The Disneyland Annual Pass is one of the biggest values you'll ever find.
For $259 dollars, a non-local can get into Disneyland every day, with SOME black out dates. Around 300 days out of 365 isn't bad at all. And for $379 you can get in with no black out dates.
Now, $259/$379 is nothing to sneeze at. But since the Disneyland Annual Pass includes entry to TWO world class theme parks (Disneyland and California Adventure), several parades, seasonal activities and special events, and fireworks every night - That's really not that much. I mean, an annual pass to Lagoon, here in Utah, costs around $90, and it's a seasonal pass rather than an annual pass. That means that for $90, you get 5-6 months at Lagoon, versus $259/$379 for an entire year at TWO parks. (Did I really refer to them earlier as theme parks? OH MY GOSH SHOOT ME NOW.)
Other parks in the area charge less than half for their annual passes. Why? Because people aren't willing to pay more. Disneyland charges what they do because they have to! So many more people would be willing to buy them at lesser prices that I think the lines would be scary. But $115 at Knotts Berry Farm sounds like a great deal, but I don't think I could really TAKE ADVANTAGE of that pass like I would a Disneyland Annual Pass.
When you consider that you can apply your current Disneyland ticket/pass to your annual pass before it expires (If you're there on a 3 day hopper pass, you can apply the cost of the hopper pass as if you had bought your Disneyland Annual Pass!), it makes it that much more affordable.
"But wouldn't I get tired of Disneyland?" Well... Look - some people have Pizza night. Some people have taco night. For me, living in Utah, I can't get down to Disneyland enough to become tired of it. But the pass is STILL worth it. I don't think most people would use the pass the same as they would regular tickets... When I have regular tickets, I show up early, and stay late. My feet can become tired, and I need to just keep on the go-go-go! because I only have so long at the park. With the Annual Pass, and staying for a few days, you can come and go, going home for a nap, leaving the park for a bite to eat, to go to the beach, or whatnot.
There are also the discounts and benefits available only to Disneyland Annual Passholders as detailed here.
For the record: My plan is to get four annual passes. I'll get myself the $379 pass because it comes with free parking and I'll be driving. My wife and children I'll buy the deluxe annual pass at $259. This doesn't include most Saturdays, so my personal plan is to supplement this with annual passes for the four of us to either Universal ($71/annual pass) or Knotts Bery Farm ($60kids/$115 adults). That way, Saturdays we'll spend at one of the other parks (which is about all we'd be interested in doing) and the rest of the time we were down in SoCal at Disneyland/California Adventure.
Meh, folks is folks, and different people have different ways of going about things. For me, my ideal getaway isn't sitting on a sandy beach with a fruity drink. It's getting in the car, driving 10 hours down to Anaheim and staying for 5 days with our entertainment already taken care of (for as many trips as we can arrange) through the biggest value on Earth: The Disneyland Annual Pass!