Disneyland Announces New Limits For Some Annual Passholders

Disneyland announced amendments to their annual passport program Saturday, implementing new [...]

By Cameron Bonomolo

Disneyland announced amendments to their annual passport program Saturday, implementing new restrictions that will limit which of the two Disneyland Resort theme parks pass holders can visit on specific days, OC Register reports.

The program grants annual pass holders, or APs, admission to its theme parks as well as exclusive member discounts.

Disney already has limits in place for pass holders, prohibiting them from visiting the parks on select blockout dates including holidays and other peak days.

Under the new changes, Disney will launch two new admission calendars showing availability for Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park. Some passes will allow entry at certain parks on certain days, but not always both parks on the same day.

A green box indicates APs are able to visit, while a grey box indicates a blockout date.

Visiting guests in possession of the Southern California Select Annual Passport — the lowest tier available — are prone to more restrictions while Deluxe Annual Passport holders have more days available.

Guests in possession of costlier premium passes — the Signature Annual Passport and the Signature Plus Annual Passport — are not subject to blockout dates.

"As our business evolves, this is the first step in reshaping our Annual Pass program, which will better manage the guest experience and allow all Disneyland Resort visitors to have a great visit, particularly as we look forward to the opening of Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge in summer 2019," said Disneyland spokesperson Liz Jaeger in a prepared statement.

The changes come as a way for Disneyland to get an early start on managing the massive crowds expected to flock to the 14-acre Star Wars-inspired expansion opening at Disneyland Park summer 2019.

Disney has never confirmed the exact number of pass holders, but estimations are in the neighborhood of one million.

Starting June 2019, APs will be able to check both calendars — one for Disneyland Park, another for Disney California Adventure Park — to see which park they can visit on which day.

Per OCR, the current two-park-per-day system on a single calendar will stay intact throughout the end of May 2019. That's likely to indicate Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge could open sometime in June 2019, though Disney has yet to announce an exact opening date.

Annual passes were initially launched in 1983 as a means of upping park attendance during the "off season," or slow days, which happen infrequently in recent years.

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