Disney World Annual Pass Renewal Considerations
I have written about how my family and I benefited from a Walt Disney World annual pass over the past year. My family and I are about to take another Disney World trip in late January just prior to my pass expiring. Naturally, I decided to check out my annual pass renewal offer on the Disney website. What did I decide? In the words of generic reality show judges everywhere, “It’s gonna be a no from me.” Let’s explore why.
Related: Purchase Discounted Tickets With Get Away Today
The Offer and The Math
On the Disney website, I was greeted with the following annual pass renewal offer:
The sticker price of a new Disney World annual pass is $1191.74 (including tax). Renewing reflects a $178.92 discount (approximately 15% off). Put another way, it would cost me $84.40 monthly for the pass.
Pass Renewal Considerations
I easily turned down the pass renewal based on a few criteria:
- Next Planned Visit: While no plans are firm yet, my next possible visit is in May. If I accepted this renewal offer, I would waste at least $253.20 on annual pass months when I wouldn’t attend (February through April). This far outweighs the $178.92 I would have saved by opting into the annual pass. See Shawn’s post for a breakdown of effective trip scheduling with an annual pass.
- Planned Visits for the Year: Beyond May, I only have one other possible visit planned in November. Ticketing options for these two trips would be cheaper than the annual pass renewal amount.
- Opportunity Cost: If I accepted this offer, I would need to pay $1,012.82 now (or slightly less with discounted Disney gift cards). Paying for the annual pass would immediately remove those funds and take away some freedom to travel or otherwise spend. Also, I have written about a more economical way to obtain Disney World tickets with points.
- No Rushed Decisions: By turning down the annual pass renewal offer, I can more thoughtfully schedule my travel on my time frame, rather than rushing into an offer where I may not gain maximum value.
Final Thoughts
My decision to not renew my annual pass was easy this year. I challenge other passholders to carefully consider their renewal offers prior to deciding. Who knows – renewing may be a good decision for some! Happy touring!
That pricing isn’t quite right. The platinum annual pass renewal price you quote, $1012.82. *includes* tax. The non-renewal price you quote does not. With tax, a new platinum annual pass costs 1,191.74. So the difference is almost $179, not $106. The renewal savings basically is 15% and has been for years.
Bill G, good catch! I’ve corrected it. But I’m still not renewing!