When I first saw the announcement for annual passholder perks coming to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon, I was ready to pack the pool bag, jump in the car, and splash into the fun. So, on the first Sunday in October, I was excited to bring my family and enjoy my favorite park with added perks. Unfortunately, I was let down.
Passholders’ perks included a 45-minute early entry, one free towel rental per passholder, and three exclusive drinks available for purchase. If you do not have water park access added to your annual pass, you can purchase a 1-day ticket for $49 plus tax. That’s $20 off the original price. These “perks” are only available on Thursdays and select Sundays in October. That’s less than 10 days.
When we arrived, we entered through the early entry queue. Cast members were scanning our passes to double check we were annual passholders.
Once you tap in, a cast member places a V.I.Passholder event wristband on your wrist.
We were walked past the lockers and around the back, by Crush n’ Gusher, then past Miss Adventures Falls, past Typhoon Tilly’s, over a bridge above the Lazy River, and to the far right side of the Surfin’ Pool. 90% of the water park was still closed off to early entry guests. This is consistent with early entry at Magic Kingdom, where Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square do not open until the park opens.
The farthest right side of the Surfin’ Pool was our only option to choose seating from. I’m assuming this is because of staffing. Originally, we were excited to jump into the Surfin’ Pool, but it was closed for lifeguard training.
We had plenty of seats to choose from, some under umbrellas. Only about 10 guests, not including my family of four, were taking advantage of the early entry.
We got sunscreen applied, and the water case for our phones, and then we realized we didn’t get our free towel rental. You have to ASK FOR IT; they are not being handed out. We began our trek back around to Singapore Sal’s to ask for our towels. We asked a cast member, she checked our wristbands and handed us our towels, and we were on our way.
With 30 minutes left of Early Entry, I wanted to ride some water slides and raft rides. Well, you get one to choose from — Miss Adventures Falls. Again, I’m going to assume this is because of staffing. Since it’s the only ride open, we were able to ride it multiple times.
Only one more “perk” left to try out, exclusive passholder drinks at High n’ Dry. Of course, we purchased and tried all three. While they were tasty beverages, they aren’t really a perk. You still have to purchase them.
Overall, these passholder perks are lacking. These perks are only available two days a week (some weeks). Why not just make it every day for the month of October? A 45-minute early entry is great, in theory. You can get a great seat, in a designated area, and hop on one raft ride. It’s 15 minutes longer than the theme park early entry. Maybe they should have opened another ride, or even, a section of the water park. Personally, I feel like the free towel rental should be easily accessible.
The drinks were delicious, but one of those could have been free. Back in 2002, annual passholders had a whole lounge at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, where you were able to get free sodas and water. Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon passholder perks aren’t anything to brag about, and nothing to go out of your way for. It feels like another money grab. A way for Disney to get you to buy a 1-day ticket, buy some drinks, and lunch if you’re staying all day.
Will you be going to Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon for the passholder perks? Let us know in the comments.
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H2O glow had more going on and more free stuff. Thats sad! Its like i always say theres a reason to why bb was built and hopefully it will be open soon.
I agree. What is the purpose of early entry if you cannot use the park. Same goes for the other parks. I experienced last year at Magic Kingdom. Nothing was available to ride. The only perk to me was you are able to be first in line.
I do not get any perks or discounts at all because I don’t live in Florida. Annual passholders get discounts throughout the WDW sphere. You are reminded everytime you buy something and the cast member questions with a smile, “Are you an annual passholder?” hoping to give you a discount. Bob Chapeck’s price gouging affects people like me who get no discounts at all and 25% off on resorts offers (that are rare) have blackouts and small numbers of hotel room available. Bob CHapek is now hurting passholders. Not surprised.
My family has been annual passholders for about 4 years now. 2 adults 2 kids. The first few years the benefits of being a passholder were great and it felt like disney actually appreciated passholders and went out of their way to thank them. The past few years disney seems to have shifted focus on how they view passholders and seem to be taking away perks that used to come with being a passholder. Annual pass runs my family close to 5 grand a year. Photo pass used to be included but now you need to purchase it at a discounted rate. For 5 grand a year I should get pictures of my experiences lol doesn’t cost disney any extra out of pocket. There also has been a few other perks that have been taken away but the price hasn’t been reduced to reflect the changes. I believe I read a quote from a disney exec that they do not make money on the average passholder. That maybe true for the Florida resident passholder who go to the parks 5 out of 7 days to exercise or ride a few rides and dont spend much money while in parks. We are from pa and let me tell you we spend a ton of money while visiting disney each trip. Between eating at disney restaurants shopping and now the damn genie plus we spend thousands each trip. We go roughly 3 times a year as we own a timeshare but not a disney timeshare. Dont get me wrong the discount you recieve for dining and shopping is good if you take advantage. What is lacking is the gratitude from disney and appreciation for being a passholder. Disney seems to be on a money grab since opening after covid to make up for lost revenue at the expense of annual passholders. Disney has lost sight of that truly magical experience they used to give us. Disney seems to be going after 1st time visitors who will spend a ton because they will not be back for a long time if ever again. I hope disney changes their view on annual passholders and start bringing back perks instead of taking them away. I dont have much faith Disney will change focus. They know they have you over a barrel. Its ultimately your choice if you vacation at disney or not and if so you play by their rules. We love Disney and will keep annual passes until my kids shift focus and want to do other things. For my family being a passholder stil works for our needs.
I think that Disney’s money grubbing is going to keep the value resorts booked.