[Park Hopper]

As an annual passholder, I'm pretty ticked off that the value of my pass has been decreased with Disney's announcement that it is reducing the number of blackout dates for seasonal passholders. The summer blackout period on seasonal passes was June 12 through Aug. 19 but starting Friday, Disney will reduce the blackout by three full weeks.

I don't have anything against seasonal passholders getting more value for their money, but I do resent my annual pass being devalued. Annual passholders pay considerably more for the privilege of being able to go anytime they want. With seasonal passholders now having three more weeks of access, I'll have to seriously consider whether it's worth it to keep buying an annual pass.

How do you other annual passholders feel, especially those who live close to the parks and go often?

[tragic312]

i never used an annual pass before. rob and i got them as a gift for getting married in WDW. what exactly are the seasonal passes? the blackout dates are only reserved for those who have seasonal passes? does that mean that annual pass holders and the general public are not allowed in the parks? i'm a little confused about this.

[inluvwithdisney]

Black out dates for Seasonal passholders means for those dates they cannot go!! I Believe there are very few if any blackout dates for Ap holders.

[tragic312]

oh ok. i get it now. thanks for clearing that up inluvwithdisney.

[Metalfan]

There aren't any blackout dates for the AP holders...that's why you pay more. You can go anytime in the 365 days. Seasonal Pass holders pay a lot less and have certain times they can't go. Usually the peak times. I do not hace AP's, but do plan on getting them. It does concern me a bit and I'm going to look into it for when we do purchase them.

[Tinkerbelle67]

Do seasonal pass holders get any discounts like the AP holders do?

[MerlinMatt]

Seasonal passes are only for Florida residents correct?

In either case, I'm not sure that I agree with the premise that the APs are necessarily devalued. What you paid for is the *guarantee* that you'd be able to go any time you wanted. Obviously, Disney isn't as busy as they'd like to be, so they're trying to find ways to get more people to go. They didn't plan it that way, and if things were busier, those dates wouldn't have become available.

Also, knowing that you can travel whenever you like gives you flexibility to find the best airfares, which may not necessarily be available to those that are just finding out about available dates.

So, I don't think the APs are devalued by this action at all.

[tinkerbell]

I dont know if I feel cheated or not since I live in Texas and understand (if this is incorrect please correct me) that Seasonal pass are for Florida residents. But I can understand why someone in Florida would buy an AP so they wouldnt have blackout dates instead of seasonal and resent that they paid a higher price only to find out that they could have saved with a seasonal pass..
I have a couple questions though concerning this lifting of blackout dates and the recent new room discounts.

is this an indication that they are not getting the crowds they normally get during this time of year or ... are they trying to increase the crowds? Thats how it appears to me ..its like this morning another Mr. Six commercial this time they are offering everyone tickets at the price of a childs ticket.. so its as if they will do anything to get people to the parks.

[timsha]

Matt, you are right that the AP's are not being devalued. I will say though as an AP holder for the last 10 years that Disney is giving us less and less all of the time. They used to have the AP lounge.. the last time we were there in May NOT.... I also used to get a better rate as a AP holder and this year I got a better rate through AAA than as a AP holder. I know that this was a deal struck with AAA, but how sad is it when anyone can walk off the street and get a better rate than the people how support you year round??

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by timsha

I also used to get a better rate as a AP holder and this year I got a better rate through AAA than as a AP holder.

Hmmmm.... that's annoying.

How much better was it?

[timsha]

I saved 160.00 going through AAA staying at CBR than booking the trip myself.... that almost paid (a little bit better than 1/2) for my airfare from PVD. I am not sure how long the contract with AAA is, but it killed me to go in there vs doing it my self.

[Park Hopper]

Originally Posted by MerlinMatt

So, I don't think the APs are devalued by this action at all.

I agree the APs haven't been devalued in a monetary sense -- we're still allowed access to the parks the same 365 days a year -- but they're no longer as good a value when compared to the considerably cheaper price that seasonal passholders pay. Seasonal passholders now have more benefits for the same price, while the benefits of annual passholders remain the same.

As a consumer, I have to decide if buying a seasonal pass -- now with 21 fewer blackout dates -- is a better value than paying for a full annual pass. I understand that Disney is attempting to attract more Florida people to the parks during a month which traditionally sees a decrease in crowds, but I'll bet a lot of local annual passholders feel slighted by Disney's decision.

[TinksFriend]

If season pass holders are in the parks-does it really matter if it's peak time? I would imagine the they would be making money off of other things for sp holders at these times like on food and merchandise. Is it that likely that they would be so filled to capacity that they would not be able to accommadate their loyal season pass holders? Has anyone ever been there when it was filled to capacity? Just curious as to how many people they can legally have in each of the parks? It seems unfair to me.

[MerlinMatt]

Originally Posted by Park Hopper

As a consumer, I have to decide if buying a seasonal pass -- now with 21 fewer blackout dates -- is a better value than paying for a full annual pass.

I think we're arguing semantics. The 21 fewer blackout days is only for this year right? This isn't a permanent change in the seasonal pass is it?

My point was simply that there is value in being able to count on and therefore plan for days being available as opposed to having to wait for Disney to lift the blackout days.

All that said, I agree wholeheartedly that there's an underlying principle here that Disney isn't providing as much bang for the buck as perhaps they were a few years ago. This is one of the reasons that we opted against the vacation club. I'm not real trusting of the direction that Disney is headed in certain areas right now.

[JM0318]

I was thrilled to see that they lifted some dates for this year. because I have an AP and my DH has the seasonal. So it will let us go together an extra 21 days. But I agree that if they are going to give the Seasonal Pass holder and extra 21 days they should do it straight across the board. Anyone having an Annual Pass should get an extra 21 days added to the end of their Pass. Only seems fair...But I do not think this will happen...LOL....ºoºJudy