Update: Magic Key Holder Settlement Reached, Plus Rumor: Renewal for Magic Key Holders Tomorrow?

[Wesley815]

So I wouldn't expect November to come through on a key sale then I guess. February at the earliest I'm assuming now?

Honestly no one knows until Disney officially makes announcement.

You may end up missing another sale if you keep waiting based on rumors- that's why I renewed my Inspire Key since I had a feeling new sales would stop any moment.

Disney also knows they kind of have us "locked in" to renew since new pass sales change frequently. We can only hope they simplify things with settlement.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

Yep. The attorney in me says the settlement will take 6 months or longer to be executed. Disney is not going to start selling passes until the court approves everything and the case is closed. Settlements can be executed in a shorter time frame but 100,000 pass keys. I think 6 months.

I am not an attorney but I don’t see why Disney couldn’t sell new Magic Keys (possibly with new terms) before the settlement is resolved. Doesn’t the settlement only affect former Dream Key holders?

 

[Foxhound3857]

Honestly no one knows until Disney officially makes announcement.

You may end up missing another sale if you keep waiting based on rumors- that's why I renewed my Inspire Key since I had a feeling new sales would stop any moment.

Disney also knows they kind of have us "locked in" to renew since pass sales change frequently. We can only hope they simplify things with the settlement.

I check a number of sources every morning and every evening to stay on top of when and if a new sale happens, namely:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Disneyland/

https://disneyparks.disney.go.com/blog/#

https://twitter.com/ScottGustin

The hope is that, when and if a sale happens, one of these three will be quick with the announcement.

 

[StormyCA]

What else was listed in the settlement besides a monetary payout?

I didn't see anything regarding a need to change T&Cs or an order to stop requiring ressies, just the request and documentation re the payout. Plaintiff gets $5k, everyone else gets the $67. CAVEAT: this settlement has NOT been signed off by the judge yet.

https://www.sfgate.com/file/131/43/13143-class action settlement.pdf


I'm assuming Disney's Legal Beagles are (once again) going over all 'language' on all level of passes with a fine tooth comb. And that Disney is once again debating on whether or not any type of 'all access but not the holidays' pass is worth the headache.

WDW changed their AP/ressie policy a few months ago:

"Disney World Annual Passholders may visit the theme parks after 2 PM without a Park Pass reservation. There are exceptions to this, however. Passholders will still need Park Pass reservations on Saturdays and Sundays when visiting Magic Kingdom, even if after 2 PM. Additionally, they will still need to have a Park Pass reserved for any park they plan to visit prior to 2 PM."

IDK if DLR will consider this 'after 2 pm' thing, what with the mad rush to the parks after work &/or to watch nighttime entertainment creating crazy crowding.

 

[dina444444]

I didn't see anything regarding a need to change T&Cs or an order to stop requiring ressies, just the request and documentation re the payout. Plaintiff gets $5k, everyone else gets the $67.

https://www.sfgate.com/file/131/43/13143-class action settlement.pdf


I'm assuming Disney's Legal Beagles are (once again) going over all 'language' on all level of passes with a fine tooth comb. And that Disney is once again debating on whether or not any type of 'all access but not the holidays' pass is worth the headache.

WDW changed their AP/ressie policy a few months ago:

"Disney World Annual Passholders may visit the theme parks after 2 PM without a Park Pass reservation. There are exceptions to this, however. Passholders will still need Park Pass reservations on Saturdays and Sundays when visiting Magic Kingdom, even if after 2 PM. Additionally, they will still need to have a Park Pass reserved for any park they plan to visit prior to 2 PM."

IDK if DLR will consider this 'after 2 pm' thing, what with the mad rush to the parks after work &/or to watch nighttime entertainment creating crazy crowding.

The after 2 PM thing at WDW had to do with when Park hopping starts. They never moved their park hopping time which Disneyland already did to make it earlier in the day.

 

[StormyCA]

The after 2 PM thing at WDW had to do with when Park hopping starts. They never moved their park hopping time which Disneyland already did to make it earlier in the day.

They removed the need for APs to have a park reservation at all as long as you show up after 2pm (exceptions noted in my post).

You never needed a 2nd park reservation when you hopped at 2pm, you just had to have a reservation for and have entered your '1st park of the day'. APs no longer have that restriction.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point?

 

[joseph821]

I am not an attorney but I don’t see why Disney couldn’t sell new Magic Keys (possibly with new terms) before the settlement is resolved. Doesn’t the settlement only affect former Dream Key holders?

Disneyland is unlikely going to sell new passes until the settlement is finished. They will draw up new terms and conditions for the new passes. Yes Disney could sell new passes but I doubt they will. Legal Dept is controlling everything here. Disney is not going to risk any liability. What if former Dream Key members who do not have a Key now or a pass want to buy a new pass? Settlement is paid and certified by court then new passes with new prices and new terms and conditions. I have dealt with many corporate clients and they all basically work like this. The new sale of keys will be in 2024 for Disney's revenues.

 

[dina444444]

They removed the need for APs to have a park reservation at all as long as you show up after 2pm (exceptions noted in my post).

You never needed a 2nd park reservation when you hopped at 2pm, you just had to have a reservation for and have entered your '1st park of the day'. APs no longer have that restriction.

Maybe I'm misunderstanding your point?

I think your misunderstanding. Park hopping at WDW has remained at 2pm, that’s the time when WDW APs don’t need reservations anymore unless it’s for MK on Saturday/Sunday. Disneyland moved their park hopping time up from 1pm to 11am previously.

 

[Foxhound3857]

I just don't understand if the Inspire keys actually sold out, or if Disney just isn't willing to take the risk to sell any keys of any kind at the moment.

 

[joseph821]

I just don't understand if the Inspire keys actually sold out, or if Disney just isn't willing to take the risk to sell any keys of any kind at the moment.

Disney is NOT willing to take any risks to sell keys of any kind until the settlement is over and certified by the court. Then Disney will revise and update its terms and conditions and increase the prices. I would not be surprised if key levels were eliminated or gutted. $10M is not a lot of money for Disneyland but it settled because it did not want to disclose condifential data.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Disney is willing to take any risks to sell keys of any kind until the settlement is over and certified by the court. Then Disney will revise and update its terms and conditions and increase the prices. I would not be surprised if key levels were eliminated or gutted. $10M is not a lot of money for Disneyland but it settled because it did not want to disclose condifential data.

You mean they might abridge the Key system so that it's only one type of Key at one price?

Why do I feel like the most likely play in that case is that Disney gets rid of all the lower tier keys and only keeps Inspire?

 

[joseph821]

You mean they might abridge the Key system so that it's only one type of Key at one price?

Why do I feel like the most likely play in that case is that Disney gets rid of all the lower tier keys and only keeps Inspire?

Anything is possible. They may just offer 1 Key and eliminate the rest or just offer the Inspire and Belive Keys. Make a key member put 50% down and pay the rest of in 12 installments. They will be getting that $10M settlement money back very quickly.
I think from an administration standpoint I can Disneyland abridge the Key System in their favor and not the Key members.

 

[Foxhound3857]

Anything is possible. They may just offer 1 Key and eliminate the rest or just offer the Inspire and Belive Keys. Make a key member put 50% down and pay the rest of in 12 installments. They will be getting that $10M settlement money back very quickly.
I think from an administration standpint I can Disneyland abridge the Key System in their favor and not the Key members.

I'm just hoping for a system that either costs high enough or is just undesirable enough where demand does not exceed supply.

Or, in laymans terms, you can buy one at any time and not have to wait for the floodgates to open.

 

[joseph821]

I'm just hoping for a system that either costs high enough or is just undesirable enough where demand does not exceed supply.

Or, in laymans terms, you can buy one at any time and not have to wait for the floodgates to open.

I agree but Disneyland is controlling the sale of the Keys very tightly and I do not see that changing especially after it is paying over $10M in the Keys settlement.

 

[StormyCA]

I think your misunderstanding. Park hopping at WDW has remained at 2pm, that’s the time when WDW APs don’t need reservations anymore unless it’s for MK on Saturday/Sunday. Disneyland moved their park hopping time up from 1pm to 11am previously.

Still not sure of your point. I wasn't referencing hopping at all. Just that WDW APs no longer have to have a starting park if they enter after 2 pm. I didn't reference the hop time change at DLR at all and that change has nothing to do with WDW (other than wishing they'd change it, too)

Prior to the change WDW APs had to have a 'starting park' reservation and enter that park then they could hop at 2 (same as the general public). Now WDW APs don't have to have a 'starting park' reservation. They can just show up to any park (subject to capacity and the MK exceptions) and enter that park. That's all I was saying, it had nothing to do with hopping or the time for hopping at all.

But this is sidelining and I don't want to get the thread off track. My main points were WRT the settlement and what DLR may or may not do about passes/MKs in the future.

 

[StormyCA]

Anything is possible. They may just offer 1 Key and eliminate the rest or just offer the Inspire and Belive Keys. Make a key member put 50% down and pay the rest of in 12 installments. They will be getting that $10M settlement money back very quickly.
I think from an administration standpoint I can Disneyland abridge the Key System in their favor and not the Key members.

I was thinking that this settlement might be the thing that makes TPTB at DLR say "Ya know guys, it's been a sweet ride up til now but y'all are starting to be more trouble than you're worth. We're done here" and just not offer passes at all. But I didn't think of your point about them wanting to earn the $10M back.

Maybe they'll just keep allowing renewals only until they've made that money back.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I was thinking that this settlement might be the thing that makes TPTB at DLR say "Ya know guys, it's been a sweet ride up til now but y'all are starting to be more trouble than you're worth. We're done here" and just not offer passes at all. But I didn't think of your point about them wanting to earn the $10M back.

Maybe they'll just keep allowing renewals only until they've made that money back.

Disney doesn’t offer annual passes as a favor to anyone. If it was not very lucrative for them, they wouldn’t offer them. I don't foresee Magic Keys going away but they might decide to revamp the program drastically.

(While they’re at it, maybe they could change the name back to ANNUAL PASS, which is what it is, rather than the confusing Magic Key nonsense. Hmmmmm …. Could this be why they’re giving away all those Magic Key branded Magic Bands? )

 

[joseph821]

Disney doesn’t offer annual passes as a favor to anyone. If it was not very lucrative for them, they wouldn’t offer them. I don't foresee Magic Keys going away but they might decide to revamp the program drastically.

(While they’re at it, maybe they could change the name back to ANNUAL PASS, which is what it is, rather than the confusing Magic Key nonsense. Hmmmmm …. Could this be why they’re giving away all those Magic Key branded Magic Bands? )

I have a feeling that Disneyland will drastically alter the program. This is the first time Disneyland has lost a significant amount from the program so I expect changes will be made. Only allowing renewals allows they to get regular revenue while constraining the markertplace. I hope they do not cut the SoCAL Imagine key but anything is possible now.

 

[LKing]

Disney doesn’t offer annual passes as a favor to anyone. If it was not very lucrative for them, they wouldn’t offer them.

Exactly! Plus, if they are looking to expand, they need to keep the local community happy.

(While they’re at it, maybe they could change the name back to ANNUAL PASS, which is what it is, rather than the confusing Magic Key nonsense. Hmmmmm …. Could this be why they’re giving away all those Magic Key branded Magic Bands? )

Hahaha! Good point. Now they will really be collectors' items.

They used to embroider keys on clothing items, but stopped last year. I think it was probably a problem with returns.

 

[longtimedisneylurker]

I have a feeling that Disneyland will drastically alter the program. This is the first time Disneyland has lost a significant amount from the program so I expect changes will be made. Only allowing renewals allows they to get regular revenue while constraining the markertplace. I hope they do not cut the SoCAL Imagine key but anything is possible now.

Honestly, $9.5 million isn't a significant monetary hit for Disney. They took in over $144,000,000 on a year's worth of dream keys alone without consideration of revenue from other magic keys and tickets.