Is Disney Actually Listening…
After years of rising prices, ride breakdowns, and frustrated fans, something seems to be shifting at Disney parks. But is the company really listening to guest feedback—or just responding to competition and financial pressure? In this episode of Disney Hers, Lauren and Eric break down the evidence, debate what’s actually changed, and explore whether new perks and improvements are genuine wins for fans or strategic business moves.
Is Disney Actually Listening… Transcript
Lauren Hersey: Welcome to Dis & Hers, the show about what’s happening in the Disney community from his, hers, and your perspective. I’m Lauren.
Eric Hersey: And I’m Eric, and on today’s show, we’re asking a question a lot of Disney fans are actually starting to ask out loud. Is Disney finally listening to us? And then we’re going to break down what that actually looks like in real money and real perks for those annual pass holders this summer.
Lauren Hersey: Alright, but before we get started, want to remind you that Dis & Hers can be found on all your favorite podcast platforms and also in video format on YouTube and Spotify. We would absolutely love it if you could head over to Apple, give us a review, and let us know what you want us to hear us talk about on a future episode.
Lauren Hersey: All right, well let’s get into it. So we’re asking the question, is Disney actually listening to us now? So for the last couple years, a lot of Disney fans have felt like the company has stopped caring, whether you’ve had a good day, a bad day, was it magical or not. I think that this probably cropped up in the Chapek era I had to guess and they’ve been slowly trying to unravel that mess
Eric Hersey: Yeah, no, I mean, imagine talking about this is going to lose all our endorsement deals, Lauren. No, no, but like Genie Plus and Park Reservation headaches, they’re obviously like the price hikes, you know, rides breaking down or maybe attractions that aren’t living up to necessarily expectations. We talked a little bit about lines not necessarily feeling as great anymore. So, yes, there’s a little bit of headaches. So we don’t want to be necessarily a Debbie Downer when it comes to all the Disney stuff. But we are talking from the fan community and we all kind of complain a little bit and I think it’s much deserved sometimes, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, and I mean, like, I just felt like over the last, you know, years since COVID, it was like everything, every time that something went wrong, Disney’s answer was like, well, did you buy Lane In Lane? Did you buy the upgrade? Did you get the door? And so I mean, it’s it’s cropped up, but I have definitely definitely felt like something in the last couple of years has shifted.
Lauren Hersey: And there is actually some evidence behind us saying is Disney listening? I mean, are things going to be perfect 100 % of the time at a Disney theme park? No, but we know that the parks are now playing such a huge role in the profitability of the company and companies exist to ultimately make good financial decisions for the shareholders. So they’re balancing, you know, how do we continue to be profitable, but also listen to the community as well. So I’m going to play devil’s advocate here and let’s look at the evidence that they actually are listening. All right. So starting at the top here. All right. Eric.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, you’re gonna have to sell me hardcore because I’m not sure I’m bought in I will listen and hear you out on this. So yes
Lauren Hersey: Okay, well you tell me though. so point number one that I’m gonna make is ride reliability is a measurable measurably better. So everybody complains about ride downtime, especially
Eric Hersey: Hey, go back and do that transition again, because you’ll be able to use that, but you stumbled over it. So just start.
Lauren Hersey: Okay. So I’m going to try my best to convince you, Eric, with my evidence that Disney is listening. And let’s see how I do here. So number one thing that we’re looking at is ride. Number one thing we’re looking at is ride reliability. And I think that it is measurably better. But, you know, just since COVID, we’re looking at a ton of downtime with the rides.
Lauren Hersey: And you look at things like rise of resistance going down, especially, and we’ve been in that line before where you’ve waited an hour and now the ride is down and you don’t know when it’s coming back up. I mean, we’ve dealt with this at Epic and stuff too, but that is extremely frustrating for guests because we’ve talked about time is money. And I mean, like somebody had said,
Lauren Hersey: This is Tecmo Super Bowl 1. I knew you would like that name. But they said, we just got back from four days in the park, so we went to Magic Kingdom two days, Epcot two days, and Hollywood Studios. And this is a list of rides that broke down while we were physically in the parks. Now, so this one was from two years ago. I need to give you that disclaimer.
Lauren Hersey: But it was Haunted Mansion Pirates Peter Pan Small World Journey of the Little Mermaid Space Mountain Tron Mickey’s Runaway Railway Rise Tower of Terror Seas with Nemo Frozen Ever After End Test Track And they go on to say it was five years since their last trip to Disney and quite a bit has changed. They are not thrilled. And how much time was wasted on these rides being
Lauren Hersey: broken down and they were asking if that is normal. and so I have to say that is 13 attractions in four days. that could be a lot, but if we’re looking at what’s actually changed, because I did the research on it. so at Disneyland, they carried 1.5 million additional rides.
Lauren Hersey: in the fiscal year 2025 compared to the year before. That’s from proactive maintenance work. It included better parts management, because that was one of the issues. And specifically targeting the spots that were causing repeat breakdowns. So just giving you a couple little examples.
Lauren Hersey: So like Radiator Springs racers, like if you’re going to Disneyland and you’re going to California Adventure, like that is one of the absolute must do’s. So each vehicle has 200 plus parts being rebuilt on a set schedule. And so like where before they were being reactive, now they’re being proactive and that’s making a big difference day to day how many people can experience that ride.
Lauren Hersey: I know this isn’t sexy stuff, but they have expanded overnight maintenance windows. like I said, they’re looking at those proven failure points because they have the data, but like looking at rise specifically, like they found that there were four spots, that were the track list vehicles were faulting every time. So those have been replaced during a 2026 refurb.
Lauren Hersey: Space Mountain looking at new load and unload flow being made permanent that has shown increases. So I mean there’s been a number of things but I mean they have improved their time. mean have you, I mean we haven’t been to Disney World in you know almost a year but I mean have you noticed any type of difference?
Eric Hersey: Well, yeah, I noticed one thing and that is that they look a lot better because there’s a park down the road that is having a horrible time with efficiency. like number one, regardless from a personal perspective is a if they’re still probably downtime, I know there’s probably reports out there that says, how often is rise still down compared? So there is actual data that we can look to see if they’re doing any better, but it does. It’s nice that they’re going out there and proactively working on that. Now I am a little bit more cynical in this aspect.
Eric Hersey: And I also say, well, you know, when rides are down, they lose money from lightning lane, you know, like because so so there is a motivation. It’s not 100 percent now granted at the end of the day, though, if the attractions are up and running, that benefits us all, even if the motivation might be because, hey, we’re losing some dollars here and we’re having to give away some of these passes to make goods or so forth. So I mean, we certain I would love to see if we can find some actual data that goes with some of these
Lauren Hersey: Statements that Disney is coming out with but I would love to hear from everybody else. What’s your thoughts on you? Like you said, we’re gonna be going down by the
Eric Hersey: next couple episodes, we’re gonna be down in the parks and we’ll get to notice ourselves. you know, I don’t necessarily find ourselves having a whole bunch of downtime. Like we usually get stuck on at least an OmniMover ride once or twice and I’m fine with it. Especially like Space, you know, or Spaceship Earth, we’ll sit there, let me just watch the guy paint, you know, over and over for a little bit. I feel like it’s nice and peaceful. In Rome, you get the nice scent. So I don’t mind some of them breaking down if I’m on the ride.
Lauren Hersey: All right. Okay. So moving on to the next one is a cast member hospitality. So we got a comment from blue eyed Debbie and they said observation, the cast members are not as friendly as they used to be. And so this is also Disneyland at Disneyland now. So far in three, two and a half hours, so far in the two and a half hours we’ve been in the park, I’ve noticed from several cast members that they’re Kurt,
Lauren Hersey: not exactly friendly. They’re not angry. They’re just short with everybody. Also, if you have a DAS pass, they now expire one hour from your return time. Actually, let’s cut that out. But they go on to say that, you know, being in the park, they just don’t think the cast members are as friendly. So then somebody says,
Eric Hersey: Yep.
Lauren Hersey: this is big Thunder Ranch goat. I work with a former cast member who has told me guests has gotten much more difficult to work with since COVID. They have been director Kurt or people like will attempt to walk all over them if they argue, if they keep pushing back, they just have to be more blunt. So that is, you know, one reason here.
Lauren Hersey: But Disney has come out and said that they have publicly admitted that after the 2021 reopening, that 60 % of Disneyland cast members have been hired in a rush. Many of them had never been even to a Disney theme park before. So that is probably one of the why guests felt it.
Lauren Hersey: But they also came out, this was the new experiences chairman Thomas Mazolam and he’s made his entire focus in rebuilding hospitality in the parks. So this is what he said. He is overhauling cast member training, which we know is super important, like they did the Disney Institute. They’re bringing back a hospitality first mindset.
Lauren Hersey: And I mean, their whole mantra is create happy or create happiness. Like that is the foundation of everything that they do. And his whole leadership framework is built around one idea and one idea alone that the most important thing now is how the guest feels throughout the day, not what rides they rode or food that they eat. It all comes down to how they.
Eric Hersey: Man this is a tricky one because it like you could have one person that had a bad day And then you could stereotype the entire crew I imagine that all the cast members that like their job are pleasant and Cheery and those that don’t like their job are probably more curt and if you’ve worked retail or you worked in anything
Eric Hersey: It’s just a matter of like, unfortunately, not everybody is always happy all the time. And even though it’s your job to be happy all the time, that doesn’t happen. And I’ve worked with, you know, lots of people and so have you. You’ve been a server and also in sales and stuff like that. Yeah, people aren’t the nicest. We’re talking guests. And I imagine that the price and the time and the heat, all of this makes people even more grumpy. So, yeah, I don’t think I’ve ever had any issues with cast members, to be quite honest. But then again, I’m also coming
Eric Hersey: from a background where I know, like, you know, this is their job and if I mean to them, then that isn’t gonna necessarily get a nice positive response from me. So I think you reap what you sow. So these people that might be complaining, let’s just see how you.
Lauren Hersey: Okay, I have to make one more point though. I think we’ve talked about it before. So in California, like these are probably more people that are, because it’s such a regional park, these are people that maybe are aspiring working in the entertainment industry, not necessarily like Disney people.
Lauren Hersey: where in Florida, like if you look at their name tags, like you see people from all around the world and it is their choice to come and work there. I think that that makes a big difference too. If it’s aspirational and you really want to be there versus you just need a gig.
Eric Hersey: Right. If it’s just your job, because this is the best thing you can get, you might not be bought into the culture as much where it just seems like Walt Disney World is filled with those that are like, Hey, I’m going here specifically. How many, know a lot of people that moved to Florida just to visit Walt Disney World. I don’t know too many people that didn’t move to Anaheim for the same reason. So I, maybe it’s just different. But once again, I don’t think we can categorize everyone based off of several examples. I don’t think I have a large enough market like data to say, yeah, they’re nice.
Eric Hersey: or they’re worse than they once were, you know.
Lauren Hersey: Okay, so I could be going, this could be a stretch, this next one, so just stay with me here. So the castle at Disney World got repainted because fans complained. I know that it’s not 100 % true, but the commu- Do you think it is because the fan community hated the pink castle? For merch? For, I mean it’s been years, Eric!
Eric Hersey: No, I think it is. will go, I will say that, yeah, yeah. Why else? Right, why else would they paint it back? If the fan community loved it? No, I don’t think so. I think we got, let’s chalk this up as a win. This is a win for the community. Don’t argue with us, we won this win. We got the castle back. All right, go to the next.
Lauren Hersey: Okay, we’re gonna just chalk it up as a win. right, Castle, we won, they listened. All right, all right. So Classic Rides are getting real upgrades, not just paint. I mean, it could have something to do with that, but I’m gonna say that they’re doing it for us, the fans, because we know Big Thunder, Buzz Lightyear, Smuggler’s Run, Rock and Roller Coaster, they’re all getting those big re-hauls in 2026.
Lauren Hersey: I mean, I think that this is a big one because it’s not just, mean, Smuggler’s Run, yes, we’re getting a new video or Soarin’ Across America, yeah, we’re getting a new video. But I mean, Buzz Lightyear, like those are meaningful updates that we’re getting to make it more enjoyable and to modernize.
Eric Hersey: I don’t know. This is a tough one because there’s definitely an ulterior motive here, right? You have to keep things updated for people to want to come back. I would look at the things that cost them money that they didn’t have to do to determine if this would, if this is really the fan community or them listening to us, right? If it costs them money to do something that they didn’t have to do, that’s always a thing that they, hey, they want to increase the experience. I mean, obviously Big Thunder Mountain. I don’t know if there was any type of, that ride was
Eric Hersey: fine, right? There wasn’t anybody complaining about it or anything like that. So I don’t know if it was just routine maintenance and then they’re updating this and that. But if they did like the end scene and updated just to make a better experience, and I would say, yeah, that is because they want us to have a better experience. Things like Buzz Lightyear was super aged, but it always still had a weight. So like I could see that being a better experience. Smuggler’s Run.
Lauren Hersey: Okay, let me ask you a question though. Let me ask you a question. So just a couple months ago it came out that Disney is pushing the Galaxy Edge timeline back to incorporate like more traditional Star Wars characters like Darth Vader, Leia Han Solo, like the whole like original Q. Do you think that’s because it’s been a fan complaint since day one or do you think that
Eric Hersey: They’re just like, well, we need to give people the Star Wars fans that have already seen it a reason to come back.
Lauren Hersey: They’re just like, well, we need to give people the Star Wars fans that have already seen it a reason to come back.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, I don’t think it’s from complaints. think if they wanted to actually hear what we said, they would have taken all the stuff they announced, like the roaming droids and walk around characters in terms of aliens and stuff like that and had that immersion and they would bring that back, but that would cost even more money and so forth. So I think this is a cheap fix to try to localize and realize it’s a fault. They’re basically admitting fault that, hey, we would have probably been a better off if we relied on these characters that everybody loved and once knew. So it’s a slow trickle.
Eric Hersey: back in time, but this is super not cost, it’s not expensive at all to be like, all right, we got Lea Han Solo Luke now.
Eric Hersey: They’re going back on what they promised this land to be, which was an immersion and everybody talking in this specific language and you would essentially have roles and everybody would play their part. They abandoned that completely and they’re just like, here, here’s some quick fixes. I don’t think this is us winning anything. This is just the evolution of that park. And I think Smuggler’s Run is the exact same thing. It’s just, hey, we really didn’t care about this storyline and this coaxium, so we’re now going to throw Mandalorian Grogu in there.
Eric Hersey: this is half and half, there are elements that I see us absolutely as a fan community, like being able to hold up our trophy and say, we won this one. Where the other ones I also see 100 % being like, this is them trying to monetize or make something work in their corporate favor.
Eric Hersey: Now the other one though that you’re talking, there are discounts. mean, literally that the one thing that I absolutely believe is when we saw $99 all star rooms and just different discounts on hotel rooms and stuff. I mean, that is, hey, we’ve either outpriced ourselves or we know that you’re not necessarily thinking of coming here for whatever reason, but we want you to come back. Granted.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah.
Eric Hersey: The cynic in me obviously knows why they have empty hotel rooms, but I do think like they’re trying to win our favor back. You know, they’re apologizing through discounts and buying us stuff, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, and I mean, there’s always a reason behind why we’re seeing what we’re seeing. We talked about Epic. We’ve talked about, know, at least on I want that to we’ve talked about.
Lauren Hersey: enticing families with young children to come back into the park. like free dining for kids with qualifying packages, those free water park days. Like they have to do something, but they are also continuing a lot of that stuff into 2027. They are, I mean, I feel like as pass holders, they did not do themselves any favors with the pass holder community after the demand was so high.
Lauren Hersey: after the pandemic and that hurt them. mean, there are so many people in the pass holder communities that they’re like, this is the first time that I have not been a pass holder in 20 years, et cetera. So I think that they are going back now, especially as, you know, not to get into politics at all, but I mean, on the earnings call, it is concerning.
Lauren Hersey: for Disney as far as international travel goes because depending on who you ask they would say that the US is not like friendly right now and they it has affected them so whether it is they’re listening to us and they’re giving the discounts because of that or it’s you know for their own reasons I want to chalk it up as a win so that that leads us to the question I mean do you think that
Eric Hersey: this is genuinely them listening or is it because Epic Universe is opening or they’ve you know not done right by the pass holders or they’ve alienated families with kids for the more attractive what do they call them? Dinks? Double income, no kids or whatever it is. Let us know your thoughts.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, yeah, I think so. Yeah. Yeah, no, I think that is there’s a lot. Nothing is done in a vacuum here. So it is going to be impossible to know like, are they just trying to make us all happy and they’re doing right by the community or there’s these other factors down there. So I think that’s certainly something to look at. But you mentioned pass holders. So I think that we’re going to take a real quick break and then we’re going come back and we’re to talk about some of that pass holder perks that you were discussing when we get back from this.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, and is it worth it to become a pass holder in 2026? But first this.
Lauren Hersey: At least I made the case. Did I convince you?
Eric Hersey: Did you make, listen, you had some good points, but I don’t know if it’s necessarily completely sold.
Lauren Hersey: All right. Well, even if I didn’t like, let’s talk about what is most important and how these changes affect your wallet because that’s where it matters. Did you see the news come out about the VIP pass holder summer days that they’ve released the specifics?
Eric Hersey: There’s all types of good generous things that’s going on right, but that’s if you’re a pass holder right or no
Lauren Hersey: Yes, if you are a pass holder. let’s talk about first how Disney, I believe is making this even better. from, mean, from when this came out in 2024, like I’ve just been tracking trends here to say, okay, well, are they trying to show their pass holders a little bit more love? And I know that, I mean, Universal does something very, very
Lauren Hersey: similar. So that just gives them more competition. And we know when competition is there, that we end up winning as the consumer. So if you didn’t have a chance to see that, and you’re not familiar, VIP pass holder summer days, it kicks off this year, May 1, and it runs through May 31. So that is three months.
Eric Hersey: Hey, go back, go back. You said May 1st, it goes to May 31st. You’re have to do it all over again, because that’s not three months. I’m like, yeah, you didn’t say July.
Lauren Hersey: It’s July 31st. Okay. So if you’re not familiar, VIP Password or Summer Days kicks off May 1st and runs through July 31st of this year. That is three full months of these exclusive perks. And it is the most generous version of this program that Disney has ever run since the inception in 2024.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, so if you’re not a pass holder, just stay with us because this is possibly how they are promoting what loyalty, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah. So I think it gives you the inside track on how Disney is thinking about rewarding loyalty. And you know, that affects everyone eventually. So let’s look at some of the perks and how they’ve improved over time. So the first one is there’s 40 % off of 12 table service dining restaurants across all four parks and select resorts. So that is, get this there, that is double the normal passholder discount.
Lauren Hersey: So standard AP discount is 20 % and in 2024 we were in that range. don’t even think they did a discount. then starting last year, they bumped that up to 40%, but at 10 restaurants. So we’re getting the same discount as last year, but they added two additional restaurants and they’re rotating this in two phases.
Lauren Hersey: across like the three month period, but just some little disclaimers like you know you have with everything is this is Monday through Thursday only, but for the first time it includes be our guest and the Crystal Palace so neither one appeared in 2024 or 2025. I think that’s a win.
Eric Hersey: Man 40 % so I mean obviously if you’re Monday through Thursday and a lot of people are traveling I mean, I guess annual passes are primarily people within the driving distance, right? We’re the outliers that are our annual pass holders because we go multiple times a year But like most of the time you’re doing a you know, Monday through Sunday trip so to speak So just make sure that you hit these places up When you’re in the parks on Monday through Thursday, I think that’s a tremendous discount 40 % off. I don’t I’ve never seen anything like that
Lauren Hersey: I mean, it’s amazing. really is. And so even like us quick service people were like, you know, maybe. All right, let’s talk about the pass out of the pass holder lounge. So Eric, I know that you have thoughts on the 2024 pass holder lounge. Do you just want to like refresh people’s memory what that was? Do you remember?
Eric Hersey: Was it the Marrakesh? that what it was?
Lauren Hersey: No, like wasn’t it? It was in?
Eric Hersey: You’re too. no. Yes. All right. So no, no, no, no. I this was inside the land pavilion. It was It was right across from living with the land They literally just blocked off a little section and they did have like a cast member there that was letting you in but it Was nothing I mean like you expected it to be like a an actual like different room or something like that It looked just like any part anywhere else. I mean the biggest part they gave us some zerg nuts I remember that was the big thing is like we got some
Lauren Hersey: Oh, it was so bad.
Eric Hersey: ZergNOT switches from.
Lauren Hersey: Was it Zergnut? What was it?
Lauren Hersey: And you got like a sticker.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, was, it was, wasn’t that, yeah, it’s so, so unremarkable that I forgot that that was even a lounge. I just thought it was like, all right, you’re sitting over here and somebody was just giving you some snacks along the way. but no, then we also, they did open up, Marrakesh, I think the following year that was, I don’t know it was for pass holders only, or if anybody could go and wait in there.
Lauren Hersey: Yes.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, I think they opened it up. Like they opened it up for the first time during COVID as like one of those relaxation stations. And then they made this the pass holder lounge. So it’s returning this year. If you’re not familiar that is in the Morocco Pavilion in Epcot. That lounge is open 11 to 7. There are complimentary snacks, water and Moroccan mint tea. There is also a photo pass
Lauren Hersey: animated magic shot, which is new to 2026. And I think that there is a character meet and greet, which they had in 2024, not last year, and then bringing it back. So that’s exciting. You’re also getting a free pass holder button.
Lauren Hersey: And in 2024, that lounge only ran from May 1st to June 18th, and it’s running the full three months this year. So that’s pretty nice. I’m excited for the nice AC lounge for pass orders.
Eric Hersey: Yeah, it’s always nice to have a nice new place to go hang out. we’ll get to check it out and report back if it was worth it or not. It’s hopefully a little bit better than the previous version, but we will find out soon enough. What is another perk we got? We always get free magnets, so I know that has to be on the list.
Lauren Hersey: Yes. So we got to talk about the merge. mean, I do merge podcast. So you’re going to get a free Toy Story magnet this year featuring Buzz and Woody. Any idea why Eric? Why are we getting Toy Story magnets?
Eric Hersey: I was hoping just to get like a Conan O’Brien magnet because that’s what I’m excited about with Toy Story 5 is he’s a character. I don’t remember what character he is, but yeah, there’s a movie coming out.
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, so that happens every year. Again, limit one per passholder. There is an exclusive popcorn bucket that is designed by illustrator Ashley Taylor, and that is going to be available in just like random popcorn carts across all four parks in Disney Springs. And then like normal, we’re going to get new passholder merch, which has pretty typical stuff like a lounge fly, t-shirts, hoodies, like that kind of stuff.
Lauren Hersey: know your 20 % pass order merch discount still applies on all of that stuff. So the merch is also dropping at creation shop and Epcot on May 1st and then is going to be rolled into the Emporium and Disney Springs Discovery Trading Company. So you’ll see those around the week of May 10th. So again, mean, merch, but like, what do you think Eric? Do you
Eric Hersey: think they’re showing some love and how they’re rewarding loyalty for their most devoted audience.
Eric Hersey: Well, I think that the discount on the food is a is the best that I’ve seen, right? Because I think that’s an easy way to get people into the parks and to spend some money. And obviously, they’re cutting into their margins a bit there. So I think that’s the biggest. Everything else seems to be kind of the same. You know, we’ll see how that restaurant Mayor Keshe looks. We’ll see if it’s all decked out and real snazzy than maybe. But I think everything else is is a nice little perk. But I think that 40 percent dining discount is the big one.
Eric Hersey: So I’m wondering for those that are maybe just going to the park maybe like once, even if you’re local and you just buy your couple day passes, I wonder if it would be beneficial to buy an annual pass to get some of these like discounted meals for these three months. Do you think it’s worth the upgrading if you’re just, you know, you go there once a year or something like that?
Lauren Hersey: Yeah, I mean…
Lauren Hersey: Okay. but real talk here, like Disney needs bodies in the parks in the summer. Epcot is without a festival. Animal Kingdom is in the middle of huge construction and attendance is softer than they would want and they need pass holders to fill the gap. But like you said, like, you know, somebody that lives locally or maybe even not locally, like would it make sense to, you know, buy a pass to get some of those discounts? So I was on in
Lauren Hersey: the community and this one came from WDW Prep School and they asked the question, are annual passes worth it? They said probably not, but here’s some things to consider and I do disagree with that, but they have this snazzy chart that they had and had a ton of comments. So it’s like, can you save money with an annual pass?
Lauren Hersey: So they’re looking at total pre-tax cost in three cases, an onsite park off-site park hopper plus 35 day dollars a day parking and a flat $1,629 in credit pass so I just wanted to like share with you some of the comments from this post and you know here with the community as to say what’s up first Eric
Eric Hersey: here’s one. Heather, she says, we never save money because once you’re an AP as an outstate traveler, you’ll find more reasons to take additional trips. And it’s glorious, but never cheaper. And we, I recommend and give a thumbs up and a heart and a laughy face all in this Facebook comment, because that is the absolute truth. Once you’re an annual passholder, you find excuses why you got to go there, because like you can get in the park for free, air quotes, right?
Lauren Hersey: Yes, yes. All right. Then we have happily adventures after we found that an AP is worth it. If for two visits in the park per year, we usually go for the AP argument or we usually go longer than four days and stay off site. The parking really starts to add up. Therefore is a huge benefit for AP arguments. They go on to say that AP allows us to not feel rushed or locked into days that were there. We also like the discounts on merch.
Lauren Hersey: and the extra event tickets, dining, like all of that stuff does add up. So what is the break even math? So I just wanna make sure the math is math-ing here. So using the Accredita Pass example of 1629 and a median four day trip costing about $559 per person, you would need three trips to break even.
Lauren Hersey: by the third trip, then it’s paying for itself. And if you use the median single day ticket price of 184, you would need nine single days to break even. Spoiler alert there. What do you think? You think it’s worth the pass?
Eric Hersey: it’d be really difficult. Now, one thing I will tell you if you’re DVC, which and you you can get the Sorcerer Pass or there’s a whole bunch of other passes. And Credit Pass is the one that anybody can get at any point in the country and so forth. So if you’re making three trips, obviously, and those have to be longer trips, then that math doesn’t necessarily come together.
Eric Hersey: Now, granted, once again, you could look at things like the discounts that you would get and what you do down at the park would also matter. But for a Sorcerer Pass, for us, it’s we basically have to go least two weeks. Like so two trips for us is basically the even that allows us so that’s why we typically buy one
Lauren Hersey: Yes.
Eric Hersey: Right, then when you renew it, you get a discount as well, so it makes it cheaper the next time around. So there are, if Disney is your life, then you probably should even consider looking at DVC, because once again, that is a thing that you’re going, when we justified it was once every three years.
Eric Hersey: We were gonna go at least once every three years. In this case, we try to go as frequently as possible, and all our neighbors look at us funny, but that is perfectly fine. But yeah, so I would say it’s difficult to justify an increase a pass.
Eric Hersey: because most people are going once, maybe twice. And if you need three, then just optimize your trip. And that’s why you have people that are, they’ll do pool days and they’ll be very selective on when they go to the park. Where we also have that lifestyle when we go down there, if we feel like hopping into Epcot for one ride and then jumping over somewhere else, it just fits us well. So that’s how we prioritize it. So it works for us, but we want to hear from you. Are you annual pass holders? Where do you live? What kind of math have you done to justify?
Lauren Hersey: Yes, alright, but that does it for this week’s episode of Disney Hers. Make sure you hit up DisneyHers.com. There you’ll find articles, episodes, and updates. And if Disney is your vibe, make sure you subscribe.
Eric Hersey: And remember, watch what you post online. You might end up in next week’s episode. Thanks for listening
