Will Disneyland and Disney World Ever Stop (or Start) Selling Annual Passes?

UPDATE: Disneyland resumed some Magic Key pass sales for a period of time in early April but some pass types have sold out. Disney World Annual Passes resumed new sales on April 20th, but they are limited so you’ll want to act FAST.

Things have changed a lot over the years when it comes to Disney World and Disneyland’s Annual Passholder programs, and more changes could be on the way.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen passholder programs dramatically change, pass sales paused, resumed, and then paused again, and price increases (of course). So what’s going on, will Disney ever STOP selling annual passes, and what about opening up their sales? Let’s break down everything you need to know.

A Complicated Pass History

We won’t dive into the long history of Annual Passes but instead will focus on some of the BIG changes that have happened in the last few years. After the closures of the Disney parks in 2020, Disney World and Disneyland announced some major passholder changes.

Out at Disneyland, the existing passholder program was entirely discontinued, and the passholders who held tickets before the closures were then dubbed “Legacy Passholders.” Almost a year after the reopening, Disneyland announced details about its NEW membership program — the Magic Key program. There are 4 levels to the new program, restrictions regarding Park Passes, and (now) all passes have blockout dates.

At Disney World, the Annual Pass program wasn’t quite discontinued. Instead, sales of passes were paused and Disney later announced that passes would return before the start of the 50th Anniversary (which began on October 1st, 2021). Around the same time as the big Disneyland Magic Key announcements in 2021, Disney World announced its revamped Annual Pass program.

The name of the program didn’t change (like at Disneyland), but the pass type names, restrictions, and benefits did. Four pass types were introduced with updated pricing, and limits on the number of Park Passes that can be made.

Ultimately, the programs on both coasts saw changes in access, price, and availability. Though many were likely THRILLED to see Annual Pass sales resume, these new passes weren’t exactly welcomed with open arms by everyone.

The new passholder programs, their impact on existing passholders (who opted to renew into these new programs rather than drop their passes altogether), and the restrictions placed on access to the parks due to the Park Pass system have prompted lawsuits from both Disneyland and Disney World passholders. These lawsuits are ongoing — and over at Disneyland, the lawsuit seems to have affected some of the terms and conditions of Magic Key passes.

So, it hasn’t been smooth sailing. And things with Annual Passes have only become more complicated as time has gone on.

Click here to learn about the Disney World Passholder Park Pass lawsuit

Passholder Sales Paused…Again, and Complications About Their “Value”

New passholder programs have been introduced on both coasts, so you can buy a new Annual Pass right now any time you want to, right? Not quite. Adding to the complicated Passholder tale, Disney has decided to suspend new Annual Passholder sales from time to time, even after these new pass types and programs were introduced.

In a surprise move, in 2022 some Disneyland Magic Key passes became available to purchase in November, but new sales for some pass types were not available just one day later. Feeling a bit of whiplash? Yeah, we get it. Some passes were made available again in early 2023, after Disney said it would be making select passes available from time to time in 2023 as inventory becomes available. More passes were made available in early April 2023 but again started to sell out.

Over at Disney World, NEW pass sales will become available for all pass types on April 20th, 2023, but the number of passes will be limited.

Generally, based on information Disney has shared and our interpretation thereof, Annual Passholder sales have been paused at times due to anticipated crowd levels, particularly as busier times of the year are approached.

Some might see this as a smart move. If heavier crowds are projected and Disney World or Disneyland pauses annual pass sales, they are then able to restrict just how many individuals with eligible passes are trying to get into the parks. That can help Park Passes not sell out as quickly. And by pausing sales of annual passes specifically (which generally provide the buyer with a good deal in terms of access to the park for the price compared to individual tickets), Disney opens up room for the sale of more expensive tickets. Economically and even from an operations standpoint it may make sense, though some passholders may have taken it as a slap in the face.

Another thing that complicates the annual pass scenario is the “value” of passholders. Of course, Annual Passholders are beneficial to Disney World and Disneyland. They pay a set amount to access the parks and serve almost as a more “guaranteed” income source ticket-wise since they’re “locked in” to their pass.

They may visit the parks many times throughout the year to get the maximum value from their pass, and each trip might lead them to spend some money on hotels, food, etc. But, on the flip side, because they may intend to visit more often, they may spend LESS on each visit, knowing that they’ve got to “save up” for future ones. And those who are locals may not even spend very much at all beyond the cost of their pass (particularly when it comes to big items like hotels).

Passholders are NOT necessarily as valuable as other guests in an environment where park capacity is being restricted and only a CERTAIN number of guests are let in each day. From a pure numbers perspective, Disney executives have said time and time again that regular, ticketed guests are MORE valuable (economically) to the parks than Annual Passholders.

In 2020, then-CEO Bob Chapek said, “typically, someone who travels and stays for five to seven days is marginally more valuable to the business than someone who comes in on an annual pass and stays a day or two and consumes less, you know, merchandise and food and beverage.”

In August of 2022, things really got interesting when a Disney earnings report noted that certain increases in per capita ticket revenue were “partially offset by an unfavorable attendance mix at Disneyland Resort.” Though Disney didn’t specify what that “unfavorable attendance mix” was, many assumed it was a reference to passholders (Magic Key holders specifically at Disneyland).

Later in 2022, then-CEO Bob Chapek said that Disney was trying to balance guest attendance. He shared, “We didn’t have a reservation system and we didn’t control the number of annual passes we distributed and frankly, the annual pass as a value was so great that people were literally coming all the time, and the accessibility of the park was unlimited to them and that family from Denver would get to the park and not be let in. That doesn’t seem like a real balanced proposition.”

But this isn’t just a Chapek idea. In 2023, returning CEO Bob Iger said that Disney was working to get more creative in managing capacity to “shift mix […] from annual pass holders to people who may come just once in a lifetime.” Those who don’t come as often tend to spend more than those who visit regularly since this is their “once-in-a-lifetime/go-all-out” trip.

When talking about ticketed guests who are not passholders Iger said, “They tend to be good customers of ours because of their per-cap spending when they’re there.”

In other words, don’t expect this focus on “balancing” capacity or shifting the mix away from Passholders to go away anytime soon. Though Iger has indicated that Disney is dedicated to “listening to guest feedback,” and they are making some changes specifically out at Disney World to give passholders access to the parks WITHOUT the need for a Park Pass (on certain days at certain times), it doesn’t mean all restrictions will go away. Instead, more or different restrictions could arise to help “balance” things moving forward.

Click here to learn about the important Park Pass change coming for Annual Passholders in Disney World

Current Disney World Annual Passes

So what’s the status of Disney World Annual Passes currently? Well, there are 4 pass types:

1. Incredi-Pass
2. Sorcerer Pass
3. Pirate Pass
4. Pixie Dust Pass

NEW sales have been paused for all of these passes, except the Pixie Dust pass, which is exclusive to Florida Residents and has the most blockout dates. NEW sales for all 4 pass types will, however, become available on April 20th.

But Disney has cautioned that the quantity of the passes will be limited and certain passes or pass types may become UNAVAILABLE at any time (a.k.a. they may sell out for a period of time). So, you’ll want to buy your pass ASAP to ensure that you are able to get one.

One important thing to know is that Passholders can renew their passes (as noted above) but they can also UPGRADE their membership. So if you start with a Pixie Dust Pass, you can later decide to renew and upgrade to the Incredi-Pass, even though new sales of the Incredi-Pass are not available.

See more about UPGRADING your Annual Pass here

Current Disneyland Magic Key Passes

What about things at Disneyland with the Magic Key program? There are 4 pass types:

1. Inspire Key
2. Believe Key
3. Enchant Key
4. Imagine Key

These come with their own benefits and restrictions. As we noted above, ALL passes are subject to blockout dates. As of the last updates to this post, only the Imagine Key and Inspire Key are available for new purchases. That is subject to change.

But, current Magic Key holders have the option to renew or upgrade their membership.

Back in November of 2022 when new Magic Key passes were briefly sold, virtual queue wait times were several hours long. In January, wait times were much shorter, but there were some limits as to what times during which the passes would be sold. Within about a week, some tiers of the Magic Keys passes had already sold out again.

While virtual queues were required at first, they have not been as necessary recently. Things could change, as Disney said that they may sell new passes from time to time as inventory becomes available.

It is interesting to see that the most expensive pass is one of the types that is still available, compared to Disney World where only the cheapest pass is still available (at the moment). It’s also a noticeable difference from 2022, where the highest tier (at that point, the Dream Pass) sold out.

It’s possible that purchases have slowed down for the tickets in the top tier, or that Disney has allocated more inventory to these and less to the lower tiers. But you never know how things may change moving forward.

Fun fact: Did you know that the term “Magic Key” is a bit of a nod to Disney history? In the past, when there were A-E tickets that you had to buy to access Disney World rides, there were things called “Magic Key Coupons.” According to the Orlando Sentinel, Magic Key Coupons let you ride ANY attraction (A, E, or anything in between). Now you know!

Could More Annual Pass Sales Resume Soon? When?

Well, more Annual Pass sales could resume soon. At Disneyland, we’ve already seen them announce that new sales may become available throughout the year whenever inventory becomes available, so that’s something to watch for. And at Disney World, new pass sales will become available on April 20th.

With Disney working to “balance” who comes into the parks, it’ll all depend on when the scales tip in favor of Passholders.

One possibility we had previously identified is that Annual Pass sales could resume sometime close to but after April 17th, 2023 in Disney World (and maybe out at Disneyland too). Why? In 2021, Disney World Annual Pass sales resumed on September 8th, right as Disney was nearing its slower season — between the rush of summer and the hectic fall/winter. Sometime past April 17th could fall into this category too, with Disney in a bit of a lull between spring break time and summer crowds.

That could give Disney enough time to test and adjust the program and reservation availability while crowds are low and give them a push in revenue too. Plus, Tax Day is April 18th, 2023. Once people know how much they’ll have to spend (or, more importantly, how much they’ll get back) on taxes, they may be more inclined to make a big purchase like an Annual Pass.

It seems this will be coming true with new pass sales available on April 20th.

If things sell out, Disney could open up more Annual Pass sales in May, again more specifically meant for Disney World but potentially for Disneyland, too. This can be a slower month before the full rush of the summer crowds.

Or, they could open more things up in September, as they did in Disney World in 2022. Or more Magic Key passes may pop up in November, as they did in 2022.

There are a LOT of variables that Disney is likely factoring into the resumption of new Annual Pass sales at Disney World or Magic Key sales at Disneyland. For both resorts, they’re likely looking at ongoing attendance numbers, forward-looking projections, and Florida Resident or California Resident-specific ticket sales.

Would Disney Ever STOP Selling Annual Passes?

Could Disney STOP selling Annual Passes? Well, technically anything is possible. Is it likely that they’ll stop selling annual passes altogether? Maybe not. Annual Passholders do provide a more steady stream of income for the parks and benefit the parks by being loyal customers that return year after year.

Even though Chapek noted that ticketed guests are more valuable to Disney from a financial perspective, he also said, “We love all our fans equally. We love the superfans, obviously. But we also like the fans that don’t have the same expression of their fandom.” And while Chapek is no longer at Disney, Iger has expressed some thoughts on just how expensive Disney tickets have gotten and other matters, so it doesn’t look like he is anti-passholder.

But perhaps more extended pass pauses are in the future. Or Disney could, as they’ve done before, increase passholder ticket prices to dissuade some from buying into the program. They may also revamp the programs again in the future, adding more restrictions or perhaps different rules.

The interesting thing to consider is also how passholders are DIFFERENT at Disneyland versus Disney World. At Disneyland, there were (under the previous program) upwards of one MILLION passholders and they accounted for (on average) 50% of resort attendance. That is one reason why Disney may have wanted to revamp things and impose more restrictions to better “balance” capacity.

For some Disneyland passholders, Disneyland is their backyard, their playground, their date night spot, their weekend getaway — their constant. The same can’t be said for Disney World. Disney World has traditionally had a higher number of tourists than Annual Passholders.

So perhaps longer pauses would be most appropriate at Disneyland even at times when it’s not as necessary at Disney World.

Disney Vacation Club members and New Yorkers who come down to Disney World three times per year are Annual Passholders (because the value works out for them), and book hotels every time are likely much more valuable to the company than Disneyland locals who drop in for a few hours and don’t even eat dinner in the park.

So…What Now?

Well, now we…wait. Disney World and Disneyland could change the situation surrounding new pass sales at any point, so if you’ve been hoping to become a passholder (but aren’t interested in buying or can’t buy the current passes available), save up those pennies now so you can be prepared.

And make sure to follow along with us for all of the latest passholder updates!

Are you an Annual Passholder at Disney World or a Magic Key holder at Disneyland? What do you think about these programs? Tell us in the comments.

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