The Disneyland Resort has gotten rid of their 37-year-old annual pass program to help reduce crowding on high-demand days. They have now replaced it with a program that will have all visitors make reservations before going to the parks, while continuing to have block outs on the busiest days.

Disney representatives are thinking if they make parkgoers reserve the day they want to visit then maybe it will be less crowded. The company hopes to manage the amount of parkgoers visit Disneyland and California Adventure Park each day, hoping to ease the crowds that block walkways and make attraction wait times extremely long and unbearable.

“We know this allows us to smooth demand throughout the year,” Disney spokesperson Liz Jaeger said.

The Magic Key includes four options, ranging in price from $399 per year for Southern California residents to $1,399 for the option with no block-out days and the greatest flexibility for making reservations.

The Magic Key pass is only for Disneyland and California Adventure Park. Past annual passes ranged from $419 to $2,199 but it also included unlimited visits to parks in Anaheim and Orlando, Fla.

Over all the Magic Key passes are lower than Disneyland’s previous annual passes but the number of days parkgoers can visit is now limited due to block-out dates. In the previous years the annual pass program allowed visitors to show up to the parks as often as they wanted.

Sales of the passes begin Aug. 25.

Here are the options:

The Dream Key is priced at $1,399 with no block-out dates. The price includes access to both parks and parking, and allows the holder to select as many as six reservation dates at a time. It includes discounts of as much as 20% for merchandise and food and beverages.
The Believe Key is priced at $949 with 48 block-out dates, most of which fall around Thanksgiving and the December holidays. The price includes access to both parks and a 50% discount on parking and allows the holder to select as many as six reservation dates at a time. Discounts of as much as 10% are offered for merchandise, food and drinks.
The Enchant Key is priced at $649 with 149 block-out dates; most of June and July and the days around Thanksgiving and Christmas restricted. The price includes access to both parks but does not include parking and allows only four reservation dates at a time. Discounts of as much as 10% are offered for merchandise, food and drinks.
The Imagine Key, priced at $399, will be sold only to Southern California residents and has 218 block-out dates, with no available weekends and most of the summer blocked out. It allows access to both parks but only two reservation dates can be made at a time. Parking is not included. This option includes 10% discounts on some merchandise, food and drinks.

California resident pass holders can still pay for the annual pass on a monthly basis which was allowed with the original pass program. Beware when making reservations to visit both parks in one day, the pass holder must pick which to visit in the morning and which to visit after 1 p.m.

Pass holders can make reservations as early as 90 days in advance and can cancel a reservation as late as the night before a visit. If a pass holder does not show up at the park after making reservations three times, Disney will not allow the pass holder to make new reservations for a month, 30 calendar days to be exact.

SOURCE: LA TIMES

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