Magic Key Back on Sale on 11/6 at 9am PT

[Foxhound3857]

Personal opinion, but I think they will eventually narrow it down to 3 MK - Inspire, which has gone up 9.2% in the past couple of years, Imagine - to throw a bone to locals and keep people in the parks during slower times, and probably Enchant which is open to anyone but still blocks busy times. Over the past couple of years, Believe has increased in price by almost 25% with more and more days being blocked. I think they are nudging those people into Inspire.

I was thinking they'd probably get rid of Imagine, tighten the calendar on Enchant and make that the entry level key.

 

[twodogs]

I did.. .. no way to upgrade those tickets without stepping into the park and/or ticket boot..

I need to decide if it is worth it as I have 3 groups of tickets already bought.. 10d total..

Thanks for the responses anyhow..

You probably already know this, but only one ticket can be used to upgrade to one MK. You can't combine the value of more than one unused ticket to apply to a single MK.

And hello from Dallas also!

 

[brightlined]

They've been selling out year after year, so by that logic we should expect a price hike every year and for the entry level pass to reach four digits by 2030.

Truthfully, only the Imagine Key actually sold out this year. The other three were available for months, and were pulled from sale in June. There was no indication that they ran through the available inventory of those, and they had other logistical reasons to pull them before the summer season started.

I still think they're close to finding the "right" balance between price and demand. But, truthfully, Imagine was the one of the four that could most justify a price increase.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Truthfully, only the Imagine Key actually sold out this year. The other three were available for months, and were pulled from sale in June. There was no indication that they ran through the available inventory of those, and they had other logistical reasons to pull them before the summer season started.

I still think they're close to finding the "right" balance between price and demand. But, truthfully, Imagine was the one of the four that could most justify a price increase.

I think Enchant needs a rework, doesn't give you enough to justify its price. The blackout dates are still pretty restrictive and none of the other perks are improvements over Imagine.

The discounts should scale with the tier, for instance: 10% for Imagine, 15% Enchant, 20% Believe, 25-30% Inspire. Enchant should also have a better Parking discount.

 

[DonnerB]

Over the past couple of years, Believe has increased in price by almost 25% with more and more days being blocked. I think they are nudging those people into Inspire.

If this is their logic, it worked on me. Had non-MK holding friends visit several times during my last Believe year and was blocked out. Just glad that my renewal date has been falling 3-4 weeks before prices increase the past couple of years!

 

[LKing]

It worked for us as well. We used to do one Inspire (for parking and discounts) and one Believe. When they started blocking Saturdays for Believe, we upgraded to two Inspires.

 

[KPeterso]

We get the Inspire pass too because we need Saturdays. I work M-F and often have a hard time getting over there on Sundays. Saturdays are just the best day for us overall.

 

[KimberMama]

We were previously Premium and Sig+ annual pass holders, and made great use of the passes through December 2018, when we decided to take a year off because the kids had started college and SW:GE was supposed to pack the park. Then C19 hit, and when the entire program changed, we decided against MKs mostly becuase of the reservation system. Also, with the kids still in college, we could get by with the 3 day SoCal passes. The final switch was DH and I taking a 5 night trip during the holiday season, and buying 1 day tickets in January for the whole family (because the kids could no longer arrange 3 different days off to use the 3 day offer, and definitely couldn’t coordinate their days off with different employers). We could stick with that MO going into 2025, but I miss going to Disneyland throughout the year, and this January only the birthday kid will likely be able to get a day off for DL.

We’ll have to get Inspire MKs because DH works M-F. Saturdays are my favorite Disney day. If it’s going to be hot we get up early, make the drive, maybe make rope drop, maybe not (depends on traffic, how long parking takes, and the buses from TS). How late we stay depends on how hot it gets. If we know we want to stay late for something like a nighttime parade or show, we usually arrive after lunch, but for the most part we aim to be at the parks from open to around 2 or 3. At least, that’s how it used to be. We could decide on Friday night, and now that won’t be possible. But since we live more than an hour away, we can adjust and make the reservations since it was never a case of hey, let’s go to DL and be through the gates within 30 minutes (I have family who can do that).

You know how they have the new crazy expensive LLPP that doesn’t require you to book a return time? I bet some people would be willing to pay for MK with no blockout days and no reservations required — how much do you think Disney would charge for a pass like that? They could just make it super limited.

 

[Wesley815]

You know how they have the new crazy expensive LLPP that doesn’t require you to book a return time? I bet some people would be willing to pay for MK with no blockout days and no reservations required — how much do you think Disney would charge for a pass like that? They could just make it super limited.

Disney could do $5,000 for truly unlimited and they would sell out instantly, or $7,000 to $10,000 if they wanted more.

Not joking- supply vs demand is crazy. Wish I knew the secret where people complain about everything costing a lot yet continue to spend. Plus having a Magic Key is a truly optional/luxury item to buy. Judging by some comments you think it's a life necessity.

 

[LKing]

Judging by some comments you think it's a life necessity.

Comments on this thread?

 

[KimberMama]

Disney could do $5,000 for truly unlimited and they would sell out instantly, or $7,000 to $10,000 if they wanted more.

Not joking- supply vs demand is crazy. Wish I knew the secret where people complain about everything costing a lot yet continue to spend. Plus having a Magic Key is a truly optional/luxury item to buy. Judging by some comments you think it's a life necessity.

It would have to be someone who goes often, because at a certain point for some people cost isn’t the issue and they aren’t trying use an MK to get a better value. DH is kind of like this (but not able to drop $5K - $10K on the theoretical all access pass), in that he just wants to go when we want to go, whatever the ticket price is, and I’m the one trying to find ways to do it all for less. Even our current planned vacation has the Disney Visa discount. So the main benefit of this theoretical pass — which is fun to think about — is just being able to go when you want, no reservations. We used to do that in the past, just be on our way home from somewhere and close enough that we would stop at the parks for a couple of hours before finishing the drive.

I’m not sure DH is on board for the MKs. They would cost less than our planned 5 night vacation at the GCH, but the older we get the less we love the drive to and from DL. There’s something to be said for arriving, parking the van, and being in the bubble for 6 days (mostly — we might hit some outside restaurants). It’s possible we’ll end up waiting for another 3 day SoCal offer, then plan a summer trip once parades get sorted out.

 

[LKing]

I have steadfastly refused to buy a MK with the reservation policy

Reservations are required whether you have a MK or not. Why does the MK reservation bother you more than a 3 day pass reservation?

 

[DizMe]

I get the Inspire pass because DH buys it for me. He stopped wanting to go when the girls adulted and moved out, but I still love to go with friends etc. He says, and I've mentioned this before so forgive me if you've seen this a few times, "It's cheaper than therapy."

We'll see how much longer that's true, LOL.

 

[KimberMama]

Reservations are required whether you have a MK or not. Why does the MK reservation bother you more than a 3 day pass reservation?

That’s a fair question. I think it’s because when we had annual passes we typically just decided the night before and would go. We had Sig+ passes, so seriously, whenever we wanted to go we would. Maybe we’re worried that we won’t be able to go when we want to with MKs? We did the 3 day passes in 2022 because we had an international visitor who really wanted to go to DL during spring break (my kids went to out of state university and met this friend there). So we got that date (he had to buy a 1 day ticket), and then the other 2 days my kids could only go the in the final 10 days of the pass after coming home for summer break — so we booked two days together and it was more like a planned vacation. In 2023 DS#1 and I got 3 day passes and did the same thing — 1 day during his spring break and 2 days after he was back in California. So I guess for us, the 3 day passes don’t feel like having an annual pass or MK, they feel more like booking a vacation.

It bothers me to pay $1749 per person and then have to work with a reservation system and maybe not get the days we want, and certainly not be able to be spontaneous, especially since the MK buckets seem to empty first. We still might do it. But then I am going to be that annoying person reserving almost every Saturday I can (by making a new reservation as each one get used or canceled) and then deciding on Friday whether or not I’m going to go.

 

[KimberMama]

I get the Inspire pass because DH buys it for me. He stopped wanting to go when the girls adulted and moved out, but I still love to go with friends etc. He says, and I've mentioned this before so forgive me if you've seen this a few times, "It's cheaper than therapy."

We'll see how much longer that's true, LOL.

That’s awesome! It’s not cheaper than a $20 therapy co-pay with my insurance, but I think it’s far more effective than therapy!

I wish I lived close enough to go by myself, but the traffic is a nightmare. These days I don’t have any friends or family members with passes anymore. So the big question for us to answer before 11/6 is how often we really think we will go, and then figure out MKs versus tickets. I just know we’ll go more often with MKs, since we’ll have prepaid, lol.

 

[MillauFr]

They've been selling out year after year, so by that logic we should expect a price hike every year and for the entry level pass to reach four digits by 2030.

The only shocking thing is the entry level passes haven't reached $1k already when it is $200 just to get in for 1 day.

 

[MillauFr]

Disney could do $5,000 for truly unlimited and they would sell out instantly, or $7,000 to $10,000 if they wanted more.

Not joking- supply vs demand is crazy. Wish I knew the secret where people complain about everything costing a lot yet continue to spend. Plus having a Magic Key is a truly optional/luxury item to buy. Judging by some comments you think it's a life necessity.

They could charge $25k for unlimited platinum passes with 25% food and merch discounts and sell thousands of them.

 

[Foxhound3857]

The only shocking thing is the entry level passes haven't reached $1k already when it is $200 just to get in for 1 day.

I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old tickets were around $35.

 

[DizMe]

I remember when I was 7 or 8 years old tickets were around $35.

My parents told us when I was a kid that if we wanted to go to Disneyland (more than the occasional visit they would provide), we'd have to earn the money. My brother, sister, and I gleaned vegetables in Ventura and sold them door to door from a wheelbarrow . That was mid 1960s and the ticket books were about $8 or so, but it still took a deal of work to make it happen. I think that was a good life lesson

 

[Foxhound3857]

My parents told us when I was a kid that if we wanted to go to Disneyland (more than the occasional visit they would provide), we'd have to earn the money. My brother, sister, and I gleaned vegetables in Ventura and sold them door to door from a wheelbarrow . That was mid 1960s and the ticket books were about $8 or so, but it still took a deal of work to make it happen. I think that was a good life lesson

Wow. So $8 in the 60s, $35 in the early 90s, now $200+ in the 2020's. Should we expect Disneyland tickets to be $800 in the 2050s?