Magic Key Program

[twodogs]

As an out of state (Texas) former Flex Pass holder, the current MK program has some significant drawbacks. We almost always travel weekends/school holidays/holidays due to high school aged kids who don’t want to miss school. So the only Key that will work is the highest priced one without all of the block outs. Now we went from a $599 Flex Pass to a $1399 MK. While FP only allowed 2 reservations to be held at a time (which frankly was very stressful for us as our trips were usually 4 park days (some were partial days)), the price point made it worth the risk. With the price point of the MK, I would not be ok with that stress. Since we can have 6 reservations at once, that would help, but we could still only have one trip planned every 90 days under this system.

I feel differently than the poster who said Disney doesn’t want OOS MK holders. I think OOS MK make more trips per year than they would if they had to buy tickets each time (“well, we have paid for these MKs so we had better use them rather than go on vacation elsewhere…), and they may stay at onsite hotels, which is big profit for Disney. They may lose some on the tickets versus MK, but they more than make up for it on the more frequent trips and the onsite hotels.

I still can’t justify the MK right now, but that may have more to do with the outrageous lines we encountered on Columbus day weekend when we were just there. I said to myself, I will not return without some type of FP. And I won’t.

 

[AndrewC]

As an out of state (Texas) former Flex Pass holder, the current MK program has some significant drawbacks. We almost always travel weekends/school holidays/holidays due to high school aged kids who don’t want to miss school. So the only Key that will work is the highest priced one without all of the block outs. Now we went from a $599 Flex Pass to a $1399 MK. While FP only allowed 2 reservations to be held at a time (which frankly was very stressful for us as our trips were usually 4 park days (some were partial days)), the price point made it worth the risk. With the price point of the MK, I would not be ok with that stress. Since we can have 6 reservations at once, that would help, but we could still only have one trip planned every 90 days under this system.

I feel differently than the poster who said Disney doesn’t want OOS MK holders. I think OOS MK make more trips per year than they would if they had to buy tickets each time (“well, we have paid for these MKs so we had better use them rather than go on vacation elsewhere…), and they may stay at onsite hotels, which is big profit for Disney. They may lose some on the tickets versus MK, but they more than make up for it on the more frequent trips and the onsite hotels.

I still can’t justify the MK right now, but that may have more to do with the outrageous lines we encountered on Columbus day weekend when we were just there. I said to myself, I will not return without some type of FP. And I won’t.

You’re likely to have no problem booking days if you stay on property. It’s a huge perk (that Disney isn’t actually talking about) for out of state visitors. You probably could book 3 days and 3 days for two trips and “gamble” on that 4th partial departure day. As soon as you scan into the parks that first day you can grab the departure day using the resort bucket.

I’m actually very very happy with the availability open to hotel guests and I don’t think there will be any issues… now Christmas, New Years, and maybe around Thanksgiving will be a real test, if resort bucket has tickets available just a couple days away or even the night before, then Disney clearly is making sure ANYONE onsite that has a pass will get into at least one park, which makes sense of course. Not a huge reason to spend $700 a night at the Grand or even $450 a night at Paradise Pier to just look longingly out your window at the theme park…

 

[PirateBrigade]

Even without the candlelight weekend you're still ahead with MK.

This is clearly a frequent visitor pass but wasn’t designed (or was clearly designed against) as being a come every weekend type of thing.

Even if you only did five or six trips a year that were two or three day long trips the keys would make financial sense. Six visits of two days each with park hoppers would almost be $1750, a Dream Key is $1,400.

Now we went from a $599 Flex Pass to a $1399 MK.

You’re likely to have no problem booking days if you stay on property. It’s a huge perk (that Disney isn’t actually talking about) for out of state visitors. You probably could book 3 days and 3 days for two trips and “gamble” on that 4th partial departure day. As soon as you scan into the parks that first day you can grab the departure day using the resort bucket.

Yeah, I was able to do my above itinerary 2019-2020 (roughly) under the old $599 flex pass (or was it $699? I can't recall). At $699, the cost per day would have been $38.

New AP for me doubles my cost per day ($38 vs. $78), oh well. I tried working my itinerary around the 2nd tier AP (AP2), but too many blackout dates fall on a Saturday, and with school it just doesn't work out. I suppose I could go for broke and try to double my park days (from 18 to 36) and feel better about my cost per visit, but holy cow the hotel & airfare for that will be painful!

Anyway -- what I will end up doing is a) going December 3-6 with tickets, b) upgrading to AP2 ($949), and c) either fiddle with my dates or d) worst case scenario, buy single park tickets.

Month/Day/Year	Covered by AP2?	Solution	Add'l Cost	Need to move DVC?
December 3-6, 2021	Irrelevant, using tickets	n/a	n/a	No
March 24-26, 2022	Not March 26	Move trip to 3/23-3/25 (it's spring break)	n/a	Yes, might just have to bank points entirely and find alternative hotel options because the calendar is booked now.
June 9-12, 2022	Yes	n/a	n/a	No
September 23-25, 2022	Yes	n/a	n/a	n/a
November 23-26, 2022	Not Nov 24-26	Just don't go? Pick another weekend in November?	none or $365 for 3d PH	Yes, but really I haven't booked this yet anyway since we're not even at the 11 month mark.
		AP2 + $365 =	$1314	It ends up being a wash if I end up having to buy a 3d PH to supplement an AP2 vs. an AP1 from the start. Discount not considered.
		AP1 =	$1399

 

[PirateBrigade]

I’m actually very very happy with the availability open to hotel guests and I don’t think there will be any issues… now Christmas, New Years, and maybe around Thanksgiving will be a real test, if resort bucket has tickets available just a couple days away or even the night before, then Disney clearly is making sure ANYONE onsite that has a pass will get into at least one park, which makes sense of course. Not a huge reason to spend $700 a night at the Grand or even $450 a night at Paradise Pier to just look longingly out your window at the theme park…

I'm surprised this is not an official, written, listed, and advertised policy. It was (perhaps still is) for Shanghai -- early in pandemic reopening time, I remember the official policy of the park was to issue single-park tickets + reservation at the hotel front desk for those staying on Disney property.

The only issue I can think of is the creation of a black market for people staying on-site, but this would be fairly unlikely because having strangers have access to your room would be a huuuuge deterrent.

I added my brother to my itinerary a few months ago, just so he could crash on the couch in our room at GCH, but an added bonus was that he was able to book the hotel-guests only seats at one of the on-site restaurants. This could be one way to ensure your local AP friends/family have hotel bucket reservation access.

If I'm traveling south with 3 people, I can add my brother and his wife (max 5 capacity in the VGC deluxe room), to ensure we can all book park reservations together.

 

[tsumgirl]

I personally didn't expect them to cut off sales to any of the APs this soon. I'm so relieved my friend pushed me to buy my Dream Key when it was released, even though I won't be traveling until December.

https://www.ocregister.com/2021/10/25/disneyland-sells-out-of-top-priced-magic-key-annual-pass/
Disneyland sells out of top-priced Magic Key annual pass
Orange County Register
by Brady MacDonald

Disneyland has sold out of the top-priced Magic Key after just two months as complaints from angry passholders continue to echo throughout social media about the widespread lack of reservations available for the $1,399 pass with no blockout dates.

The Dream Key has proven very popular and is currently sold out with the other Magic Keys — the Believe Key, Enchant Key and Imagine Key — remaining on sale at this time, according to Disneyland.

Disneyland will continue to monitor the Believe Key, Enchant Key and Imagine Key and make adjustments as needed to deliver a great guest experience, according to Disneyland officials.

All Disneyland keyholders who purchased a Magic Key — including current Dream Key holders — will continue to have access to passholder holder benefits like the Magic Key terrace, specialty merchandise, select discounts and the upcoming Magic Key month.

The new Magic Key annual passes went on sale Aug. 25 with Disneyland offering a free swag box for new keyholders who purchase a pass during the first 66 days — in honor of the park’s 66th anniversary. The $1,399 Dream Key sold out before reaching the end of the 66-day initial sales drive.

Prices for the new Magic Key annual passes range from $399 for the Imagine Key with the most blockout dates to $1,399 for the Dream Key with no blockout dates. The highest-priced Magic Key still available is now the $949 Believe Key with the Enchant Key costing $649.

Magic Key reservations have been frequently unavailable on weekends and holidays through the end of the year and near-term dates stretching for weeks have been completely “sold out” to annual passholders still looking for a reservation. In contrast, the daily ticket calendar often shows availability on virtually all weekdays, weekends and holidays — with a few near-term dates “sold out.”

Disneyland’s loyal fan base has grown increasingly furious over the apparent prioritization of daily ticket buyers over annual passholders.

“The Dream Key is more like a Nightmare Key,” Jane Friday wrote on Instagram. “It’s an unbelievable amount of money to spend to have nothing but weekday reservations available.”

The separate Magic Key and daily ticket online calendars are dynamic and constantly changing — which means unavailable reservations can become available again at any time.

Last year’s closure and the launch of the new Magic Key program are generating strong demand during the always popular limited-time fall and winter holiday seasons, according to Disneyland officials.
The vast majority of keyholders say they are able to get just as much if not more access to the parks than they expected when they signed up, according to Disneyland officials.

Disneyland is managing attendance by leveraging its theme park reservation system that requires advance reservations for Magic Key holders and day guests to help provide a great guest experience for all and spread out visitation, according to Disney officials.

Keyholders can visit either Disneyland or DCA any day their passes are not blocked out and reservations are available. Keyholders can make two, four or six reservations at a time in a 90-day window depending on their pass type.

 

[briggscreek]

We're supposed to be upgrading two parkhoppers to Believe passes next Monday. Now they might sell out before then. Ugh.

 

[DLgal]

I am honestly shocked to hear that Dream Keys are sold out BUT it does illustrate that Disney is listening to the feedback from angry Dream key purchasers who cannot get reservations. I have a feeling these passes aren't "sold out" so much as temporarily suspended. I think Disney is probably scrambling around behind the scenes with the reservation system to try and figure out a better allocation system between passes and day tickets. My crystal ball tells me that the Dream key will return in January, after the holidays are over.

It does also seem that the Imagine key is unavailable as well. Can anyone confirm that?

 

[jessredrabbit]

We're supposed to be upgrading two parkhoppers to Believe passes next Monday. Now they might sell out before then. Ugh.

We're supposed to be upgrading two parkhoppers to Believe passes next Monday. Now they might sell out before then. Ugh.

 

[jessredrabbit]

I agree I think they will be back after the holidays. But I’m really sad over this because Disney didn’t allow upgrades from tickets online so I was waiting to get my pass until after my trip in December and apply my 3 day hoppers toward the purchase. Now I probably won’t get a pass at all. I live in the Bay Area so it wasn’t like I could just go down to the ticket booth and I already had my tickets when they announced the key program. I’m going to Disneyworld in 5 weeks and then Disneyland for Christmas lol… I love Disney but this move and the pay per ride Genie + is awful. really needed the pass to make trips justifiable

 

[Narcoossee11]

I am honestly shocked to hear that Dream Keys are sold out BUT it does illustrate that Disney is listening to the feedback from angry Dream key purchasers who cannot get reservations. I have a feeling these passes aren't "sold out" so much as temporarily suspended. I think Disney is probably scrambling around behind the scenes with the reservation system to try and figure out a better allocation system between passes and day tickets. My crystal ball tells me that the Dream key will return in January, after the holidays are over.

It does also seem that the Imagine key is unavailable as well. Can anyone confirm that?

I think this mean... KEYS are priced to low. DL is trying to come up with way to raise the price.

 

[dina444444]

I am honestly shocked to hear that Dream Keys are sold out BUT it does illustrate that Disney is listening to the feedback from angry Dream key purchasers who cannot get reservations. I have a feeling these passes aren't "sold out" so much as temporarily suspended. I think Disney is probably scrambling around behind the scenes with the reservation system to try and figure out a better allocation system between passes and day tickets. My crystal ball tells me that the Dream key will return in January, after the holidays are over.

It does also seem that the Imagine key is unavailable as well. Can anyone confirm that?

It’s still available. You have to be logged in for it to show up since it doesn’t show unless you are a So Cal resident.

 

[Astylla]

I am honestly shocked to hear that Dream Keys are sold out BUT it does illustrate that Disney is listening to the feedback from angry Dream key purchasers who cannot get reservations. I have a feeling these passes aren't "sold out" so much as temporarily suspended. I think Disney is probably scrambling around behind the scenes with the reservation system to try and figure out a better allocation system between passes and day tickets. My crystal ball tells me that the Dream key will return in January, after the holidays are over.

It does also seem that the Imagine key is unavailable as well. Can anyone confirm that?

I'll be honest and say I am surprised it took this long to suspend sales. I have no regrets about getting my Dream key the first day and fully paid in cash was worth the wait in the heat lol.
I actually DO like the reservation system but also as a SF bay Keyholder I typically need to plan a little bit even if a day before. True locals I can understand that the last minute I just want to show up is taken away but I'll take this system over no passes at all. I actually do like that feedback is being taken into some kind of consideration and kind of proves how powerful social media is, for better or worse.

 

[briggscreek]

I agree I think they will be back after the holidays. But I’m really sad over this because Disney didn’t allow upgrades from tickets online so I was waiting to get my pass until after my trip in December and apply my 3 day hoppers toward the purchase. Now I probably won’t get a pass at all. I live in the Bay Area so it wasn’t like I could just go down to the ticket booth and I already had my tickets when they announced the key program. I’m going to Disneyworld in 5 weeks and then Disneyland for Christmas lol… I love Disney but this move and the pay per ride Genie + is awful. really needed the pass to make trips justifiable

We're in Oregon so couldn't just go to the gates to upgrade our tickets either. The worst part is that I bought the Believe pass for myself and planned to upgrade the existing parkhoppers for my kids. So if the pass sells out before next week, we'll be left with only one pass.

 

[DLgal]

I'll be honest and say I am surprised it took this long to suspend sales. I have no regrets about getting my Dream key the first day and fully paid in cash was worth the wait in the heat lol.
I actually DO like the reservation system but also as a SF bay Keyholder I typically need to plan a little bit even if a day before. True locals I can understand that the last minute I just want to show up is taken away but I'll take this system over no passes at all. I actually do like that feedback is being taken into some kind of consideration and kind of proves how powerful social media is, for better or worse.

Actually, day before reservations are among the easiest to get. It's the weekends that you need need book as soon as they come available.

Disney REALLY also needs to just allow same day reservation cancellations. I don't know why they are being so stubborn about this. Those are spots that other key holders will HAPPILY pick up.

We had a reservation for Saturday. On Friday, I saw that Sunday was available. I reserved it as well. The reason was the forecast for Saturday was iffy and one of my sons cannot stand to get wet with rain (it's an autism sensory thing) so I wanted to have another option. As predicted, it was raining Saturday morning. I convinced my son to just go and we were halfway there when it started raining HARD. He kind of freaked out and demanded we turn around and skip Disneyland. It never ended up raining hard at Disneyland, but it is what it is. We had to be "no shows" even though I WOULD have simply cancelled because it was 10am. It ended up being a nice day and I'm sure some local key holder would have liked to go. We did go yesterday and it was great.

Disney needs to just get with the program and be more flexible with the reservation system in real time.

 

[jessredrabbit]

We're in Oregon so couldn't just go to the gates to upgrade our tickets either. The worst part is that I bought the Believe pass for myself and planned to upgrade the existing parkhoppers for my kids. So if the pass sells out before next week, we'll be left with only one pass.

I feel for you crossing my fingers there are passes available

 

[DLgal]

We're in Oregon so couldn't just go to the gates to upgrade our tickets either. The worst part is that I bought the Believe pass for myself and planned to upgrade the existing parkhoppers for my kids. So if the pass sells out before next week, we'll be left with only one pass.

That's a quandary. I wonder if they would refund your magic key under those circumstances. Have you used it yet?

 

[briggscreek]

That's a quandary. I wonder if they would refund your magic key under those circumstances. Have you used it yet?

No, I have reservations on Sunday and Monday so I guess we'll just have to hope for the best at this point. We were going to upgrade at the end of the day on Nov 1. I thought about just buying the passes outright, but I would definitely regret that if they haven't sold out by Monday. They have really made the system more difficult than it should be, if I could have upgraded the tickets online this wouldn't have even been an issue.

 

[DLgal]

No, I have reservations on Sunday and Monday so I guess we'll just have to hope for the best at this point. We were going to upgrade at the end of the day on Nov 1. I thought about just buying the passes outright, but I would definitely regret that if they haven't sold out by Monday. They have really made the system more difficult than it should be, if I could have upgraded the tickets online this wouldn't have even been an issue.

I would hope that the passes won't sell out in a week, but there may be a frantic run on them now that this news has broken. If you are planning a future trip, I'd personally just buy the kids keys today, save them to activate on your next trip, and use the park hoppers as planned and just swallow the additional cost. Who knows how much higher prices are going to get, considering they raised them across the board today.

 

[briggscreek]

I would hope that the passes won't sell out in a week, but there may be a frantic run on them now that this news has broken. If you are planning a future trip, I'd personally just buy the kids keys today, save them to activate on your next trip, and use the park hoppers as planned and just swallow the additional cost. Who knows how much higher prices are going to get, considering they raised them across the board today.

I'm definitely considering doing that!

 

[dieumeye]

I’m glad they suspended the dream key. They really need to decide how many dream keys they want to sell versus how many reservations slots they’re going to allocate to those Dream keys.

I have found it incredibly aggravating from the start that there is lots of park capacity available, but they arbitrarily limit the amount of keyholders that can go into the park. The Dream key is a ticket that is good every day, but they can arbitrarily decide that sometimes it’s not good? Hopefully this is the beginning of undoing that.