Disneyland has unveiled a replacement for the popular annual passholder program used by a million fans that will require advance reservations as part of a new system designed to reduce crowding and smooth demand throughout the year.
Disneyland announced on Tuesday, Aug. 3 that the new Magic Key program will replace the Annual Passport that has been in use at the Anaheim theme park for nearly four decades.
Magic Key annual passes go on sale Aug. 25 no earlier than 10 a.m. Keyholders — the new name for passholders — can visit Disneyland and Disney California Adventure starting on Aug. 25 provided reservations are available for their pass type.
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The new annual pass will be available at four price points: $1,399 Dream Key, $949 Believe Key, $649 Enchant Key and $399 Imagine Key. Monthly payments will be available to California residents only for each pass level. Daily visitors can turn their ticket into a Magic Key pass.
The $399 to $1,399 Magic Key price range is in line with 2019 prices for Disneyland annual passes. In 2020, the Southern California Select pass rose to $419 while the Signature Plus pass climbed to $1,449.
Higher priced passes will offer fewer blockout days on reservation access calendars. Keyholders should expect reservations to be sold out on some days. The fine print notes that reservations are limited, subject to availability and not guaranteed for any specific dates or park.
The $1,399 Dream Key provides access to both parks every day of the year with free parking.
The $949 Believe Key is good for 317 days per year and offers 50% discounts on parking. The Believe pass is blocked out around Christmas, New Year’s Day and Easter and some weekend days in February, March, April, May and July.
The $649 Enchant Key provides 216 days of annual access to the parks. The Enchant pass is blocked out around Christmas, New Year’s and Easter, most of June and July and big chunks of April, May and August.
The $399 Imagine Key is only available to Southern California residents and is good for 147 days per year. The Imagine pass is essentially good Monday through Thursday with a few Fridays and blocked out most of June, July and August and for big chunks of November, December, January and April.
Dream and Believe keyholders can hold up to six reservations at a time. Enchant keyholders can have up to four reservations and Imagine keyholders can have two.
Dream keyholders get 20% off merchandise and 15% off food while Believe, Enchant and Imagine keyholders receive 10% discounts on merchandise and food.
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The new Magic Key pass will be similar to the former Flex pass launched in May 2019 that required advance reservations. Disneyland described the Flex pass as the most highly rated and sought after pass under the former AP program.
Keyholders will be able to make reservations up to 90 days in advance and cancel their reservation up until the night before they visit the park. Keyholders can make reservations on the day of their visit provided reservations are still available.
Keyholders with three no shows in a 90-day period will have their Magic Key privileges put on hold for 30 days with no new reservations permitted during that period.
Martin Lewison, a professor at Farmingdale State College in New York who studies Disneyland pricing, said the Magic Key program appears to satisfy fans’ desire for a way to visit the parks frequently without paying for daily admission each time.
“They found people wanted their program back, so they gave them as much as possible,” he said, “but they held back the ultimate card, which is capacity, since you have to make a reservation.”
Former annual passholder Michelle Kargenian of Yorba Linda said the reservation requirement will probably keep her from buying the Magic Key.
“The beauty of the pass was in its flexibility and spontaneity,” she said. “Jockeying for reservations with thousands of pass holders at a greater cost does not equate to ‘better’ in my humble opinion.”
Sheryl Herchenroeder of Fontana, who previously had the lowest-cost pass, said she would be willing to buy the $399 pass for California residents. She doesn’t mind the high number of blockout dates, since she doesn’t want to go when the park is too crowded, and she’s not put off by the reservation requirement.
“The reservation system is really no big deal,” she said. “It seems you can get same day or next day/short notice reservations to all the parks. I don’t think it will change much for the spontaneous Disneyland trips for us.”
Parkhopping will be permitted at 1 p.m. for keyholders — just like daily visitors. Advance reservations for keyholders and daily visitors are expected to continue for the foreseeable future.
Disneyland surveyed thousands of passholder about their opinions and preferences with 80% saying they wanted to continue with the new Magic Key program.
The Magic Key passes come with several perks that include PhotoPass offers, exclusive experiences, special events and limited edition merchandise.
The Alfresco Tasting Terrace that was exclusive to annual passholders will become the Magic Key Terrace. A Magic Key event starting Sept. 1 in the Tomorrowland Starcade will feature a keyholder lounge. A Magic Key celebration month will be announced at a later date.
All Magic Key information will be relayed to keyholders through a new portal in the Disneyland mobile app.
Charter members who sign up during the first 66 days, in celebration of the 66th anniversary of Disneyland, will receive a Magic Key swag box that includes a pin, button, magnet, lanyard and park map.
SEE ALSO: Former Disneyland annual passholders complain about lack of priority ticket access for parks’ return
Fans have been waiting months for Disneyland to announce a replacement for the popular passholder program.
The cancellation of the AP program in January sent shockwaves through the loyal fan base — which Disneyland redubbed “Legacy Passholders.”
Disneyland officials won’t say how many people have annual passes, but theme park industry observers have estimated the number to be 1 million. Annual passholders comprise an estimated 50% of Disneyland resort attendance, according to UBS financial analysts.
Disneyland and Disney California Adventure reopened on April 30 with attendance capacity constraints and other state-mandated COVID-19 health and safety measures after a 412-day pandemic closure. Most restrictions were lifted on June 15, although Disneyland and DCA are once again requiring visitors to wear masks indoors amid a spike in COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations tied to the delta variant.
Staff writer Marla Jo Fisher contributed to this report.
