Disneyland Flex Passport - Is This Pass for You?

By Jennifer Stuart

Are you wondering if Disneyland's newest annual pass, the Disneyland Flex Passport, is right for you? We go over the the pros and cons of this pass and break down the costs to help you determine if this pass is right for you.

What is the Flex Passport?

Flexpass is Disneyland's newest annual pass option.  It was introduced in late spring of 2019.  This is the lowest priced pass option other than the pass that is available only to Southern California Residents. (Yes you have to prove your residency to get that one.) 

What are the details?

All Disneyland annual passes (other than the Disney Signature Plus Passport) have blockout dates (days which you cannot use the pass to enter either Disneyland, Disney California Adventure, or both). The number of blockout dates varies by pass (the more you pay the less blockout dates). The Disney Flex Passport has similar blockout dates to the slightly more expensive Deluxe Passport, but offers more flexibility if you can plan ahead.

With the Flex Passport, in addition to blockout dates, there are  reservable days. Some of these reservable days would be blockout days for Deluxe Passholders so here is where the Flex Passport can really be of benefit.  With your Flex Passport you can hold reservations for reservable days -- up to 2 reservations at a time.   The planning is because you need to make your reservations as soon as possible when they become available (30 days in advance) as there are only a limited number of reservations available. These can definitely book up -- although if you have dates in mind it pays to check back as we have seen some dates open back up as people change their plans.

Pros

- Lowest priced pass (for those who live outside of southern California) 
- Less full blockout days than Deluxe Passport
- Annual Passholder discounts on most food and merchandise 

Cons

- Only two reservable days at a time 
- Still lots of blockout days (including holidays) 

Who is this pass good for? 

• People who want to visit Disneyland multiple times throughout the year for short visits that are not over the holidays
• People who don't qualify for the Southern California Pass or who want more flexibility than that pass gives
• People who plan on doing more than one trip in a year (not over the holidays) in the "off season."  Longer trips can work out if you are going at times when there are several "good to go" days on the blockout calendar.

Doing the math

When does it pay to get the pass? The Disneyland Flex Passport currently costs $599. A 5-day adult Parkhopper currently costs $395. The difference in price being $204. A single day Parkhopper can vary depending on the day between $154 and $199 (most days are $179 or $199), and a 2-day Parkhopper is $280.  So the break even point is somewhere after 6 days and that doesn't take into account any savings on food or merchandise with your annual passholder discount.  

Our thoughts

This is the pass we currently have.  We have been Deluxe passholders in the past but we are finding that this pass suits our family really well this year because of the kinds of trips we are taking. I can see in other years that the Deluxe Passport would still be the better option.  If you are thinking about the Disneyland Flex Passport we recommend that you take a good look at the Blockout Calendar to see which dates are blocked out, reservation required or good to go. For instance -- It wouldn't be a good choice if you are planning a long summer trip as the month of July is all reservation required and you can only hold 2 days of reservations.

If you are interested in finding out more information about the Disneyland Flex Passport we suggest you read up on the specific terms and conditions for the pass on the Disneyland website. 

If you are planning a trip to Disneyland, you may be interested in some of our other Disneyland posts.

Photos by Jennifer Stuart and Kim Stuart

Comments? Questions?  We would love to hear from you.