Flex Pass Superthread: Disneyland Resort Introduces New Annual Passport that Combines Value and Flexibility

[AndrewC]

This isn’t how the Flex Pass works. You don’t need a new reservation to re-enter a park on the same day no matter how long you’ve been out of a park. So if you make a “Both Parks” reservation for a certain day, your AP does function like a park hopper ticket for the day.

The reservations switching to unavailable in the afternoon/evening would only affect a Flex Pass holder who never had a reservation for that day at all but decided that afternoon/evening that they wanted to go to the parks (in other words, a local).

A situation where you could be stuck in the Esplanade unable to re-enter would only occur if there was a capacity gate closure at the park you were trying to re-enter and would not be reservation related.



I don’t believe any “good to go” days have switched to reservation required thus far. This would constitute a change to the blockout calendar which, while something Disney has shown they’re willing to do, is usually accompanied with more announcement.

Oh that's fantastic to hear! Flex Pass it is then for me! For a 7 day visit it seems like a no duh option anyway and then hopefully I'll be able to get down there once or twice more in the next year. I was just worried about park hopping since I tend to do that A LOT each day (usually three or four times back and forth... I'm crazy)

 

[Rich M]

We're going to upgrade a 3 day ticket with Maxpass to a Flex pass with Maxpass this weekend ... I didn't know you could do it on the app. Can you do monthly payments on the app? Would be great to skip the booth altogether this trip.

We were able to do it from the App and got monthly payments also. We didn't go to the booth until our next visit to get the card. Just remember they usually require the card to get the discounts except for mobile ordering.

 

[Cookiemonster156]

During D23 expo week I had no card/ticket until Saturday night. All day Friday and Saturday I was able to use my digital AP to get the 10% discount at every single store at the convention. I also did the same at World of Disney and the Wonderground Gallery on Friday night. All they required was an ID and me to read them the numbers on the digital AP.

 

[twodogs]

DIsneyland is “no reservations available” for 10/5. DCA is still able to be reserved for that date. UGH. Also today went unavailable at some point for either park.

 

[midnight star]

DIsneyland is “no reservations available” for 10/5. DCA is still able to be reserved for that date. UGH. Also today went unavailable at some point for either park.

Makes sense. That’s gay days weekend so crowds go up some. As for today, also makes sense. It was hot during the day, so I’m assuming people waited until it was cooler to come for the parade, fireworks, and rides. Plus I saw someone post on a Facebook group showing a long line at security around 7 pm, and people commented that it was crazy crowded.

 

[twodogs]

Just checked this morning and now 10/5 is “able to reserve” for both parks again. It is so interesting to me to see how the ability to reserve is constantly changing. DLR must love being able to turn the spigot of APs on and off at a moment’s notice. I agree with others that this is the future of APs for DLR, since they do want to control the flow of people. They would probably much rather block out the AP that spends less on admission per day than a day guest (I know many on here say that overall APs spend more because of merchandise, food, special events etc) on a really busy day. Making a day guest who flew in for this trip angry by closing to capacity is probably harder to deal with than an AP who is blocked out on a certain day but could theoretically come many other days as an alternative. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with what they are doing, but rather trying to understand it.

 

[clb79]

This also doesn’t necessarily mean Disney is turning the spigot on and off arbitrarily. We don’t know what the reservation limit is. We don’t know if it’s the same from one day to the next even. Maybe they initially set the reservation limit lower than other dates expecting larger crowds due to other passes being unblocked, Halloween Time, weekend and Gay Days, etc.

The lower the limit the more “flipping” you would see as the Flex Pass holders change their reservations (maybe for the same reasons Disney limited the number on that day in the first place).

People may have booked on the 5th as soon as it opened to guarantee they had a reservation on a Sat for Halloween Time and as other later dates are open and still available they are moving them to their preferred weekend.

People do the same thing when booking their hotels, they book at multiple places on multiple dates until they decide when and where they really want to say and then cancel the rest. They will book several Dining Reservations until they know which they want to keep. They will book a Max Pass and then choose to release it to book one that they want more.

I would like to believe once Disney sets a reservation limit that they arent going and changing it back and forth (especially after the reservation window has opened) unless they are going to increase it because they anticipate lower crowds on a date. We don’t have any way to know if they are or aren’t though...

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Just checked this morning and now 10/5 is “able to reserve” for both parks again. It is so interesting to me to see how the ability to reserve is constantly changing. DLR must love being able to turn the spigot of APs on and off at a moment’s notice. I agree with others that this is the future of APs for DLR, since they do want to control the flow of people. They would probably much rather block out the AP that spends less on admission per day than a day guest (I know many on here say that overall APs spend more because of merchandise, food, special events etc) on a really busy day. Making a day guest who flew in for this trip angry by closing to capacity is probably harder to deal with than an AP who is blocked out on a certain day but could theoretically come many other days as an alternative. I am not agreeing or disagreeing with what they are doing, but rather trying to understand it.

October 5 blocking and unblocking is almost certainly cancellations - it’s not a “turning on and off” by Disney this far out. There’s a set number of Flex Pass reservations per day (varying by the day, not a consistent number - so in that regard, they can change it based on crowd projections). It’s the same thing as seeing no Blue Bayou rezzies available one day, and then seeing some pop up a day or two later - it’s not because Disney added more reservations; it’s because people cancelled theirs.

I had a chance to talk to a woman who works in ticketing as a manager, and she shed some light on the Flex Pass. She said they’re being “conservative” with how many Flex reservations they offer right now, but said that as a higher percentage of APs are Flex holders, they could up those proportionally.

 

[twodogs]

October 5 blocking and unblocking is almost certainly cancellations - it’s not a “turning on and off” by Disney this far out. There’s a set number of Flex Pass reservations per day (varying by the day, not a consistent number - so in that regard, they can change it based on crowd projections). It’s the same thing as seeing no Blue Bayou rezzies available one day, and then seeing some pop up a day or two later - it’s not because Disney added more reservations; it’s because people cancelled theirs.

I had a chance to talk to a woman who works in ticketing as a manager, and she shed some light on the Flex Pass. She said they’re being “conservative” with how many Flex reservations they offer right now, but said that as a higher percentage of APs are Flex holders, they could up those proportionally.

Thanks for the insights. We are considering upgrading to this pass when we come in October, but since we come from out of state and fly in, and we typically stay for 3 park days, I am trying to see if the reservations are going to work for us. I realize there are many unknowns right now, but it is interesting to watch. I do think DLR is possibly turning off reservations same-day if it gets too crowded (or maybe it is just people booking last minute on the day of, and then hitting the pre-set daily limit of FP reservations).

 

[disneymum58]

I am thinking of upgrading my 5 day pass to the Flex Pass. I have the 5 day pass downloaded to the app. If I upgrade now, will my first day be the first day I am in the park or will the year start immediately? Will I be able to reserve 2 days right away (within the 30 days allowed) or will I need to wait till I am in the park the first day?

 

[Plip]

I am thinking of upgrading my 5 day pass to the Flex Pass. I have the 5 day pass downloaded to the app. If I upgrade now, will my first day be the first day I am in the park or will the year start immediately? Will I be able to reserve 2 days right away (within the 30 days allowed) or will I need to wait till I am in the park the first day?

There's at least one other thing to consider before upgrading. With your 5-day pass, you get one day of Magic Morning. So you might want to use your Magic Morning before you upgrade. The Flex Passport doesn't include any Magic Mornings.

On the other hand, if you're planning to buy the Max Pass for your Flex Pass, it doesn't really make sense to pay for it for a day or two at $15/day per ticket and then pay the annual $75 per ticket on top of that.

As to your question about when your Pass starts, my understanding is that it starts the first day you enter a park using it. But I'd want to verify that with people who'd done specifically what you're doing before I relied on it. (And I do believe that you can make your reservations right away, too.)

 

[mamapenguin]

There's at least one other thing to consider before upgrading. With your 5-day pass, you get one day of Magic Morning. So you might want to use your Magic Morning before you upgrade. The Flex Passport doesn't include any Magic Mornings.

On the other hand, if you're planning to buy the Max Pass for your Flex Pass, it doesn't really make sense to pay for it for a day or two at $15/day per ticket and then pay the annual $75 per ticket on top of that.

As to your question about when your Pass starts, my understanding is that it starts the first day you enter a park using it. But I'd want to verify that with people who'd done specifically what you're doing before I relied on it. (And I do believe that you can make your reservations right away, too.)

MaxPass annual add on is $100.

 

[socaldisneylover]

MaxPass annual add on is $100.

And worth every penny.

 

[lazerprincess]

Question: How hard does anyone predict it will be to get reservations for Nov. 2nd and 3rd (Dapper Day weekend)? I am planning on getting them when they are released at the 30 day mark (side question: does anyone know what time that happens? Midnight PST?) but I'm a little worried about it! Thanks <3

 

[emchen]

I am thinking of upgrading my 5 day pass to the Flex Pass. I have the 5 day pass downloaded to the app. If I upgrade now, will my first day be the first day I am in the park or will the year start immediately? Will I be able to reserve 2 days right away (within the 30 days allowed) or will I need to wait till I am in the park the first day?

As to your question about when your Pass starts, my understanding is that it starts the first day you enter a park using it.

Just did exactly that with my family of 5. We had 5-day Park Hoppers, first used on 9/6 and 9/7. Returned on 9/15 and upgraded to Flex Pass at the ticket booth. CM stated our new Flex Passes expire on 9/6/20, the first day of use of our Hoppers.

 

[gillep]

I am thinking of upgrading my 5 day pass to the Flex Pass. I have the 5 day pass downloaded to the app. If I upgrade now, will my first day be the first day I am in the park or will the year start immediately? Will I be able to reserve 2 days right away (within the 30 days allowed) or will I need to wait till I am in the park the first day?

Do you have the option to upgrade in the app now? We bought my husband a 5 day pass and have it scanned into the app but there is no option to upgrade, someone previously was saying they thought the option didn't show up until you scanned in the ticket for the first time on entry.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

Question: How hard does anyone predict it will be to get reservations for Nov. 2nd and 3rd (Dapper Day weekend)? I am planning on getting them when they are released at the 30 day mark (side question: does anyone know what time that happens? Midnight PST?) but I'm a little worried about it! Thanks <3

I think you’re fine if you reserve them 30 days out. I’m not sure what time they’re released, but nothing’s booked up even close to 30 days yet.

 

[Rich M]

I think you’re fine if you reserve them 30 days out. I’m not sure what time they’re released, but nothing’s booked up even close to 30 days yet.

I believe it is 7AM PST.

 

[disneymum58]

Do you have the option to upgrade in the app now? We bought my husband a 5 day pass and have it scanned into the app but there is no option to upgrade, someone previously was saying they thought the option didn't show up until you scanned in the ticket for the first time on entry.

I thought I had the option to upgrade in the app but will need to check I guess. We will be arriving Oct. 31, so I do have concerns about the availability of reservations for Nov. 2 and 3 (Dapper Days) especially if I can't upgrade earlier in the app. We are staying at the Grand California Hotel so no worries about losing the Magic Morning included. I have already purchased MaxPass for the 5 days and am assuming I will be credited that amount towards a FlexPass with MaxPass? I'm also wanting to use the AP discount for meals I have booked already including Goofy's Kitchen the day we arrive.

 

[lazerprincess]

I believe it is 7AM PST.

Thank you!