The Disneyland Resort has stopped selling another level of its new Magic Key annual passes.
The Disneyland website now shows the Believe Key as "Sold Out." Last month, Disneyland stopped selling its top-level Dream Key pass - the only one with free parking and no blockout dates. The Believe Key was the next-highest level pass, with limited blockout dates and 50% off parking fees.
The move comes as the Walt Disney World Resort also has stopped selling all but its lowest-level annual pass, which is restricted to Florida residents. At Disneyland, the Enchant Key and Imagine Key remain available for purchase, with the Imagine Key available only to southern California residents.
All visitors to the Disneyland and Walt Disney World resorts now must make advance reservations to use their tickets or annual passes, using Disney's Park Pass reservation program. Annual passholders on both coasts are limited in the number of advance reservations they can hold at any one time. Dream and Believe Key holders at Disneyland could hold six reservations at a time, while Enchant Key holders could make four and Imagine just two. Reservations may be made up to 90 days in advance and are subject to a different availability pool than regular theme park tickets.
The popularity of the new Magic Key program, coupled with Disneyland's desire to retain availability for one- and multi-day ticket buyers, has meant that reservation availability has been disappearing quickly, with weekends getting claimed almost as soon as they become available.
Halting the sale of some annual passes should help alleviate some of that pressure, especially if it keeps people from giving the passes as holiday gifts. But existing Magic Key passholders have been filling the parks recently, so it may be awhile before Disneyland visitors see much relief from these moves by the resort.
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That's a big pile of yikes.
I don't think ANY park will be fun this weekend.
And what else is new. - He asks three days after this article was posted.
To me, this is only further proof that Disney is crushing creative thinking at every level. So we have demand above supply for the product. Maybe it's time to split the Disneyland park hours and sell half day tickets at a lower cost 8AM to 5PM and 4PM to Midnight. Doubling park capacity until such time as there is a foreseeable path to resuming normal operations. Yes, once again you are getting less for more but if the lowered these half day tickets, they probably will stop the balking and get more people in the park in a 16 hour day without saturating the park.
They also need to expand the day purchase tickets to at least a 10 day Window just as Disney World does. Whether your a Key holder or purchased day tickets, the 4 or 5 and you're outta here attitude that Disneyland has adopted is the biggest kick in the face. I have friends back east that won't "waist their time as Disney makes it hard to pass through the gates. I have points I am stuck with that I can't use because it's throwing them away to buy something from Disney right now.
The Disney C Suite also seemed to think that people would not push back. I do think we have to credit them in this aspect: I like that they stepped forward and said they have to pause the sale of these passes rather than continuing to feed the monster they created.
When does Disney admit that this self imposed reservation system is at a breaking point?
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The WDW parks are sold out this weekend