The Disneyland Magic Key renewal was just announced and there are some significant changes to go over. As you may or may not already know, Disneyland Magic Key renewals were all put on hold due to their pending litigation. Disneyland is only offering renewals to current pass holders and is still not selling new Magic Keys at this time. Here’s a brief recap and everything you need to know about the new Disneyland annual pass renewals.
New Update: Current Passholders will be able to renew their passes on August 18th, 2022 at 9am PST. All current pass-holders will also begin receiving the new Genie + and parking discounts on August 18th.
- Disneyland’s lawsuit over Magic Key’s “Dream Key”
- Disneyland immediately halts all sales of the Magic Key Renewal and Dream Key
- New Disneyland Magic Key Renewal Release
- Disneyland Introduces New Magic Keys
- The New Disneyland Magic Key Renewal Terms & Conditions
- Is Disneyland Increasing Its Parking and Genie + Pricing?
- Discover More Disneyland Tips
Disneyland’s lawsuit over Magic Key’s “Dream Key”
In November of 2021, a California resident filed a lawsuit against Disneyland for false advertising and misrepresenting the new “Dream Key” which is the highest-tiered Magic Key annual pass offered. Upon purchasing the pass, it offers no blackout dates with the ability to make a park reservation on any day of the year when passes are available.
The problem was that as soon as guests purchased their Dream Key’s and attempted to make their weekend reservations, many found that the dates were not available to reserve. They were, however, available to reserve for regular ticket holders, and there lies the problem. According to the lawsuit, this was false advertising and misrepresentation of the Dream Key’s description.
I remember everyone saying this would get thrown out. Being someone who is friends with several lawyers, I knew their case had merit. Below is the official statement by the judge who struck down Disney’s motion to dismiss the case. Meaning this case will in fact be going to trial.
United States District Court Judge David Carter denied Disney’s motion to dismiss the Magic Key annual passholder case as it relates to breach of contract and the California consumer protection act. Carter granted Disney’s dismissal motions relating to claims of false advertising, negligent misrepresentation, legal disclosure and unfair competition.
“The court finds that plaintiff has adequately pled facts supporting how a reasonable consumer may be deceived by the advertisement, which states ‘no blockout dates.’” Carter wrote in his ruling. “Plaintiff argues that ordinary consumers generally understand blockout dates to be ‘dates when tickets, credits, passes or rewards cannot be used.
United States District Court Judge David Carter
Disneyland immediately halts all sales of the Magic Key Renewal and Dream Key
The Disneyland Magic Key renewals were immediately halted and rumors began circulating that they were doing away with the dream key or magic keys altogether. Until today, no one really knew what was going on. It did however leave many unhappy Disneyland annual pass holders who purchased their passes early or who were legacy holders and no longer were able to use or renew their Disneyland Magic Keys.
New Disneyland Magic Key Renewal Release
Finally today, August 16th 2022, everyone has been swarmed with emails offering prior Magic Key holders the ability to finally renew their passes. However, once going to the Magic Key renewal page, the Disneyland Dream Key pass was discontinued. Instead, it is being replaced by the Inspire Key and there are new updates you’ll want to be aware of.
Disneyland Introduces New Magic Keys
The consensus seems to be that guests are not too happy with the new changes to the Disneyland Dream Key which is now being replaced by the Inspire Key. Not only did they increase the price by several hundred dollars, but there are new block-out dates from Christmas to New Year.
However, they are now adding an unlimited photo pass to the Inspire Key, as well as 20% off Genie Plus. I personally think with the price increase they should have included a greater discount on Genie Plus.
Also, take note of the new wording which Disney has modified due to the pending lawsuit. I’ve italicized these for you.
*New Inspire Key
Key takeaways are the increase in price, new block-out dates, 20% off Genie Plus, and a new free photo pass. It’s also worth noting that the parking pass is only good on days your passes are not blocked out, so you will not be able to enjoy free parking around Christmas if you want to go to Downtown Disney.
$1,599
- New Block Out Dates from December 21st to January 1st
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks most days of the year, subject to availability of park reservations allocated to Magic Key passes, applicable pass blockout dates, and the Magic Key Terms and Conditions.
- Hold up to 6 theme park reservations at a time****
- 20% off the purchase of Disney Genie+ service (subject to limited availability) on days when you use your pass for park admission.* View important information about Disney Genie+ service
- Coming Soon – Unlimited Disney PhotoPass digital photo
- downloads***
- • Up to 20% off select merchandise
- • Up to 15% off select dining
- Standard theme park parking included (excluding block-out dates, at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Pixar Pals Parking Structure and Toy Story Parking Area)**
Believe Key
Key takeaways include that Believe Key holders will also enjoy the free PhotoPass and 20% off Genie Plus.
- $1,099
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks most days of the year, subject to availability of park reservations allocated to Magic Key passes, applicable pass blockout dates, and the Magic Key Terms and Conditions
- Hold up to 6 theme park reservations at a time*
- 20% off the purchase of Disney Genie+ service (subject to limited availability) on days when you use your pass for park admission.* View important information about Disney Genie+ service
- Coming Soon – Unlimited Disney PhotoPass digital photo downloads
- Up to 10% off select merchandise
- Up to 10% off select dining
- 50% off standard theme park parking (excluding blockout dates, at the Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Pixar Pals Parking Structure and Toy Story)
Enchant Key
This pass is great for those who want to save as much as possible, but still need to have Sunday availability throughout the year.
$699
- • Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks select days of the year, subject to availability of park reservations allocated to Magic+ Key passes, applicable pass blockout dates, and the Magic Key Terms and Conditions
- Hold up to 4 theme park reservations at a time****
- 20% off Disney Genie+ service on days when you use your pass for park admission, subject to availability.* View important information about Disney Genie+ service
- Up to 10% off select merchandise
- Up to 10% off select dining
- 25% off standard theme park parking at the Toy Story Parking Area, excluding blockout dates**
Imagine Key
I personally think this is the best Disneyland Magic Key renewal deal if you are a Southern California resident and can go during the week. This is the pass I use and going 16 times a year equals out to paying $25 for a park hopper ticket each time I go to the park.
Disney has surprisingly made the Imagine Key even better by now offering 25% off parking and 20% off Genie Plus.
$449
Only available for Southern California Residents living in zip codes 90000 to 93599
- Reservation-based admission + to one or both theme parks select days of the year, subject to availability of park reservations allocated to Magic Key passes, applicable pass blockout dates, and the Magic Key Terms and Conditions
- Hold up to 2 theme park reservations at a time****
- 20% off the purchase of Disney Genie+ service (subject to limited availability) on days when you use your pass for park admission.* View important information about Disney Genie+ service
- Up to 10% off select merchandise
- Up to 10% off select dining
- 25% off standard theme park parking at the Toy Story Parking Area, excluding block-out dates.
The New Disneyland Magic Key Renewal Terms & Conditions
When looking at the new Disneyland Magic Key renewal inside the Disneyland app, you may notice they revised all the Magic Key terms and conditions to prevent another lawsuit from happening. Here are some of the new terms below. There is also a new arbitration clause in the terms and conditions. In other words, if you do not like anything about the new Disneyland Magic Key’s, don’t expect to file a lawsuit about it.
A Magic Key pass does not guarantee park entry, even on dates when a pass is not blocked out. Disney allocates daily park reservations among Magic Key passes, other passes, and theme park tickets, and therefore makes available to those Magic Key holders eligible to make reservations for a particular day only a portion of the total park Preservation capacity. Disney determines the number of park reservations available to Magic Key holders for any date, and Magic Key holders may access only those reservations that Disney makes available to them.
Disneyland
Is Disneyland Increasing Its Parking and Genie + Pricing?
New Update: It’s just been speculated in one of the Disneyland Facebook groups, that a 20% parking discount would be $22.50, and rather than giving out 0.50 cents worth of change, the more likely scenario is that Disneyland will be increasing their parking fee to $40!
It is also being speculated that Genie Plus might go up to $25. This means pass holders actually wouldn’t be receiving any discount if Disneyland increased its pricing. We would be paying the same amount we do now.
Given Disneylands’ contact price hikes and changes, this would not surprise us at all. Check back for new updates as they come in!
Discover More Disneyland Tips
What do you think of the new Disneyland Magic Key renewals? Will you be renewing your Magic Key? Comment below and let us know what you think!
Sondra Barker
