Hello,
We are WDW pros, but we’re thinking about taking our first trip to Disneyland in 2020. I’m just in the beginning stages of research. Looking at ticket prices, if we made 2 three day trips, the new Flex pass would pay for itself. We are about 10-11 hour drive to Anaheim, so it’s possible to make multiple trips this year. Does anyone have the Flex pass? I’m concerned that we won’t be able to get in on “reservation days.”
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks!
I have a Flex Pass, as do many of my friends. I live in WA so usually know if I am going to be at DL more than 30 days out and have had no trouble getting the days I need. I do plan trips with a mix of “good to go” days and 2-3 reservation needed days. I love the pass, it is a great deal for the price. When I got it I had a trip planned in July, so I bought a 4 day ticket so I didn’t have to deal with reservation days, and then upgraded on my last day. I also went in October and easily booked Friday and Saturday at 30 days out. After entering on Friday I was able to pick up Sunday. I am going again at the end of next week and easily booked Sat and Sun at less than 30 days out. So far, it has been well worth the money.
I just got mine (had the deluxe last year), but my friend loves hers. She had a lot more flexibility than I had with my deluxe, which is why I moved to the flex. She was able to go over thanksgiving (thanksgiving day and Black Friday), while I was blocked completely out. Over the summer she was able to go into DL AND DCA, while I was relegated to just DCA. She has had no issues with getting most of the reservations she has wanted. Note that you are only allowed to had 2 days of reservations booked per pass at a time. She has been able to still go for three day trips by butting her reservation up to an open day or by simply booking a reservation for a third day (which is a little bit of a gamble) once day two is over (after midnight).
For your first trip, I would purchase 3 day park hoppers from a discounted site (such as undercover tourist or Ares travel) and then on your third say, switch them to APs, then for your first trip there is no worry about reservations or blackout days, you can utilize the Magic morning AND you can get a discount. I paid $371 plus a $2 convenience fee for a 3 day park hopper with Maxpass through ARes Travel. When I turned it into a Flex AP, they gave me credit for the full $400 (the gate price of the ticket).
Edited to add that my friend has used hers for nearly a dozen trips and she is only half way through her pass time. She has gotten every time she has wanted to go with the exception of one weekend at the end of October.
I have a Deluxe pass (purchased before the Flex was available) but my daughter has the Flex. We have not had any issues getting reservations. Granted she hasn’t needed too many. However, just a week or so ago, I went in to reserve days for potential visits before my pass expires on Jan. 28. The only day in January that was blocked was 1/18. I was surprised because I thought with the RofR opening on 1/17 there might be more days where reservations were unavailable. I was able to reserve both 1/19 and 1/26 for her. We have since released 1/19. If/when I buy a new pass, I will definitely get the Flex!
I’m curious to see how the flex goes over the next six months or so. When I was looking to get an AP in October, it was still too new and there hadn’t been any major holidays to test how quickly reservations would dry up. Seems like this year went pretty well but maybe if the pass gets too popular it might lose its luster?
Anyway for now it’s a great deal and I definitely recommend getting a multi-day ticket for your first trip of the year if there are reservation days and then upgrading as suggested above.
Thank you! Thank you! Liners are always so helpful and have the best information. Any other great tips besides buying discount tickets and then using them to upgrade? I wouldn’t have thought to do that.
My DD3 ran around chanting “We are going to Disneyland for my birthday!” this morning and DH booked us a hotel nearby on points. 
Clearly they are excited at the prospect of a late spring/early summer trip. I’d love to stay on-site, but for what it would cost to do that, I can throw that money towards our Flex passes.
This is good to know. I was wondering the same thing. We are planning a trip this summer and I think I will do this to get the pass.
Question on regarding the upgrade on the final day… is that assuming you’re there during at least one reservation or blackout day?
Because if the first trip fell completely on “open” days, I would think you should upgrade as soon as you take advantage of the magic morning. That way you get the 10% food/merch discount as soon as possible. Or am I overlooking something?
If you’re planning on making your first visit during completely open days, there’s little advantage to doing the upgrade and you might as well just buy the flex pass initially, other than the magic morning as you pointed out.