I look back at the past few years and I remember the joy and excitement I felt when I first became an annual passholder. It was in 2019, right before COVID happened. Disneyland offered a “Flex” pass for close to $600 and $100 extra for FastPass. It was the only pass that required a reservation to visit Disney. I have lived in California my whole life and never became a passholder until this pass came out, so I was thrilled to be able to spend a few hours at the park without the pressure to tire myself out there to make the money I spent on a ticket worth it. Then COVID hit and everything shut down and thus became the extinction of the Flex pass.
During COVID, I was still newly fresh of a Disney Dopamine high. So, I bought tons of Disney merch in hopes of being able to don all my treasures when the parks opened back up. When things started to slowly open, I visited the Disney Store’s, BoxLunch’s, HomeGoods, Hot Topic’s — even took a few trips to Downtown Disney when the parks were still closed. I was Instagram-ing all my Disney finds. Then, all the Disney Store’s closed. Parks opened back up and annual passes started costing an arm and a leg. Traffic picked up on the freeways and the parks. The only time I found myself able to go to Disneyland were the weekends. When there, I would never want to stand in line – it was like an automatic deterrent seeing the wait times. So my love for Disney Instagram-ing and merch finding seized.
Since COVID, the Magic Key passes have kept increasing exponentially. I had a pass for the first two years it was introduced and opted out renewing last year. From $1,400 a year to now being $1,750 – it’s just too steep. Feeling pressure to go every weekend and make use of the pass, just took the fun out of things. The lines are always long for rides, and I can’t justify spending $30 or so on Genie when I have a pass, so I end up not going on anything!
Now I have a bunch of Disney merch and clothes just sitting in my closet unworn and unused! So, I’ve stopped buying my fair share of Disney merch. It’s such a sad time, but I can’t justify owning a pass unless I live less than 20 min away from Disneyland. It’s hard to get out there on the weekdays from LA. Traffic is always terrible after work. Maybe when I am fun-employed, I would reconsider getting a pass.
I wonder how many other people are suffering from Disney Depression like how I am. How many people didn’t renew their annual passes. Do you think that prices on the passes will continue to rise?
My saving solace is that Disney has been offering So Cal Resident tickets! I have put these to the test and I must say, I am pleased with it.
If you want to add park hopper, it brings the ticket to $99/day. I opted for one park only, since two can be quite a bit overwhelming and exhausting. $67/day, add parking for $30 and Genie for $30. That’s where I find my comfort level to be right now. I dislike paying for parking, but what can you do? Genie is a must because without it, I won’t wait in line for anything!
Three visits within a five month span is OK for me. Of course, I can no longer keep up with the newest Disney content, but it’s OK. I get to enjoy my visits in the moment. I get there close to rope drop and maximize getting on as many rides as I can. If I start then, my last fast pass would be around 3pm. After that, the fast passes disappear until 7pm. Why? I’m not sure. I’m curious to know if this happens to anyone else? Leave a comment below!
Well, thats my quick Dopamine update of the past 4 years since I wrote my last post. Hope to see you all soon!