Annual Pass/Membership Speculation

[Christin82]

Hi, Everyone!

Just for fun, when do you think annual passes or memberships will be reintroduced? Last Friday, a Disney exec came out saying it would be “relatively soon.” Any rough guesses as to what “relatively soon” might mean? I realize nobody really knows, but I’m excited to get one again, so I’d like to hear everybody’s guesses.

 

[dieumeye]

I hope it’s any day now, but relatively soon could still just mean before the end of the year.

If the new program is going to include FastPass/MaxPass style perks then I would imagine they’ll need to announce the return of those things first, or at least the same time.

And once it’s announced, I wonder if it’ll go on sale right away or if there will be some period between the announcement and actual on sale.

I also wonder how long it’ll be from the time it is introduced to the first major adjustments. If it’s really a totally new system, no matter how much planning and research was done, the first year will be a learning experience for both Disney and guests.

I’m ready for it to be expensive, I just hope it’s easy to utilize the way I want and doesn't make it overly convoluted or complicated to visit the park.

 

[Heather07438]

Before August?

Could be a membership type program where the more someone spends the more the savings rack up. Like Tables in Wonderland Card that cost money and only saved people money once they committed to spending well.

 

[Christin82]

I hope it’s any day now, but relatively soon could still just mean before the end of the year.

If the new program is going to include FastPass/MaxPass style perks then I would imagine they’ll need to announce the return of those things first, or at least the same time.

And once it’s announced, I wonder if it’ll go on sale right away or if there will be some period between the announcement and actual on sale.

I also wonder how long it’ll be from the time it is introduced to the first major adjustments. If it’s really a totally new system, no matter how much planning and research was done, the first year will be a learning experience for both Disney and guests.

I’m ready for it to be expensive, I just hope it’s easy to utilize the way I want and doesn't make it overly convoluted or complicated to visit the park.

Excellent point about MaxPass. I don’t see them reintroducing the AP/membership until they bring back MaxPass.

 

[Christin82]

Before August?

Could be a membership type program where the more someone spends the more the savings rack up. Like Tables in Wonderland Card that cost money and only saved people money once they committed to spending well.

It might be, although I was thinking along the lines of the SixFlags membership, which is like a monthly subscription that includes a year contract that auto-renews and has different tiers with different perks.

 

[Malcon10t]

Relatively soon = Mid September?

I'm not thinking this summer. They are still trying to get enough cast to get to 50-60%. It will be a while as they aren't going to want to reintroduce this until they can get to 75-80% minimum. My opinion.

 

[Heather07438]

It might be, although I was thinking along the lines of the SixFlags membership, which is like a monthly subscription that includes a year contract that auto-renews and has different tiers with different perks.

Yeah. Something gives me the feeling they’re heading in this direction by their choice of words. Saying ‘reward loyalty’ could be doublespeak for spending.

With Tables in Wonderland we had to pay over $100 to join so it took spending $500 with the 20% off before we’d even begin to see savings. Worthwhile for those spending large but really wasn’t worth the effort unless you committed to at least $1k that year in table dining, and at that point only saved $100, 10%. I could see people visiting frequently enjoy it, especially if including all categories like tickets food merch etc and they spent alot each year regardless.

The PR was rough around APs. When they quickly jacked up WDW AP from 700s to $800s then over $1100 people were insulted citing how much they spent on food and stuff beside the AP cost each year. Will Disney answer that backlash with a program that rewards spending.

 

[Christin82]

Yeah. Something gives me the feeling they’re heading in this direction by their choice of words. Saying ‘reward loyalty’ could be doublespeak for spending.

With Tables in Wonderland we had to pay over $100 to join so it took spending $500 with the 20% off before we’d even begin to see savings. Worthwhile for those spending large but really wasn’t worth the effort unless you committed to at least $1k that year in table dining, and at that point only saved $100, 10%. I could see people visiting frequently enjoy it, especially if including all categories like tickets food merch etc and they spent alot each year regardless.

The PR was rough around APs. When they quickly jacked up WDW AP from 700s to $800s then over $1100 people were insulted citing how much they spent on food and stuff beside the AP cost each year. Will Disney answer that backlash with a program that rewards spending.

I think it could be a combination of both. Six Flags also has a rewards component to their membership. You can earn points by buying merchandise and food. Those points earn freebies and discounts.