Disney World Halts Most Annual-Pass Sales to Reduce Crowds

(Bloomberg) -- Walt Disney Co. paused sales of all but one type of annual pass for its Florida theme parks, an effort to manage demand around the holidays.

The passes aren’t sold out, the company said Monday, and sales will resume sometime in 2022. Current holders can renew their passes and continue to visit, although the company noted attendance requires reservations and its Florida parks are sold out for some days during the Thanksgiving holiday week.

The news will likely disappoint recent purchasers who wanted to visit the parks during the holiday or people who planned to purchase passes as presents, according to Micechat, a website that follows the theme-park business.

The world’s largest theme-park operator introduced new annual passes for Florida in September that require reservations. One type of pass for Disney World, the Disney Pixie Dust Pass, is still available. It is sold only to Florida residents, with the $400 cost allowing visits on weekdays, subject to restrictions on peak attendance days.

Disney said earlier this month that demand for passes at its California theme parks had been so strong that the most expensive option, the $1,400-a-year Dream Key, with limited blackout dates, is sold out. About 40% of sales were to new customers, the company said.

©2021 Bloomberg L.P.