I live in Tennessee and just wrapped up my year as an Annual Passholder at Walt Disney World. I grew accustomed to hearing, “You doing to Disney again?!” And the odd look that came with it when I explained we owned an Annual Pass.
Disney is a little over eight hours away from us, so I understand the weird looks I received. Distance aside (and that isn’t even a big deal to me), being a Passholder was amazing. The main motive behind buying Annual Passes for us was money. My husband did the math and it worked out to be cheaper for us to buy an Annual Pass instead of daily tickets. We knew we wanted to make three trips this year and as long as we made two of them we saved money. But we also saved money in other ways as Passholders.
We received a nice discount on merchandise, select restaurants, special events and free parking. Yes, discounts at Disney. It’s an amazing thing! Saving money isn’t what made this year magi¬cal though. 2014 was a great year to be a Passholder. I witnessed so many changes in the parks and every trip was different. I was sent a Magic Band in the early stages of the program; I was able to see some attractions in their final days, as well as the opening of the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Yes I went to Disney 4 times within a year, but I was never board. The best part of being an out of state Passholder for me was knowing I would be back soon. For an entire year I didn’t have to feel the post Disney depression. Yes, I always hated to leave, but it was not the full on despair I typically experience. Having an Annual Pass made it feel like 600 miles wasn’t that far away. This year was a whirlwind of packing, driving, and fun. It was magical and I will always cherish this experience. Maybe one day we’ll be fortunate enough to be Passholders again, but if we aren’t, I know I’ll be back some¬day and that helps with the cur¬rent post Disney Passholder depression. Are you an out of state Passholder?
Would you ever do it? I’d love to talk to you about your experiences/opinions! Chat with me @hoodie_life on Twitter.
