Disneyland Halts All New Magic Key Sales w/ Renewal Info to Come; Plus New CA Resident Ticket Offer

[James33]

My DD just went to Knotts for their school trip. Well, she spent 1 hour just to get through security check. Then she hopped in line for Silver Bullet and waited 2.5 hours. She waited in line for lunch, which has no mobile order, had lunch, then waited for Calico Rivers, which initially showed 1.5 hours but ended up being over 3. She never got to go on it and had to leave the line to make it to the bus. After spending over 6 hours at the park, she got on exactly one ride. That’s right… one ride.

Sure, they do have the Fastlane, but it costs almost twice the ticket itself. Once you add them up, it’s like the price of lower tier Disneyland tickets with Genie+, maybe even with one LL+ depending on the tier. I’m sure for someone willing to pay the price they will have a good time at Knotts cutting in front of everyone else, but the pay for experience disparity just seems so much greater. Not sure Knotts is better value-wise.

 

[DodgerGirl]

Every year when it gets close to summer we start seeing prices for amusement park tickets start soaring as singer Jackie Wilson said "higher and higher" Disneyland is one amusement park that always does this especially now that June is here and summer is around the corner and what's the trick to get more people to visit? The old college try of raising ticket prices and having special summer deals. For years every time Disneyland used to have special summer events and during holidays such as 4th Of July and Father's Day and now since schools are on Summer Vacation they raise the ticket prices more and more. Because next to Easter 4th Of July is one of the busiest times for Disneyland and amusement parks because they are the most popular places to spend the summer other than camping trips or the beach. As for Disneyland doing away with the Magic Key Program I think this may be the start of a new system that Disneyland may experiment with because to start with Magic Keys cost so much money and really made trips more pricey. But what I think Disneyland should do is every year during summer they should have special weeks themed with special deals on tickets,
Some of the weeks would be,
1. Father's Day Salute To Dad,
Father's Day tickets would be given at a special price during Father's Day weekend
2. Family Day,
Adults would pay a special price for Disneyland admission while children up to 12 are free
3. Senior Day,
As some of you may recall Disneyland used to have Senior Fun Days for guests 55 and older and this deal would allow seniors 50 and older to get in the park for a special price even more if they have an AARP card
With weeks like this Disneyland would make a fortune selling tickets like wildfire and more people would come to visit. But here's something that will shock you that may make families reconsider Disneyland and go to another California amusement park. When I was watching a Supermarket Sweep rerun on TV they aired a commercial for Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk that said new fun deals and advertised new things like new rides but mostly was for hiring new employees so that tells me that Disneyland has competition for the summer. And when I watch Youtube I see more Six Flags commercials and Universal commercials but few Disneyland commercials. So it tells me that Disneyland is focusing less on commercials and people will visit other California amusement parks. But I think in the long run Disneyland will improve more and someday lower it's summer prices soon

 

[Whistlebee]

I know what you mean about not being excited for the next trip. I had been the same way- always another trip on the horizon. We still have more trips already planned throughout the year until our Magic Key runs out. It was a big investment for us so we are still going to use it. We have a trip this weekend but I’m just not feeling it. It’s such a bummer. We waited for Disneyland to reopen for so long and couldn’t wait to go back. Every trip that happens, I am more set on not renewing the passes. I have decided not to renew at this point. Maybe one day they will return to how they once were- but it’s going to take new leadership company wide I’m afraid.

I agree, I thinks it’s going to take new leadership as well. And that seems a long ways away.

Try and enjoy the rest of your year with your Magic Keys! I’m sure you guys can still make some great family memories!

 

[Mackenzie Click-Mickelson]

1. Father's Day Salute To Dad,
Father's Day tickets would be given at a special price during Father's Day weekend

You'd have to do mother's day too though

 

[DLgal]

My DD just went to Knotts for their school trip. Well, she spent 1 hour just to get through security check. Then she hopped in line for Silver Bullet and waited 2.5 hours. She waited in line for lunch, which has no mobile order, had lunch, then waited for Calico Rivers, which initially showed 1.5 hours but ended up being over 3. She never got to go on it and had to leave the line to make it to the bus. After spending over 6 hours at the park, she got on exactly one ride. That’s right… one ride.

Sure, they do have the Fastlane, but it costs almost twice the ticket itself. Once you add them up, it’s like the price of lower tier Disneyland tickets with Genie+, maybe even with one LL+ depending on the tier. I’m sure for someone willing to pay the price they will have a good time at Knotts cutting in front of everyone else, but the pay for experience disparity just seems so much greater. Not sure Knotts is better value-wise.

Yup. Anecdotally, this is all I've heard about Knotts recently. LONG attraction and food lines, slow loading attractions, awful food (that's always been the case, though). These were problems before the pandemic which seem to have only gotten worse since the reopening.

Universal Hollywood is still good, though. Had a great time there last year.

 

[Jrb1979]

Yup. Anecdotally, this is all I've heard about Knotts recently. LONG attraction and food lines, slow loading attractions, awful food (that's always been the case, though). These were problems before the pandemic which seem to have only gotten worse since the reopening.

Universal Hollywood is still good, though. Had a great time there last year.

I've heard the opposite of Knotts. I do think a lot the issues for Knotts is the same for every park. Staffing issues. Long lines can be avoided, buy Fastlane. I know it's expensive but the value is worth it.

 

[DLgal]

What do you want to bet that this is Disney's response to the recent lawsuit over DL APs?

It definitely is. I think Disney still wants to reach a settlement in this case, rather than going all the way to trial, so it seems like they are choosing to make some operational changes to the MK program. My hope is that the Dream Key will be a truly "all access" key with no blackouts AND no reservation requirements, but will likely see a massive price increase to compensate. Perhaps current Dream Key passholders will get some sort of "comp" as part of the settlement, such as a free Genie+ add on if you renew, or something akin to that.

In any event, I will pay what they want for a Key like that. I don't think it is likely that they change the core benefits of each Key in such a way that REMOVES current perks (discounts and parking tiers). I HOPE they eliminate the monthly payment option and lowest tier passes for good. There should be no more than 3 options on the table, to keep things simple.

 

[Jrb1979]

It definitely is. I think Disney still wants to reach a settlement in this case, rather than going all the way to trual, so it seems like they are choosing to make some operational changes to the MK program. My hope is that the Dream Key will be a truly "all access" key with no blackouts AND no reservation requirements, but will likely see a massive price increase to compensate. Perhaps current Dream Key passholders will get some sort of "comp" as part of the settlement, such as a free Genie+ add on if you renew, or something akin to that.

In any event, I will pay what they want for a Key like that. I don't think it is likely that they change the core benefits of each Key in such a way that REMOVES current perks (discounts and parking tiers). I HOPE they eliminate the monthly payment option and lowest tier passes for good. There should be no more than 3 options on the table, to keep things simple.

I wouldn't be surprised due to the lawsuit that days of no block out dates are a thing of the past.

 

[DLgal]

I've heard the opposite of Knotts. I do think a lot the issues for Knotts is the same for every park. Staffing issues. Long lines can be avoided, buy Fastlane. I know it's expensive but the value is worth it.

Really? All I've seen online is people complaining about all the rides having 2+ hour waits, at least going back the last few months.

In our own experience, on a VERY slow day in November, in 2018 they were running ONE train on all the coasters, 2 coasters were closed and lines were in excess of an hour for everything. We literally waited like 45 minutes to ride the scrambler. The load process for everything was PAINFULLY slow. It was maddening.

 

[DLgal]

I wouldn't be surprised due to the lawsuit that days of no block out dates are a thing of the past.

I disagree. The problem in the lawsuit is the block out day language in conjunction with the reservation system.

If they have to pick one or the other, I think they will drop the reservation requirement for that level of pass. Because you simply cannot sell an "all acess" pass that has limitations, and mentally, people will pay for "all access" and Disney knows it. Their job is to maximize revenue.

If they suddenly take away the illusion that a passholder can visit any day they want, they will lose a LOT of those passholders.

 

[brightlined]

What do you want to bet that this is Disney's response to the recent lawsuit over DL APs?

I'm still not entirely convinced.

The main legal issue with the lawsuit is whether park reservations being sold out counts as a blockout. That's really only an issue with the Dream Key (and the Incredi-pass at WDW). If they were concerned about the overall legal liability, they would have stopped selling all of them last fall.

At the time they yanked Dream and Believe, most of the MK availability for the holidays was gone. It made sense to yank them from sale - especially with the negative PR they were getting.

Personally - as this is about as cynical as I get - I think the main reason for yanking Enchant and Imagine was to maximize summer revenue.

They know that people want to backdoor their way to an Enchant or Imagine pass, and doing this means that guests will have to spend money on the summer and spend money again on the pass in late August or September. It means no "free" entry during this summer - and they'll be blocked out for next summer, too.

 

[Jrb1979]

Really? All I've seen online is people complaining about all the rides having 2+ hour waits, at least going back the last few months.

In our own experience, on a VERY slow day in November, in 2018 they were running ONE train on all the coasters, 2 coasters were closed and lines were in excess of an hour for everything. We literally waited like 45 minutes to ride the scrambler. The load process for everything was PAINFULLY slow. It was maddening.

A lot of parks have long waits for the majority of rides. I had the same thing happen at Cedar Point last week. With the price of gas and travel in general many are opting for local parks instead. I've come across a lot more first time visitors to my local park and Cedar Point then ever before. You add in staffing issues and this is what happens. After this summer things will level off a lot.

I disagree. The problem in the lawsuit is the block out day language in conjunction with the reservation system.

If they have to pick one or the other, I think they will drop the reservation requirement for that level of pass. Because you simply cannot sell an "all acess" pass that has limitations, and mentally, people will pay for "all access" and Disney knows it. Their job is to maximize revenue.

If they suddenly take away the illusion that a passholder can visit any day they want, they will lose a LOT of those passholders.

It's probably what they want right now. The reason passholders are having issues getting reservations is partially due to them overselling passes. If they really want to have a no blackout pass then they need to limit sales.

 

[DLgal]

A lot of parks have long waits for the majority of rides. I had the same thing happen at Cedar Point last week. With the price of gas and travel in general many are opting for local parks instead. I've come across a lot more first time visitors to my local park and Cedar Point then ever before. You add in staffing issues and this is what happens. After this summer things will level off a lot.


It's probably what they want right now. The reason passholders are having issues getting reservations is partially due to them overselling passes. If they really want to have a no blackout pass then they need to limit sales.

I agree that they want to limit passholders, which it seems they have done by pausing sales.

But the ONLY reason that it is hard for passholders to get reservations is because of how Disney is allocating reservations.

I don't really know how they are doing things day to day, but we are Dream key holders who visit practically every week. We have a hotel reservation for July which we have been using over the last month for last minute park reservations. They are ALWAYS available via that bucket.

The parks have been PACKED since early March. We went last Sunday and even though the day was "sold out" to passes and day ticket guests, the crowd level was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than it had been over previous Sundays. I don't know how that ended up being the case over a holiday weekend. Even several cast members commented that it was not busy "like the weekdays have been lately."

I'm not sure why some days have SO many more people than others. I cannot imagine that their staffing is done in such a dynamic way to have majorly different staffing levels from day to day. You would think when the lower tier passes are blacked out, they would sell more day tickets, but it seems like don't.

They are either holding back reservations or misallocating them in the buckets such that they are not maximizing capacity.

 

[James33]

A lot of parks have long waits for the majority of rides. I had the same thing happen at Cedar Point last week. With the price of gas and travel in general many are opting for local parks instead. I've come across a lot more first time visitors to my local park and Cedar Point then ever before. You add in staffing issues and this is what happens. After this summer things will level off a lot.

The difference is that Disneyland caps their attendance with reservations and there are enough rides to spread the crowd, so the lines only get so long, unless there are ride closures that limit supply, of course. Even on a no reservations day, the lines never reach Knotts levels with many 3+ hour ride lines.

I think the difference in experience here just comes down to those that pay for FastLane, and those that don’t. The baseline experience is what people are complaining about, which Is what my daughter experienced. The baseline experience at Disneyland is far superior, and I hope that doesn’t get worse.

 

[James33]

I agree that they want to limit passholders, which it seems they have done by pausing sales.

But the ONLY reason that it is hard for passholders to get reservations is because of how Disney is allocating reservations.

I don't really know how they are doing things day to day, but we are Dream key holders who visit practically every week. We have a hotel reservation for July which we have been using over the last month for last minute park reservations. They are ALWAYS available via that bucket.

The parks have been PACKED since early March. We went last Sunday and even though the day was "sold out" to passes and day ticket guests, the crowd level was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than it had been over previous Sundays. I don't know how that ended up being the case over a holiday weekend. Even several cast members commented that it was not busy "like the weekdays have been lately."

I'm not sure why some days have SO many more people than others. I cannot imagine that their staffing is done in such a dynamic way to have majorly different staffing levels from day to day. You would think when the lower tier passes are blacked out, they would sell more day tickets, but it seems like don't.

They are either holding back reservations or misallocating them in the buckets such that they are not maximizing capacity.

I’m surprised they don’t just unify the buckets a week or a few days before the date so that all remaining reservations get the maximum audience.

 

[Jrb1979]

I agree that they want to limit passholders, which it seems they have done by pausing sales.

But the ONLY reason that it is hard for passholders to get reservations is because of how Disney is allocating reservations.

I don't really know how they are doing things day to day, but we are Dream key holders who visit practically every week. We have a hotel reservation for July which we have been using over the last month for last minute park reservations. They are ALWAYS available via that bucket.

The parks have been PACKED since early March. We went last Sunday and even though the day was "sold out" to passes and day ticket guests, the crowd level was SIGNIFICANTLY lower than it had been over previous Sundays. I don't know how that ended up being the case over a holiday weekend. Even several cast members commented that it was not busy "like the weekdays have been lately."

I'm not sure why some days have SO many more people than others. I cannot imagine that their staffing is done in such a dynamic way to have majorly different staffing levels from day to day. You would think when the lower tier passes are blacked out, they would sell more day tickets, but it seems like don't.

They are either holding back reservations or misallocating them in the buckets such that they are not maximizing capacity.

Don't most passes have no black out dates on weekdays. I wouldn't be surprised that's why weekdays are busier. I don't think they want to go back to max capacity again. IMO they are trying to find that sweet spot for high profit and high guest satisfaction. Before the reservation system there were lots of complaints about the amount of pass holders in the parks. They are trying to even it out. I am going to post a Chapek quote and it tells you why the don't want many AP holders in the parks like in the past.

AS YOU KNOW, DIFFERENT GUESTS, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY ARE COMING FROM, HAVE DIFFERENT RELATIVE VALUES IN TERMS OF THEIR CONTRIBUTION AS A GUEST TO THE PARK. TYPICALLY SOMEONE WHO TRAVELS AND STAYS FOR 5-7 DAYS IS MARGINALLY MORE VALUABLE TO THE BUSINESS THAN SOMEONE WHO COMES IN ON AN ANNUAL PASS AND STAYS A DAY OR TWO AND CONSUMES LESS MERCHANDISE AND FOOD AND BEVERAGE.”

 

[Epicnemesis]

My DD just went to Knotts for their school trip. Well, she spent 1 hour just to get through security check. Then she hopped in line for Silver Bullet and waited 2.5 hours. She waited in line for lunch, which has no mobile order, had lunch, then waited for Calico Rivers, which initially showed 1.5 hours but ended up being over 3. She never got to go on it and had to leave the line to make it to the bus. After spending over 6 hours at the park, she got on exactly one ride. That’s right… one ride.

Sure, they do have the Fastlane, but it costs almost twice the ticket itself. Once you add them up, it’s like the price of lower tier Disneyland tickets with Genie+, maybe even with one LL+ depending on the tier. I’m sure for someone willing to pay the price they will have a good time at Knotts cutting in front of everyone else, but the pay for experience disparity just seems so much greater. Not sure Knotts is better value-wise.

This was my experience with Knotts, which is why we didn’t renew. And unlike Disneyland, the main issue isn’t the fast lane, because like you said, those are expensive and limited. It’s that there is no emphasis on speed. It takes several minutes to unload and load a ride. The lines are short but the waits are long. Compare that to how fast a ride like thunder mountain or space mountain loads.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I wasn’t planning on renewing our 4 Believe keys but this is making me think twice…..

 

[brightlined]

The difference is that Disneyland caps their attendance with reservations and there are enough rides to spread the crowd, so the lines only get so long, unless there are ride closures that limit supply, of course. Even on a no reservations day, the lines never reach Knotts levels with many 3+ hour ride lines.

That's really why I flinch when people complain about park reservations. People have no idea what it would actually be like if they got rid of them at Disneyland (or WDW).

I went to Cedar Point (in Ohio) on a generic Wednesday last summer (after they got rid of reservations), and the Fast Lane lines were 60+ minutes long for most of the key attractions. (Over 90 minutes for the highlight ones.) You can guess what the standby lines looked like.

I got lucky - it rained for about an hour and a lot of people left.

Cedar Fair (Knott's) and Six Flags have thrown in on the idea of charging less at the gate, then pushing people to buy Fast Lane / Flash Pass to actually ride anything. It's a trick, basically - they could just charge more at the gate to knock attendance down, but they'd rather get people inside the park first and hit them with the upsell.

I would gladly take park reservations over that.

 

[Jrb1979]

That's really why I flinch when people complain about park reservations. People have no idea what it would actually be like if they got rid of them at Disneyland (or WDW).

I went to Cedar Point (in Ohio) on a generic Wednesday last summer (after they got rid of reservations), and the Fast Lane lines were 60+ minutes long for most of the key attractions. (Over 90 minutes for the highlight ones.) You can guess what the standby lines looked like.

I got lucky - it rained for about an hour and a lot of people left.

Cedar Fair (Knott's) and Six Flags have thrown in on the idea of charging less at the gate, then pushing people to buy Fast Lane / Flash Pass to actually ride anything. It's a trick, basically - they could just charge more at the gate to knock attendance down, but they'd rather get people inside the park first and hit them with the upsell.

I would gladly take park reservations over that.

I wouldn't say they charge less at the gate. I was just at Cedar Point and a day ticket is $85. They limit the amount of Fastlane sold which Disney is doing the same with Genie+ at WDW. I go all the time. I do my best to avoid weekends and I have no issue with Fastlane.