There’s a very important date coming up that you need to remember if you’re a Disney World fan.

Mark your calendar for December 8th. Why, you may ask? There are a few major changes that go into effect on that day that could have a BIG impact on your upcoming Disney vacation. If you’re planning to visit Disney World on or after December 8th, you need to know about these updates!

Here’s a list of all the changes that will take effect for Disney World beginning December 8th:

Surge Pricing and Price Increases for Tickets

Disney is going to implement park-specific pricing for 1-day, 1-park tickets beginning on December 8th. Instead of purchasing a general theme park ticket, you’ll instead need to buy one specifically for the park you want to visit. Currently, you just buy a general theme park ticket, which is good for visiting any of the 4 Disney World parks (Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom).

But starting on the 8th, you’ll have to purchase that ticket for the park you want to visit. The tickets will vary in price depending on the park, so a ticket to Magic Kingdom may cost more than one to, say, Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

Note that this only affects 1-day, 1-park tickets. Any other kind of ticket (such as multi-day tickets or Park Hopper) will not be affected. Here’s a breakdown of what a 1-day, 1-park ticket will cost under this new system:

• Disney’s Animal Kingdom — $109-$159 (prices are staying the same as current costs)
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios — $124-$179
• EPCOT — $114-$179
• Magic Kingdom — $124-$189

In order to save money on your tickets, you may want to consider purchasing them before the 8th arrives!

Click here to learn more about this change.

Park Pass Reservation Changes

The park-specific pricing for 1-day, 1-park tickets has prompted another change, which will also go into effect on December 8th. When you purchase one of these park-specific tickets, your Park Pass Reservation will be automatically made at the time of purchase. You will not need to make a separate reservation, because your ticket is for a specific park.

Note that this change only affects 1-day, 1-park tickets. For all other types of tickets, you will still need to make separate Park Pass Reservations in order to be admitted into the theme parks. You will need both the ticket and the Park Pass to enter.

Learn more about this update here.

Add-On Price Increases

But tickets aren’t the only things getting a price increase on December 8th. Some ticket add-ons will also be getting more expensive, including Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus.

Park Hopper allows you to visit multiple Disney World parks in a single day, and it currently costs $65 to add on to a single-day ticket. Park Hopper Plus allows for multiple theme parks in a single day and also adds on the Disney World water parks. This option is currently $85 extra for a single-day ticket.

But starting on the 8th, the cost of these extras will vary by date, so they may be more or less expensive, depending on when you visit. We’re expecting to see higher prices during busier times, such as during the holidays or summer break.

Click here to learn more about this change.

Annual Pass Price Increases

There will also be price increases coming to Disney World’s Annual Passholder program. Currently, sales are still paused for most of the Disney World Annual Passes, and Disney doesn’t expect them to return this year. But when they do go up for sale again, 3 of the 4 pass options will be more expensive than before the sales were paused.

Starting on December 8th, all of the Annual Passes except for the Pixie Dust Pass will get a price increase. Here’s a look at the pricing changes:

• Incredi-Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $1,299
  • New price: $1,399 (increase of $100)
• Sorcerer Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $899
  • New price: $969 (increase of $70)
• Pirate Pass (new sales paused, renewals available)
  • Current price: $699
  • New price: $749 (increase of $50)
• Pixie Dust Pass (new sales available, renewals available too)
  • Current price: $399
  • New price: $399 (no increase)

Click here to learn more about this change.

Annual Pass Renewal Price Increases

Although sales for most new Annual Passes are still paused, anyone who has an Annual Pass currently can still renew it, and they can even choose to renew into a different tier than what they currently have. So if you have a Pirate Pass now, you could renew it as an Incredi-Pass or Pixie Dust Pass, even though neither is available for new sales.

If you’ll be renewing your pass, you do get a renewal discount, meaning you pay a slightly reduced price to renew (compared to what it costs to buy a new pass). Currently, the renewal prices are as follows:

• Incredi-Pass: $1,104
• Sorcerer Pass: $764
• Pirate Pass: $594
• Pixie Dust Pass: $339

Starting on December 8th, however, those renewal prices will increase, although they’ll still be lower than the cost to buy the passes new. Disney announced that the increases will be between $43 and $100, depending on the pass type.

Click here to learn more about this change.

Those are all the major changes that will affect Disney World beginning on December 8th. So if you wanted to purchase park tickets for 2023, now may be the time to do it, before the price increases hit! And Annual Passholders may want to renew as soon as your able in order to avoid the renewal price increases.

We’ll continue to watch for more updates from Disney World, so stay tuned to DFB for all the latest news.

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Are you planning to go to Disney World in 2023? Let us know in the comments.

The post Why December 8th Is Such a Big Deal in Disney World first appeared on the disney food blog.