How to Save Money at Disney with an Annual Pass
Last year, I planned a 12 day vacation to Walt Disney World. This length of time seemed out of my reach not long ago, but with some research, I found a way to save money without staying at a value resort or skimping on food or tickets. It was the Annual Pass.
The Walt Disney World annual pass comes in a few different flavors. First, if you are a Florida resident, you have several options available to you. However, this post is going to focus on the rest of the world (sorry, Florida).
The rest of the world has two options: The Platinum Pass, and The Platinum Plus Pass.
The Platinum Pass:
In 2019, the Platinum Pass costs a cool $1,192 for non-Florida residents and includes...
Admission to all 4 theme parks (park hopping included)
Parking
Photopass downloads (basically, what everyone else will call Memory Maker)
No blackout dates
The Platinum Plus Pass:
In 2019, the Platinum Plus Pass costs $1,295 and includes...
Everything in the Platinum Pass
Admission to Water Parks
Admission to the Oak Trail golf course
Admission to the ESPN Wide World of Sports
Right now, you're probably thinking $1,000 is a lot on park tickets, and I'm not going to lie - It is. You're not going to want to get the Annual Pass for every Disney vacation you take. It makes most sense to get it if you are staying more than 10 days OR you are going to be visiting Walt Disney World twice in the same year.
Let's break it down:
If you were to purchase your tickets, including park hopper and memory maker, the following things are true:
You can only purchase 10 days at a time. If you need more days, you need to add them independently.
The Park Hopper for 10 days it $58/day at current prices.
Add the Memory Maker, for about $169 at current prices.
Factor in taxes, and you are at about $780.
If you drive your own car and park, parking at each park is $25 per day, so that adds another $250.
Ultimately, you are looking at about $1,030 dollars and that's for a cap of 10 days. And we haven't even talked about the discounts you get with the annual pass!
Discounts and Parks for Annual Passholders:
2-4 months in advance, Disney will release AP discounts on resort rooms of up to 30% during certain times of the year.
At many Disney dining locations, you can get at 10-20% discount on table service meals at select locations.
As a Passholder, you also qualify to purchase a Tables in Wonderland card for $150 which can get you a discount of 20% at select table service locations on food and beverages (including alcohol) and free valet parking (usually $33).
Merchandise discounts of up to 20%.
15% off spa treatments and tours
Possible discounted party tickets (such as for Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party)
A special trinket at Disney events (like a magnet from Food & Wine, for example)
A nifty magnet that says you are an Annual Passholder that you can put on your fridge and boast about
So if you plan on staying, dining, and shopping at Walt Disney World, the discounts can add up and seal the deal.
The best part is, only one member of your party (the primary member on MyDisneyExperience) needs to be a Passholder in order to qualify for the resort and dining discounts. The member must be staying on the same reservation as the rest of the party and must be dining with the rest of the party.
The Tiny, Tiny Downsides
While I was extremely happy with my decision to get an Annual Pass for my 12 day stay, there were some tiny quirks to know.
1. If only one person in your party has the Annual Pass, your party can't all use the awesome Annual Passholder entrance corral. So while this would save a Passholder time not having to wait in line, if there are non-Passholders in your party, you should probably just enter with them in the regular line.
2. The resort discounts are often for only certain resorts during only certain nights. And given they are released so close to the dates you stay, you might have already planned your resort at this time, only to call and find the discount can't be applied.
3. Free dining is not available to Passholders.
4. You will get a Magic Band (yay!) but when I arrived at the park the first day, I found my annual pass was not yet linked to my magic band (even though I was pretty sure I entered the info online) and had to wait in a long line at Guest Services for them to link it (a two minute process). The line was the worst part. It was an hour long. So maybe call ahead and make sure it's linked before you arrive.
I enjoyed my experience using an Annual Pass for a stay of longer than 10 days, and I saved money doing it! I hope you enjoyed this post. If you like our page, share us with a friend on Facebook. We'll see you next week!
