UPDATE: After sales resumed with a virtual queue around 9:00 a.m., Disney added a message implying sales have still not yet reopened. “Pardon the Inconvenience,” they wrote. “Some of our digital experiences are unavailable at this time. DVC Disney Sorcerer Pass and Disney Pixie Dust Pass sales will resume as soon as possible. We thank you for your patience and understanding.”

The Walt Disney World website is experiencing issues this morning, forcing Disney to pause sales of the Disney Vacation Club Sorcerer Pass. The problems are also affecting other experiences, like dining reservations. At this time, the DVC pass sale has reopened with a virtual queue.

Disney said in a statement, “We are experiencing technical difficulties across multiple Disney online applications. Thank you for your patience.”

Some guests have been able to get through and join a virtual queue for purchasing the pass.

While Walt Disney World will resume sales of all four Annual Pass tiers to the general public on April 20, Disney Vacation Club Members are supposed to have exclusive access to purchase the Disney Sorcerer Pass today, April 13, 2023. Sales opened at 6:00 a.m. ET / 3:00 a.m. PT.

Reservations for breakfast and lunch at Akershus Royal Banquet Hall also opened this morning but guests are having trouble booking. The message above is sometimes appearing on the page for making dining reservations in the My Disney Experience app.

Walt Disney World Annual Pass Sales Resuming

A limited number of passes will be available during this opening of Annual Pass sales.

Three out of the four Walt Disney World Annual Pass tiers have not been available for purchase since November 2021. The four new tiers launched in September 2021. Before that, Annual Pass sales were suspended since March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Walt Disney World Annual Passholders have still been able to renew their passes, and the lowest tier of Annual Pass (Pixie Dust) has been available.

Price increases for Annual Passes were announced last year. Here is what pricing will look like when the passes become available again:

• Incredi-Pass: $1399 (was $1299)
• Sorcerer Pass: $969 (was $899)
• Pirate Pass: $749 (was $699)
• Pixie Dust Pass: $399 (no change)

The Incredi-Pass has no blockout dates. The Sorcerer Pass, for only Florida residents and Disney Vacation Club members, has blockout dates around the winter holidays. The Pirate Pass has blockout dates around the winter holidays, Memorial Day, Independence Day, and other busy times. The Pixie Dust Pass, for Florida residents only, has the most blockout dates and lack of availability on the weekends.

Walt Disney World Annual Pass Program

Walt Disney World Annual Passes were sold continuously from September 1982 until March 2020. Since then, the price had increased dramatically, multiple tiers were introduced with various blackout dates and benefits to match. At times, the resort even encouraged guests to become Passholders through advertising at the parks, around Central Florida, and through benefits like discounts on merchandise and food.

Of course, at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, that all changed. While Walt Disney World did not go the route of Disneyland and Tokyo Disney Resort by canceling every Annual Pass and issuing refunds, nor did they resume sales immediately as the Paris, Hong Kong, and Shanghai resorts did upon reopening. Passes remained valid and renewable after the COVID-19 closure concluded in July 2020, although new sales were halted almost immediately upon reopening. At the time, Disney assured guests it was a “temporary” measure due to capacity restrictions at Walt Disney World.

In August 2021, Walt Disney World announced an overhaul of their pass system, replacing the four tiers introduced in 2015 with a more confusing character-based system. New passes then went on sale in September 2021, and remained on sale for nearly three months before being suspended in late November. The two middle tiers were briefly on sale last June for a single day before halting again.

Starting April 18, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will be able to visit the theme parks after 2:00 p.m. most days without a park pass reservation. This does not include Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays, when a reservation will still be required.

A new Walt Disney World Annual Pass design has launched with the end of the 50th anniversary.

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