News Disneyland Magic Key Program

[fctiger]

For all intents and purposes it’s an AP program. There’s no limit to how many times you can go. The pricing structure is nearly identical. Sure, you have to make reservations you also did with the FLEX AP which was part of the AP program. It certainly much closer to the annual program than 10% discounts and punch cards.

Yeah it's the AP program lol. What am I missing??? You just have to reserve a time to go, but you are still being allowed to go all year. This was the flex pass, they still called it an AP.

And they announced the WDW APs will be resold as well. They will probably get something similar I'm guessing. People who has been kidding themselves Disney was going to get rid of APs were living in a dream world. They NEED APs, always have, always will. They probably just didn't need as many as they sold lol.

And my guess in a year the reservation system may even be gone once they can get back to full normalcy. But maybe that will stay indefinitely.

 

[Newtwo]

Anyone think we'll be able to upgrade our tickets into a Key Pass online or will we have to go in person?

Also anyone know if military tickets have been eligible for conversion into AP's before?

 

[el_super]

Absolutely…you ain’t seen nuttin yet.

Have I? I have seen Disneyland at capacity... a part about 20% smaller than the MK. I know what it's capable of.

Any day that hte park is packed with hour long waits would be considered a pretty crowded day, and the fact that they are doing that without Annual Passes is a win for Disney. Do I think they can keep it up? No. But it definitely wasn't a mistake to forego having the passes, and if it were a huge mistake, you really think that Disney would wait all the way up to the traditional start of back to school season to offer them?

 

[el_super]

Yeah it's the AP program lol. What am I missing??? You just have to reserve a time to go, but you are still being allowed to go all year. This was the flex pass, they still called it an AP.

The problem really is, they are under no legal obligation to tell you how many reservations are available for each day.

They can advertise that a top tier AP will have "access" to a specific day and/or no blockout dates, but if they want they can set the number of reservations for that day to practically nothing and still meet their legal obligations. Effectively it's a phantom blockout date, but no one will really know until the day the reservations are released.

And much like the virtual queues and the merchandise releases, no one can really gauge whether they are just super unlucky or if Disney is severely limiting their access.

EDIT TO ADD: this is actually a bigger fundamental shift in the program, since the prior programs all relied on some gauranteed blockout date calendar in order to gauge the value. There is a lot more trust required in this system, that the dates will be available with less assurances from Disney.

 

[CaptinEO]

Anyone think we'll be able to upgrade our tickets into a Key Pass online or will we have to go in person?

Also anyone know if military tickets have been eligible for conversion into AP's before?

Military standard tickets from an ITT office I've converted to AP's before, the Military Salute Tickets I am not sure about.

 

[Stevek]

The Imagine Key, with so many blackouts and only 2 reservations you can only imagine you are going to Disneyland, you can't actually go..

Like I said earlier, I live fairly close to Anaheim and have great flexibility to take days off. We had the So Cal AP at times before. We had no problems making it work just fine for us. And it's 2 reservations at a time.

 

[fctiger]

Have I? I have seen Disneyland at capacity... a part about 20% smaller than the MK. I know what it's capable of.

Any day that hte park is packed with hour long waits would be considered a pretty crowded day, and the fact that they are doing that without Annual Passes is a win for Disney. Do I think they can keep it up? No. But it definitely wasn't a mistake to forego having the passes, and if it were a huge mistake, you really think that Disney would wait all the way up to the traditional start of back to school season to offer them?

They brought the AP back just 4 months after they reopened, clearly they are afraid that attendance is going to start dropping. And they don't just rely on one day tickets, they actually do rely on PH just as much and those are just not selling, hence why they offered the deal for all Californians. But today, right now, you can buy the pass to enter today. You have to start at DCA first, but yeah.

I said this literally back in March when they announced the opening dates. It's going to be crazy the first few months because its been shut down a full year and it's opening in Spring and Summer season. But come September, it's going to drop to off-season levels as it does every season and Disney doesn't want that. I thought MAYBE they would wait on the APs until early next year but clearly that didn't happen either. They are selling them on Aug. 25th, that tells you everything.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

The problem really is, they are under no legal obligation to tell you how many reservations are available for each day.

They can advertise that a top tier AP will have "access" to a specific day and/or no blockout dates, but if they want they can set the number of reservations for that day to practically nothing and still meet their legal obligations. Effectively it's a phantom blockout date, but no one will really know until the day the reservations are released.

I can’t argue against any of this other than to say the new program only works if reservations are readily available and easy to get. If people struggle to get reservations in the first year they won’t renew and the program will fail spectacularly in year two. I have to believe that Disney understands this and will either limit the number of passes sold to avoid this scenario or they are not worried about capacity being reached in the first place.

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

The Imagine Key, with so many blackouts and only 2 reservations you can only imagine you are going to Disneyland, you can't actually go..

This is true, but you're paying less than you would pay to visit 4 times all year. For those who can go during the week in the off season, it's a great deal. Even if you worked a M-F job, you could pop over for a few hours at night, and get a great value out of it in only a couple of weeks.

 

[flynnibus]

So after all the hand wringing, they essentially brought the AP back, just in Flex pass form.

It's not a 'rewards' program or 'buy 10 tickets and get one free' and all that other nonsense which I knew was never going to happen because it was NEVER even included in the surveys. It was all admission based. Guys if they send surveys that are admission based only it was ALWAYS going to be that or why bother with surveys at all?

It's basically the same prices as the last APs. The biggest difference is you have more black out dates and you have to reserve.

The highest pass there are no block out dates like before. Everyone kept saying no matter what, it won't be unlimited again. But it is!

They even brought back the monthly payment plan which everyone kept saying was the main culprit to the explosion of the passes.

Your logic is... the outcome was X... so obviously that's all it ever could be or what the choices could have been?

Genius... They might even give it it's own name... something like.... Hindsight.

 

[Vegas Disney Fan]

… hence why they offered the deal for all Californians. But today, right now, you can buy the pass to enter today. You have to start at DCA first, but yeah.

As soon as they offered the California resident discount I knew an AP program couldn’t be far behind. Disney has done a good job of keeping the parks full but that demand couldn’t last forever without APs.

 

[fctiger]

The problem really is, they are under no legal obligation to tell you how many reservations are available for each day.

They can advertise that a top tier AP will have "access" to a specific day and/or no blockout dates, but if they want they can set the number of reservations for that day to practically nothing and still meet their legal obligations. Effectively it's a phantom blockout date, but no one will really know until the day the reservations are released.

And much like the virtual queues and the merchandise releases, no one can really gauge whether they are just super unlucky or if Disney is severely limiting their access.

EDIT TO ADD: this is actually a bigger fundamental shift in the program, since the prior programs all relied on some gauranteed blockout date calendar in order to gauge the value. There is a lot more trust required in this system, that the dates will be available with less assurances from Disney.

Yeah, we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, I think everyone knows that days will sell out AS they been selling out during the summer. The difference is when you have an AP, it's easier to just be, um, flexible, right? I mean the top pass you get 6 reservations in a 90 day period. How hard is that going to be if you just want to go a few times a month? Sure maybe one day will be blocked 2 months from now but with an UNLIMITED pass you already have a lot of options. That's all I'm saying.

It's not going to be like the old days where you can show up anytime. I think that's a good thing obviously IF they are trying to control attendance. But Disney is going to still pack these parks as much as they feel comfortable with and we know it. Sadly if the Delta virus wasn't around, capacity would probably be higher now.

 

[CaptinEO]

I think the reservations make this all a gamble. I was fine with Flexpass year one, but paying for the premium pass and not knowing what days I can get in? Not really comfortable with that.

I liked being able to decide the night before that I was going to Disneyland.

 

[Californian Elitist]

I wouldn't say the AP program is back, I mean in a way it is but its so modified due to reservations that it takes the fun out of it for me.

Exactly. Reservations, most expensive pass has an open calendar, but still no guarantee if reservations are out, can’t park hop until a certain time, consequences for not showing up on the day you planned without cancellation…

The spontaneity is mostly gone. Gone are the days when your friend called you up and asked if you were down to ride Pirates or Splash that same day (one of my best friends and I used to do this all the time). This is a different program.

 

[britain]

Seems to me they wanted to be totally unshackled by any legal (or perceived) AP obligations as obstacles to tweaking things and removing a few benefits. It's so much easier to rebrand and reprice than to weather the storm you'd incur by saying "Hey AP holders, we're making it more difficult to park, reserve, book, provide photos, maxpasses, etc..."

 

[CaptinEO]

Exactly. Reservations, most expensive pass has an open calendar, but still no guarantee if reservations are out, can’t park hop until a certain time, consequences for not showing up on the day you planned without cancellation…

The spontaneity is mostly gone. This is a different program.

It really is, they should have a baller pass to let people show up when they want.

 

[britain]

I liked being able to decide the night before that I was going to Disneyland.

And I suppose that folks like you are the one group they are sacrificing on the altar of "Let's relieve the crowding". Other than that, it doesn't seem like they care about the issue.

 

[fctiger]

As soon as they offered the California resident discount I knew an AP program couldn’t be far behind. Disney has done a good job of keeping the parks full but that demand couldn’t last forever without APs.

LOL I said the same thing. When you are already offering discounts less than 2 months after the park been shut down over a year in the middle of summer, that told me as well APs will be coming. But I will admit, I assumed if they did come they wouldn't start until in the fall the soonest. The fact they are coming this soon says a lot. The park NEEDS AP, that has always been the reality. Again it doesn't mean they needed a million of them or they can't make strategic changes, but there was always going to be an AP program of some kind.

The fact one came back this soon and practically like the OLD AP program minus reservations makes that clear.

 

[SoCalDisneyLover]

Has the ticket website crashed yet?

I predict 10:05 AM on the 25th for the crash.

Only question is, whether to wait in an 8 hour queue, and have a credit card charged multiple times, or come back the following day. I'm afraid the pass I want would sell out, and they pull it like Universal did the Platinum pass. Probably not, but I suppose it's better to be safe than sorry.

 

[Disstevefan1]

This is true, but you're paying less than you would pay to visit 4 times all year. For those who can go during the week in the off season, it's a great deal. Even if you worked a M-F job, you could pop over for a few hours at night, and get a great value out of it in only a couple of weeks.

True, the gate price is so high. Good point.