Up until last month, the Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California remained closed due to the coronavirus pandemic. During that time, Disney had decided to end the annual passholder program. It has been speculated that Disney had been interested in doing this for quite some time.
At the time, Ken Potrock, President, Disneyland, said that while Disneyland remains closed they will use that time to “develop new membership offerings that will utilize consumer insights to deliver choice, flexibility, and value for our biggest fans.” Some on social media are speculating that Disney will transition those passes into various levels of FlexPass/Reservation system.
Disney has been tight-lipped as to what the new program will look like, however, during the company’s Q2 FY21 earnings call last week, Disney CEO Bob Chapek refrained from using “annual pass” when referring to the new program but did refer to it as a “park loyalty and affinity program.” He went on to say that the program was being designed as a “frequent visitor program,” encouraging multiple visits from local guests.
He added that spending from annual passholders was inconsistent and the new program would “get an adequate return to our shareholders for the type of experience that we do give to our guests.”
Disney Matters vlogger, OrangeGrove55, along with @DisneyFamilyMan23 and @VashSky, discuss what they think will be in store for Disneyland’s former annual passholders and what the new program may look like.
It has been widely reported that there were one million Disneyland annual passholders before the termination of the program. VashSky said it was his understanding that as far back as 2015 Disney wanted to cut the number of annual passes by half.
The guys believe that the annual passholder program of the past is gone and the new program will be – in essence – no different than a frequent guest program from a restaurant or airline.
The opinion expressed are those of the vlogger and do not represent those of Disney Matters. OrangeGrove55 can be found on Twitter and YouTube.
