News Disneyland Magic Key Program (all pass types will be available to purchase beginning March 5, 2024)

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aaronml

Well-Known Member
waltography said:
In related news, Disney has started cracking down on printed out Magic Keys. For context, since they were on sale it was a bit of a trend (on TikTok anyway) for folks to get blank PVC cards and print out their pass barcode on them to avoid paying the $20 paper pass and to have a personal printed out record in case the app fails (I understand that since then most folks have been able to get one for free, but I digress). This apparently led to a lot of discount abuse (shocker), and so now they're only accepting the pass on your phone (not a screenshot, but actually in the app) and officially printed paper passes.

It's a shame, considering I went through all the trouble to design and print out my own pass. 😂 It was super convenient at table-service restaurants so I didn't have to give CMs my phone or transcribe my number on the receipt.

View attachment 591375

It would be so much easier if Disney just gave us cards like they used to. It's not like they don't all of a sudden have the equipment anymore.
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Agreed. Sigh. It is super easy to send a screenshot of your barcode to someone else, or to have them link your pass in the app. Furthermore it is very difficult to tell whether or not it is a screenshot unless they start tapping around on the screen to see what happens.


The _real_ solution here would be to have it so that when the CM scans your barcode, the system displays the name associated with it, and then they check your ID to verify that the name matches. Either that, or display the photo on file from the ticketing system.
 
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Sailor310

Well-Known Member
So far, I'm getting a lot of use out of the official paper pass (for my Imagine Key) that I got for free at at ticket both. The CMs are getting more used to them.
 
A

aaronml

Well-Known Member
CaptinEO said:
ID, even pre cell phones.
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Yeah, I’ve seen that, but what I don’t know is if they are just validating that the name on the ID matches the name on the card / app, or if they are matching against a name provided by the POS system after scanning the barcode.
 
Disney Irish

Disney Irish

Premium Member
I just want to know what @fctiger thinks, they were the ones who kept claiming this is just like the old APs but with reservations. And that as far as they saw reservations would be wide open and not likely an issue.

Oops....

But they haven't been on since the middle of September....
 
mickEblu

mickEblu

Well-Known Member
Disney Irish said:
I just want to know what @fctiger thinks, they were the ones who kept claiming this is just like the old APs but with reservations. And that as far as they saw reservations would be wide open and not likely an issue.

Oops....

But they haven't been on since the middle of September....
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It still is that. Much closer to the old annual pass system than the discount system other people were predicting. You can still go multiple/ “unlimited visits” per year for a fixed price. Prices and tiers that almost completely match the old program. Obviously reservations change the planning experience a lot but let’s not pretend these aren’t annual passes with reservations.

What we re seeing now is exactly why I said they wanted to rebrand the annual pass system.
 
Disney Irish

Disney Irish

Premium Member
mickEblu said:
It still is that. Much closer to the old annual pass system than the discount system other people were predicting. You can still go multiple/ “unlimited visits” per year for a fixed price. Prices and tiers that almost completely match the old program. Obviously reservations change the planning experience a lot but let’s not pretend these aren’t annual passes with reservations.

What we re seeing now is exactly why I said they wanted to rebrand the annual pass system.
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I guess it comes down to perspective.

To me the reservation system, while understandable and really no big deal to me, forces planning on a crowd that was never used to planning. This changes the whole dynamic of what it means to be an AP Magic Key holder. Gone are the days of drop-in spontaneous trips, which was the primary driver of AP sales. Now its all about planning days, maybe even weeks, or months in advance just to go for your "unlimited visits". The reservations are the factor that makes this not like the old system.

Yes its not the "discount program" like I was guessing it might be before details come out, but its not the old APs either.

Now I say all this as someone who had an AP and had to plan trips anyways. So like I said not a big deal for me anyways. But I do understand the frustration of those complaining. I really think too many former APs convinced themselves that this was going to just be the old system and reservations were gonna be easy peasy to get allowing them to still get into the Parks at any time. Well that was obviously a huge miscalculation on their part.
 
D

DCBaker

Premium Member
Original Poster
Photo from Twitter -

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DrAlice

DrAlice

Well-Known Member
BuzzedPotatoHead89 said:
If folks think this is fun just wait until Genie+ and Lightning Lane launch.

It’s a layer cake of variables to unlock, planning your Disney day has never been this cumbersome, eh… I mean magical.
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So.... WDW? That's been their model for years. Want to ride anything? Plan 6 months in advance. Want to eat anything? Plan 6 months in advance. Oh, you didn't plan in advance? That's too bad. Now with Genie+, they'll add: "well you CAN ride this... for a price." MAGICAL! (for shareholders) IMMERSIVE! (in company profit)
 
Californian Elitist

Californian Elitist

Well-Known Member
DrAlice said:
So.... WDW? That's been their model for years. Want to ride anything? Plan 6 months in advance. Want to eat anything? Plan 6 months in advance. Oh, you didn't plan in advance? That's too bad. Now with Genie+, they'll add: "well you CAN ride this... for a price." MAGICAL! (for shareholders) IMMERSIVE! (in company profit)
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Eeewwwww. None of this sounds fun at all.
 
waltography

waltography

Well-Known Member
Just came back from a quick trip to DCA after work today and it was pretty bad. Guardians was 65 minutes (now 95 minutes), RSR was 90 minutes (down now), Soarin was 40 (still 40 now), Incredicoaster was down (now 75). Wall to wall crowds. I was just there to check out the Ratatouille Epcot merch at Knick's Knacks (plenty available!) and to grab the Magic Key print of Avengers Campus.

Will be at the parks again this weekend, but it's clear I need to adjust my expectations about what I'll be able to do on any given day. I'm shocked and worried that they've added additional reservations over the next few weeks because it's already crowded as is.

Ridiculous. On a Wednesday no less.
 
Vegas Disney Fan

Vegas Disney Fan

Well-Known Member
waltography said:
Just came back from a quick trip to DCA after work today and it was pretty bad. Guardians was 65 minutes (now 95 minutes), RSR was 90 minutes (down now), Soarin was 40 (still 40 now), Incredicoaster was down (now 75). Wall to wall crowds. I was just there to check out the Ratatouille Epcot merch at Knick's Knacks (plenty available!) and to grab the Magic Key print of Avengers Campus.

Will be at the parks again this weekend, but it's clear I need to adjust my expectations about what I'll be able to do on any given day. I'm shocked and worried that they've added additional reservations over the next few weeks because it's already crowded as is.

Ridiculous. On a Wednesday no less.
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This mirrors my experience a couple weeks ago midweek, I think the crowd calendar is enticing people to go whenever they can get a date because they are panicked they might not get another chance anytime soon, the end result is it’s causing higher crowds in the parks rather than smaller crowds.
 

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