The Disneyland and Disney California Adventure theme parks, closed for almost a year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, are ending their annual pass program as we know it.
The popular multi-layered ticket system, which has changed the culture of Anaheim’s two theme parks in a way that has become a daily, weekly or monthly meeting place for many southern California, is being phased out – or “canceled” to use the terminology of Disneyland Resort President Ken Potrock. The annual pass program will eventually be replaced by new membership offers, he said.
Potrock did not offer a timetable for the latter, citing the unpredictability of the current environment, where an increase in coronavirus cases strikes southern California.
By ending the current annual pass program – refunds will be given automatically to those who paid for days after the parks closed last March – Disney expects to operate at reduced capacity, only by reservation, when California health officials allow that the parks reopen.
But the change hits the parks’ most dedicated and loyal fans with an avalanche of uncertainty. Although Disney does not release public numbers, the annual pass program has long been considered to be seven digits. Fans who wanted and expected a “Disneyland solution” now face the prospect of no longer receiving priority access when the park reopens, and hold their breath to see what the reinvented membership program will look like.
A replacement for the annual pass program is not expected to be implemented until the pandemic has receded sufficiently for Disneyland Resort to receive guests at or near pre-coronavirus frequency levels. Potrock emphasized that, in the long run, he believed that this move would be a “silver lining” of the pandemic for Disney, allowing him to shape a program more suited to the financial realities still unknown to many Disney fans, while potentially you will have more flexible levels for those who do not necessarily consider themselves park goers.