Disney World AP News: Abysmal Availability, Magnet & More Discounts
It’s been a roller coaster couple of months for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders. Ongoing frustrations coupled with just enough nuggets of good news so as to not alienate Disney’s most loyal guests completely. There story here is much of the same, as we’re back with the latest on new discounts & an AP magnet, plus Park Pass availability–or lack thereof. On that final note, we discuss should you cancel your Annual Pass?!
Let’s begin with discounts for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, recapping what was previously offered. Through September 30, 2020, Annual Passholders Can Save Up to 40% on Walt Disney World Hotels. These are some of the lowest prices we’ve seen on hotels–especially Deluxe & Villa Resorts–in a long time, and that actually presents the best “use case” for an Annual Pass right now.
If you’re not an AP or Florida resident and are thinking about a trip to Walt Disney World, you will pay full price on a hotel if booking directly through Walt Disney World. If you’re an AP trying to access the parks without a hotel stay, you’ll have limited options for Disney Park Pass reservations. If you’re an Annual Passholder booking an hotel stay, that’s the sweet spot–you’ll get a great hotel deal and access to virtually unlimited Park Pass availability!
Continuing with the deals, Walt Disney World released a 30% off discount on merchandise purchases at most Walt Disney World stores for Annual Passholders with only limited exclusions. Normally, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders receive a 20% off merchandise discount as part of AP perks, so this amounts to an extra 10% off.
This 30% off is currently valid through August 14, 2020, but we would be more surprised if it’s not extended than if it is extended. If anything, we expect more attempts to entice Annual Passholders to spend money while in the parks. Offering 20% off the 2020 Taste of EPCOT Food & Wine Festival booths seems logical given the high menu prices (and the fact that the first wave of bloggers/vloggers/etc. is now over).
The latest discount is that Walt Disney World Annual Passholders can receive 30% off select merchandise purchased on ShopDisney.com now through August 14, 2020. Basically, the same deal as above, but for those who can’t get to Walt Disney World right now.
A couple of things worth noting here. First, there are a lot of exclusions (see above). So many that we’re not typing them out here. Notable ones include face masks, art, collectibles, books, games, movies, Mandalorian items (no Baby Yoda?!), and skateboard decks, among many other things. There are also no discounts on Precious Moments, which is weird because I feel like they should be paying us to take that nightmare fuel.
Second, it appears that some of those exclusions are not accurate and also that free shipping and other discounts do stack with the AP code. We were able to use the SHIPMAGIC and DRVCMEMBER codes after signing in with linked accounts and using the AP30OFF code.
We say “appears” because this worked when we tested it in our cart, but we don’t actually want to buy any merchandise, so we didn’t complete the order. (When I purchase ten Precious Moments figures, I prefer to do so in person so I can see the looks of terror and judgment in the Cast Member’s eyes.) It might error out when hitting submit. We’d love to hear your successes/failures on this front.
Next, as a special “welcome back” surprise, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will be mailed a Tinker Bell magnet later this month. Our assumption here is that this will be sent out after August 11 to guests with active APs.
Interestingly, no word on the Flower & Garden AP magnets, which are not being distributed in Epcot. As a reminder, the Donald Duck with Spike the Bee magnet was to be available from March 4 until April 19, while the Orange Bird magnet was to be offered from April 20 until June 1. There’s no way Walt Disney World ran out of the first magnet and there are presumably boxes of the Orange Bird one just sitting somewhere backstage. Maybe Disney will get in the eBay pirate game, hawking them for $80 each. Orange Bird could save Disney’s fourth quarter!
Next up, Disney Park Pass availability for Annual Passholders. We’ve been monitoring this over the last month-plus, and things have not been looking good. There have been a couple of “availability dumps” to Annual Passholders, but after that inventory has been exhausted, it’s back to slim pickings aside from random cancellations.
As of this morning, the earliest an Annual Passholder without a resort reservation could book a visit to Epcot is August 18, 2020. The earliest possible visit to Animal Kingdom is August 25, 2020. Magic Kingdom isn’t an option until August 31, 2020. The earliest visit to Disney’s Hollywood Studios wouldn’t be until September 8, 2020.
This is despite no shortage of same-day Disney Park Pass availability for resort guests and theme park ticket holders for literally every single day between now and September 2021. There’s also no shortage of “available space” in the parks–only Disney’s Hollywood Studios is coming close to hitting its reduced capacity cap. The parks are still ghost towns, with some weekends being maybe 2/10 in terms of crowds. Most weekdays are not even 1/10.
This paradoxical phenomenon has been occurring because there are three separate “buckets” for Disney Park Pass reservations, and only the Annual Passholder bucket has had any degree of serious demand. Inventory is dynamic within each bucket, which means that a cancellation by an AP results in a space opening up (having a strong refresh game can yield favorable results). However, inventory is not regularly reallocated among the three buckets. Aside from a couple of one-off dumps of availability, capacity has not been shifted around.
It makes complete sense that Walt Disney World would allocate plenty of Park Pass inventory to resort guests and ticket holders. Those guests absolutely should be prioritized above Annual Passholders–I don’t think anyone seriously disputes this.
Statistically speaking, guests on vacation spend more than in-state Annual Passholders. On the quarterly earnings call, Disney CEO Bob Chapek once again reiterated this. However, Chapek also stated that out of state travelers are making up a lower percentage of guests than expected (~50%) whereas Floridians are making up a higher percentage (~50%) of all guests in the parks on any given day.
Chapek indicated that vacation package and resort cancellations have been higher than anticipated and utilization of the parks has been lower than expected. Finally, he stated that despite all of this, in-park spending has been very strong due to pent-up demand (and, let’s be honest, eBay pirates).
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to look at all of this and think the easy fix is last-minute reallocations of Disney Park Pass availability to APs. Yes, they spend less on average than tourists, but the latter group is cancelling trips. Moreover, park utilization is low and in-park spending is high. The very obvious solution is to fill in that surplus space with APs, who will at least spend something. Like seats on an airplane, park capacity is perishable–if it goes unfilled, it’s lost. Something is better than nothing.
Even before the earnings call confirmed all of this, we’ve been discussing it for weeks, stressing patience to Annual Passholders. Our assumption is that, eventually, Walt Disney World will figure things out and start reallocating surplus Park Pass availability to the Annual Passholder bucket around 24-48 hours before the date in question on a rolling basis.
It’s absolutely confounding that this has not yet happened. Either Walt Disney World is doing this deliberately to project the appearance to tourists that they will never have any troubles booking Park Pass (unlikely) or the IT infrastructure for the Disney Park Pass system was not built for dynamically reallocating inventory in this manner (that’s our bet!). Still, why not more regular “availability dumps” like we saw a couple weeks ago?
This brings us to the question of whether you should cancel your Walt Disney World Annual Pass. Our past advice has been “wait and see” as there was no real urgency to cancel unless you already knew the near-term guest experience was not for you.
However, the clock is ticking. Annual Passholders only have through August 11, 2020 to cancel their passes by calling V.I.PASSHOLDER Support. We’re still holding out a sliver of hope that Walt Disney World will “fix” the Park Pass inventory system, but maybe they don’t see a problem? Perhaps they don’t care? Maybe there is no easy solution?
Ultimately, whether you cancel or not is obviously a personal decision. If you’re an out of state AP who always books a hotel stay, the status quo is pretty swell for you! If you’re a Floridian who never books a room…this is beyond frustrating.
Not resolving this problem is also a self-defeating move for Walt Disney World. While this whole reopening process began with Walt Disney World finding new and unique ways of alienating virtually every demographic of guests and fans, they’ve mostly rectified and turned things around with other guests.
However, Disney continues to alienate, discourage, and take for granted the local Annual Passholder population. This makes absolutely zero sense at a time when the parks, by Disney’s own admission, are leaning heavily on Floridians. That’s unlikely to change in the next couple of years, so let’s hope Disney fixes this in the near future. A Tinker Bell magnet is nice, but it’s insufficient in nullifying the infuriating experiences of attempting to book park reservations, obtain partial refunds, etc. (Okay, maybe the Precious Moments discount makes things okay!)
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you an Annual Passholder? Thoughts on the merchandise and resort discounts? What’s your take on the Park Pass fiasco? Will you be cancelling your Annual Pass due to the lack of Park Pass availability? Do you agree or disagree with our commentary? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Interesting post. Since we are not AP holders, I hadn’t realized what the situation was on availability. Surprised Disney would leave current AP holders’ money and enthusiasm out to dry. Can it really be an IT thing?
In the crazy-dreaming-how-can-I-make-this-situation-better department, I had been thinking about renting a place in Orlando with the kids for a couple of months while we are all distance learning/working and going to Disney in the afternoons (a modified school-aged version of your “mall walks” in World Showcase). But AP’s aren’t available to buy currently for newbies, and this post makes me think that won’t change anytime soon.
According to My Disney Experience for AP, the Tinkerbell magnet is ONE PER HOUSEHOLD FAMILY.
We have always gotten the magnets One Per PASSHOLDER. Is Disney going cheap here?
Why do we buy AP for each member of the household, but now are getting these little (but much appreciated) perks per Household now?
We did receive the email about them coming by mail, so I look forward to adding Tink to the collection!
Cool picture at the entrance to Disney World, Tom. Mind sharing the technical details of how you took it? Thanks.
We made the decision not to renew, and called Passholder services in late June to notify them. We are Florida residents, and in pre-Corona world did 3 or 4 multi-day visits a year, staying at the non-DVC timeshare we bought 15 years ago. Most of those visits included our adult children or friends. We also drove over from near Tampa for day visits once every week or two, usually weekly during the various festivals. We always ate at least one meal every day we were there, and I am a bit of a Disney collector. While not “big” spenders we have been consistent spenders.
We have been satisfied with our decision so far. Nothing has happened to make us regret it, although a Tink magnet is tempting.
When Corona world stabilizes and we know what the new normal is, both for WDW and for us, we plan to renew our passes unless the conditions are not in our best interests. For now, we are just waiting.
Love your articles! I used my discount yesterday on Legos even though it said they weren’t included. Can’t wait for that castle! Keep up the great work! So great living vicarioulsy thru you and Sarah!
Hi there! I’m a newsletter subscriber/regularly read the blog. I love it! This is not related to this post (sorry!) but I remember a week or two ago reading a post where you mentioned y’all are trying to discern what people want out of posts right now. I meant to comment then, forgot, and now I can’t find that specific post. So commenting on the most recent post it is!
I’m following all of the current updates because we have a trip planned for the week of Thanksgiving. We booked it last year, long before COVID19, and for now we still plan to come since it was going to be the first time to do WDW with my folks, our kiddo, and my sister/bro-in-law. We have all been to Disney multiple times, so we’re not planning a once in a lifetime trip and are fine with not all experiences being available, but we’re also of course interested in understanding what our experience will be like if we continue to plan to come (especially with doing new things we haven’t done such as Toy Story Land and all of the new Stars Wars stuff!). So I welcome knowing what it’s like right now and seeing updates as things change and understanding the crowds, and I’ll continue keeping up with that in the coming months so we have a sense of what to expect since this trip will be very different than the ones we’ve all made before. Just wanted to share in case it’s helpful!
I have an AP voucher purchased through a 3rd party that I would refund, but I think I’m stuck with :/ Coming from Canada won’t be an option for me for quite some time – especially since I’m an RN working in healthcare. Frustrating since I also have about $6,000 in gift cards from my refunded March trip.
At least I’ll have a pre-paid vacation when I’m ready to go I suppose?
My current AP was extended through the end of August. I had already purchased a renewal in March. MDE says it expires in August 2021. I would only cancel the renewal if I was guaranteed to get all my money back. Anyone had that issue?
I was told the same thing. We renewed in June and with all the extensions we have till 10/2. BUT if we don’t use our passes after the October 2nd extension date we can cancel for full refund. So we are taking the “wait and see” approach. Going sporadically thru end of September and then just waiting to see. If AP reservations aren’t more plentiful at some point (haven’t decided on a date yet) we will cancel. There is no point having a pass you can’t use. And I know that cases are going down but the death rate is still pretty high. According to Florida Surveillance Dashboard over 30 people died in the last 48 hours in Orange County. 18 in Polk County, where I live. That is scary-no matter what the rate of positive cases is. Crazy times.
Before COVID, in January we booked DVC at Beach Club for Dec. 6. We also bought an Annual Pass for the first time. When do we have to book park entrance plans?
No one told us anything except that fast passes will not be available.
Also, since our Annual Passes are paid for but not yet activated, can we cancel with a refund if things aren’t better by December?
I do expect a higher AP weekend as silver passes become valid. I renewed my silver pass (May 11 expiry) just before the announced closing. One son renewed June expiry; one did not. It’s true that even when I stay on site, I don’t spend much, but I do spend. We live just north of MCO so the ride takes 25-35 minutes to Epcot depending on traffic. I look forward to park hopping and cooler weather. Even being just cooler will get me to Epcot or Animal Kingdom often enough to make our passes valuable to us. We currently have Epcot res. for Aug 12, and have Epcot and AK for Sept 13-14.
Hi Tom and Sarah,
I was on the phone to VIP Support yesterday about this very thing.
We have 2 trips scheduled One in August (9 days) the other in Dec (2 weeks).
With the additional months our AP is good till the end of Jan.
As of yesterday the tri-state ban was still in order so my thought was if it isn’t lifted we might cancel AUG and the AP’s and buy new ones in Dec.
The problem is that new APs are not being offered and there’s no guarantee they will be offered in Dec. Two 7 day park tickets in Dec was going to be more than keeping our APs.
It’s also important to point out that currently the only way to get an AP for 2021 is by extending a current AP and it’s discounted to boot.
That’s important because I was told there will be future hotel discounts for AP holders.
Thank goodness they lifted the travel ban today so Aug is happening for us. BUT yesterday even though AUG was looking bleak I made the decision to keep the APs for Dec and to renew for our trip in 2021.
As you stated, “If you’re an out of state AP who always books a hotel stay, the status quo is pretty swell.”
I check almost everyday and continue to see full availability in all parks. I have a Premium Annual Pass not Florida Resident AP. Is there a different pool for out if state AP
Bob
Are you sure you are clicking on the “Annual Passholders” tab? Because I’m out of state Premium Passholder too and it shows me the same availability as Tom
Hi Tom,
Great post as always, thanks!
I hope the brain trusts that run Disney can consider this: close the attractions in Future World at 5 pm very day, open EPCOT as a restaurant destination,Ap and park ticket for another park that day required, but you must have a sit down dining reservation for entry. Leave Mouse Gear and the shops open for shopping… This would eliminate the large complaint about not Being able to park hop to go to dinner and allow local Floridians access to their favorite dining destinations in Epcot.
I wish they’d figure out access sooner than later. Our ability to go mid-week ends when school starts again the last week of August. The idea that we could randomly go to the park on a Wednesday before then has been dashed. And the parks are not busy.
Fl Resident and AP……right now, unlikely to renew. Its sad, have been an AP for many years but they just haven’t handled this well. I’m also an AP at Universal and I think they’ve done a better job – waived blackout dates, extended passes 3 months and their Express Pass system for resort guests.
I truly hope my trip in a few weeks renews my faith as it truly is my happy place, but unless they come up with a great renewal offer I don’t see the value right now.
I’m on the opposite side of out-of-state Disney fans right now. I’m wishing I could PURCHASE an AP pass, or at the very least, get a hotel discount. I’m willing to hop in my car and drive (to minimize exposure along the way) to Disney for a week, but I’m reluctant to pay full-price for a reduced level of entertainment. Disney is alienating so many fans in so many ways!
You are not alone! I definitely think they aren’t offering discounts etc to the rest of us because it’ll look bad for PR. But I’m keeping my fingers crossed! We have a resort stay booked in Dec but I am definitely not paying holiday rack rates for reduced everything.
I just read that Florida lifted the tri-state area quarantine. However, the Florida back to tri-state area quarantine is still in effect.
I honestly don’t know how WDW was allowed to open given the numbers of people with the virus in Florida. I love WDW as many people do but I will not expose my family to such a risk. Sorry we had to cancel our Oct trip but very lucky we are all still well. We will have to wait until there is a vaccine.
Nina, you might be waiting for a long time. Many viruses have existed for decades with no vaccine.
It’s almost a bigger deal that the discounts for Values and Moderates are 30% and 35%, respectively. In the past, they’ve tended to go down a full 10% between each level; it’s not often that the other hotels have discounts like this.
Thank you for keeping us up to date. We are/were local passholders and have requested that our APs be cancelled. The “magic” is gone for us, both in the reduced Disney experience available and in the way Disney has treated its most loyal customers. Our family can afford to go to the parks, with or without AP, but we have lost our desire to do so. At least Disney did finally cave and allow AP cancellations, but I’m sure the little game with continuing to collect the July/August payments for monthly AP and then refunding them towards the end of September is not amusing for households who have lost their income.
I guess we were lucky to get the Donald magnet when we were there in March. Could be a rare item now.
And we also renewed in March. We haven’t cancelled and being out of state haven’t had any trouble planning and rearranging upcoming trips along with getting park reservations.