I KNOW! I too am SO SAD. My below WDW Annual Pass, gone. Now I must buy a normal ticket and enter Walt Disney World in the Not an Annual Passholder line with the rest of the plebes.
Don’t get me wrong – I am by NO means abandoning my Disney obsession. But after my whirlwind Every Single runDisney Race In A Year of 2021/2, I just… gotta back off for a minute. Not because I want to, mind you. Circumstances somewhat require.
What circumstances, you ask? Well…
MONEY. This is the biggest one, and I’m sure you can all relate: APs do not come cheap. Even the renewal cost is well over $1K nowadays. That’s gotta give any middle-class gal pause.
Although it might not have, which leads me to…
TIMING. The above could’ve potentially been overcome if not for some poor timing. For a while there, I thought I would renew my pass. But the full-time job I had lined up kept moving off and moving off. I wanted to sign that salaried contract before I went on any shopping sprees. Alas, by the time the deal came through, my renewal window had closed. Curses!
Luckily, there’s…
OTHER WDW THINGS TO DO. Believe it or not, I’ve taken multiple WDW trips where I never entered a theme park at all. Now, I center races during these trips, so I’m plenty busy with running and napping and expo-ing and all that fun stuff, but there’s a ton of killer park-free things to do on WDW property. Disney Springs is an obvious one, but there’s also bar hopping and dinner shows and spas and mini-golf and exploring resorts; the list goes on and on. It might not be the same as hanging out in the parks, but it’s a great way to explore lesser-known areas while keeping your race weekend budget low.
And then of course, there’s…
OTHER THEME PARK OPPORTUNITIES. Pat is talking about potentially going to Universal Studios again next year, and needless to say I am not against it. I’m hoping to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg‘s Christmas Town for my birthday too!
Not to mention…
OTHER RACE OPPORTUNITIES. Grandma’s Marathon in my grandfather’s hometown of Duluth, Minnesota has been on my bucket list for a while now. Maybe 2023 will be my year? What other exciting races scattered about the country could I pursue if I wanted?
Which reminds me of…
THE RUNDISNEY OF THE FUTURE. My running buddy Erika and I are planning for Goofy 2024 and Dopey 2025. Gotta save up!
And finally…
I THINK IT’S GONNA COME BACK. Although I’ve been an annual passholder several times before, these past couple (COVID-extended) years have been the only time I’ve held an AP consecutively. Previously I’ve bought APs on an ad hoc basis as it seems to make sense – it’s just this scary new “we don’t always sell APs” business that’s giving me the heebie-jeebies. But can I really let a corporation, however beloved, hold me hostage like that? I shouldn’t buy things just ’cause I’m afraid I’ll miss my shot. And anyway they’ve got to start selling APs again eventually, right? I’ll buy one when I’m good and ready.
Hear that? Your move, Disney execs!
Don’t forget, you can follow FRoA on Twitter @fairestrunofall and on Instagram @fairestrunofall. If you have any questions or thoughts, leave a comment or email fairestrunofall@gmail.com. See ya real soon!
Yes, I get it! We’ve never been able to consider it, because a family of 4 AP would cost as much as a small car, and we really only go once a year!! All the same, would love to have the opportunity to buy, and they haven’t offered any AP choices to non-FL residents in a while. My Disney stock value continues to fall down, sadly.
Oh dang, I always assumed you got a good DVC discount! Speaking of Disney things I’d love to get in on but can’t afford. >D
I am waiting for the AP window to open again. I have been going to the parks often but am always iffy about if circumstances will allow in the future. Do you think the AP is worth it for the discount on the resorts alone when they are offered? When I had my AP in the past, it was worth it for me to get it just for the savings on a week at the GF!
I am right there with you on so much to do outside the parks. You can always go to the water parks too ( which last time I checked was a much cheaper ticket than a theme park but I could be wrong now with inflation hitting everything under the sun). There is always horseback riding, canoeing, golfing like you mentioned and so much else. I’m actually working on a blog post about it all….lol I always say that Disney is so much more than running from park to park…lol
Have a great weekend!
Ack, totally missed this comment before! During the last race weekend, they were offering 50% off water park tickets to race participants, so that might be something to explore if/when it pops up again…