Photo credit: Krista

“To all that come to this happy place, welcome. Disneyland is your land. Here age relives fond memories of the past, and here youth may savor the challenge and promise of the future. Disneyland is dedicated to the ideals, the dreams, and the hard facts that have created America…with hope that it will be a source of joy and inspiration to all the world.” – Walt Disney

Disneyland Resort Annual Passports – Have you ever wondered if they are a good value? It seems like once a year, if not more often, the price of either a daily ticket and/or the Annual Passports for the Disneyland Resort increase. It has come to a point that many guests, including loyal Disney fans, question if visiting the “Happiest Place on Earth” is a good value and worth the money.

My husband and I have been Disneyland Annual Passholders (APs) for many years and in fact, we met at Disneyland on the 50^th Anniversary on July 17, 2005. We, like many other fans, enjoy going to the Disneyland Resort (a.k.a. “the parks”) and have many cherished memories of our visits. Since we live in southern California, we are able to frequent the parks often, typically monthly and sometimes more often. Over the years, we have also decided to spend some of our entertainment budget on Annual Passports.

Photo credit: Disney PhotoPass | Krista’s personal collection

However, each year for the past few years, when it’s time to renew our APs we question if it’s a good value and if we should renew. During this past year, Disneyland celebrated its 60^th Anniversary in July 2015 and the crowds have increased as people flocked to the parks. According to a recent report by the Themed Entertainment Association, attendance at Disneyland was up 1.5 million people, or 9 percent, in 2015 from the previous year, with more than 18.2 million people visiting.

In October 2015, the types of Disneyland Resort Annual Passes went through an overhaul. The Disney parks in Anaheim phased out the Premier (365 Days) AP and two new APs (Signature and Signature Plus) debuted. Also in the restructuring, October 2015 was the first time the cost of the highest-level AP surpassed $1,000 per person. The Disneyland Annual Pass (AP) program was first introduced in 1984, and in 1999 monthly payments for purchasing APs became available for southern California residents.*

For my husband and I, when we renewed our Premium APs in May 2015, the cost was $779 per person. With the changes to the APs in late 2015, we knew that when it was time for us to consider renewing in May 2016, the Premium AP would not be available. If we decided to renew, our choices would be to downgrade our APs or to get one of the two newly offered Signature Passes. The introductory/current price of the Signature Pass (350 days) is $849 per person. The introductory/current price of the Signature Plus Pass (365 days) is $1,049.

Many people say that the increased crowds at Disneyland Resort are due to the numbers of Annual Passholders who use the monthly payment option available to southern California residents. Some say that, rather than increase the prices so often, Disney should eliminate the monthly payments to help ease the crowds. However, in the weeks leading up to our renewal date, Disney had an increased marketing effort to encourage people to apply their daily ticket toward an Annual Passport and Disney seemed to be encouraging the monthly payments option for southern California residents.

To help us with our decision, we implemented a plan to track our visits to the Disneyland Resort over a six-month period from mid-October 2015 through April 2016. We collected a variety of data ranging from our average “Fun Factor” to an average “Crowd Feel” and the average amount of money spent on food to the average amount of money spent on souvenirs. At the end of the six-months, we analyzed the information and reviewed it before making our final decision.

We created an infographic, which is at the bottom of this post, to share our findings.

At the end of the six-month period, and to help us make our decision, we considered:

• How often we like to visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure.
• When during the week we are available to visit the Disneyland Resort.
• Average cost per visit based on the selected Annual Passport price/dates.

After looking over the data, we decided Annual Passports are an overall good value. We decided to renew our Disneyland Annual Passports at the Signature level.

What are your thoughts? Do you feel Disneyland APs are a good value? Do you think Disney should discontinue the monthly payments option?

* Correction: Monthly payments are available for all California residents when purchasing Disneyland Resort Annual Passports.

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”