How to solve too many passholders?

Why would Disney want to do that? AP provides them with a reliable source of income year round, whereas Tourists visit once, and thats it.

I agree with Chad H. Disney doesn't really have any incentive to lower the amount of APs.

Disneyland needs to increase its capacity, not decrease its customer base. The Star Wars land construction has hurt capacity in the original park for the past year, but that should start coming back online this summer, with the big expansion in 2019.

Guardians will return ToT's capacity to DCA this summer, with the planned Marvel land expansion bringing more capacity at some point after that. Yes, both lands will increase demand, but I suspect Disney will counter with a price increase that keeps everything in the balance of leaving the parks just this close to packed, nearly every day of the year.

The issue with Disneyland is not too many passholders. In fact, the number of visitors they currently have is right about where they want to be for the size of the parks...busy but manageable almost every day of they year. What would be better is for Disney to spread visitors out a bit more, as they still have inconsistent crowd patterns due to the blockout calendars and people treating the resort as an afterschool/work hangout spot. Therefore, I would do the following:

1. Eliminate the So Cal passes. By far, these are the passes that contribute most to crowd spikes, as they are cheaper and are therefore the most popular among those who visit frequently for short periods. Deluxe, Signature, and Signature Plus would remain mostly unchanged as they aren't really a problem.

2. Add a no hopping pass as a budget option. This would be a pass for around $400 that is valid at both parks and uses the same blockout calendar as the current So Cal pass, but can only be used at one park per day. In theory, this should reduce evening crowd spikes at Disneyland as it will prevent everyone from running over there when DCA closes.

3. Add 5 and 10 visit tickets for those who want a cheaper hopper option. These tickets would be priced at approximately $300 (5 visit) or $500 (10 visit), and function as hopper tickets for a set number of visits in a 12 month period. These would use the same blockout calendar as the Deluxe pass, but would have an additional restriction...visitors must wait 30 days between visits.

4. Keep the payment plan on all of the above options, but add a visit plan to go along with it. If you use the payment plan to pay for your pass, you are required to wait 7 days between visits unless you pay your pass off early. This will cut down on the number of people who use the resort as a hangout and don't spend money by discouraging frequent short visits. It will also make it difficult for parents to continue using the park as a cheap babysitting service.

Disneyland needs a complete infrastructure upgrade. The crowding issue happens when too many people occupy the narrow walkways. The Magic Kingdom in Orlando did the right thing by rehabbing the central hub. Disneyland needs to remove the planters, the trees, and the many decorations that impede guest traffic along Main Street, the Hub, and the Entry Plaza. They need to move the setback of the Land entry points. The Tomorrowland rocks, Astro Orbitor, and People Mover tracks must be removed.

Disneyland also has a severe bathroom shortage. they should considering adding a mega bathroom at the Tommorowland Entrance where they have the Tinkerbell meet and greet @ Pixie Hollow. This area can also have a parade and fireworks viewing section.

The future should mean they finally develop the Autopia/Innoventions/Submarines area, the Fantasyland theater, and Toontown to allow for more attractions that can hold more guests.

In the Christmas Holiday time, consider selling only park hopping passes. This will alleviate the severe crowding at Disneyland by allowing the free guest flow between Disneyland and DCA. A new guest corridor will be set up so no scanning of tickets is necessary.

My solution would be to eliminate annual passes and replace them with. Keep the pricing structure, but instead of a pass, have annual bundles(Disney can figure out a better name than I can!) each with a certain number of days per year, with more days and a lower cost per day the more expensive the bundle. The least expensive option would include 30 days per year, the middle option would include 50 days per year, and the most expensive 100 days per year. Unused days would not roll over, but you could buy another bundle if you no longer have any days left. You could still go to both parks on the same day and discouts and parking wouldnt change, except maybe include parking with all bundles to encourage people to pick the 30 day option. This would be a compromise because it would completely eliminate black out days, but it caps the number of days people can visit a year without having to pay more. They could also leave the 365 day pass alone.

I like the idea of requiring 7 days between visits for anyone on a monthly payment plan. Disney loves a crowd, but not a crowd that doesn't open up their wallets.

I'd get rid of some of the middle of the road options. In my view, people either go once in a while, or all the time.

But seriously, if you want to reduce the number of AP holders, simply keep raising the price until you price the riff raff and lower income people out, and they finally decide it's not worth it. They're probably the ones who aren't spending much at the parks, anyway.

You've heard the term "house poor". These people are "parks poor". Spend all their money on the pass, and have nothing left for food and souvenirs.

Raise the price, and raise the quality of the guests (in theory).