Disneyland Annual Passes Aren’t Coming Back. What Could Replace Them?
If you’ve been following along with MickeyBlog then you’ll know that earlier this week we shared the news that due to year long closure of Disneyland and Disneyland California Adventure and uncertainty as to when the parks will reopen Disney has decided to discontinue Annual Passes for Disneyland Resort.
Those with existing annual passes are in the process of being refunded by Disney and the company has said that it will be curtains for the current annual pass program. So what if anything will be replacing the passes? According to a recent piece in the Orange County Register, Disneyland will be seeking feedback from previous passholders when it comes to building a new membership scheme. This will include factors like price, frequency, spontaneity and the time of day, week and year that they’d like to use the new program.
Disneyland President Ken Potrock told reporters this week that Disney’s new membership program is already in development and will deliver choice, flexibility and value. The goal as Disney looks to revamp the scheme is to create a system that will allow Disney to spread out attendance at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure while accommodating the largest number of people.
Potrock told the Register, “We’re going to use this time as an opportunity to develop new offerings and a new way to think about the business given the situation we find ourselves in.”
If you’re a previous passholder Disney should be reaching out to you to gauge interest in the new scheme and to survey guests about what this new membership should look like. “We’re trying to understand: What do people want in this new world?,” Potrock said. “When do they want to access our parks? How frequently do they want to access our parks? With what level of spontaneity? With what level of value? All of those kinds of things and many more.”
So as of going to print, as the Register points out, there are only two things that are certain. The previous AP program is not coming back and that some sort of new scheme based on guest feedback will be created in its place. “There’s nothing off the table as we begin to think about things that are important for people,” Potrock said. “Whether it’s the number of times that they visit on a product offering. Whether it’s when. Is it midweek or weekend? Is it morning or afternoon? Is it day-part oriented? It’s all of those kinds of things that we’re incredibly curious to hear back from the guests about.”
Best case scenario is that the new membership program will be a combination of old perks that passholders enjoyed with the old scheme along with new experiences and features. “This is not designed to limit choice and flexibility. It’s designed to enhance choice and flexibility,” Potrock said. “People may say, ‘Here’s how I’ve always used it.’ People may say, ‘Here’s what I bought, but I didn’t quite use it and optimize it.’ People may say, ‘I have a different family structure or my financial situation is different. I would love to do it a little bit differently than I’ve done in the past.’ What we’re hoping to be able to provide is the choice and flexibility for all of those different evolving states.”
So what do industry insiders think? Dennis Speigel of the International Theme Park Services expects that Disneyland new membership program will be similar to the parks five-tiered pricing model for base tickets. “When you boil it down, people who come to parks can pretty much be put in two categories: Time-sensitive and price-sensitive,” Speigel told the Register. Speigel advised that there are two types of passholders: those that will pay top dollar to visit Disneyland any time and those that would prefer to keep costs lower and don’t mind blackout dates.
Martin Lewison an expert on theme parks at Farmingdale State College in New York thinks that restrictions and reservations will be important elements of the new scheme. “I would expect to see more restrictions on lower-priced passes and extremely high prices for passes with no restrictions,” Lewison said . “I think reservations for visits will become more common for all types of tickets. Disney may find other ways to reward its most loyal fans — like exclusive merch, dining and events.”
Only time will tell how the AP replacement shapes up. This is a story that we’ll be following closely. Keep checking back with us here at MickeyBlog for further news and updates.
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Source: OC Register