The best thing about annual passes is you don't have to make a long day of going. You can run down in the afternoon and stay till evening and be good, because you don't have to get your moneys worth in one trip.
x2 When I lived in the OC, me and the wife had the annual passes. We would run up there during the week when there was very few people there. get there around 10am, hit a few rides, lunch, a few more rides and then out before rush hour.
Have a friend that has worked there for years, so whenever we go down there we get walked through the gate. Beats paying for the tickets now....Ouch!