Disneyland Annual Passports – Crossing the $1000 Price
So, it has finally happened. A Disneyland Annual Passport is being offered at a cost of more than $1000.
It has been said that timing is everything. In this case, is anyone really surprised? Given that Disneyland continues to attract record numbers of guests, even with a minimal investment into new infrastructure for the Park, you should not be. Disney is only doing one of those things it does best. Taking advantage of visitor demand.
You can argue that the Annual Pass is either the best thing Disney every came up with or the worst. At one level, the company manages a large float of cash that they don’t have to work for every day. Even with monthly payments for California residents, you can’t deny that the boost on a monthly basis of income looks good to those Accountanteers.
The company also knows it has created some of its own troubles with having too many Annual Passes. The person who visits the parks more often is less likely to spend the same per capita per visit than an ordinary guest. Less on souvenirs or even food and beverage. And those local guests can add up causing over crowding for high demand days such as the Christmas/New Years holidays. One need look no further than special events where the parks were open for an extended period. Locals flooded the parks around the clock, over flowing parking lots and more.
It has been said that Disney could do away with Annual Passports entirely and would still manage to draw record attendance from guests. It might hurt for a few financial quarters as that cash flow eventually stopped but it would not be the end of all things theme park. Enough folks would still pay the admission price just to be at Disneyland.
So, what’s the scoop on the high priced Annual Passports? Here is the official Disneyland web page link. Disney will be continuing to offer the passes, albeit with a twist on the previous offerings.
The newly renamed Annual Pass (The Disney Signature Plus Passport) will now cost $1049 per person. Disney has added an extra value to the pass by adding the PhotoPass Service. It also includes resort parking as well as continuing the discount for dining (up to 15% at some locations) as well as 20% for merchandise purchases. And of course, it has no blackout days.
Yet, that may not be the best value, in my opinion. The next option down the ladder at $849 is the Disney Signature Passport. This offers all the same values as the higher cost pass with a seasonal blackout from Saturday, December 19th through Saturday, January 2nd. If you can skip visiting during this extremely high demand period, you manage to save $200 on the cost of that pass.
Having spent a number of New Years Eve’s at Disneyland in the 1990’s, it was cold and overcrowded. There were some fun and memorable times to be sure, but I can skip those now. Saving that $200? Might just be worth it.
Finally, Disney offers the Disney Deluxe Passport for $599 with a number of black-out dates, only 10% discounts for dining and merchandise. Parking is not included.
And don’t forget, these are the prices for age 3 and up. No more Child Annual Passports.
Disney also is no longer selling the bargain Southern California Select or Southern California Passes, but they can be renewed. And the former no black out Premium Pass is also being discontinued in favor of the Signature series passes.
I think it fair to say that the Disneyland Annual Passport program has not seen its sunset yet. A twist in pricing and offers is something we AP’s have come to expect. Will this move help with overcrowding at the Park? I think we will know better next year. But I suspect that the people who want unlimited access to Disneyland will be there to pay the price, no matter where it goes.
American Experience: Walt Disney
So… I watched all four hours of the American Experience: Walt Disney from PBS.
From my perspective, it had a number of issues. Perhaps none more striking than this – You cannot begin to know the man who was Walt Disney in four hours of television. Any more than you can do so in spending a few hours wandering through the galleries of the Walt Disney Family Museum. There is a great deal of information, some of it still coming to light, almost 50 years after the man passed away.
For those of us who admire what this man accomplished, we know this well. Walt had many successes and failures in his life; some more prominent than others. Yet he was always looking for the next challenge. He did not dwell on what happened before. He just moved forward.
Maybe the best illustration of that came from his daughter, Diane. She once shared how during Disneyland’s 50th Anniversary events, Bob Iger was incredibly proud of the return of the Oswald The Lucky Rabbit property to the Walt Disney Company. Diane had no idea what he meant, primarily because Walt had never mentioned Oswald to her. It had a big impact in his life at the time. Yet it was something in his past that he had moved on from and did not dwell on.
Trying to put Walt (or anyone) under the microscope today and analyze his actions of the past through society today is an exercise fraught with peril. The man lived in different times and was shaped by experiences that do not apply now. Perhaps the most telling of anything is that Walt didn’t give up. Many people faced with similar challenges do just that. Some never get over those experiences. But he didn’t. He was always looking ahead.
And that is what I suggest to you. Seek out more about Walt. There are plenty of great stories to be heard. Visit the Walt Disney Family Museum and spend the day moving from gallery to gallery following a story through them. If you want to see a television program, I suggest “Walt Disney: The Man Behind The Myth”. Interviews with people who worked with Walt help offer a good view of who he really was.
And the book that accompanied the video is another great read. As are the books of J.B. Kaufman on the South American trip, the productions of Snow White and Pinocchio. As is Tom Sito’s “Drawing The Line”, for a good look at union’s in film and television animation. (There is a subject worth investigating for an episode of “American Experience”. Union activity in Hollywood wasn’t simple or pretty. And has implications that continue to this day.) Didier Ghez has produced some wonderful books – Walt’s People – with interviews with a great cross section of Disney employees, and he has many other titles that offer subjects worth a read. And there are a great many other books out there by people who knew Walt, such as those by Rolly Crump, Jack Lundquist and Marty Sklar.
Oddly enough, a sentiment from a Disney film may come closest to summing up how I feel about this most recent documentary. “When you look for the bad in mankind, expecting to find it, you surely will.”
The Disney Store Comes To Town
“Talk about your trunk space!”
No secret here, but I am a fan of most things Disney. Maybe not the current incarnation of the Disney Channel (being outside the desired demographic), but pretty much everything else that the company does. So I was rather surprised when my commute seatmate informed me that The Disney Store had landed in Livermore. While we once had a nice Disney themed store in “Where The Magic Begins”, pickings have been pretty slim as of late out in the Tri-Valley for fans of the Mouse.
Facing the traffic escaping the valley in advance of the oncoming holiday weekend, I chose instead to travel some back roads home. And one of those? Yup, it passed right by the new location of The Disney Store. Livermore is home to the San Francisco Premium Outlets. So I did the inevitable and turned into to the parking lot. This center opened several years ago and I had only visited once since; that being earlier this year, in search of a bowtie to match a seersucker jacket I planned to wear to a niece’s wedding.
Now being that this store is located in an outlet mall, I did not know exactly what to expect. Previously, there had been a series of outlet stores in various locations around the Bay Area. Those were not part of the Disney company, but resellers closing out true surplus materials. Think specifically dated t-shirts for theme parks or under performing film merchandise. Would you believe a Tarzan loin cloth key chain? (No, I will spare you the photo…) There were a few bargains but most items were “priced to sell” in the hopes that a visit to the store would entice you to open your wallet or bend that plastic card of choice.
This retail location is not one of those. It is not truly an outlet store. What it is, despite appearances to the contrary, is just another location for The Disney Store. At least, that is the impression I got when I walked inside. It is laid out much like other Disney store locations in shopping malls. Merchandise for boys on the right, girls on the left. A video wall behind the registers at the rear of the store. To be fair, there was a small rack of clearance merchandise in the rear of the store on the right. But despite signs in the windows, most of what I saw was at regular prices. Adult merchandise consisted of a select group of t-shirts and some sleep shirts/pants.
And no signs anywhere of the Star Wars: The Force Awakens event this morning. I also had no interactions with the Cast Members on duty. No greeting, no “Can I help you?” Just a few comments back and forth using headsets between each other. This may have been a quiet Thursday afternoon, but there were less than 10 customers (including myself) in the store.
Of all I saw in the store, the plush elephant from Aladdin was about all that caught me eye. I even picked it up and looked at it in more detail. But nothing enticed me to purchase it. Certainly not the price, with no reduction or discount noted. And for the record, I have visited a Disney Store recently (in the Sun Valley Mall in Concord) and purchased several items including a plush Bing Bong character from the Pixar film, “Inside Out”. Oddly enough, there was little merchandise on sale from that film at the Livermore location. More Star Wars and Marvel items for the boys, along with Frozen and other girl skewed items to match. The plush Abu as an elephant was surrounded Jasmine and other Aladdin items.
Again, I know I fall outside of the demographic for the audience for The Disney Store. In a small way, that makes me sad. I know The Disney Store is not what it once was. The whole idea of a greeter on duty at the entrance to the store once seemed revolutionary. It likely had an effect on loss prevention, once upon a time in some locations. But that kind of magic that one felt about entering a part of Disney? Sadly missing. Missing for some time, back to when Children’s Place took over the operations of many stores. Missing back to the time when Cast Members were encouraged to speak with guests and share the love for all things Disney. Not just interaction when it comes time to gather the disposable income, remind customers of other spending opportunities and here is a discount coupon for that next time…
Sorry.
Just another time with the terminally nostalgic here.
Accused Curmudgeon Stands Before You
Yes, it is true.
I have been accused of being a curmudgeon.
As described by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, “a person (especially an old man) who is easily annoyed or angered and who often complains.”
Reading this space on occasion, I can understand how someone could form such an opinion. Yes, I tend to take issues in simple black and white. As a photographer, I shot a lot of black and white film while everyone else was taking color slides.
Yet, when it comes to a number of issues, I do see things pretty much one way or another. I have never been wishy-washy in my personal opinions. If that makes me a curmudgeon, so be it.
“You kids stay off my lawn!”
In my defense, I do manage to espouse positions that may be in opposition to some of the more vocal folks out in the blogosphere. For example, I do not believe Disneyland was ever meant to be preserved in amber; never changing, always as it was during what ever period you personally think of as the golden years. I have looked forward, as have many of you dear readers, to many of the plans announced by the company. And I have also been disappointed when things turned out less than advertised, such as Disney’s California Adventure version 1.0.
I also tend to understand that the business of the Disney company is to part us from as much of our disposable income as we will give them. You name it, they got it and we want it. “Shut up and take our money!” is more than just a meme. It is the truth.
However, over the last five years or so, I have dialed back by own needs to toward that goal. I no longer must have every pin the company makes, nor collect every diecast toy made for the Cars franchise. Yes, I have more than a few of both. Along with a bunch of other items, all collected with memories to go along with all of it. And despite appearances to the contrary, I do not visit Anaheim every chance I get. My last Disneyland visit was in May for an anniversary party of friends. Honestly, I do not know when my next visit will be. Would I turn down a free trip? Absolutely not. And yes, I do enter the Diamond Days weekly drawing for the 60th anniversary. It would be a real treat to win one of those overnight stays in the Dream Suite. Another one to cross off on the bucket list. Wonder if I can finagle a visit to Walt’s apartment at the same time…
Do I have a crystal ball to peak into the future of the Disney company? No, I do not. No more than anyone else out and about. What I do have is a bit more of an understanding about the hospitality and entertainment industry. The ugly truth remains. We have the money and companies like Disney want it. And they will continue to do whatever they can to get us to give it to them.
But we cannot forget. Fans like us? We are the cream. Yes, every cent we are willing to spend, the company is happy to take. But the real choice customers continue to be that mythical family spending the rare time visiting and staying at a hotel on-property or nearby. Their multi-day stay is what the dream is all about. You cannot dispel that truth.
And curmudgeons, we just keep at it. Grouse as we will. D23 expo just goes to show how much the company really likes us. As much as it annoys us to admit that.
So, I guess I can admit to being guilty on some level, but not on all of them.
I throw myself on the mercy of the court.
Jesters and all…
A stumble in the Force
I’m sure I will get flack for saying this, but I think the announced plans for additional lands featuring Star Wars at Disneyland and Walt Disney World are a mistake. Yes, a mistake.
I will admit to being something of an old fashioned theme park fan when it comes to Disney, but that doesn’t have a lot to do with this issue. I do see that the Disney company needs to exploit the franchise it purchased as part of the Lucasfilm acquisition. While the film productions will generate a sizable return, the company wants to maximize that return. Hence, the finally announced plans for expansion.
The problem from my little corner of the Internet is that Disney already has serious issues with capacity in Anaheim, especially at Disneyland. As it is now, any kind of special event and the place is chaos. Disneyland is simply too popular for it’s own good. Adding attractions that increase guest capacity only will serve to make a bad situation all the worse.
From just getting into a parking lot to finding your way inside the Park and not standing in lines all day, the average guest – as I have said before, that mythical family of four from Peoria, making their one and only visit to Anaheim – will face more of a challenge than ever before with the addition of a new Star Wars land at Disneyland. And they probably won’t be real happy with the outcome.
Anyone who thinks that the implementation of Magic Bands in Anaheim will go well should step back and take a deep breath. Unlike Orlando, the massive numbers of Annual Passholders out West will have their own influence on the process. And they will, despite all intentions to the contrary, manage to game the system so that it benefits them the most. Leaving the crumbs for that mythical family who don’t know the in’s and out’s of the process.
Disneyland has to change. I get that. Making use of wasted space in the Park? I am all for that.
But this time, I think putting all the eggs into the proverbial basket was not the right answer.
I know that Bob Iger has repeatedly said that Anaheim will not get a third gate. And I understand the logic behind that. But Star Wars is a franchise that can and should support a theme park all it’s own. It need not rely upon the existing locations. In Florida, adding another park, when the company has the land available, seems a no-brainer. Give guests something else to stay another day or three and you bet they will do just that.
But in California, why not do the same thing? Create another destination, another place guests must see and they will go there. Even the local AP’s will go. Does it have to be in Anaheim? Wouldn’t hurt but why? There are certainly a lot of potential locations nearby that could easily come into play.
I get that the additional lands to existing parks may be the safe thing to do. But thinking outside the box and looking at something grander, that’s the real Disney way. It is the kind of chance Walt took with the 1959 expansion of Disneyland. And it is the kind of thinking that could pay bigger and better dividends down the road.
Last but least, let us recall that Disney plans do not always go as announced. Recall how the 1990’s were once termed the Disney decade. Plans for Anaheim didn’t go exactly as announced and in the East, plans did not even get to the shovel stage at Disney’s America. I got a buck that says things change a lot between now and opening day.
As Master Yoda reminds us, “Always in motion is the future.”