V.I.Passholder Summer Days have begun, and it’s about to get even hotter this summer as the perks keep coming! If you’re an Annual Passholder who hasn’t made summer 2026 vacation plans yet, listen up! You’ll definitely want to schedule a visit (or two…or more) to The Most Magical Place On Earth to get in on the fun. As a reminder, V.I.Passholder Summer Days 2026 is going on now through July 31st.
MouseHouseNews.net recently did a deep dive to determine if a Walt Disney World Annual Pass is worth the cost. In addition to theme park entry and other discounts, Disney offers Passholders special “extras” throughout the year. Think special experiences, exclusive merchandise and treats, elevated Resort discounts, etc. V.I.Passholder Summer Days takes things to a whole new level!
The Latest Summer Passholder Perks
Don’t worry, we’ll give you a recap of all the extra perks Passholders can enjoy this summer. First, I have exciting news about a brand-new perk that was just announced! Disney has revealed that Annual Passholders can request access to special previews for two highly anticipated rides that will be opening this summer.
Passholder attraction previews are nothing new. In fall 2025, Passholders were among the first to see the debut of Zootopia: Better Zoogether! at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Surprisingly, there were no advanced previews prior to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad’s reopening. However, Disney just confirmed that Annual Passholders will be able to preview Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets and Soarin’ Across America.
Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets – Passholder Preview
As MouseHouseNews.net has reported, there is an official opening date for Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster. If you’re excited to race through Hollywood on a chaotic, music-filled journey with everyone’s favorite Muppets, mark your calendar! Passholders will have the opportunity to preview this updated Hollywood Studios attraction on May 21st, May 22nd, and May 23rd.
In order to participate, Passholders will need to secure a theme park reservation for one of the applicable dates. Having a theme park reservation will allow you to request to join a virtual queue for the attraction. Note: you can only request to join the virtual queue for this attraction once per day.
Each preview day will have three virtual queue distribution times:
- The 7:00am virtual queue drop will be available to Annual Passholders with a Hollywood Studios theme park reservation for that day.
- An 11:00am distribution will be available to Passholders with a theme park reservation for any theme park on that day. Remember, to enter Hollywood Studios, you must enter the park in which you have your reservation before you will be able to enter Hollywood Studios.
- There will also be a 3:00pm virtual queue distribution for any Annual Passholders with valid admission. A theme park reservation is not required for this one.
Intriguingly, Disney has stated that there will not be a virtual queue in place for the attraction when it officially opens for everyone on May 26th…
As an extra bonus, Passholders doing the preview will also receive complimentary downloads of their Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets attraction photo!
Soarin’ Across America – Passholder Preview
Over in EPCOT, Soarin’ will also be getting some new magic beginning May 26, 2026. The ride will change from Soarin’ Around the World to Soarin’ Across America in honor of America’s 250th birthday celebration. Soarin’ Around the World will take off for its final flights on May 13th. If you are unable to make it to EPCOT before then, don’t despair! We’ve got a full ride video below!
In the updated version, guests will journey from sea to shining sea and discover some of ou country’s beautiful natural scenery and stunning city landscapes. You can also expect a moving musical score and those fan-favorite scents to continue playing a defining role in Soarin’ Across America.
Passholder previews for Soarin’ Across America will be held on May 19th and May 20th. In contrast to the Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster previews, the previews for this attraction will not be utilizing a virtual queue system. Passholders will instead be able to join the standby queue during regular operating hours.
V.I.Passholder Summer Days Perks
As was mentioned earlier, there are a ton of discounts, freebies, and exclusives available for Annual Passholders now through July 31, 2026. Here’s a quick rundown of everything that’s been announced:
Extra Dining Discounts
- Annual Passholders can get crazy-good discounts at select restaurants during V.I.Passholder Summer Days. Typically, participating restaurants will offer Passholders a 10% discount on regularly-priced food and non-alcoholic beverages. However, during V.I.Passholder Summer Days, select restaurants are offering increased dining discounts (up to 40% off!) for specified meal periods on Mondays-Thursdays.
Exclusive Merchandise and Freebies
- New Passholder merchandise will be available. You can rep your Annual Passholder status with items including a shirt, hoodie, crossbody bag, baseball cap, and more. There will also be a Passholder-exclusive popcorn bucket available while supplies last.
- Build on your collection of Passholder magnets with the latest magnet design featuring Woody and Buzz Lightyear from Toy Story!
- New summer designs for your Disney MagicMobile Pass
Exclusive Character Meetings and the Passholder Lounge Returns
- A special Passholder character meet and greet featuring “some of Mickey’s best pals” in the Magic Eye Theater (home of the Disney & Pixar Short Film Festival) in EPCOT
- The exclusive Passholder Lounge is back in EPCOT’s Morocco Pavilion. Head to Restaurant Marrakesh from 11am to 7pm daily for some A/C, complimentary snacks, complimentary water and Moroccan mint tea, an exclusive Annual Passholder collectible button, and a unique PhotoPass Magic Shot. Did I mention A/C?…
Passholder-Exclusive Snacks & Treats
- A tasty new cake pop is available only for Passholders at Karamell-Küche in EPCOT’s Germany Pavilion. Grab your Mickey Chocolate Cake Pop with Werther’s Original Caramel while you can!
- The return of the AP-exclusive tumbler. If you didn’t purchase your souvenir Passholder cup (with images designed by artist Joey Chou) last year, you’ve got another opportunity in 2026. The cup includes your choice of non-alcoholic beverage. Just remember, the cup is nonrefillable! You can mobile order it from the following locations while supplies last:
- Pizzafari in Animal Kingdom
- Backlot Express and Dockside Diner in Hollywood Studios
- Connections Eatery and Regal Eagle Smokehouse in EPCOT
- A new V.I.Passholder Summer Days Coffee Challenge from Joffrey’s (remember how much fun we had during the 2025 Holiday Joffrey’s Coffee Challenge? Challenge accepted…again!)
Planning Your Summer Visit
So, now that you’ve seen just how much fun you can have as an Annual Passholder, why not consider booking that summer trip? Believe it or not, there are also limited-time resort discounts available (up to 40% off for Passholders!!!!).
I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly ready to be treated like a Very Important Passholder! With so much to see and experience, there’s never a dull moment in Disney World. Stay tuned to MouseHouseNews.net for even more info you can use to plan your next visit to the magic. We’ll see you real soon!
