We first got Annual Passes in 2015 after Wine and Dine Weekend. We knew we’d be coming back in the year and thought this would be the most practical thing to do. It turns out we were back more than once. You find yourself constantly searching for airfare and hotel deals. We renewed when it came around to do so. If you do, you save 15%, and as a current perk, you got 13 months instead of 12 months. (Keep in mind, this offer will be expiring soon.) It seemed like a great idea! Below is a list of the benefits of having an annual pass for Walt Disney World.
- Park Hopping– Prior to our Annual Pass days, we wouldn’t do Park Hopper passes, just to save the money. We were planned down to the T. We had to plan our meals and parks based on crowd calendars. It wasn’t bad, you were just really locked into a plan. Nowadays, we have a lot more freedom with our plans. If one park is too crowded, we can check out wait times in other parks and hop on over.
- Photopass Downloads– A $149 value!! This was huge for us as a family. We took advantage of Disney’s PhotoPass and purchased Memory Maker every trip. Even two trips in one year allows us a nearly $300 savings on this product.
- MagicBands- all Passholders get customizable MagicBands included with their pass.
- Dining Discounts- as part of the 45th anniversary, there are a number of restaurants offering a 20% discount with a valid Annual Pass. We took great advantage of this on our last few trips. We got to try some new places, as well as some favorites. Otherwise, Annual Passholders can get $25 off a Tables in Wonderland card, which gives you 20% off food and beverage at most dining options in the Walt Disney World Resort. Also, some additional reservations have a 10% discount.
- Merchandise Discounts– Disney-owned-and-operated stores are currently offering a 20% discount, which is considerable. Usually, it is only 10%. In addition, some merchandise is only available to Annual Passholders.
- Room Discounts– Room discounts can be up to 35%. I usually recommend booking as soon as possible to get the best deal and room. If you wait until the last minute, you may risk not having all available options.
- Free Parking– at $20 a day, this can be a considerable savings if you stay off site.
- Early runDisney Race Registration – 1 week prior to general registration, Annual Passholders can register for the runDisney race they are looking to run. This is a huge perk when there is a frenzy in registering for certain races. Not for anything else, but peace of mind in knowing your registration is secure is great. There are a limited number of passholder registrations set aside, so you still have to get in when it first opens.
- Spa and Salon Discounts– 15% off any service $45 and up or 50 minutes and longer at 9 different on property locations. I hope to take advantage of this on an upcoming trip!
- Recreation, Entertainment and Tour Discounts– Most backstage tours offer a 15% discount. We recently used this on the Wild Africa Trek. We did have to go in the afternoon, but that worked out fine for us.
- FastPass+ Reservations: These can be made 30 days in advance. If you have a resort reservation, it is the standard 60 day window.
Check out the Mouse for Less’s Annual Passholder Benefit Information page here for a comprehensive list of benefits. All in all, I feel we got a good value out of our passes. We probably go more often than I would have initially intended, but it’s great to be able to take off for the weekend and not have to buy tickets and pay for everything full price.
What is your favorite Annual Passholder perk? Share in the comments.