The lobby of the Grand Floridian, one of Disney World’s most exclusive hotels
Walt Disney World continues to aggravate its most loyal fans, as it announced in December that discounts for premium annual pass members will be cut. The Orlando Sentinel has all the details.
Since 2010 Disney World’s been pulling back a lot on the discounts it offers various pass holders. This time, the target is premium annual passes, which already cost around $750 (Florida residents get a discount at around $600). Now the shopping discounts premium annual pass holders receive have been cut in half.
Let’s take a look at the benefits of the premium pass:
- A year’s unlimited admission to all four Walt Disney World parks
- Access to multiple theme parks in the same day (park hopping)
- Complimentary parking at the parks
- Exclusive pass holder communications (with behind-the-scenes information)
- Special discounts on resort stays, restaurants, and merchandise
- Access to exclusive special events and other special privileges
- Unlimited access to both WDW water parks, the Oak Trail golf course, the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex, and DisneyQuest (except during specific activities/events).
When one considers the entire premium annual pass package, dropping the discount at souvenir shops from 20% to 10% doesn’t seem like that much. I have to say, if I was purchasing a premium annual pass, I’d be doing it for things like discounted hotel stays and meals, free parking, and unlimited park-hopping admission, not for cheap merchandise.
But the precise details aren’t the point, and anyway I’m not in a position to have a premium annual pass to begin with. Premium annual pass holders are, more than likely, Disney fanatics. They’re among the most devoted of Disney fans, in their desire to visit the park so often and to pay so much money in order to do so (though if you’re going to visit the parks a lot, an annual pass is a money saver).
The point is that Disney ought to be rewarding its greatest fans, not cutting back on what it offers them. Disney loves encouraging fanatical devotion. This gesture is more symbolic than anything, biting the hand that feeds it.
Of course the issue is more complicated. If Disney feels it needs to raise prices, something it’s been doing for a while, it would rather do so for devoted fans, people it feels have a greater willingness to pay more than casual visitors.
But hike enough prices and cut enough discounts for a few years, and even those devoted fans begin to feel alienated. It’ll be interesting to see whether or not purchases of premium annual passes are affected by this, or if Disney World continues to drop its perks/discounts.
*(The above image by Richo.Fan is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)