Dear Magic Key Holders, We hope this note finds you well. We are writing to inform you about the blockout dates for the year 2023. As you know, we strive to provide the best possible experience for all of our valued guests, and sometimes this requires that certain dates be designated as blockout dates for Magic Key holders. For the year 2023, the blockout dates for all Magic Key tiers will be as follows: - January 1st to January 5th: As the New Year begins, we anticipate high demand from guests wishing to start the year with a visit to the park. Unfortunately, this means that Magic Key holders will not be able to access the park during this time. - March 15th to April 15th: With the arrival of spring, we expect an increase in the number of guests visiting the park.

Magic key blockout dates 2023

Credit: Inside the Magic

A Disneyland Magic Key Pass holder claims the Southern California Disney Park enforced unofficial blackout dates over Labor Day weekend.

Disneyland Resort launched its new Annual Passholder program, the Magic Key Pass, in 2021. Annual Passes disappeared from Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure during the COVID-19 pandemic, and fans were so excited at their return that the four tiers sold out within minutes.

Despite the instant popularity of the Magic Key Passes, the rollout wasn’t perfect. A group of Dream Key Pass holders sued Disneyland Resort for allegedly withholding Park Pass Reservations from the most expensive Annual Pass, enforcing unofficial blackout dates on guests.

Since the recently settled legal battle began, Disneyland Resort changed its four Annual Pass options – Inspire Key, Believe Key, Enchant Key, and Imagine Key – and all of them include blackout dates. Theme park reservations are still required for all four tiers, and Magic Key holders are punished for three no-shows in 90 days.

This Labor Day weekend, Reddit user and Disneyland Inspire Key holder u/GomeyBlueRock shared their frustration that Disneyland Resort was enforcing “unofficial” blackout dates.

They shared screenshots that show Disney Park Pass Reservations for single and multi-day ticket holders but not Inspire Key Pass holders. The highest-tier Magic Key Pass costs $1,599 annually.

“Really grinds my gears…” the guest wrote. “Really bugs the sh*t out of me that there is availability if you buy a ticket, but not if you have the (now) top tier pass.”

“I’d be curious to know what the ‘allotment’ statistics are for how many of us MK cretins they allow in per day,” they continued. “It’s weird that they provide benefits that no one else gets, but then has official / unofficial black out days that isn’t part of their MK blackout calendar…”

Some Disneyland Resort fans defended the Magic Key blackout.

“It makes sense to me why they would do this,” u/Ultimus_Omegus said. “A family could go to Disney once every 5 years, and if the date is blocked out Disney would lose that business. A magic key holder frequents Disney a lot more and most likely has more flexibility in the dates.”

“It’s Labor Day weekend,” u/goldenhorseshoewars agreed. “Let the non-pass holders enjoy.”

But the guest defended their position, arguing that they spend enough at Disneyland Resort to deserve priority over vacationers.

“It’s not really a black out date, it’s just a we think we can squeeze more money out of a non AP holder this weekend than from you,” they argued. “Despite the fact we probably spend 100-200 $ every trip between food, alcohol, and whatever new Merch is out.”

And many Magic Key holders agreed.

“Welcome to the crux of the class-action lawsuit and the ‘no blackout dates’ actually having unavailable dates due to the specific tier levels being filled up for the day,” said u/Phased5ek. “Even last year when I had the top-tier (at the time, not the new one) pass, it was supposed to be 365 (or very close to that!) days with no blackout dates, but there were days I couldn’t book because my tier level was already ‘sold out’, essentially creating a blackout date.”

Should Disneyland Magic Key Pass holders have more access to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure Park? Share your thoughts with Inside the Magic in the comments.

Please note that the story outlined in this article is based on personal Disney Parks Guest experiences. No two Guest experiences are alike, and this article does not necessarily align with Inside the Magic’s personal views on Disney Park operations.

Jess Colopy

Jess Colopy is a Disney College Program alum and kid-at-heart. When she’s not furiously typing in a coffee shop, you can find her on the hunt for the newest Stitch pin.

Magic key blockout dates 2023

Mad Tea Party at Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Wednesday, August 16, 2023. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)

The on-again and off-again sale of Disneyland annual passes is once again on hold following a $9.5 million settlement in a class action lawsuit over “deceptive” Magic Key blockout dates.

Disneyland has paused new sales of the top-priced Inspire Key annual pass — meaning none of the four Magic Key tiers is currently available for purchase.

The $1,599 Inspire Key, $1,099 Believe Key, $699 Enchant Key and $449 Imagine Key are now available for renewal only during the month before expiration, according to the Disneyland website.

The pause in sales of new Disneyland annual passes coincides with the Anaheim theme park’s settlement of a Magic Key class action lawsuit.

Disney has agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed in California alleging that annual passholders who purchased the $1,399 Dream Key in 2021 were unable to make theme park reservations at Disneyland and Disney California Adventure despite the promise of “no blockout dates.”

Disneyland killed its original decades-old annual pass program during the COVID-19 pandemic and unveiled the new Magic Key replacement in August 2021. Within a few months, the Magic Key tiers began selling out. The class action lawsuit was filed in November 2021.

Disneyland resumed Magic Key sales in August 2022 with the $1,599 Inspire Key effectively replacing the $1,399 Dream Key. The higher price came with blockout dates during the two weeks at Christmas and New Year’s.

The timing of the earlier sales meant many of the Disneyland annual passes needed to be renewed this August — with tiers selling out over the past month or so. The Inspire Key became the fourth and final Magic Key tier to finally sell out this year.

The post-lawsuit version of the Magic Key annual pass program comes with new terms and conditions to explicitly spell out theme park capacity restrictions.

“Disney allocates daily park reservations among passes and daily theme park tickets and therefore makes available to those passholders eligible to make reservations for a particular day only a portion of the total park reservation capacity,” according to the Magic Key terms and conditions. “A pass therefore does not guarantee park entry, even on dates when a pass is not blocked out and even when a theme park is not at capacity.”

The terms and conditions make clear that Disneyland determines the number of reservations available to passholders.

“On any given date, park reservations may still be available for theme park tickets even though park reservations allocated to the passes are fully reserved,” according to the Magic Key terms and conditions. “Since Magic Key park reservations are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, it may also be difficult or not possible at times for passholders to get park reservations for certain dates.”

To prevent similar litigation, a clause in the Magic Key contract requires keyholders to waive the right to file a class-action lawsuit.

Disneyland fan site MiceChat expects a Magic Key price increase is on the way following the settlement.

“Disney’s not just going to eat the loss of this settlement,” according to MiceChat. “They’ll find a way to pass it on to you, the consumer.”

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Disneyland Announces Magic Key Renewals With New Key and Block Out Dates

Disneyland has announced it will open up Magic Key renewals this week, but with a new Key and new block out dates for all passes.

Sales of new passes are still suspended at this time.

Renewals

Disneyland says renewals will open this week on Thursday, August 18, no earlier than 9am PT.

A virtual queue system will be used to process all online renewals.

If wihin the 30-day renewal window, the Key holder can upgrade or downgrade to another tier. Outside the 30-day window, no changes to can be made to the Magic Key tier unless new passes become available for sale again. At that time, upgrades outside the 30-day renewal window will be allowed.

A Price Increase

With news of the renewals comes a price increase on the Magic Keys.

• The lowest tier, the Imagine Key, has increased from $399 to $449.
• The next tier, the Enchant Key, has increased from $649 to $699.
• The third tier, the Believe Key, has increased from $949 to $1099.

There are still 0% APR monthly payment plans for all tiers for renewing California residents.

New to all Keys is a 20% discount on purchasing Disney Genie+ on the day of visit after entering one of the parks.

A Change in Top Key

At this time, the former top tier Magic Key, the Dream Key, is not being offered for renewal.

In its place is the new Inspire Key, which is priced at $1599 annually. In comparison, the Dream Key was priced at $1399 annually.

The other major change between the Inspire Key and the Dream Key is that the Inspire Key will now have block-out dates.

Here is a graphic showing the break down of Magic Key prices with the benefits. Worth noting is the upcoming benefit of an unlimited Disney PhotoPass for the top two tiers is negated by the fact that an unlimited PhotoPass comes with any Disney Genie+ purchases.

Block-Out Dates

Yes, even the top Magic Key tier will now be subject to block-out dates. Not a single Key will have 365 day access anymore.

The Inspire Key is blocked out December 21, 2022 through January 1, 2023, so even if you pay $1599 for the Key, you still can’t enjoy the holidays in either park without paying more money for single or multi-day tickets.

With the Believe Key, new block-outs include that holiday time period, plus Thanksgiving weekend, and most Saturdays starting in October.

The Enchant Key takes all of those block-out dates, and adds all of Thanksgiving week, Labor Day weekend, plus most Saturdays and Sundays from October on.

And the lowest tier, the Imagine Key, is basically only available Mondays through Thursdays, except for holidays through the end of 2022.

Calendars for 2023 aren’t up yet, but here’s the 2022 block-out calendars to consider when deciding to renew:

New Terms

Disneyland updated the official Magic Key terms and says park reservations for Key holders will be limited in number and subject to the availability of park reservations allocated to all Keys.

They also said these passes can become unavailable at any time, so certain passes may not be available for renewal at some point in the future.

Also worth reading in the terms is the new part about a class action waiver that says:

“YOU AND DISNEY (DEFINED FOR PURPOSES OF THIS BINDING ARBITRATION AGREEMENT AND CLASS ACTION WAIVER TO MEAN WALT DISNEY PARKS AND RESORTS U.S., INC. AND ALL OF ITS AFFILIATES) EACH AGREE THAT ANY DISPUTE OR CLAIM RELATING IN ANY WAY TO YOUR DISNEYLAND RESORT MAGIC KEY WILL BE RESOLVED BY BINDING ARBITRATION, WITH THE SOLE EXCEPTION OF CLAIMS THAT QUALIFY FOR SMALL CLAIMS COURT AS SET FORTH BELOW.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU AND DISNEY ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT (WITH THE SOLE EXCEPTION OF CLAIMS THAT QUALIFY FOR SMALL CLAIMS COURT AS SET FORTH BELOW) AND THE RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL. YOU AND DISNEY ALSO AGREE THAT ANY AND ALL DISPUTES MUST BE BROUGHT IN THE PARTIES’ INDIVIDUAL CAPACITIES. YOU AND DISNEY THEREFORE AGREE TO WAIVE ANY RIGHT TO LITIGATE OR ARBITRATE ANY CLAIMS AS A CLASS ACTION OR OTHER REPRESENTATIVE OR COLLECTIVE ACTION.”

All-caps is verbatim from the terms section:

More Information

The Magic Key system was implemented in August 2021 as a replacement for the annual passes that existed prior to the pandemic closure in 2020. By November, several tiers of Keys were sold out and no longer available.

Disneyland suspended all pass sales and renewals earlier this summer pending this reorganization of the program.

For more information, including a further breakdown on Key tiers, visit Disneyland.com.

Are you a Magic Key holder? How do you feel about all of the changes? Let us know in the comments!

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- March 15th to April 15th: With the arrival of spring, we expect an increase in the number of guests visiting the park. To ensure that everyone has an enjoyable experience, Magic Key holders will have limited access during this period. - July 1st to July 10th: As the summer vacation season kicks off, the park is traditionally busy with families seeking adventure and fun.

To accommodate the increased demand, Magic Key holders will have limited access during this time. - November 20th to November 27th: Thanksgiving week is always a popular time for families to visit the park and create lasting memories. Due to the high volume of guests expected during this period, Magic Key holders will have limited access. Please note that these blockout dates are subject to change and additional blockout dates may be added throughout the year. We understand that these restrictions may be disappointing, but we hope that you understand they are necessary to ensure the best possible experience for all guests. We will continue to keep you updated on any changes or additions to the blockout dates for 2023. Thank you for your understanding and for being loyal Magic Key holders. As always, if you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to reach out to our guest services team. Best regards, [Your Name] Disney Park Management.

Reviews for "Disneyland Magic Key adventures: Navigating the blockout dates in 2023"

1. - Samantha - 2 stars

I was really disappointed with the Magic Key blockout dates for 2023 at Disneyland. The number of blackout days seemed excessive and made me question the value of purchasing the pass. It felt like I was paying a premium for a pass that had very limited availability. I understand there needs to be blackout dates to manage crowd control, but the number of days blocked out seemed excessive to me.

2. - Mike - 3 stars

I was excited to purchase the Magic Key pass for 2023, but when I saw the blockout dates, I was less impressed. While I understand that weekends and holidays can get crowded, the number of blockout days seemed excessive. It felt like there were too many limitations on when I could use the pass, especially considering the cost. I wanted more flexibility and it's disappointing that I don't have the opportunity to enjoy the park on certain days.

3. - Emily - 2.5 stars

I have mixed feelings about the Magic Key blockout dates for 2023. While I understand the need for blackout days to manage crowd control, I found the number of days to be quite restrictive. It felt like I was paying a lot of money for a pass that didn't allow me to visit the park on many occasions. I wish there was more flexibility and a better balance between blackout days and available dates. The limited availability definitely affected my overall experience and satisfaction with the pass.

Make the most of your Disneyland Magic Key in 2023: Plan ahead!