Annual passholders at Walt Disney World will have to make some decisions next time they need to renew their passes. A new system unveiled over the weekend includes higher pass prices, free downloads of pictures taken with Disney PhotoPass for higher-tier passholders, and free parking for lower-tier passholders.
Disney introduced a new, color-coded annual pass system Sunday at its Central Florida theme parks.
The most expensive option, the Disney Platinum Plus Pass, includes admission to the all four theme parks — the Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom — plus Disney World's two water parks, the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex and Disney's Oak Trail Golf Course.
The Platinum Plus Pass costs $729 for Florida residents, up from $649 for the comparable Florida resident Premium Annual Pass; and $829 for those outside of Florida, up from $659.
Data compiled by allears.net
Just below the Platinum Plus Pass is the Disney Platinum Pass, costing $649 for Florida residents. That pass only includes access to the four main theme parks with free parking and PhotoPass downloads.
Below that are the new Disney Gold and Silver passes, which each come with block-out dates during peak visitor times of the year, including the weeks surrounding Christmas and the New Year, Easter and spring break, and in the case of the Silver Pass, much of the summer. In addition to no summertime block-out dates, Gold passholders also get free PhotoPass downloads.
The Gold Pass, available only to Florida residents and Disney Vacation Club members, is $20 more than the previous Annual Pass for Florida residents. The Silver Pass, for Florida residents only, is $60 more than the comparable Premium Pass.
Disney will also continue selling its Weekday Select Pass, good for admission on Monday–Friday only with black-out dates; and its Epcot After 4 Pass, granting admission to Epcot only after 4 p.m. on any day, including during the Flower & Garden and Food & Wine festivals. Both are available for Florida residents only.
All levels of Disney's new annual passes now include free parking at all four theme parks.
Parking for non-passholders also increased as of Sunday from $17 to $20.
Disney World's new Passholder Program for 2015–16
Here is a breakdown of the new Walt Disney World Passholder Program, as unveiled by Disney to current passholders Sunday, Oct. 4, 2015.
| Pass | Parking Included | Park Hopper | PhotoPass Downloads | No Block Out Dates | Water Parks, etc. | Florida Residents | Non-Florida Residents |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Platinum Plus Pass |
X | X | X | X | X | $729 | $829 |
| Platinum Pass | X | X | X | X | $649 | $749 | |
| Gold Pass |
X | X | X | $549 | — | ||
| Silver Pass |
X | X | $389 | — | |||
| Weekday Select Pass |
X | X | $259 | — | |||
| Epcot After 4 Pass |
X | $249 | — |