Another pressure point for diehard Disney World fans is easing. Walt Disney (DIS -0.56%) announced on Thursday morning that the Florida resort will be resuming the sale of its full slate of annual passes for new buyers later this month. Right now the only year-round pass available for initial purchase outside of Disney Vacation Club members is the entry-level Pixie Pass, an offering with tight visitation restrictions that can only be purchased by Florida residents. Anyone with an active 12-month pass has been able to renew at the end of the term.
Everything will change on April 20. The pricier but more flexible Incredi, Sorcerer, and Pirate passes will go on sale again for new buyers. Members of the luxury timeshare Disney Vacation Club will see their purchase window open for the Sorcerer pass a week earlier on April 13.
Disney World enthusiasts shaking their heads at the wrong end of the turnstiles will want to be quick. The world's largest theme park operator is making it clear that supplies will be limited, and they can be pulled at any time. When Disney World resumed the sale of annual passes two summers ago they didn't last long. This is still welcome news for those who canceled their year-round admissions in the wake of the pandemic as well as new fans of the Florida resort. It's also welcome news for Disney shareholders, assuring that the entertainment giant continues to experience a healthy trickle of guests even during the seasonally sleepy periods for the resort.
One mouse step at a time
Whether it's the return of Bob Iger as CEO in November or these fan-friendly moves were already on the way, Disney World is taking small steps to narrow the divide between the media giant and its biggest theme park fans. Requiring park reservations -- another sticking point for regulars, but a necessary move for the resort to keep attendance levels manageable and optimize revenue per guest -- aren't going away, but Disney announced two months ago that they will be easing. Come April 18, annual passholders will be able to visit nearly every park after 2 p.m. that isn't at full capacity without making an initial reservation as long as it's not a blockout day for that particular pass. The only exception will be the Magic Kingdom on Saturday and Sunday.
The small steps don't always make headlines, but fans are noticing. A seemingly small measure -- allowing annual passholders staying at Disney-owned resorts to park at their hotels for free again earlier this year -- was celebrated by the enthusiast community. You don't want to turn your biggest fans into your most vocal enemies, and Iger knows it.
Image source: Disney.
This doesn't mean that it's just a matter of time before passholders can party like it's 2019. Price hikes will continue, and justifiably so as operating costs continue to rise and Disney recently signed off on a big hike to minimum wages. The premium-priced Genie+ platform for access to expedited queues that replaced the free FastPass system is likely here to stay. It's been so popular that it has sold out a couple of times already this week.
The point here is the media stocks leader is listening. The Pixie Pass is cheap, setting buyers back $399 for year-round access. It's a bargain since single-day tickets start in the triple digits. However, it's limited to weekdays with plenty of blockout days during peak travel periods. Fans have been clamoring for access to new purchases of more flexible annual passes that offer weekend access, and later this month they're going to get it.
