After Disney hiked prices, some snag annual passes for old prices at Disney Stores
Oct. 7, 2015 Updated 5:30 p.m.
BY JOSEPH PIMENTEL
Disneyland raises annual pass prices, introduces $1,000 pass, and discontinues Premium pass
What's the strategy behind the increase? How and why Disneyland looks to balance its crowds with new passes
Slideshow: Your guide to the quickest way to get on Disneyland's most popular rides
The Register's Disney site: Check out features, news, interactive maps, schedules, ride guides and more
ANAHEIM ? Disneyland?s price hike of annual passes Sunday morning didn?t include Disney Stores, as it turns out, and those outlets didn?t stop selling the old passes until Tuesday.
A Disney official said that occurred naturally during the transition.
Some quick-minded fans, many whose passes were about to expire, purchased annual passes good for Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for the old price at at least several Disney Stores; there are 46 in California.
?I literally jumped up and went straight to my Disney Store in West Covina,? said Claudette Bristol, owner of the Cookie Cutter Booh-tique, after she found out Sunday via social media.
Disneyland raised annual pass prices by as much as 17 percent and discontinued the popular $779 Premium Annual Pass with no blackout dates.
Annual passes good for entry into both Disneyland and Disney California Disney Adventure now range from $329 to $1,049 for the pass now with no blackout dates, the Signature Plus.
Rumors, spurred by at least one unofficial Disney website, began to swirl late Saturday night on social media that Disney was preparing to raise annual pass prices.
A line gathered in front of the Disney ticket booths at 11 p.m. Saturday as people renewed or bought new annual passes before the hike, said Jeff Reitz, who purchased a new Premium pass that night.
Bristol said workers at a Disney Store in West Covina didn?t know about the price hike ? she told them. The 39-year-old bought two Premium passes and a $299 Southern California Select pass, saving about $570.
Bristol and others took to social media sites to spread the word. Jennifer Holecek, 48, of Riverside, said she went to a Disney Store in San Bernardino and saw people lined up and even a quarrel over a Premium pass.
Bristol purchased four Premium passes Monday night and also found out her passes ? once activated ? will be automatically upgraded to the $1,049 Signature Plus pass that comes with a PhotoPass, or unlimited digital-photo downloads.
The passes sold at the Disney Stores can be activated through Dec. 31, 2016. So someone with a pass expiring in, say, six months could wait until then to start using the new one for a year.
Joey Seymour of Huntington Beach drove to Oceanside on Monday to get her three Premium passes, after she said the local Disney Stores in Orange County sold out.
?What it came down to was saving $810,? the 35-year-old said. ?It was worth the extra hour of driving.?
Wednesday afternoon, deals apparently could still be had.
Premium passes, each purchased for $779, were available on eBay for $879 and for $925.