Should You Buy a Disney World Annual Pass?
Disney's recent announcement that they are reopening the sale of their annual passes for both Disney World and Disneyland has left many people wondering whether they should take advantage of this opportunity and buy now- especially with the constantly looming risk that they might stop selling again at any time.
While some situations may be a no-brainer, such as locals who want the flexibility to visit frequently, out-of-state visitors should consider a few things before purchasing an annual pass.
Types Of Disney World Annual Passes
There are four different levels to the Disney World Annual Pass. Let’s consider what they have in common and what sets them apart (besides price).
Annual pass benefits
Disney World offers four levels of annual passes, which have similar perks, including discounts on sit-down restaurants and merchandise and free parking. Additional options, such as photo passes and water park access, can be added to any pass for an extra fee. The main differences between the levels are the blackout dates.
Blackout dates
The main difference in the pass levels is blackout dates.
The most expensive option: The Incredi Pass has no blackout dates, including Christmas Day.
The Sorcerer Pass has 19 days blocked out around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. This is the pass that Cash and I have, and we don’t care to visit those days anyways because the crowds are very, very heavy.
The Pirate Pass has 67 blackout days, mainly around Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break, the 4th of July, and Memorial Day.
The Pixie Dust Pass is super affordable but only allows you to visit the parks on weekdays. Most major holidays are blacked out as well.
WHERE YOU LIVE MATTERS
Not every pass is available to everyone. You must be a Florida resident or a DVC (Disney Vacation Club) member to purchase anything except the Incredi Pass. The Sorcerer Pass is available to DVC or Florida residents, while the Pirate and Pixie Dust passes are for Florida residents only.
Another huge benefit to living locally is that Disney offers monthly payment plans through their Florida Resident Payment Program. Generally, you have to make a $205 down payment per pass; then, you can pay the rest off month to month. You don’t have to make a new down payment when you renew, and they give you a discount. Your monthly payment may go up or down depending on your plan, but not by much.
How Many Visits Must You Take Before The Pass Pays For Itself?
Luckily, many people have crunched the numbers for us, and I’ve input the data in the chart below for easy reference.
If you live outside Florida, you’d need to visit at least 13 days for the pass to save you on ticket prices. It could be less if you factor in things like merchandise, food discounts, and parking (if you’re driving here or have a rental car).
The website states these numbers are based on the lowest ticket prices, starting at $109/day. Of course, sometimes that number goes down when you book packages of multiple days in a row- but for simplicity’s sake, this works well as a rule of thumb.
If you live in Florida, even the Sorcerer Pass would be paid off after nine visits- or seven visits on years after that when you’re paying a renewal price.
TAKE YOUR SCHEDULE INTO ACCOUNT
The other consideration you need to make is based on your schedule. If you’re a Florida resident with kids in school and you work a M-F job, you should only consider getting the Pixie Dust Pass if you have a flexible work schedule or are okay with visiting mainly in the evenings.
Pro tip: You can add the water park option for $99/person to any pass, which doesn’t have blackout dates, no matter your pass. So you could get the Pixie Dust Pass at $399/person and take your kids to the parks through most of the summer and to the water parks on weekends throughout the year for a great price.
Add-On Options To Consider
There are two add-on options that you can add to any annual pass: PhotoPass Downloads and the Water Park and Sports options. We have both.
PhotoPass Downloads
The Photo pass is $99/year; you only need to add it to one pass. Disney has recently started offering ride photos for free, which was previously a pretty big perk of buying the PhotoPass. However, I still think this add-on is worth it for the Disney photographer photos. I love having the ability to get professional pictures of BOTH Cash and me at the parks- I know I’ll treasure them forever. The other benefit is that they are VERY loose with sharing this feature, so I can also download photos for all my friends.
Water Park and Sports
I wish I had gotten this add-on sooner. It’s $99/per person per year, and each member of your family needs it. However, it grants you year-round access with no blackout dates, no matter your pass level, to Disney’s two water parks- Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach. It also includes one free miniature golf game per day to their four courses after 4 (and offers significant discounts for friends). There is also a more vague ESPN Wide World of Sports admission benefit, but I haven’t figured out exactly how that works, as it excludes many big-ticket events. You even get to golf for free on their 9-hole Oak Trail golf course, which we are eager to try. This small add-on offers a lot of benefits!
Ultimately, many factors could come into play, but annual passes are worth a look if you are a Florida resident (or DVC member). If you live out of state and love to visit often, the Incredi Pass could save you money and offer extra perks.
