I was chatting with a good friend yesterday about annual passes. He is looking to buy passes for his family and was asking for my opinion. Which pass should I get? I say it depends on your financial situation, how often are you planning on heading to the parks and location.

I have had the Premium Pass for over a decade. It works for my family for a number of reasons. We live about a 20 minute drive from the park, we have quite a few family members that live outside the area and like to come down to Disneyland during the holidays, we are big Disney Geeks, we hate crowds and we love the freedom it provides of visiting any day of the year without restrictions.

Here is the scoop on the Premium Annual Passport:

• 365 consecutive days of admission to both theme parks.
• 10% merchandise discount at select locations throughout the Disneyland® Resort
• Exclusive benefits at select Downtown Disney® District locations
• Free annual parking pass for the Mickey & Friends parking structure. ($79 value)
• 10-15% dining discount at select Disneyland® Resort restaurants
• Special rates at Disneyland Resort Hotels

The Premium Passes are very expensive. The pass is $429, however you can use the payment plan option, guests will pay for the cost of a 1-Day, 1-Park ticket – $72-upon purchase and will pay the remaining amount over the next 12 months, with no finance charges applied.

If you don’t want to splurge on the Premium, then I highly recommend the Deluxe Annual Passport. Most of my friends and family have this pass.

Here is the scoop on the Deluxe Annual Passport:

• 315 days of admission. Most Holidays and some peak season Saturdays are blocked out.
• 10% dining discount at select Disneyland Resort Restaurants
• Special Rates at Disneyland Resort Hotels
• Parking is NOT included- $79 for parking.

The Deluxe Annual Passport is a little pricey at $289 . However, it does offer many admission days and if you plan on using your pass frequently, it could be your best option. As with the Premium Pass, you can use the payment plan option and you will pay for the cost of a 1-Day, 1-Park ticket -$72-upon purchase and will pay the remaining amount over the next 12 months, with no finance charges applied.

The other two options are more affordable options but have many blackout dates.

Here is the scoop on the Southern California Annual Passport:

• 227 days of admission. Most of these days are off peak season. All Holidays and Saturdays are blocked out.
• 10% dining discount at select Disneyland Resort Restaurants
• Special Rates at the Disneyland Resort Hotels
• Parking is not included -$79 for parking pass
• This pass differs from the Southern California Select in that Sundays are allowed

The pass is $194, and as with the other passes you can use the payment plan option. You will pay for the cost of a 1-Day, 1-Park ticket – $72-upon purchase and will pay the remaining amount over the next 12 months, with no finance charges applied.

The least expensive of the passes is the Southern California Select Annual Pass:

• 176 days of admission. This is a weekday pass only! All Holidays, weekends and most peak times at the park are blocked off.
• 10% Dining discount at select Disneyland Resort restaurants
• Special Rates at the Disneyland Park Hotels
• Parking Pass is not included

The pass is $144 and as with the other passes you can use the payment plan option. You will pay for the cost of a 1-Day, 1-Park ticket-$72- upon purchase and will pay the remaining amount over the next 12 months, with no finance charges applied.

My friend decided to purchase the Deluxe Annual Passport since he wants to bring his kiddos down on Saturdays. I want to hear from you. What pass do you have? Do you love it? Do you use it often?