disney annual pass can make more visits possible. If you have, or want, a Disney annual pass, you’ll probably want to know more about Disney Vacation Club too. Specifically speaking, resale Disney Vacation Club. The Disney timeshare can help you get the best rates on deluxe Disney hotel stays. Resale DVC contracts, those sold by members, can help you save thousands more!
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