Does An Out-of-State Walt Disney World Annual Pass Make Financial Sense?

It’s the ultimate exercise in “Disney Math”!

With Disney’s recent announcement of price increases on annual passes, we’ve seen increased discussion in the WDWAO Facebook group about the value of an AP, especially an out-of-state pass. The question, “If I live out of state, is an annual pass worth it?” is a complicated one to answer. As with so many things, the answer is “It depends.”  My goal in this blog is to map out a couple of scenarios to illustrate the potential savings. Let’s go! 

The Annual Pass

If you live anywhere other than Florida, and are not a Disney Vacation Club owner, there is only one pass available to you, the Incredi-Pass. It’s currently priced at $1629 plus tax ($1734.89 total). Unlike Florida resident passes, there is no payment plan offered. You must pay in full at the time of purchase. It provides unlimited visits to Disney World theme parks, with park-hopping privileges, for one year. It requires theme park reservations, and passholders can hold up to 5 reservations at a time.

Be sure to get that Annual Passholder magnet when at Walt Disney World

WDWAO Member Ruth hopping the bus to use that Annual Pass!

If you stay at a Disney resort you can make reservations for the length of your stay plus 5 non-resort reservations. There are no blackout dates and standard theme park parking ($35/day value) is included. Added benefits include 20% off merchandise and savings (usually 10%) at select dining locations. From time to time, special promotions raise those discounts, but it’s not a guarantee.

Discounts on resort stays are also a benefit; they vary seasonally and have limited availability. The pass has added options at $109 each. The Disney PhotoPass Download option provides access to digital downloads of all photos taken by Disney PhotoPass photographers at the parks, resorts, and on rides. The Water Parks & Sports option vies you access to their water parks, greens fees at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course, and admission to ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (event days only). Note that some events require additional admission charge. 

Take advantage of Disney PhotoPass options with your Annual Pass.

The Math

Here’s where the “Disney Math” comes into play and things get muddy. Ticket prices vary seasonally and by length of stay. Resort prices vary seasonally and by day of the week. If you don’t stay at a Disney resort, that’s a whole different scenario. I’ll map out two, 7-night stay scenarios, one a holiday week, one a non-holiday week, across three different lodging options: onsite moderate resort, onsite value resort, and popular Disney Springs area non-Disney (but Disney Good Neighbor) hotel. A rental car isn’t factored into any of the scenarios. They’re all assuming using your own car. Rental car or using rideshare (like Uber or Lyft) would be over and above these estimates. Rates are quoted as of this writing (10/9/25). Food costs are an estimate just for illustrative purposes. 

WDWAO Member and Annual Passholder Ruth's Disney Math for an Incredi-Pass

The Disney resorts I’ve chosen are Disney’s All Star Sports: a value resort, preferred double room with bus-only transportation, and Coronado Springs: a moderate resort, standard double room and bus-only transportation. For the offsite resort, I’ve chosen Hilton Orlando Buena Vista Palace, standard double room. All prices shown are with tax and rounded up to nearest dollar.

Conclusion

For the tickets alone, you’re ahead marginally with 2, 7-night/8-day stays. Once discounts and PhotoPass are figured in, the savings can be substantial with two trips of that length if you stay onsite. What this also illustrates though is the significant financial commitment tied to an annual pass. At the very least, to break even on park admission you need to plan for an annual vacation budget of $6500 plus transportation costs, and two weeks of vacation time. 

Can’t get away for a full week at a time? Great news! Because the per-day admission price drops the more days you buy, annual passes ALSO break even at just TWO, 4-day park hoppers with PhotoPass. Crazy, right? If two 3-night/4-day stays are more jam, your annual vacation budget, with an Incredi-Pass could be in the $2800-$3000 range.

Use your Annual Pass to save money on dining and merch at Walt Disney World.

Fair warning though! As someone who has had an out-of-state pass for several years, I can tell you it’s far more common to do 3-4 short trips vs just the two you need to break even. If you’re tempted to do that many short trips, that puts you back up to roughly the same annual vacation budget as 2, 7-night stays. Either way, an annual pass is a significant financial commitment, as well as the commitment to spend your vacation dollars all with Disney. Disney knows this, and that’s why they offer them. Once you’re committed to vacationing with them, you spend more. THAT’S the ultimate example of Disney Math! 

Do you have an out-of-state annual pass? How often do you visit? Do you plan to renew it next year?

Photos: Walt Disney World Adults Only (WDWAO)