For Key holders: Which Magic Key is right for me?

[Foxhound3857]

So it seems like the odds are pretty high that key sales will resume either by the end of the month or in early September, after the renewal period has passed, and after having such a good time for my birthday trip in June, I'm committed to trying to get myself a Magic Key when they go up again, even if it means sitting in a queue for 10 hours and taking a day off work to do it. Currently I'm angling for an Enchant Key as it seems to be the best middleground for my situation, but I thought I'd ask the experts what they think.

I work four days a week, Thursday-Sunday, 9 hour shifts, so mostly I'm looking to go every 6-8 weeks but possibly as often as once a month, most likely on a Tuesday, though I will want to throw in the occasional Friday and possibly Saturday so I can see some fireworks from time to time (I'm told they're only for Friday-Sunday).

-Being blacked out for the Summer doesn't bother me as I don't like going out in hot weather.

-Being blocked out for holidays also doesn't bother me much because I don't like fighting big crowds if I can help it. Prefer to go on weekdays when the crowd is calmer and wait times aren't so inflated. Would maybe like to squeeze in a day for December though.

-Losing weekends is the only real concern I have for the times when I want to take some VTO/PTO, but I can live without it and schedule accordingly if there are fireworks on some weekdays.

-Getting to Disneyland is a 70 mile drive for me (High Desert/Victorville).

Is Enchant indeed the ideal candidate for me, or should I be looking elsewhere given my schedule and situation?

 

[MillauFr]

I doubt they will reopen the cheaper keys for sale. They are filling the parks so there is no reason to resume sales.

 

[starry_solo]

The Enchant Key has only been available for renewals (and upgrades or downgrades at renewal time, depending on the current Key you have).

The issue you will have is, are you only available during the weekends or can you go during the weekdays? This is, of course, assuming that they open anything other than Believe for sale (Inspire is currently available for sale)....

 

[Foxhound3857]

So the last time they had a key sale Enchant wasn’t even available?

I’ve been waiting two months now, checking multiple blogs and twitter feeds every day, hoping to stay on top of when the next key sale will happen. Is it all pointless then?

 

[Foxhound3857]

The Enchant Key has only been available for renewals (and upgrades or downgrades at renewal time, depending on the current Key you have).

The issue you will have is, are you only available during the weekends or can you go during the weekdays? This is, of course, assuming that they open anything other than Believe for sale (Inspire is currently available for sale)....

A question then: If I bite the bullet and go for an Inspire key (or wait a little longer and get a Believe key like my sister has), and a year passes and renewal time comes, can I downgrade to an Enchant key then, already holding a higher key?

 

[brightlined]

All the tiers (including Enchant) were available during the sale in April. (I bought an Enchant Key in April.) The November 2022 sale was just the top two.

It's not necessarily pointless to keep your eyes open - it's just pointless to listen to the blogs (and posters here) about if or when another sale will happen. Nobody outside of Disney knows - everyone else is just guessing.

(I keep hearing things like "the renewal period" - and I keep wondering if there's just some confused vlogger out there. There's no "renewal period", other than maybe you could argue that a bulk of MK owners bought theirs during the first couple of months they were available in 2021, so there might be an unusually high number of non-renewals starting in late August, potentially leading to more availability. But the renewal period is perpetual.)

If they do reopen things, it sounds like you could probably make Enchant work. I'm coming from farther away, but I use it similarly. You'd have to be choosy about weeknight fireworks, since that's not entirely common (ie, with Enchant, mainly August and December), but it'd be doable.

The only thing that might sell Believe is the combo of gaining some Saturdays and if you're parking at DL (ie, just coming and leaving in one day) - depends on if that's worth the extra cost. (Enchant is perfect for me because I'm always at a hotel, and I really don't want to be there on a Saturday.)

Believe has also typically been more "available" than Enchant, too.

A question then: If I bite the bullet and go for an Inspire key (or wait a little longer and get a Believe key like my sister has), and a year passes and renewal time comes, can I downgrade to an Enchant key then, already holding a higher key?

I'm actually curious if anyone has actually done that. The wording is always "subject to availability" - but does "available for renewal" mean for every pass level, or if renewal is just for the same tier. (I know folks have upgraded from Enchant to Believe despite Believe being "sold out", so maybe it'd work.)

 

[Foxhound3857]

I'm actually curious if anyone has actually done that. The wording is always "subject to availability" - but does "available for renewal" mean for every pass level, or if renewal is just for the same tier. (I know folks have upgraded from Enchant to Believe despite Believe being "sold out", so maybe it'd work.)

I don't know if this is what we're looking for but I read an answer to a similar question on PlanDisney just now, and it says this:

So, here’s how it works: As soon as you’re within your 30-day window before your Magic Key expires, you’ll have the chance to upgrade or downgrade your Magic Key, subject to pass availability, which may change from time to time. For example, when I renewed my Magic Key, I chose to upgrade from the Imagine Key to the Enchant Key. When you’re within your renewal window, you can navigate to Disneyland.com/renew to begin the renewal process. You’ll be prompted to sign into your Disney account, and then you’ll be directed to the renewal page. There, you’ll see your Magic Key, along with the Magic Key types that are currently available for renewal. So, as long as the Believe Key is available at that time, you should be able to downgrade to that Key.

I'm just not sure if that means the key you want to upgrade or downgrade to simply has to be eligible for renewal, or has to be for sale in the first place.

 

[brightlined]

I don't know if this is what we're looking for but I read an answer to a similar question on PlanDisney just now, and it says this:

So, here’s how it works: As soon as you’re within your 30-day window before your Magic Key expires, you’ll have the chance to upgrade or downgrade your Magic Key, subject to pass availability, which may change from time to time. For example, when I renewed my Magic Key, I chose to upgrade from the Imagine Key to the Enchant Key. When you’re within your renewal window, you can navigate to Disneyland.com/renew to begin the renewal process. You’ll be prompted to sign into your Disney account, and then you’ll be directed to the renewal page. There, you’ll see your Magic Key, along with the Magic Key types that are currently available for renewal. So, as long as the Believe Key is available at that time, you should be able to downgrade to that Key.

I'm just not sure if that means the key you want to upgrade or downgrade to simply has to be eligible for renewal, or has to be for sale in the first place.

And that should be how it'd work - I think when they mean "available Key", they mean that you couldn't, for example, upgrade to a Dream Key (even though there are still some active Dream Keys out there).

 

[Foxhound3857]

And that should be how it'd work - I think when they mean "available Key", they mean that you couldn't, for example, upgrade to a Dream Key (even though there are still some active Dream Keys out there).

So if I bought an Inspire key for a year, used the hell out of it, then renewal time comes and Enchant Key says "available for renewal only", I should be able to downgrade to it, even if it's not for sale?

 

[starry_solo]

So if I bought an Inspire key for a year, used the hell out of it, then renewal time comes and Enchant Key says "available for renewal only", I should be able to downgrade to it, even if it's not for sale?

Should. I know when I renewed my key, it gave me the option of enchant, even though it wasn't for sale then (to purchasers of new keys).

 

[Foxhound3857]

Should. I know when I renewed my key, it gave me the option of enchant, even though it wasn't for sale then (to purchasers of new keys).

Alright, good to know. If I'm not able to get one by, say, Christmas, I'll probably just treat myself to the pricy Inspire, use it as much as I reasonably can (can save my sister money when we go with free parking and bigger merch discounts, at least), then try to switch to Enchant later when renewal time comes.

 

[starry_solo]

I think you'll really enjoy that Inspire Key!