WDW Annual Pass Timing Speculation

[EdwardtheConfessor]

I have a trip in the middle of March and am very hopeful they open sales before then.

 

[Titanium]

Historically, you could upgrade to whatever, once they open sales. If you are local and Pixie is useful, I would consider buying a Pixie in case they get rid of that one too. You don't have to activate it now.

Hmm, so we have Pixie passes now that we purchased last October.

It sounds like we shoud purchase the upgraded passes when/if they go back on sale and activate those when the Pixie passes expire -- if we can't upgrade part way through the first 12 months.

 

[BorderTenny]

Hmm, so we have Pixie passes now that we purchased last October.

It sounds like we shoud purchase the upgraded passes when/if they go back on sale and activate those when the Pixie passes expire -- if we can't upgrade part way through the first 12 months.

No need to do that. The ability to upgrade at renewal never went away.

 

[Cfabar1]

No need to do that. The ability to upgrade at renewal never went away.

Yes, that was our initial plan. Get the Pixie and then upgrade at the one year mark. If pass sales open up, we may move ahead that timeline a bit if we are able to. Currently Pixie works great for us, but with a new job on the horizon, all those weekdays won’t be as easy And I’ll need some weekends.

 

[CarolynFH]

Interestingly they've announced the 2023 higher rates for the upper three tier WDW passes leaving the Pixie price unchanged for 2023, but have not made these three passes available for sale again. Yet.

They wanted to raise prices on renewals of those upper three. That required raising prices for new ones.

 

[Titanium]

Yes, that was our initial plan. Get the Pixie and then upgrade at the one year mark. If pass sales open up, we may move ahead that timeline a bit if we are able to. Currently Pixie works great for us, but with a new job on the horizon, all those weekdays won’t be as easy And I’ll need some weekends.

We've realized that with our current work schedules we can plan weekend trips just as easily as weekday trips. We've had several times in the last few months we've started to plan a trip and then realized we don't have weekend park days available on our APs.

We camped at the Fort for three nights in October and did non-park activities on Saturday & Sunday since we currently have Pixies. There is an adundance of fun things besides the parks at WDW!!!

It's a good dilemma to face. We're only two hours away but we've come out of a 15+ year period caring for elderly family members, the nieces and nephews we used to do Disney with are adults with their own babies now, so after a long break from Disney it is all new again.

Many of the perks that people say they miss came and went during our Disney hiatus so ignorance is bliss in our case!

 

[Titanium]

They wanted to raise prices on renewals of those upper three. That required raising prices for new ones.

I see the point you are making now -- they've set the rates for these three upper passes so those that already have them can renew.

It doesn't mean that sales will restart, or that they won't. Disney just needed to establish the renewal rates for 2023.

 

[Proud Cheapskate]

If we're looking for predictions when sales will resume, I think it will be right after Easter. You'll be past the Presidents Day/Spring Break/Easter surge and going into the lull that leads up to July 4th. I swear this prediction has nothing to do with the fact that we're going the week after Easter, total coincidence.

I'd also like to see a Pixie Pass equivalent open to blue card DVC owners too. I can work around blackout dates for a lower price. At least a DVC AP that is cheaper than a pass for the general public.

The tricky part is Tron opening in April. If management thinks that will boost attendance enough into the summer season, all AP bets are off. Maybe they'd even wait until fall.

 

[kylenne]

I just hope it's by May so I can upgrade my hopper. I was a Platinum AP, then Incredipass when the program changed, but let it lapse last year because my work schedule was insane and I didn't end up taking any vacations at all. As an out of stater I loved having the ability to take quick weekend trips flying down on points.

 

[fumanchu2488]

Maybe dumb question.

We have tickets and park reservations for May. It seems like if AP sales come back they may only last 1 day and sell out.

Will I be able to upgrade the tickets when that comes out? If not, if I buy the AP will I be able to get refunded tickets? How do I handle that? In a perfect world the AP is still for sale when I get there in May and I just upgrade. I don't have enough reason to buy an AP if I can't use it during my May trip.

What would you do?

 

[Scalemaster34]

Maybe dumb question.

We have tickets and park reservations for May. It seems like if AP sales come back they may only last 1 day and sell out.

Will I be able to upgrade the tickets when that comes out? If not, if I buy the AP will I be able to get refunded tickets? How do I handle that? In a perfect world the AP is still for sale when I get there in May and I just upgrade. I don't have enough reason to buy an AP if I can't use it during my May trip.

What would you do?

Tickets are nonrefundable...

AFAIK... you can only do ticket upgrades in person at Customer Service Windows. For sure if they go on sale again, you can call and explain your situation, never know what kind of magic "might" happen. But accept if there is nothing they can do..

 

[Jross34]

I highly doubt they will be back any time soon. Not with the parks constantly being at capacity

 

[The Jackal]

I highly doubt they will be back any time soon. Not with the parks constantly being at capacity

Not sure why people think they are at capacity right now. They are not. There is not one day blacked out for ticket buyers or annual pass holder for the rest of 2023. All theme parks are available. Will that change. It will for certain dates. But WDW appears to have this late spring and summer resort guest issues. Some very good discounts, which means lots of capacity not rented. The 50th will be over April 1 2023 and it looks like guests are not knocking at the door to stay on site, at least. Not really a surprise removing almost all on site perks. My prediction AP’s will go on sale on or near 04-01-2023.

 

[jsbowl16]

Not sure why people think they are at capacity right now. They are not. There is not one day blacked out for ticket buyers or annual pass holder for the rest of 2023. All theme parks are available. Will that change. It will for certain dates. But WDW appears to have this late spring and summer resort guest issues. Some very good discounts, which means lots of capacity not rented. The 50th will be over April 1 2023 and it looks like guests are not knocking at the door to stay on site, at least. Not really a surprise removing almost all on site perks. My prediction AP’s will go on sale on or near 04-01-2023.

April Fools!!!!

 

[Titanium]

Not sure why people think they are at capacity right now. They are not. There is not one day blacked out for ticket buyers or annual pass holder for the rest of 2023. All theme parks are available. Will that change. It will for certain dates. But WDW appears to have this late spring and summer resort guest issues. Some very good discounts, which means lots of capacity not rented. The 50th will be over April 1 2023 and it looks like guests are not knocking at the door to stay on site, at least. Not really a surprise removing almost all on site perks. My prediction AP’s will go on sale on or near 04-01-2023.

I'd bet on just after Easter or September. If "revenge" travel is really peaking like some claim Disney could release them to boost revenue from guests closer to WDW.

Disney is offering more room discounts this year so something is afoot I think. There were excellent discounts in 2020 right after things reopened to induce people to travel (we stayed at the GF for $438 a night in 2020), 2021 seemed more normal (i.e. less discounts).

 

[fumanchu2488]

How long do the AP sales last once open?

Over or under 48 hours.

My bet would be under. I have been hearing and seeing a lot more people than I thought that are waiting on those APs to come back.

 

[Jrb1979]

How long do the AP sales last once open?

Over or under 48 hours.

My bet would be under. I have been hearing and seeing a lot more people than I thought that are waiting on those APs to come back.

I don't think that matters that people are waiting on them. I don't see them coming back til after Tron opens.

 

[DeeBee3]

I don't think that matters that people are waiting on them. I don't see them coming back til after Tron opens.

Agree. Day tickets are so much money and presumably people are paying for them without hesitation. I'd say they will wait it out until they absolutely have to, but I would love to be surprised!

 

[Ms Bibbidi]

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[Ms Bibbidi]

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