A Disneyland annual pass or passport is just that, a pass into a geographic set of Disneyland theme parks that lasts a whole year long from the date of your purchase if you buy in person (not the date you first use the card). If you buy online the timer doesn't begin until you activate the pass for the first time at your chosen park. The good thing is that vouchers that haven't yet been activated don't have an expiry date. So you could buy your Disneyland ticket online this year if you know you are going to be going several times next year and lock in this year's price. Of course, you'd have to weigh that up against the possibility of your plans not coming together as you hoped.

You can get an annual pass for Walt Disney World in Florida or one for Disneyland in California. There are basically two types of Disneyland tickets: deluxe annual and premium annual. If your annual pass turned out to be well worth the investment then you can renew for next year at a slight discount.

So what does a Disneyland annual pass get you:
. you get unlimited admission to the main theme parks and they throw in parking for free. For Walt Disney World, Florida this means access to Magic Kingdom Park, Epcot, the Disney-MGM Studios and Disney's Animal KingdomT Theme Park. At Disneyland, California this mean access to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure (DCA) theme park.
. It doesn't include events or activities that carry their own fee structure.
. the premium pass gives you a minimum of 10% discount on food while you are at the theme parks and at the hotels (you have to spend a minimum of $10 for the discount to apply);
. a reduction on the cost of accommodation at Disney Resort Hotels (you will need to quote the pass number at the time of your booking to get a discount)
. you have the option of going from one theme park to another on the same day
. you can use Disney's own transportation to get around - you have the choice of monorails, ferryboats, and motor coaches
. 10% discount on purchases of merchandise.

The main difference between the annual and premium passport, apart from the price, is that the extra you pay gets you a higher or different discounts on food and accommodation and you get unlimited admission to more places (with the Disneyland Premium pass it means no blackout days). So you get the same access as the annual plus Pleasure Island; Disney's water parks: Blizzard Beach, and Typhoon Lagoon; DisneyQuest, plus Disney's Wide World of SportsT complex.

If you are a Florida or Southern California resident then Disney has special annual passes for you. However, while these passes are significantly cheaper than the standard deluxe or premium passports, you are restricted to the number of days you can use them to those days specifically selected by Disney. Parking is not included in the fee. They are trying to ensure that their resorts are full all year round and so those days not available are usually Saturdays and holiday periods, in other words the busiest times of the year. It doesn't mean you can't go on these days but if you do you will have to pay extra but still less than the price of a day pass.