Don’t renew your existing Disneyland annual pass before reading this breaking news! A new pass joins Disneyland’s lineup of options beginning the 21st of May, just in time for Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge visitors.
What is the Disney Flex Passport?
The Disney Flex Passport offers you a much lower price in exchange for an extra level of work on your part to schedule some of your visits in advance.
Flex Passholders don’t just have valid and blocked-out days like the other passports, this pass adds “Reservation Required” days to the mix. You can always visit on “Good to go” days, but there are also many dates on which you must make a reservation in advance . . . and some block out days as well (but not very many of those).
There’s a different schedule for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure. Some days require a reservation for Disneyland but not for California Adventure (pass calendar displayed below). Park-hopping IS still an option on most dates.
Flex passholders will be able to make reservations up to 30 days in advance and can hold up to 2 reservations at a time. If you have other friends or family with this same type of pass, you can add them to your reservation so you can all visit together.
To prevent abuse of the system, if you are a no-show on the day of your reservation, it will count against you. Miss three reservations and you’ll be blocked from making future reservations for a period of time.
Overall, the Flex Passport offers approximately the same access as the Signature pass, but at about half the price. The trade off is that there’s a risk that you won’t get a reservation and that you need to do a bit more pre-planning. Signature is more care free and guarantees access to Disneyland for most of the year, Flex Pass is potentially available on most of those same dates but with the obligation to plan and reserve 30 days in advance. It’s a price vs. convenience calculus that every passholder is going to need to make.
Disneyland and DCA Flex Pass schedules:
Why Is Disney Adding The Flex Passport?
“We are always considering new ways to continue to deliver a world-class guest experience, and this new Annual Pass project will allow us to continue that legacy, while better smoothing demand.” – Disney spokesperson in response to MiceChat inquiry
It’s the “smoothing demand” in the quote above that explains what’s going on here. Disneyland is a very popular destination and will only get busier as Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge lifts its reservation period on June 24th. By enticing the estimated million-plus passholders to reserve their visits in advance, Disney can further spread out visitors to days that aren’t already near capacity. It’s a potential win/win for everyone IF Disneyland can talk enough passholders into selecting this lower cost pass in exchange for a bit more planning and effort.
The new Disneyland Flex Pass is available May 21st.
Compare Disneyland Passes:
We created the chart below to help you select the Disneyland passport that’s best for you.
Does the new Flex Passport appeal to you? Does value outweigh needing to plan your trip on reservation-required days? Should Disney apply the reservation required obligation to all lower tier passes? Let’s hear from you in the comments below.