Disneyland to offer monthly payments to Southern California AP holders (all 4 types)

[Darkbeer]

AVP, (aka Adrianne Vincent-Phoenix) is reporting over mouseplanet.com the following...

Starting this fall, Disneyland Resort passholders will be offered the opportunity to fiance their Annual Passports over 12 months. Passholders will make a deposit equal to the cost of a one-day, one-park ticket, then pay the balance over 12 months. Payments will be automatically charged to a credit card placed on file at the time the passport is purchased.

This option will be available to new passholders starting November 4th, 2008; and for renewals on January 1, 2009. The program will be offered only to residents of Southern California, and is available for all four passport types.

Good news, glad to see the taking the SeaWorld/LEGOLAND option and bringing it to the DLR.

Interesting to see they are restricting it to JUST SoCal folks, I guess they are afraid that an out-of-towner would just cancel their credit card after their visit.

And that instead of just a straight 12 month breakdown, which SeaWorld and LEGOLAND offer, they want $69 upfront (based on the current prices) and then spread out the remaining amount over 12 months....

[MrLiver]

Good news, glad to see the taking the SeaWorld/LEGOLAND option and bringing it to the DLR.

This is actually really bad news. It shows the level of discounting that they expect will be needed to keep people coming to the parks.

Interesting to see they are restricting it to JUST SoCal folks, I guess they are afraid that an out-of-towner would just cancel their credit card after their visit.

Maybe they are afraid it would be hard to collect a bill from someone living in Thailand?

I don't think it's really that interesting considering Southern Californian are of course the biggest market for Annual Passes.

[2DieFR]

Do they charge interest?

[dl_appurtenant]

That's very interesting.

It doesn't say there, but do we know if there's any interest involved?? (Edit: Oh, you beat me to it, 2DieFr!)

[SCUBAbe]

wow, I really don't like this news....

[Darkbeer]

Based on what SeaWorld and LEGOLAND does, no. You sign a contract, and regular monthly payments are charged to your credit/debit card. If your credit card is declined, then the AP is marked in the system as not valid, and the AP holder will have to go to Guest Services to rectify the matter. But no Interest or extra fees.

[dl_appurtenant]

wow, I really don't like this news....

Yeah, I'm agreeing with you there.

[2DieFR]

Are annual passes really that much of an investment? I can see that a family of five can easily spend over $1,000 on annual passes, so a 12-month payment plan could be desirable in that light.. almost sounds like a scheme to make the (rapidly increasing) price of APs seem easier to deal with.

Maybe it's just a personal quirk, but I like paying for things in this price range (that is, in the low hundreds) up front so I don't have to "worry" about keeping track of later payments, even if they are automatic and interest-free. I'd rather hand over the cash and be done, till next year that is.

So I guess it's a "Thanks but no thanks" from me.

[PeoplemoverMatt]

.. almost sounds like a scheme to make the (rapidly increasing) price of APs seem easier to deal with.

We have a winner. Marketing can take this and tout it to locals saying how Disney is there for them in these 'tough economic times' making the magic available to everyone, etc, etc, etc. They love to market APs during the holidays, and this would make for a swell political-sounding Disney commercial to make.

I'm kinda indifferent to this idea. I don't like it, I don't dislike it. I'll probably still pay the whole thing up front on my renewal day in person like I always have. But, it is a good alternative for folks who may not have the whole sum of the cost available right there & then.

The evil side of this is that the cost of AP's can now skyrocket. Don't have the gazillion dollars up front? Pay us in 12 months!

[Mojave]

Disneyland to offer monthly payments to Southern California AP holders

So, APers are going to get payments from Disneyland? You mean like cash back? I'm all in favor of that! When can I expect my first Disneyland stimulus check?

[Dan - Tasmic!]

I liked the idea, if you don't have enough for the whole amount of the pass, you can pay it off. I prefer to pay all at once so I don't have to worry about the money if I have enough.

[Rex Dopey24]

Do they charge interest?

Im afraid that is interests my friend.

[AKComic]

Nice... I can see the TV ads now:

"Our new monthly AP plans are just like DCA itself... they both have low interest!" Ba-dum-bum-bum!

[DisneyIPresume]

This is really good news for me right now. DIP Jr's AP is expiring on October 18. And I really don't know how I'm going to be able to renew it. I can make monthlys a lot easier than paying it all at once. Maybe I'll let it expire and then get a new one in Novemeber. This is great news!

[DisneyIPresume]

Are annual passes really that much of an investment? I can see that a family of five can easily spend over $1,000 on annual passes, so a 12-month payment plan could be desirable in that light.. almost sounds like a scheme to make the (rapidly increasing) price of APs seem easier to deal with.

As a divorced father paying more than $800 per month in child support this is really going to help out a lot.