Visiting the Happiest Place on Earth just got easier, yet also a little harder? Disneyland is replacing its annual passes with a new membership system, the Disneyland Resort Magic Key program, which features some major changes.
The program’s new “Magic Keys” are set to go on sale August 25. The main amendment: visitors must now make reservations prior to visiting Disneyland and California Adventure Park.
According to the Disneyland website, key holders can make theme park reservations for ongoing visits, hold more than one theme park reservation at a time for different dates, save up to 15% on select dining and save up to 20% on select merchandise.
The tiered system includes the $1,399 Dream Key (with no blockout dates), $949 Believe Key (48 blockout dates), $649 Enchant Key (149 blockout dates) and $399 Imagine Key (218 blockout dates). Each key features a variety of admission days, pricing options, and savings on food and merchandise.
Members who obtain a Magic Key within the first 66 days — in honor of the theme park’s 66th birthday — will receive a special welcome package, along with a premium branded pin, celebratory button, magnet and more. Starting Sept. 1, members will also get a limited-time offer to experience Starcade in Tomorrowland.
Although the overall prices of the Magic Key passes are lower than Disneyland’s previous annual passes, the number of days park-goers can visit are now limited by how many blockout dates come with each option and how many reservations will be accepted.
Under the old system, only the Flex Pass required reservations to visit one or both of the Anaheim parks, and even that was only on days the passport would have otherwise been blocked out, that is, days that the pass couldn’t be used for admission.
The park canceled the old annual pass program in January ahead of its April reopening following an unprecedented COVID-19-induced closure.
“In a non-COVID environment, it would have been a pretty tough [decision] to make, because they just keep renewing and renewing, but when you start lapping a year without anybody going for an annual pass program, that gives you the chance,” Walt Disney Company CEO Bob Chapek said of the decision in March. “We’re going to use that, though, in order to have an even better guest experience at Disneyland and manage the crowd so that no matter what day you go to Disneyland, you can have an extraordinary experience.”
Disney requires guests to wear face coverings indoors at Disneyland in Anaheim as well as at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida.
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