Disney just announced a new Annual Passport (AP) option — the Disney Flex Passport. This AP will be available on May 21, 2019, but is it the right option for you? Since we recently moved back to Southern California, I’m considering buying this pass rather than the Southern California Select Pass. I’ll walk you through the pros and cons that I see to hopefully help you make your decision too.
WHAT IS THE DISNEY FLEX PASSPORT?
The Disney Flex Passport is an Annual Pass that allows you to visit Disneyland Resort on specific “Good To Go” dates, and also make reservations on limited blockout dates. The Disney Flex Passport is $599. With this AP, you also get discounts on dining, merchandise, and special events.
HOW DO THE RESERVATIONS WORK
With the Disney Flex Pass, you can make reservations to visit the park on what would be a blockout date. Make reservations online or using the Disneyland app up to 30 days in advance. You can have two (2) reservations during the 30-day window. Reservations are subject to availability and are not guaranteed.
The green dates on the blockout calendars are “Good-To-Go” dates; you don’t need to make a reservation to go to the park. The blue dates on the calendars are the dates you will need to make a reservation.
Disneyland 
California Adventure
Example: On June 1st, reservations will open up for July 1st. So, you can log into your Disneyland app or go online and make a reservation to visit the park on July 1st (a reservation-required date).
Cancellations and No-Shows
If you make a reservation and don’t end up going to the park that day, you are a “no-show”. If you have three (3) no-shows in a 90-day period, you lose your ability to make future reservations for 30 days.
You can avoid being a no-show by cancelling your reservation prior to 11:59pm on the day before the reservation date. Cancellations can be made through the Disneyland app or online.
DISNEYLAND ANNUAL PASS OPTIONS
The Disneyland Annual Passports aren’t inexpensive, ranging from $399 to $1399. If you are going to be purchasing one, you really want to get the best value for you and your family. Here’s a quick little chart to compare all of the AP options:
The blockout dates are what affect the cost for each Annual Pass. View the up-to-date blockout dates here:
- Disney Southern California Select Passport
- Disney Flex Passport
- Disney Deluxe Passport
- Disney Signature Passport
- Disney Signature Plus Passport – NO blockout dates
DISNEY FLEX PASSPORT AS A SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA RESIDENT?
At $599, the new Disney Flex Passport comes in between the SoCal Select ($399) and the Deluxe Passport ($799) and may appeal to a lot of new customers and existing passholders. If you live in Southern California and you’re <1.5 hours away, why would you get the Flex Pass vs. SoCal Select?
DISNEYLAND FLEX PASS PROS & CONS
Pros
The Disney Flex Pass is great because you can reserve dates that would have been blocked out on the SoCal Select plan. This opens up opportunity to visit the parks in June, July, and August. So, for $200 more, you get access to 3 additional months, Fridays, and weekends.
A Peak Day Park Hopper ticket can be $199, so if you just use the reservation once, the Disney Flex Pass is worth the upgrade over the SoCal Select.
Cons
We don’t know how many reservation slots will be available each day or what the demand will be. So, there might not be any reservations available when you want to book.
Taking advantage of the reservation days will require planning. You’ll need to book the dates you want to visit in advance, and remember to cancel in advance too if you aren’t able to go.
Parking is not included. So if you end up going to the park a lot and paying $25 for parking each time, it may be better to get the Signature Pass where parking is included.
OVERALL THOUGHTS
The Disney Flex Pass gives you access to the park like the Signature Pass, but at just over half the price and you have to do a little pre-planning with the reservations. I am always planning ahead, so that is not an issue for me.
The Flex Pass pays for itself if you go to one park at least 4 times on Good-To-Go dates and a both parks on a reserved date. It’s worth it even if you just do a Park Hopper on two separate reserved days. Of course, the more you go, the better the value so long as you take the cost of parking into consideration.
I love Disneyland, but I am not trying to go every week. I like to plan my visits and will probably go once every month – 2 months. This new Disney Flex Pass seems like the perfect option for me, but I think I’ll wait to see how the reservation process works/if people are able to easily able to get their reserved dates before I buy mine.
