A few questions about Disneyland Annual Passes?

Question

I'm contemplating whether or not to purchase a Disneyland AP, but I have a couple of simple questions first.

1.) What exactly is the difference between a Deluxe Annual Pass for the park, and a SoCal annual pass (which is much cheaper)? What are the perks of the Deluxe AP, and what causes it to be more expensive?

2.) The AP is obviously good for one year (hence, the "annual"), so that would imply that it is good for a year starting on THE DAY it is purchased?

3.) On which days do the blockout days usually fall? Are they more common on holidays or busy park times? Or are they totally random? And also, are there a LOT of blockout days?

4.) This is pretty obvious (and I think I know the answer, but no harm in asking): The AP is only good for the person who purchased it, right? Or could, say, an entire family get enterance to the park with the same AP?

5.) Is the pass good for both Disneyland and DCA?

Thanks so much, guys! Your responses are greatly appreciated. :)

Answer 1

1.  Basically the cheaper the pass the more blockout days.  The two SoCal passes have the most blockout days and are the cheapest passes.  The Premium is the most expensive but has NO blockout days, but also gives free parking as well as Merchandise discounts.  The perks between the Deluxe and SoCal passes are the same for the most part, in that you get 10% at select food locations.  On top of that the Deluxe pass gives you additional discounts on select guided tours that the SoCal pass does not.  FYI Premium give you 15% off at resturants, the tour discounts, as well as 10% off on merchandise and free parking.  For the other passes you can add parking for $59.

2. It is good for one year from date of FIRST VISIT.  That is you can purchase it on June 1st(for example).  But if you don't actually use it to enter Disneyland or California Adventure until June 15th it is good for 1 year from June 15th.  If you do an upgrade from a regular ticket your pass is backdated to the date you first used that ticket(if it was a multi-day ticket).  Just be aware that until you process your pass it is just like any regular ticket.  That is if you loose it you are out of luck.  One little known trick is that the Blockout day does NOT apply the date of first use.   So if your first day of use was on a day that would normally be a blockout day for you, you can still go that day.  

3. It depends on the pass, but they are not random.  The cheaper the pass the more blockout days they have.  They will center around Weekends and holiday periods.   The more people they expect on a certain day, has more passes blocked out.

4. You are correct you can NOT share it.  Not only is your name and picture on the pass.  When you enter Disneyland a full size color photo comes up on the Cast Members screen which makes it very tough unless you are identical twins.

5.  Yes, it does allow you to go between both parks.

Premium Annual Passholder

Answer 2

The deluxe annual pass is valid more days in the year. It doesn't inclued parking ( only the premium). However, Parking is available for an extra fee

It is good a year from the day you purchased it. So if you buy a pass on 6/27/08 it will expire 6/27/09

Blackouts mainly  fall on summer weekends, and Christmas post week. Although some passes are blocked out the majority of the summer. The deluxe pass is good 315 days of the year. You wouldn't want to go on the other 50  days unless you like crowds.

One pass per person. No pass sharring. It has your photo on it. No handing the pass over the turnstile for the person behind you, not gonna work.

The pass is good for both DL and DCA, you can go back and forth on the same day, or only visit one park a day. It is up to you, there is no limit.

Answer 3

1. Deluxe has more days to enter the parks. SoCal  is usually blocked out for the Summer thus missing the time people have off!

2. Yes it is good the day it is purchased. However you can always buy a park hopper and upgrade it to a annual pass. This would give you a few extra days.

3. They are blocked out during major holidays. In fall expect most weekends blocked out. They are blocked during busy days. It depends on the pass you get. Deluxe usually has saturdays blocked off leaving Sundays open. SoCal usually has Sunday blocked out leaving Saturdays open. Socal blocks out most of the summer though , and Saturdays are busy days.

4. You must buy an annual pass for everyone 3 and older. It has your picture on it, so yes , only valid for one person.

5. Yes, you can visit both parks using the pass as long as its not a block out day.