It has been great to see Disney World making its way back to “normal” since closing down due to the pandemic. While we still anxiously await the reopening of a few restaurants and shows, one of the biggest changes we’ve seen has to be the changes in annual passes. We’ve seen them stop selling new passes, then bring them back with different names and benefits only to have new sales stopped yet again. So now the question looms, when will Disney start selling new annual passes again?
When were new sales stopped?
New sales were halted, along with the temporary closure of all Disney World parks in March 2020. No one was sure howling new sales would be put on pause, and it ended up being nearly 18 months! However, current Passholders could renew passes and Disney also let most guests get new passes if they had canceled during 2020 due to the pandemic. Disney was also allowing families who had children turn 3 and require a ticket to buy a new pass so that the child was not left out as the only family member without a pass.
When were Annual Passes brought back?
For what felt like forever, Disney really didn’t much about when new passes would be available. There was much speculation that passes would make a return before the start of the 50th Anniversary Celebrations, which were to begin October 1, 2021. We finally received the news that new annual passes would be available again starting September 8, 2021. However, the whole program would be new.
How did the passes change?
Previously, Disney had offered 7 types of pass options. They were:
- Platinum Plus
- Platinum
- Gold
- Silver
- Theme Park Select
- Weekday Select
- EPCOT after 4
The new program only offers 4 types of passes:
- Disney Incredi-Pass
- Disney Sorcerer Pass
- Disney Pirate Pass
- Disney Pixie Dust Pass
The only option for non-Florida residents in the new program is Disney Incredi-Pass. We also saw benefits such as Disney’s PhotoPass that were previously included with some passes become an additional charge. We also saw prices of passes go up significantly. However, guests were happy to finally be able to purchase passes again.
When were some passes paused again?
When the new annual pass program was released Disney made it clear that it could yet again be put on hold at any time. It didn’t take long for Disney to do just that, and on November 21, 2021, all sales of passes except the Florida resident Disney Pixie Dust Pass were halted. Yet again, people found themselves unable to purchase new annual passes.
So when will new annual pass sales return?
We have not heard from Disney as to when new passes will become available, but we can speculate why they may have paused sales. Many people believe that the Park Pass Reservation system and limited capacity restrictions have played a large role in this. It would not be fair for Disney to sell annual passes if the parks were not going to be operating at a high enough capacity to accommodate new Passholders. Many people believe that until crowds lighten up and capacity is raised back to 100%, Disney will likely not return to selling new passes. For now, guests are still permitted to renew their passes, but new passes (besides Disney Pixie Dust Pass) are not being sold.
As the world moves closer to the “normal” of pre-pandemic days we can only hope that Disney follows suit and brings back annual pass sales. Of course, we at Chip & Co. and Disney Addicts will let our followers know as soon as we get more information.
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