After covering the Disney Abu Dhabi announcement earlier this month, I am inspired to ask a question.
Do you have a passport?
Almost half of Americans have a passport, according to the most recent information from the U.S. State Department. That's a bit higher than I would have expected. But it's still low, given the value that a passport provides. With the Real ID requirements going into effect this month, a passport offers an alternative for those who do not want to go through the hassle of getting a Real ID, but still want, or need, to fly.
In my home state of California, some people (including me) are being required to take written driving tests in addition to providing multiple specific proof of residency documents to get a Real ID. That's why I chose to just renew my "regular" driver's license, which did not require a test or extra documentation. But that is not the case in other states, where Real ID requirements vary.
Many Americans go their entire lives without leaving the country. For theme park fans, you could spend a lifetime of summers visiting parks around the United States and never run out of new attractions to experience. But a passport opens the possibility to riding amazing attractions outside the United States, as well.
If you do not want to, or cannot afford, an overseas trip, this summer will bring the opening of AlpenFury at Canada's Wonderland, just outside Toronto. That's a roadtrip for millions of American coaster fans in the Midwest and Northeast. If you live on the U.S. west coast and can score a relatively cheap flight to Tokyo, admission to the amazing Tokyo Disney parks starts at just $57 a day. And for those on the U.S. east coast, flights to Paris unlock train access to great parks including Disneyland Paris, Efteling, and Europa-Park.
And, yes, if you are up for a really long flight, there's Yas Island in Abu Dhabi - the future home of Disney and current home of Warner Bros., SeaWorld, and Ferrari World. You can fly there nonstop from JFK, O'Hare, Dulles, Boston, and Atlanta. If you fly into Dubai next door (a 90-minute car ride away), nonstops from Orlando, Miami, Newark, Houston, Dallas, Seattle, San Francisco, and Los Angeles also are available.
But none of these destinations are available to U.S. citizens without a passport. I suspect that the lure of great coasters and other rides outside the U.S. will mean that Theme Park Insider readers are more likely to have passports than the average U.S. population is. But let's test that assumption.
I am offering four possible responses here, accounting for whether you are or are not from the United States and whether you do or do not have a passport.
If are from the U.S. and want to get a passport, here is where to start that process.
And if you would like to learn more about great theme parks around the world, check out our Visitors Guides to the World's Most Popular Theme Parks, which offers one-page guides to 58 theme and amusement parks around the world.
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I just had to get passport renewed for California flight last week. Not bad using it, might still get Real ID eventually.
I travel for work, which sometimes includes international travel, so yes I have a passport. Have yet to use it for leisure but will probably make it to Disneyland Paris at some point within the next couple of years.
I’m certainly not sticking to the U.K. for my theme park thrills, so yes, I have a passport.
Yes, I've had one since 2007, when I reached the age to qualify for an adult passport and needed it for a family trip to Canada. Since then, I've used it to enter a total of nine foreign countries, six of which I've visited a park while visiting.
Personally, even if you're not actively planning an international trip, if you have the means to get a passport I'd highly recommend doing so. Not only is it an extremely valuable identification document, but just having one makes it that much easier to consider an international destination when you start looking at doing a major trip.
I still don't have a Real ID compliant driver's license, because Virginia licenses are valid for 10 years, and the Commonwealth IDs were not Real ID compliant when I last renewed my license. Thus, I'm caught in between with a license that doesn't expire until next May, but my current ID is not compliant. I also prefer not to travel with passport if I'm traveling domestically, so I did a test before my most recent trip to Vegas by using my Trusted Traveler ID (used for Global Entry), which is supposed to be a Real-compliant picture ID that is the same size as a drivers license (fits into a standard wallet), to see of TSA would let me through by presenting that instead of my drivers' license. I didn't have any issues, and surprisingly not a single security agent even commented on the fact that I wasn't using a drivers license or passport.
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We got the Real ID YEARS ago with the First deadline..
Then it was extended and extended and extended...