Via InsideTheMagic.net
Walt Disney World Resort is actively waiting for the economy to fail, according to reports from experts in the field.
Many Disney Park fans who have visited Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios over the past couple of years have taken notice of changes in operations over that time.
Many have noticed that Disney is not quite as clean as they remember it. Others have reported unsightly damage. Many other fans have talked about price increases and merchandise failures.
However, one thing that continues to be at the top of everyone’s mind is Disney annual passes.
Disney paused its selling of annual passes nearly a year ago and other than a small window where passes appeared to be for sale a couple of months ago (it turned out to be a false alarm), they have remained unavailable for Disney Guests.
While many have wondered when these might become available again, a couple of Disney insiders recently explained that the company has no incentive to bring them back right now and they likely won’t, until an economic collapse occurs according to reports from Florida Politics.
“Disney doesn’t have much of a reason to bring back the full slate of annual passes right now. Disney World is generating record revenue and operating profits with fewer guests than before,” said Rick Munarriz, an analyst for the investment website The Motley Fool who regularly writes about Disney Parks. “Disney’s annual passes will come back when the global economy buckles to the point that visitors can no longer pay the cover charge for a Disney gated attraction.”
Another Disney expert echoed those same sentiments.
“The thing that might bring back APs sooner rather than later is an economic slowdown. Airfare is pretty expensive right now, so getting here is costly,” said Len Testa who runs Touring Plans. “I could see a situation where, say, kids go back to school in September/October, and fewer people are willing to spend hundreds of dollars on airfare for a long weekend. In that case, Disney would look to locals to make up the difference, especially in things like restaurant revenue.”
Disney Parks are currently running at capacity and it wouldn’t make sense for Disney to attempt to bring in more Guests when it is already operating with such volume.
While fans may be hoping for Disney annual passes– which include the Pixie Dust Pass, Pirate Pass, Sorcerer Pass, and Incredi Pass– it seems they may have to wait until an unfortunate collapse of the economy for them to return.
Here’s what Disney says about its annual passes:
Annual Passes allow you to enjoy the magic all year long. Now is the time to answer the call and discover all the possibilities a Walt Disney World Annual Pass can bring.
To enter a theme park, each passholder must have a theme park reservation in addition to a valid pass. Park reservations are limited and are subject to availability and applicable pass blockout dates.
New sales of select Annual Passes are currently paused. Please check disneyworld.com/pass for the latest updates.
