Disneyland Annual Passes: APs were going to end sooner or later

The Disneyland Annual Passholder program needed an overhaul sooner or later

When news broke that Disneyland was eliminating its Annual Passholder program, there was an instant wave of backlash from fans who couldn’t believe that Disney would do away with annual passes. As demand for the park surged in recent years, a change was needed. Unfortunately, eliminating the Annual Passholder program was always a matter of time.

Disneyland’s Annual Passholders reportedly number around a million members who hail from all corners of the country and the world. The number might seem staggering, but for years and years Disneyland Cast Members used to stand outside the gates at the end of the night trying to convince people to turn their day’s admission into an Annual Pass.

Why? Well, from a financial standpoint it makes sense. For the occasional visitor, paying in advance to secure a year’s worth of trips that may or may not be taken is a good investment because passes used to be paid in advance. (It wasn’t until ticket prices went up that Annual Passholders were able to make payments, which was the next game-changing step in the AP revolution) Since many passholders don’t live in the Southern California region, their passes offset costs from those who do.

For the Southern California residents who come to the park more frequently, with some coming several times a week, Disney might not have been making quite as much money from them through their pass (frequent guests often have higher tier passes that include parking) but they make up for it through food, beverage and merchandise purchases.

As Disney upped their merchandise game, many APs would storm the park to buy up the merchandise to sell it on eBay. These guests were easily noticeable because they would arrive early and leave the park equally early, often with giant bags in tow. This was a major source of frustration for those fans who just wanted to buy a single item for their own collection.

There was also the impact social media had on the park. As soon as Instagram became “a thing” there were even more people flocking to the park because Disneyland quickly became the most Instagrammed place in the world. Soon it was like a rite of passage on social media to post pictures with mouse ears, Starbucks coffee and a tasty treat.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with any of these things. (Aside from the eBay resellers) People love Disneyland for different reasons. It’s a place to forget about reality for a while. It’s a place to see friends. It’s a place to create memories. Of course people want to be there. But as Disney sold more and more Annual Passes, the ability to manage the number of guests in the park became a challenge.

As more and more people wanted to experience the Disneyland Resort, especially with the addition of Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge, managing APs with unlimited admission and guests who were there for the day became a massive headache.

APs know that the best time to visit Disneyland is in the “off-season” but now there is no off-season to speak of. Winter months are as crowded as summer months. There was hardly ever a time when Peter Pan doesn’t have a 45-60 minute wait. Disneyland was hitting capacity regularly, whereas that only used to happen on holidays.

Disney tried to manage the issue long before the pandemic arrived. Flex passes were designed to offset the crowds by forcing people to make advance reservations to help manage crowds. That didn’t do anything for APs with top tier passes and unlimited 365-day admission.

That brings us to where we are now. Disney’s decision to end the Annual Passholder program was shocking and upsetting, but it should not have been surprising. They needed to find a way to manage the crowds and balance guests who are there for a single day with people who visit every day. Ending the program and coming up with a new system will do that.

It won’t be easy.

There is no way for Disney to fix this problem without causing anger and frustration. People who visit a handful of times throughout the year likely won’t have as much issue as those who visit several times a week. However, the reality is that when the parks finally reopen it will be a new day for Disneyland. Capacity must be limited and that means balancing the needs of people in town for vacation with the needs of loyal locals. Good luck to them, because that won’t be easy at all.

As upsetting as it was to learn that Disneyland was getting rid of the Annual Passholder program, as a 20+ year AP myself I knew the decision was only a matter of time. Demand was too great and capacity wasn’t enough to meet the demand. Something had to change. I’m choosing to look on the bright side of things, because whatever system they come up with will make crowds at the parks more manageable than they were before, and that will make future trips to Disneyland even better.