Welcome Home, Brent!
I’m glad you found the Disney Vacation Club Panelists here on planDisney! I am a
Walt Disney World Annual Passholder and purchase my pass with my Disney Vacation Club Member discount, so I definitely think I can help answer your questions!
Currently,
Disney Vacation Club Members who are blue cardholders and are eligible for Member perks can purchase the
Disney Sorcerer Pass. This is a discounted pass with blackout dates. You can review exact blackout dates on the
Blackout Calendar, but essentially the Thanksgiving holiday weekend and the weeks surrounding Christmas and New Year are the dates that you wouldn’t be able to visit with a Sorcerer Pass this year. If you won’t be traveling during those times, the Sorcerer Pass might be a good choice for you.
In terms of timing, when you purchase, you will be purchasing not the Annual Pass itself, but a certificate or voucher for the Annual Pass. From the time you purchase the voucher, it is good at the price you paid for one year. Within that year, you must activate your Walt Disney World Annual Pass at a ticket window or Guest Relations outside a theme park, or the Disney Ticket Center at Disney Springs. The day you activate that voucher and it becomes a Walt Disney World Annual Pass is then the date that begins your one year as a Passholder. If you don’t activate a purchased voucher within one year, you don’t lose the value of that voucher, but you may need to pay any difference between the value you paid and the current (potentially higher) cost of a new pass.
This means you could purchase your Walt Disney World Annual Pass in December 2021, but not start your one year as a Passholder until you actually arrive for your vacation, as late as December of 2022. And not to worry, even though the pass is not activated, you will still be able to make
Disney Park Pass Reservations for your trip! Annual Passholders can hold up to 5 Disney Park Pass Reservations, or for the length of stay when booked at a Disney Resort Collection Hotel.
I hope this helps to answer your questions, Brent. And feel free to send any additional questions. I always love talking Disney with my fellow DVC Members!
Wishing you
Membership Magic!- Kate