Terms of the Magic Key Lawsuit Settlement Revealed
Ever since the Magic Key Program debuted in Disneyland, it’s been riddled with controversy.
They’ve discontinued sales at times, sold out of certain tiers with lightning speed, and–according to some passholders–violated their terms. The controversy surrounding Disney’s alleged violation of terms sparked a lawsuit, which has been settled outside of court. Here’s what you need to know about this settlement — including how to receive your share.
Magic Key Lawsuit
Disneyland launched its Magic Key Holder Program in 2021, which replaced the resort’s Annual Passes. This lawsuit specifically pertains to the Dream Key — previously the highest tier a guest could purchase.
The Dream Key was advertised to have no blackout dates. Jenale Nielsen filed the lawsuit on behalf of herself and other Dream Key holders, alleging that Disney had violated the terms of their Dream Key agreement. This was inspired by the reservation system blocking Nielsen (and other Dream Key holders) out of the parks while ticketed guests (without passes) were still given access to reservations.
The complaint was that Disney deceived guests who bought the Dream Key, as they were under the impression they would receive unlimited access to the parks without being blocked out. Additionally, Nielsen felt Disney was favoring ticketed guests by providing them with reservations when passholders weren’t given any.
In August 2022, the Dream Key was replaced with the Inspire Key.
Terms of the Settlement
The case was settled outside of court, and the terms have been revealed. Scott Gustin provided those terms on X — take a look:
NEW: Terms of the Magic Key lawsuit have been posted – it’s a $9.5 million settlement fund for 103,435 Dream Key passholders (approximately $67.41 pp).
Claim submissions not required. An email will be sent at a later date to all eligible class members. pic.twitter.com/wZHucw01xv
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) September 8, 2023
The $9.5 million settlement fund will go to 103,435 Dream Key passholders. That amounts to approximately $67.41 per passholder. If you believe you qualify to claim a share of the settlement fund, you do not need to submit a claim. At a later date, an email will be sent to all eligible class members, providing them with further details.
After the initial distribution of payments, should any amount be left in the settlement fund (due to checks expiring and after all other payouts have been provided) that exceeds $10 per settlement class member, each member will then receive a second pro rata payment.
So if you believe you may be entitled to some of the funds, make sure you check your email frequently for more information. And we’ll continue to keep you updated on all things Disney, so stay tuned to MickeyBlog.com.
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