Three months after the deal began, Walt Disney World has ended a promo where guests would only have to pay $99 for an Annual Pass. The down payment price has returned to $205, and monthly payment prices have decreased a bit to make the math work. As a reminder, the full price of an Annual Pass never changed, just the required down payment. Here’s the latest.
Walt Disney World Ends 50% Off Annual Pass Down Payment Promo
According to the Walt Disney World website, down payment requirements have returned to $205 down for all Annual Pass types. That also means that the monthly payments have dropped a bit as the overall price for an Annual Pass hasn’t changed. Here’s a look at the updated cost of an Annual Pass, compared to the old 50% off promo that has since ended.
| Pass Type (Total Price) | Current Down Payment | Promo Down Payment | Current Monthly Payment | Promo Monthly Payment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pixie Dust Pass ($469) | $205 | $99 | $25 | $34 |
| Disney Pirate Pass ($829) | $205 | $99 | $57 | $66 |
| Disney Sorcerer Pass ($1,079) | $205 | $99 | $79 | $88 |
| Disney Incredi-Pass ($1,549) | $205 | $99 | $121 | $130 |
The change is an interesting one. When the promo first began, we assumed that there was a weakness in Annual Pass sales. We figured that Disney was looking at some internal data that told them that a $200+ down payment was prohibitive for guests who would otherwise like to buy into the program.
If sales of the Annual Pass product were weak, and they wanted to increase sales of the Annual Pass product when the data tells them that the down payment is too high, lowering the down payment is exactly what we’d expect to see them do.
However, the change back to $205 down just a few months later is interesting. In theory, either the promo worked and they got their sales back on track, or the lower down payment didn’t move the needle significantly and wasn’t worth lowering the initial sale of an Annual Pass by 50% in Disney’s books. But that’s not the really interesting part to me.
What is really interesting is the fact that Disney Cruise Line just lowered their required deposit and cancellation fees. The move from DCL signals what the Annual Pass promo signaled – weaker than palatable sales. The presumed low sales isn’t a Disney Cruise Line problem, per se, but rather a tourism problem. As economic uncertainty and other factors are at play, the tourism sector is experiencing a mixed outlook.
If we take a step back, slumping international tourism may be the real factor at play here. It’s worth noting that the Annual Pass promo only applied to Florida Residents and other select guests who qualified for the monthly payment arrangement. The DCL change is a policy change that was applied across the board with few exceptions.
Perhaps Walt Disney World was simply looking for a little boost in Florida Resident Annual Pass sales as we head into Summer and start to close out the fiscal year. If that’s the case, I would change my tune a bit and say that the promo could have worked, especially with the popular Cool Kids Summer activation, and the upcoming Disney Starlight nighttime parade which will be extremely popular.
Either way, it’s back to business as normal as the 50% off Annual Pass down payment promo comes to an end.
As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!
