If you have been thinking about buying an Incredi-Pass to Walt Disney World — the only annual pass available to non-Florida residents — the time to make a decision is fast approaching.
Price Hike Will Happen Any Day Now
This is the week that Walt Disney World historically raises its prices on park tickets and annual passes. I predict that this week, the Incredi-Pass may increase in price by $80 US. That price hike — along with price hikes on everything from tickets, to rooms, to food — could come as soon as tomorrow. So, the current price of the Incredi-Pass may rise from $1,629 (with tax: $1734.89) to $1,709 (plus tax, about $1,820).
IF you buy the Incredi-Pass today or tomorrow (last year, the price went up on October 8), you may save $80.
Timing When You Buy the Incredi-Pass
But, wait! There is a scenario where paying the extra $80 for an Incredi-Pass and buying it a few weeks later may be worth it for you. If you really like to visit Walt Disney World in the late fall (when it less rainy and hot) or in November and the first half of December (when the holiday decorations go up), you may want to wait, so you pass allows you to visit the parks for those holidays in 2026 and 2027.
For example, if I go to Walt Disney World in late October 2026 and buy the Incredi-Pass to coincide with my first park visit, I can visit again in late October 2027 before my pass expires.
Or, if I buy my pass at the end of November or in December for my first park visit, I can go to Epcot’s Festival of the Holidays in 2026 and again in 2027 before my pass expires.
No matter time you choose, try to time the start date of your Incredi-Pass with the date of your first visit to one of the theme parks. There’s no advantage to purchasing an Annual Pass sooner than you need it — you’d just be paying for the days of the year until your next visit.
2027 New Attractions
Waiting until late 2026 to buy your Incredi-Pass may work for you for another reason…there are more attractions opening in 2027, but the dates have not yet been announced. It’s possible some of those attractions will open in in the fall of 2027. So the Incredi-Pass your purchase late this year might still be valid when those new attractions open.
Annual Pass Perks
Here are some advantages to consider: the Annual Pass gives you 20% on some merchandise and discounts, hotel rooms (when available) and some dining (mostly table service, I think). It gives you $10 off Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party tickets and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party tickets…but only on some nights. And did I mention…you get a magnet? :)
It also allows a couple of add-on’s that, to me, do seem worth it. For an extra $109, you can buy PhotoPass for a year, including magic shots and shots with props. That’s fun. But if you like water parks, this is even better. You can also pay $109 extra and get access to the water parks all year, plus mini golf, foot golf and 9-hole golf and ESPN. If I were buying an annual pass, I’d be tempted by both those options.
Will the Annual Pass Save You Money?
That depends. If you went to Walt Disney World four to five times a year and went to two theme parks each time, you might start to break even on park admissions using the Annual Pass.
But, depending on when you go and which parks you choose, you might not!
Disney Visa and Disney+ Discounts
I was just looking back on my past 12 months of visits and it’s kind of a toss up. While I went to the parks several times, two of the visits were party nights (Annual Pass doesn’t cover those) and two or three of those visits were during the summer when park tickets were about $100 for admission after 2 pm (estimate: $350). I estimate I paid full price for park admission only about three times (estimate: $600). That brings my visits to roughly $1,000 for park admissions for my five trips to Walt Disney World on non-party dates. That is much less that than the annual pass would have cost me.
It just depends on how you visit Walt Disney World. Most of my trips are solo trips. I really enjoy spending time at the resorts and at Disney Springs. There are a lot of fun, free things to do outside of the parks.
I am also a Disney+ subscriber and so I had access to some hotel discounts during the year. I took advantage of the Bounce Back hotel room discounts and when they are available, they are just about as good or slightly better than Annual Pass discounts. I do not usually eat at table service restaurants or buy a lot of merchandise, so those discounts do not matter to me.
However, I do have a Disney Visa card and that have received 10% discounts on some of the merchandise I have purchased, as well as a discount on a carriage ride I have booked for this fall. I also had free photos with downloads at Epcot at the Disney Visa card holder photo stop. I still posed for Magic Shots but I didn’t buy any. It was fun seeing the shots, though.
Incredi-Pass or Not?
So, I guess what I’m saying is: do the math! Would I go to the parks a lot more if I had the Annual Pass? Probably so! But do I need to do that to be happy? Not really. For example, I like steak, shrimp, lobster, pizza and ice cream. I do not have to have them all at the same meal. I am happy with spreading out my park visits across short trips and filling in non-park days with less expensive, but still fun, activities. I don’t feel deprived at all and my trips are more affordable.
There are lots of ways to save money on theme park tickets, hotel rooms, food and merchandise at Disney World without the Annual Pass. I’ll go over those in my next blog post!
