Magic Keys Have Arrived With Glitches & Long Wait Times
Today was a HUGE day for Disneyland Annual Passholders as it was the launch of Magic Key. This system was unveiled earlier this Summer and is designed to replace previous annual pass options offering guests more price points and options.
As with any Disney launch, the opening day for Magic Key purchases was not without it’s difficulties! Many guests are reporting lengthy queues, hours upon hours of waiting and of course the odd glitch or crash of disneyland.com,
Key Types and Availability
For those unfamiliar, there are four distinct types of keys. Each will cost a different price and each will have a different availability calendar. Let’s do a quick overview of each:
Dream Key
The most expensive options the dream key provides the following benefits:
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks every day of the year.
- Hold up to 6 theme park reservations at a time*
- Up to 20% off select merchandise**
- Up to 15% off select dining**
- Standard theme park parking included (excluding blockout days)***
Here’s a look at the 2021 availability calendar for this option:
As you can see, guests at this tier pay for premium access to the parks and there aren’t any blackout dates at the moment. The annual cost for the Dream Key is $1399.
The next tier is the Believe Key. It comes with the following benefits.
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks most days of the year.
- Hold up to 6 theme park reservations at a time*
- 10% off select merchandise**
- 10% off select dining**
- 50% off standard theme park parking (excluding blockout days, and available for purchase at Mickey & Friends Parking Structure, Pixar Pals Parking Structure and the Toy Story Parking Area)***
The 2021 Availability for this pass is as follows:
As you can see from the details above, most Saturdays in October, Thanksgiving week and during the Christmas Season all have blackouts.
The cost for this pass is $949 per person.
Enchant Key
One tier down from the Believe Key is the Enchant Key. It offers the following benefits:
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks select days of the year.
- Hold up to 4 theme park reservations at a time*
- 10% off select merchandise**
- 10% off select dining**
There are more restrictions placed on this tier. Let’s check out availability:
As you can see from the availability calendar, there are more weekend restrictions and larger blackout periods around the holidays.
This tier comes in at $649 per person.
Imagine Key
The most affordable of the four keys, the imagine key also comes with the most restrictions. Let’s take a look at what comes with this option:
(Only available for Southern California Residents living in zip codes 90000 to 93599)
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks select days of the year.
- Hold up to 2 theme park reservations at a time*
- 10% off select merchandise**
- 10% off select dining**
Southern California Residents can visit the parks on the following dates:
The pass can typically only be used during weekdays with longer blackouts around the holidays. This key will set guests back $399.
Teething Problems
So how did things go on Magic Key launch day for Disneyland fans? According to a piece in the OC Register, passes went on sale just after 10am PST this morning (August 25th.) A virtual queue was quickly set up and guests were advised at that time that waits would exceed 60 minutes.
90 minutes later, those waiting in line were informed that the site was down resulting in them loosing their spot on the queue.
I honestly wish Disney would pour money back into their website infrastructure. It’s a hot mess and always has been. #magickey
— Skipper Dee (@DeeMagicGurl) August 25, 2021
.The OC shared the tweet above which we think perfectly sums up how guests were felling come lunchtime. There were reports of some guests waiting in line for hours before getting booted and frustrations where high! I love this tween below where a member of the clergy grapples with priorities in the face of a long virtual queue.
Mass is infinitely more important than my Magic Key queue. I know this, I promise. pic.twitter.com/3ljHslObNN
— fah’Tim (@FrGrumbach) August 25, 2021
Disneyland restricted monthly payment options to ONLY California residents but many were apparently reporting that they waited long periods of time to get their passes only find out that they couldn’t select monthly payment from the virtual checkout.
If you look at the comments on the Facebook post below, you’ll see that many guests waiting in excess of three hours to get their passes.
We hope those still looking to get their passes have better luck tomorrow. This is a story that we will continue to follow along with closely. Readers are encouraged to keep checking back with us for further news and updates.
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Source: OC Register