Disney World just announced their new Annual Passholder Program!

The new Annual Passes will go on sale starting September 8th and will include all-new pass options. There will only be 4 pass options now — the Incredi-Pass, the Sorcerer Pass, the Pirate Pass, and the Pixie Dust Pass. The passes have varying perks and blockout dates — you can find out more about each pass here. With a ton of new information, it’s easy to get confused and miss important details, so we want to tell you about things that are hidden within all of this new information that is particularly time-sensitive!

Passes Could Sell Out

Yep! Annual Passes could actually sell out when they go on sale. Disney said in their announcement to “Please note as we continue to manage attendance to provide a great experience for everyone, at any time, Annual Passes may be unavailable for purchase.”

So, Annual Passes are at risk for “selling out” in the future. We do not know what these limits look like or when that could possibly happen. So, you may want to consider purchasing passes sooner rather than later!

Click here to learn more about Annual Passes selling out

Your Current Pass Could Automatically be Transferred to the New System

If you have an inactive Annual Pass certificate, this is where you need to pay attention! To keep the exact pass you have a certificate for, you need to go to Disney World and activate it by September 7th. If you do this, you will have that pass and all of its benefits for the next year.

If you do NOT activate your Annual Pass certificate, it will be automatically converted into one of the new Annual Passes. Your pass will be converted into a pass with comparable benefits, and Disney will NOT take away any of your perks like PhotoPass or the Water Parks and Sports Option if it is already included in your pass. These will remain a part of your pass for free.

But, if you want to keep the exact pass you have a certificate for over the next year, you need to activate it SOON!

If You’re in Your Renewal Period, You Could Lose Perks if You Don’t Renew Soon

If you’re in the renewal period for your Annual Pass right now, you can renew your Annual Pass with the current system until September 7th. So, if you have the Platinum Plus Pass, you can renew now and keep that pass for the next year. However, if you are in your renewal period and you don’t renew by September 7th, your only option will be to renew with one of the new pass options.

This could be an issue because PhotoPass and the Waterparks and Sports Option are not included in any of the new pass options. So, if you have those perks included in your current pass, you will have to pay extra to add on those perks if you wait to renew and can only purchase one of the new pass options. If you renew before September 8th, you’ll keep all of the benefits on your pass.

If you are not in your renewal period, don’t worry! Nothing will change with your pass. You will have the same pass until your renewal period arrives and then you will have to renew with the new pass options.

Buying a New Annual Pass

Passes go on sale September 8th through the Disney World website and My Disney Experience. You can also buy an Annual Pass by calling Disney at 407-W-DISNEY (407-934-7639), or you can visit the theme park ticket windows or the Disney Ticket Center in Disney Springs.

If you’re buying online or over the phone, you could experience very long wait times due to demand. So, if you’re able to, buying your pass in person might take less time!

However, we do not know for sure what in-person lines will look like when passes go on sale. So whether you’re buying online, over the phone, or in person, it’s best to try and get your pass as soon as possible! Get to the ticket booths early, call Disney as soon as the passes go on sale, or act fast on the website or My Disney Experience to get your pass.

On the other side of that (as long as the passes don’t sell out) waiting a day or two will likely mean shorter wait times.

You Can Only Upgrade Tickets into Annual Passes In Person or Over the Phone

If you have already purchased tickets to Disney World, you can upgrade them into Annual Passes and Disney will apply the money you spent on the tickets to the passes. However, this HAS to be done in person or over the phone, upgrades will not initially be available on Disney’s website or on My Disney Experience.

So, if you want to get this taken care of, get to the ticket booths early or call as soon as possible in order to upgrade your tickets! There will probably be a long wait for ticket upgrades as well as pass sales, and remember, Annual Passes can sell out.

Click here to read more about upgrading your tickets

Those are all of the time-sensitive things about the new Annual Passholder Program that you need to be aware of! Stay tuned to DFB for more Annual Pass updates.

Click here to read more about the new Annual Passholder Program!

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Will you be buying a new Annual Pass on September 8th? Tell us why or why not in the comments!

The post 5 Hidden Surprises In The Disney World Annual Passholder Announcement That You NEED To Act On FAST first appeared on the disney food blog.