by Beth Keating
News/Review
DisneyBizJournal.com
June 5, 2023
Passholders are getting their day in the sun this month, with Disney World offering up a pretty lengthy list of expanded perks for Annual Passholders until the end of June.
Among those special promos are extra merchandise discounts, larger dining discounts, a loveable Figment Passholder magnet, a limited time Passholder lounge area at EPCOT, specialty snacks, and new Photopass shots for Passholders.
As huge Figment fans, we knew we had to head over to EPCOT to grab our Figment magnet, so we decided to see how many of the Passholder perks we could fit into one visit. Our first stop was straight to the Creations shop to snap up our magnet, just in case they ran out. Not to fear, though, there were huge stacks of the magnets available, and the line was fairly short and very efficient. We were through the line in less than ten minutes. These Annual Passholder-exclusive magnets will be available at the Creations Shop through June 30, 2023, from 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. (Bring your ID.)
Of course, the magnet line empties into the Creations shop, where we perused the various themed merchandise, before leaving with a Guardians tee-shirt, at a 30% Passholder merch discount. The Passholder merchandise discount at select Disney owned and operated merchandise locations is temporarily increased from 20% to 30%, which can be a big chunk of change, especially on higher priced merchandise. It knocked $9.00 off our tee-shirt purchase.
Next stop was the BRUNCHCOT food kitchen, where we were able to get our 20% discount on the yummy avocado toast. There are roughly 15 Flower & Garden Festival booths offering the special, limited time 20% off discount on food and non-alcoholic beverages, and our $6.00 avocado dish rang up at $4.80 with our Passholder card. (You also need to use a cashless form of payment to get the discount.) If you are wondering, the avocado toast was good, though the ciabatta itself was a little soggy rather than “toast” crisp, but the layer of avocado was thick and creamy, with a hint of lemon. The multi-colored Toy Box tomatoes were super sweet and juicy, the radish slices crisp, and the sprinkle of cotija cheese added a touch of saltiness.
The Passholder discount applies to a wide array of dining locations as well, with an increase from the normal Passholder discount of 10%, to 20% on food and nonalcoholic beverages at select locations throughout Walt Disney World. We dined at Trattoria al Forno on the BoardWalk, one of our favorite Disney restaurants, before they close for a short refurb next week. It was delicious, with outstanding service from our waiter, Alejandro, and our Passholder card garnered a $22.00 discount for dinner. We’ve always had superior service at Trattoria al Forno, and the discount was a great bonus.
One of the perks that we missed along the way was the special Photopass Magic Shot for Passholders. Since it was pouring that afternoon, the Photopass photographers had also ducked for cover, so we’ll have to try to collect those shots another time. They’ll be available exclusively for Passholders until the end of June. The EPCOT spot provides props inspired by the new Figment Annual Passholder magnet. You can find it near the fountains outside of Journey Into Imagination with Figment from 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily. If you find yourself at Animal Kingdom instead, you can queue up for a Magic Shot with WALL-E and Eve. This shot was originally available for a limited time during Earth Week, but is now back exclusively for Annual Passholders. Find it near Discovery River and the Tree of Life, between Africa and Asia, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily.
We also had limited success with our visit to the Passholder Lounge at Sunshine Seasons in the lower level of The Land Pavilion. Of course, since it was pouring, every other Passholder in EPCOT probably had the same idea in heading for a dry, air-conditioned hideout. The area is small, with maybe 15 or so tables, a charging station, and a water station, so it was filled to capacity by the time we arrived late afternoon. The cast members were standing at the entrance to the seating area, scanning IDs and handing out small bags of M&Ms, Figment stickers, and bags of Guardians of the Galaxy zargnuts to guests. We were able to make our way to the water station to grab a few cups of cold water, but there wasn’t a seat to be had.
Instead, we headed back out to the main section of Sunshine Seasons to find a table. There we enjoyed one of the two Passholder exclusive offerings, the Figment dessert cake. There’s also “A Spark of Grape Shake,” a combination of grape, guava, passionfruit, orange and lime, topped with whipped cream, that others seemed to enjoy. The treats are available until the end of June at Sunshine Seasons, from park open to park close.
The Figment cake ($6.99) was adorable, but I can’t say it tasted all that fabulous, and it was a “one and done” for us. Described as a raspberry “lemonade” tart, it was a firm shortbread shell filled with a very tart lemon mousse, and a raspberry mousse dome that was not nearly as strongly flavored as the lemon mousse. The dome was covered in the traditional Disney gel in a bright purple hue, with white chocolate “wings” colored orange for our favorite Figment.
As an additional June plus for Passholders, Disney is offering “Bonus Reservations” as part of V.I.PASSHOLDER Days. Every day until June 30, bonus reservations are available for EPCOT and Animal Kingdom, and the bonus reservations don’t count against your Annual Pass’s allotted park reservation hold. There’s no limit to how many you can make (so go crazy!), and there’s a good chance Disney may be adding more bonus locations to the schedule, so be sure to check back on the reservations calendar.
To take advantage of any of the discounts or freebies, including the lounge or magnet, Passholders must present their valid Annual Pass ID from the Tickets and Passes section of their My Disney Experience app, and a valid photo ID to receive the discount. We even needed to show our Annual Passholder ID to purchase the Passholder treats at Sunshine Seasons.
Enjoy your extra goodies this month!
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Beth Keating is a theme parks, restaurant and entertainment reporter for DisneyBizJournal.
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