Walt Disney World annual pass prices increase substantially

I would imagine a substantial hike in ticket prices is not far behind.

The consensus at work via Slack was that this would not materially change anyone's intentions to renew. But I admit, an extra $270 for us (we have Gold) is gonna hurt a little.

I wonder if this is a cash grab or a crowd control measure (or both). I’m sure they’re anticipating very strong demand with SW:GE.

No, but I could see locals (myself included) dropping from Gold to Silver.

Jeff said:

The consensus at work via Slack was that this would not materially change anyone's intentions to renew. But I admit, an extra $270 for us (we have Gold) is gonna hurt a little.

Coming from out of state, it's definitely more of a decision-maker. We are forced into Platinum, which even at renewal rates is still over $1000. The resort discounts can be substantial enough that it makes sense to have at least one of us as a pass holder, but I have a lot of friends who are from all over that are all having second thoughts, even at the DVC pricing. Granted, the gold pass doesn't black out too much, and the price is still rather reasonable - it's definitely what I would choose if I could.

Re: resort discounts. Often the GP discount is only 5% shy of the AP discount. For example, GP might get 25%, where APers get 30%. That can add up at the Deluxe resorts, but it might not tip the balance in favor of an AP if you aren't already making multiple trips in a year.

Disney loves money.

And people love Star Wars.

GTFO poor people.

Brian Noble said:

Re: resort discounts. Often the GP discount is only 5% shy of the AP discount. For example, GP might get 25%, where APers get 30%. That can add up at the Deluxe resorts, but it might not tip the balance in favor of an AP if you aren't already making multiple trips in a year.

I've been a Passholder for a few years now, and on paper, the rates seem very similar, but they're often a different times from the standard "GP" discounts. Also, on something that's under construction (Coronado Springs, for example, was doing rooms for $170 for AP holders) it tends to be pretty substantial. It also seems like there aren't as many restrictions vs. the standard discounts - for example, with the standard discounts, sometimes you have to have a minimum stay, M-Th only, etc.. The only thing better I've found vs. AP discounts is the bounce back offers. We stay deluxe, and when we can book a club level room for almost 1/2 the rack rate, I'm totally OK with it. Not to mention, an AP allows us to have Tables in Wonderland. There are enough good sides to it, that it's hard for me to see going to Disney as a non-AP ever again, but on the other side of the coin, if I was only going for one week every year, I'm sure I could scrape together enough discounts to basically achieve the same thing.

I have never been and never will be an AP holder, but little birdies are saying that Sam's Club Online Travel is still selling AP's at the previous prices while they still have inventory.

I don’t have to renew until April, and I doubt they will have them by then, but maybe they will raise prices again and I can buy at this current price :-D

Been an out of state AP holder for a number of years and didn’t renew this year, mostly because I don’t plan on doing the 4-5 “long weekend” WDW trips that I have recently taken annually. Trying some new destinations for the foreseeable future.

Having said that, I have used my AP over the years to leverage resort and meal discounts to get the AP to pay for itself, and maybe a few bucks beyond.

Even with the new pricing, (and this is dependent on vacation habits), I still think that the best scenario for a family is for one member to be an AP’holder with Tables and pay separate for the rest of the party and reap the discount benefits.

Brian Noble said:

I would imagine a substantial hike in ticket prices is not far behind.

Thinking about this some more, I may have it backward. This might be the follow-on increase to the date-specific pricing change from last Fall. Is this the first AP increase since then? I can't remember...

It has been a few years since there were any significant counter service discounts for AP's outside of Disney Springs. That was a big deal to save probably $5 a hit for my family of three, and it added up over the course of a year. There's still a pretty standard 10% off for table service, which doesn't apply to alcohol, but we don't do that very often because those restaurants aren't cheap to begin with. Last time I went to Kona a the Poly, an occasional favorite, I about choked on the latest pricing.

Brian Noble said:
Thinking about this some more, I may have it backward. This might be the follow-on increase to the date-specific pricing change from last Fall. Is this the first AP increase since then? I can't remember...

I think this is the follow-on increase. I recall a couple of smaller AP price increases in past years, but this is the first decent increase in a while. We got our current Platinum Plus passes for $550-ish during a special promotion for DVC members.

If you're staying on site and have a car, that just got more expensive, too.

Jeff said:

There's still a pretty standard 10% off for table service, which doesn't apply to alcohol

Which is exactly why we went with Tables in Wonderland. 20% off food and alcohol. It does add and 18% gratuity, though - which for some people is a turn off, but the way I look at it is that everything you order winds up being menu price out the door. I will generally round up on the tip line to round it out, especially if the service is exceptionally good - but I still come out way ahead vs. if we had ordered at menu price and tipped on top of that.It's especially great because we can park at Nomad Lounge for a few drinks and some Tiffins appetizers, and generally feel satisfied as if we just had a full meal, for way less than sitting down or even some quick service meals.

I just discovered Nomad Lounge... I think it's my new favorite place to have a drink, cost be damned.

It is definitely one of, if not our favorite lounge, at least in-parks. The Hightower Rocks is so refreshing, and if you like coffee, the Night Monkey is great.

Jeff said:

I just discovered Nomad Lounge... I think it's my new favorite place to have a drink, cost be damned.

Funny you mention this....last time I was at AK last fall, I was looking for a bathroom and completely stumbled into this hidden gem. I ended up spending over an hour there at one of the patio seats overlooking that pond sipping on a few cocktails. Really cool place to chill for a bit. And yes, I miss the days when you didn't have to take out a second mortgage to drink at WDW...