Magic key to renew or not

[PMGuernsey]

Hey everyone,
Looking for opinions here. We currently have enchant magic key. Family of 6 however 1 under the age of 3. Usually make 3 Disney trips a year from Washington state. Our passes are up for renewal and I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm going through a lot of stress right now with a job change and potential move 3 hours from where I currently live. In the past with AP I would just wait until we are going to go again and buy AP. I'm considering not renewing, but am afraid that if I don't I won't be able to purchase Magic Key passes when the time comes.

thoughts?

 

[DontSpamMe]

You should definitely plan as though magic keys will not be available for purchase at the time of your travel. The last time MKs went on sale it was for a very short time and only open long enough to cover those that did not renew.

I think it stays that way for awhile as the park was as packed as ever during the Christmas break when MKs were blocked out. So I doubt Disney is rushing to resume sales.

I'd say if you are planning 3 trips during this renewal period, you should keep them.

*******UPDATE *************
Just saw a report that MKs are going to be sold periodically as supply opens. So get ready to wait for 24 hours online to be told keys are no longer available.

 

[PMGuernsey]

How difficult has it been for people to purchase MK passes when they are available?

 

[Kender]

How difficult has it been for people to purchase MK passes when they are available?

When they surprise went back on sale again back in November: very. People waited hours upon hours to get through and were not successful in getting keys. They did not last long and got down to only the most expensive and cheapest (as well as residency restricted) left.

That said, I think if you're willing to risk it and can regularly check for when passes will be back on sale it might be worth to wait. Then from date of purchase you have a full year to activate it so that gives you leeway to buy it as soon as they're available without having to wait until right before a trip.

But there's also no guarantee when they'll go back on sale. Or which ones.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

How difficult has it been for people to purchase MK passes when they are available?

They were available for less than 24 hours. I was at the ticket booths for another reason and it was complete madness. Hours-long lines day and night. Online, many people tried and failed to get through the virtual queue despite being online for hours. They whole thing was crazy.

 

[Diana ZP]

Hey fellow Washingtonian hope you are enjoying the sunshine we having today! maybe you need to see if this is causing you stress also, if you will be using them with new job etc...sorry you are having a stressful time right now, take care and take it easy!

 

[Aurora0427]

Hey everyone,
Looking for options here. We currently have enchant magic key. Family of 6 however 1 under the age of 3. Usually make 3 Disney trips a year from Washington state. Our passes are up for renewal and I'm trying to decide what to do. I'm going through a lot of stress right now with a job change and potential move 3 hours from where I currently live. In the past with AP I would just wait until we are going to go again and buy AP. I'm considering not renewing, but am afraid that if I don't I won't be able to purchase Magic Key passes when the time comes.

thoughts?

Have you checked the new black out dates for 2023? They’re more restrictive than 2022. Make sure they work for when you’d like to come, since you’re from out of state.

 

[gelatoni fan]

If you're absolutely going to make those 3 trips down in the next year even with the added black out dates, then renew.

If you'd be OK cutting down the frequency of visiting Disneyland (potentially take family vacations elsewhere), then maybe don't renew. I wouldn't plan around buying a new pass when you want to go.

 

[MillauFr]

We are not renewing. I have no doubt we will be able to buy APs in the future.

 

[StormyCA]

I haven't had an AP since 'The Before Times'. All I had to do then was figure how many days it'd get used vs the cost of buying tickets to figure my 'break even point'.

If I was doing this now I think I'd have to look at when we'd be able to visit as well as the cost of tickets vs AP based on number of visits expected. If you can go anytime then no problem, you schedule around the blockouts and will get full usage of your pass. But if you're limited because of the school year, kid's teams or other activities, or how leave 'works' in your job then the blockouts may prove too restrictive for an AP to be practical. Why pay for a pass if you can only use it half the days of your vacation or you have to shorten your trip so all the days are covered?

As far as the possibility of being 'aced out' due to non-sales of AP when you 'need' it, as long as I had 'free' money to plonk down I guess I'd feel a bird in the hand etc etc. But if it affected our savings, was going to deplete our emergency fund, or put us in debt (have you seen CC interest rates? Yikes!) then I'd have to seriously consider if it was spending money wisely.

 

[CaliforniaGirl09]

Our MKs were up for renewal in September. We didn't renew as we had a trip planned over Christmas that wouldn't have been covered by any pass. It's the first time we haven't had passes in years, and I didn't miss it much. We are DVC so that helped with the discount aspect, but we probably won't buy passes again unless they cover the holiday period. We tend to go over Christmas every couple years.

 

[TinkAgainU]

The Key prices, even for the cheapest pass, is now jaw-dropping. And of course, we need to add gas, parking, food etc. for every trip even if we don't stay in a nearby hotel (and that drive home after a full Disney day is brutal). If we feel we need to come more often to "justify" the Key, that actually makes it even pricier, if that makes sense? Don't get me wrong, every trip to the Parks is fun, but there are cheaper options that frankly are probably a balanced use of our time off (the zoo or a museum, even Knotts, for example) too.

For any parent of kids all under around 7 years old - you REALLY should check out Adventure City near Disneyland! It feels a Lot like a mini-Disney, is a ton cheaper, and you park Right There lol. Has Starbucks and kids food. Cute little rides, petting zoo etc. I would go early as it can get full (although not Disney-full) if you go later in the day. I wish I'd known about it sooner.

 

[LKing]

@TinkAgainU this thread is 2 years old.

 

[TinkAgainU]

@TinkAgainU this thread is 2 years old.

I knew it was old, but missed How old lol. Wonder why it popped up in my New Posts? Thanks!