Sometimes, breakups can be hard… and messy. Breaking up with your Disney World annual pass could be one of the most heartwrenching decisions to make.

Even with hotel stay promotions, complimentary souvenir magnets, and merchandise discounts offered to Disney World annual passholders, sometimes those just aren’t benefits that are enough to keep renewing your annual pass year after year. And for several of our readers, it’s time to move on from the days of calling themselves annual passholders for many different reasons.

Disney World annual passes seem to be a divisive topic as of late with some very vocal about their intent to not renew them.

We recently asked our readers on Facebook why they were not renewing their Disney World annual passes and we had lots of opinions that really seemed to have merit to their responses.

Price

When we asked our readers why they weren’t renewing their Disney annual pass, the overwhelming majority sent out one answer … the price. Our reader, Sherry D.G. wrote, “Prices are getting out of control,” and others like Carey M. said, “Ours expires Nov 11. We want to renew as usual, we just can’t afford to this time round . I hope we can get them back in the near future.”

Rising prices have been a big topic surrounding the Disney parks for quite some time. If you consider the rising costs of the passes and factor in perks that were once offered free with them like Fastpass+ and PhotoPass downloads, some of our readers say they’re just not worth it anymore. Paula W. explained “You’re paying more and getting less. Constantly. I also hate that bc everything is on your phone— there’s no escape from reality anymore.”

Not Able to Visit as Often

Some readers like, Deborah T. said, “I’m not sure we will be able to visit for enough days to make it worthwhile,” and that also seemed to be a common response.

If you don’t live close to Disney World, paying for travel to Orlando and hotels for a few days multiple times a year can really add up quickly. Our reader JJ S. also pointed out “We make two trips down a year, would take at least another trip to break even,” so depending on how far you’re traveling, your travel costs alone could cancel out the value in the annual pass.

Desire to Travel to Other Destinations

Revenge travel — the pent-up demand for a vacation that many people felt after staying home during the pandemic — created a huge surge in Disney World travel in 2021 and 2022. Now, readers like Charles F. are saying “We have decided to travel more to other places in the world.”

Many of our readers cited places like Disneyland, Hawaii, National Parks, and even other theme park destinations like Dollywood and Universal Studios down the road from Disney World as places they would like to visit soon. Reader Jenny M. said just as much in her comment “We want to prioritize other places to visit – Disneyland, Dollywood, National Parks, etc.” and who could blame someone for wanting to switch up their travel plans for a while.

Additionally, with Universal Orlando’s Epic Universe on the horizon for 2025, it seems like some annual passholders plan to spend at least some of their theme park dollars at other parks. Catherine S. said she has plans for “Universal Nintendo World + other financial obligations. It’s very pricey, even as an AP.”

Shift In Priorities

That last reader comment made another interesting point about “other financial obligations.” Sometimes, travel and recreation just has to take a back seat in your budget.

Jennifer B. said, “$$$$. Had to buy a new car and move this year. Add 2 college tuitions and we just can’t afford it.” Others like Andrew J. raised their own questions like “Do some realistic accounting: how often do you visit, how much do you spend on food, hotels, transportation, etc. Does having a very expensive pass offset that cost?” All of these things like college tuition, raising families, finding or building new homes, and weighing the expense versus the experience all seem like decisions grown-ups have to make at one point or another in their own lives.

We also heard from a few of our readers that they intended to just take a break for a while, but had plans to be back. Rick L. said, “We let it lapse a couple months ago because we weren’t planning any extended stays for a year or so. Not worth spending 2k if we weren’t going to use it.”

Is an Annual Pass the Same Value Anymore?

If you’re looking for the short answer to that, well… no, at least according to several of our readers like Dawn H. explained “Too many “extra” costs (genie + etc) not happy about making reservations for the parks. When I do go it’s still magical because of the family memories. Going to sit back and see what changes are coming and reassess for the coming years.”

Our reader, Brianna Q., echoed similar sentiments saying “I didn’t renew mine Platinum passes in 2021 because of cost and the fact that fast passes were done away with. I miss going but I’m not paying extra for things that used to be included with the passes I had🫤” It seems that for several people who are not renewing or not planning to renew their annual passes once they expire, it really came down to the benefits.

We ask for feedback about Disney topics often from our readers and it was interesting to read so many varying reasons why people are stepping away from Disney World annual passes! Be sure to check back in with us at Disney Food Blog for the latest in Disney news and updates.

 

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Will you be renewing your Disney World annual pass? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Why Some People Are NOT Renewing Their Disney World Annual Passes in 2024 first appeared on the disney food blog.