Guide to Disneyland Magic Key Annual Pass: 2024 Prices, Perks, Blockout Dates & Discounts
Magic Key is the Annual Pass program at Disneyland & Disney California Adventure that requires park reservations. This guide covers everything you need to know: 2024 prices, blockout dates, when sales will resume, renewals, discounts, perks, and more! (Updated March 6, 2024.)
With a Magic Key Pass, you can make theme park reservations for ongoing visits and hold more than one theme park reservation at a time for different dates. Passholders also save up to 15% on select dining, save up to 20% on select merchandise, and 20% off purchases of the Genie+ Lightning Lane service (paid FastPass). Throughout the year, there are also special offerings just for Magic Key holders, exclusive photo ops, special venues, and more.
The Magic Key Pass program at Disneyland offers 4 types of passes featuring a variety of admission days and blockout dates, price points, reservation limits, parking, and discounts. You can select the Magic Key Annual Pass of most value to you. Let’s start with an update on availability followed by an overview of what each tier of Magic Key Annual Passes offers along with 2024 pricing for those who are debating which to buy.
March 6, 2024 Update: Disneyland Magic Key Annual Pass sales resumed yesterday, with all 4 pass types available for purchase initially. At first, there was an hour-plus virtual queue, but that very quickly dropped. No one waited more than 2 hours, and by early afternoon, the wait time was less than one minute.
As of today, the Magic Key virtual queue is still technically in use, but it’s an instant entry (the purchase portal can be difficult to find, but you can buy here: .) Here’s the message currently on that page, which was last updated at 9 a.m. Pacific on March 6, 2024: disneyland.disney.go.com/passes
Still available to purchase: Believe Key, Enchant Key, Inspire Key. The Imagine Key is currently available for renewal only.
If you are a California Resident and would like to purchase a pass with the monthly payment option, please sign in to your Disney account before adding the pass to your cart. The monthly payment option will not appear unless you are signed in and your stored Disney account address is a California address.
A Disney Gift Card can be used online when making a payment in full for a new Magic Key pass. Only one Disney Gift Card can be used per transaction, with a maximum value of $1,000.
How long Magic Key sales will continue is anyone’s guess. Just a couple months ago, Disneyland resumed Magic Key sales on January 10. The virtual queue wait time on day one was several hours long (3-4 hours), and the Inspire, Believe, and Enchant Keys all sold out around 6 p.m. Pacific, leaving only the Imagine Key available for purchase to Southern California residents–it sold out shortly after sales resumed again on January 11.
Given how quickly Magic Keys sold out last time–and the quick turnaround time on resuming sales again–we’re expecting another speedy sellout. Unless you’re a big gambler, you should buy ASAP rather than waiting. All of the predictions and speculation are fun in theory, but that’s what I’d actually do if I didn’t already have a Magic Key.
It’s also worth noting that 2024 Magic Key Annual Pass prices at the Disneyland Resort have increased $50 to $150 depending on the pass type. Here’s a breakdown:
- Inspire Magic Key: $1649 (was $1599)
- Believe Magic Key: $1249 (was $1099)
- Enchant Magic Key: $849 (was $699)
- Imagine Magic Key: $499 (was $449)
The other big news is that Disneyland has settled a class-action lawsuit brought by Magic Key Annual Passholders that accused Disney of “deceptive business practices” in regard to its Disneyland annual pass program, according to a court filing. The lawsuit alleged that some of Disneyland’s Magic Key annual passholders were unable to make park reservations, despite the top tier AP promising “no blockout dates” for entry.
This lawsuit pertains to the now-discontinued Dream tier of Magic Key APs. This was the only tier of Annual Pass that advertised no blockout dates, and offered the ability to make theme park reservations 365 days of the year. Since the filing of the lawsuit, the Dream Key was retired and replaced by the top-tier Inspire Key. This AP has blockouts around Christmas and New Year’s Eve, meaning there is no longer a Magic Key AP that grants access to Disneyland all 365 days of the year.
Disney has agreed to pay $9.5 million to the class, which will likely amount to a $67.41 check for each member of the class-action suit, according to the filing. Magic Key Annual Passholders who were part of the class action should receive a notice of the settlement in the coming months, and that will indicate when to expect payment. The court will then set a hearing to finalize the terms of the settlement.
The bottom line is that if you were a Dream Magic Key Passholder, you should expect to receive an email in the coming months notifying you of your eligibility as part of the class, as well as settlement terms and instructions. Following that, expect to receive a check for about 70 bucks sometime in 2024.
Here’s everything else you need before buying a Magic Key Annual Pass…
Imagine Magic Key – $499 (Previously $449)
(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
- 25% off select parking
Enchant Magic Key – $849 (Previously $699)
- 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
- 25% off select parking
Believe Magic Key – $1,249 (Previously $1,099)
- 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)
Inspire Magic Key – $1,649 (Previously Dream Key $1,599)
- Reservation-based admission to one or both theme parks except December 21 through January 1
- Hold up to 6 theme park reservations at a time for different dates
- Includes PhotoPass
- Up to 20% off select merchandise
- Up to 15% off select dining
- Standard theme park parking included (excluding blockout days)
Some additional noteworthy details: A monthly payment plan is available exclusively for California Residents living in ZIP Codes 90000—96199. Twelve monthly payments based on remaining balance after one-time down payment on date of Magic Key pass purchase.
Current Magic Key holders have the opportunity during their renewal window to renew into one of several passes that are being made available for the 2024 Magic Key program. The quantity of passes and pass types available for renewal or purchase may be limited and passes or a pass type may not be available from time to time or at any given time.
The biggest consideration when choosing which Magic Key is right for you is the blockout dates. One thing you’ll definitely want to consult is Disneyland’s Magic Key Access Calendar. This shows blockout dates and dynamic reservation availability all in one handy location, for each tier of Annual Pass.
You’ll note blockouts across all three passes on weekends and high visitation holidays, such as Easter and Christmas. The two lower tiers also have most of the summer blocked out and more dates blocked out.
Once you’ve purchased a Magic Key, it’s time to start using it! The graphic above illustrates the process for making theme park reservations once you’ve already purchased a Magic Key Annual Pass. It’s a pretty easy process, but we have a guide here if you need it.
We’ve been following this since Magic Key Passes went on sale–and have visited Disneyland and Disney California Adventure countless times. Typically, weekends book up in advance, whereas weekdays have not. However, this dynamic is changing a bit as Disney is staffing differently for weekdays vs. weekends. We’d expect this trend to continue in the months to come.
Park Hopping is also an option for Magic Keymasters. Magic Key holders who have a park reservation may cross over and switch between parks on the same day beginning at 11 am. This time has moved forward a couple of times, but we don’t anticipate it changing again until or unless Park Hopping rules are eliminated entirely. (And they’re probably kept in place for attendance forecasting purposes.) Regardless, 11 am is a good time for being able to bounce over to the other park for lunch.
When it comes to using your Magic Key, one thing to know is that Passholders who are a “no show” for 3 reservations in a 90-day window will be unable to make new park reservations for 30 days. This probably is not a major detail as we don’t anticipate many Annual Passholders making “land grab” reservations given the limits on each, but it’s still worth knowing.
Existing park reservations at that time will not be cancelled. A Magic Key holder who enters the designated park any time before closing on the day of the reservation is not considered a “no-show.” Magic Key holders who timely cancel a reservation are also not considered a “no-show.” Cancellation of a reservation must be done on the day before the reserved date.
This last part is significant because it means you cannot cancel same-day if you’re sick, there’s rainy or inclement weather, or your plans otherwise change. This may not seem like a big issue, but if you’re making park reservations a couple of weeks or more in advance, it’s not uncommon to have ‘life happen’ at the last minute. We’ve found ourselves visiting Disneyland on more than one occasion in the Magic Key era to avoid having no-show penalties. This is not unique to us, either.
Finally, there are Magic Keyholder benefits, including:
- Magic Key Terrace: a re-imagined lounge just for Magic Key holders plus their friends and family
- Magic Key Holder Month: a month-long celebration of Magic Key holders
- Special Experiences & Collectibles: access exciting, unique experiences and collectible keepsakes designed with you in mind–including special offerings during festivals!
- First Access Opportunities: be among the first to have the opportunity to access exciting new offerings at the Disneyland Resort throughout the year, including select new merchandise collections
- Downtown Disney District: discounts at participating locations
- Magic Key Merchandise, Novelties, Menu Items and More: Show your Magic Key pride! Opportunity to purchase Magic Key holder-themed popcorn buckets, sippers and menu items throughout the year.
- Magic Key Disney PhotoPass Opportunities: enjoy special photo spots and other opportunities sprinkled in throughout the year.
- Magic Key embroidery: special options available for Magic Key holders at select locations in the parks
Check out our Magic Key Terrace Restaurant Review if you want more info and our thoughts on that first perk. (Spoiler: it’s table service quality food at counter service prices!)
On a fun note, the name “Magic Key” is a nice nod to the past. Back in the E through A ticket book days, the Magic Key Coupon was valid at any attraction. You could use it on a bona-fide E Ticket like Country Bear Jamboree in Bear Country, an A Ticket like 20,000 Leagues, or anything in between.
We appreciate this deep-cut blast from the past and will use Disneyland’s new verbiage when necessary for drawing distinctions below. But most of the time, we’ll probably continue to call these Annual Passes. Disney is fighting decades of history, inertia, and common vernacular with this name change. I’ll be surprised if Disney itself doesn’t use the old terminology here and there.
Anyway, on with the commentary on why Disneyland is resurrecting its Annual Pass program with some new twists, our favorite Magic Key Pass option, why reservations are a good thing, and much more…
Commentary
None of this is particularly surprising. Back when Disneyland ended the AP program and cancelled all outstanding passes, we offered the “reassuring prediction” that Annual Passes were not gone for good. In that, we stated our expectation was that Annual Passes would be back in some form as soon as Disneyland and DCA can operate at full capacity.
That might not sound like a much of a bold prediction now, since Disney has been teasing a “membership program” for months. However, there were widespread fears that Disneyland was killing off its AP program permanently at the time.
From that post: “In normal times, Disneyland is dependent upon locals during the off-season—the SoCal resident ticket deal is insufficient on its own. Although Disney has tried to make Disneyland Resort a standalone vacation destination (and moved it in that direction since the debut of Cars Land), it is still reliant upon Californians and not tourists for most of the year. While those same locals cause attendance problems, Disneyland cannot subsist on travelers like Walt Disney World.”
“It’s likely that significant ‘reforms’ will be instituted with the relaunch of Disneyland’s Annual Passholder program. Having the chance to reboot the entire program in the image of the Disney Flex Pass (which is essentially the framework for the Park Pass reservation system at Walt Disney World) should help address the crowd woes that have arisen at Disneyland in the last several years.” Nailed it? Nailed it.
Some Disneyland fans will view these prices as too high, but not anyone who bought an AP last year. These coming in at lower price points than their predecessors–even with the reservation requirements–is undoubtedly the biggest trick pulled by the Magic Keys. (Sorry, illusion. A trick is something a–can’t finish that reference on a family-friendly blog!)
Having to make reservations definitely lowers the value of the Magic Keys, we’re not trying to spin this and pretend that it doesn’t. However, existing Walt Disney World APs have been dealing with park reservations for the last year and never saw a price reduction due to them. Given that and Disney’s pricing trajectory, I think most fans probably expected these to cost more or offer less. Color us pleasantly surprised.
The clearest takeaway from all of this is that Disneyland very much values the ability the manage capacity and Annual Passholder attendance. This much should be clear based upon the price points and blockouts, especially for the Imagine, Enchant, and Believe Magic Keys. That plus the paid parking on most passes further suggests they want to limit the after work or school “drop in” visits that contribute to crowds but less guest spending.
Diehard former Annual Passholders are likely to disagree, but we think the Magic Key program sounds fantastic. In addition to being good for Disney, it’s good for regular ticket-buying guests as well as the overall “health” of the parks. On busy days, Disneyland could buckle under the weight of Annual Passholders, and their colossal numbers could make for nightmarish conditions. (I still have flashbacks to crushing crowds in the winter “off-season” a few years ago when Main Street Electrical Parade returned.)
Disneyland has a totally different vibe from Walt Disney World, and in many ways, that’s for the better. One way it’s not so great is in the sense that many Disneyland locals treat the parks as leisurely hangout spots. A laidback locals’ culture is great, but Disneyland should be special—not an alternative to visiting Irvine Spectrum or the Grove.
Limiting locals reservations will not just throttle and redistribute crowds. It’ll also create a greater sense of urgency and appreciation when visiting Disneyland, which is a good thing. This means less camping out for hours to see Fantasmic, monopolizing tables in restaurants, and just generally less loitering. (And I say all of this as someone who has been guilty of treating Disneyland and Disney California Adventure as hangout spots no different than a local mall.)
With the Magic Key program, there are some easily identifiable winners and losers. The clear-cut biggest winner is non-local Disneyland fans who do several long weekend or multi-day trips to Disneyland per year.
I suspect there are going to be a lot of fans from Northern California, Nevada, and Utah salivating at the Enchant Magic Key. The lack of parking is not a big problem for visitors who stay in nearby hotels, and moving from 2 to 4 simultaneous reservations will also be huge and make this a better option than the Flex Pass.
Ultimately, the biggest losers of Disneyland’s Magic Key Pass program are locals who loved having the flexibility drop in for a few hours without any advance planning. Same-day reservations might be possible in the first few months or even year, but those will eventually dry up as more people purchase Magic Keys.
When we were Disneyland locals, there were so many times we’d spontaneously visit with zero advance notice simply because we had nothing better to do–or for some limited purpose, like a weird new culinary concoction debuting at Pizza Port. That era is effectively over, and it’s going to be an adjustment for many locals, even if it is a net positive for the guest experience at Disneyland.
Planning a Southern California vacation? For park admission deals, read Tips for Saving Money on Disneyland Tickets. Learn about on-site and off-site hotels in our Anaheim Hotel Reviews & Rankings. For where to eat, check out our Disneyland Restaurant Reviews. For unique ideas of things that’ll improve your trip, check out What to Pack for Disney. For comprehensive advice, consult our Disneyland Vacation Planning Guide. Finally, for guides beyond Disney, check out our Southern California Itineraries for day trips to Los Angeles, Laguna Beach, and tons of other places!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be purchasing a Magic Key pass for Disneyland? Which tier do you anticipate buying? Excited to go from Passholder to Keyholder? Thoughts on the reservation limits, pricing, or anything else? How will these changes impact you personally? Setting that aside, do you think this is a net positive or negative for Disneyland? Do you agree with our assessment of Disneyland’s Magic Key v. Annual Pass programs? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments
We are legacy passholders (we loved the FlexPass!) but our first return visit to Disneyland will be during the December blockout dates for the Believe and Enchant keys (the two passes we would consider). We plan to buy day tickets for that trip (when they go on sale on or around August 18), then upgrade to passes during our visit — hopefully those passes will not sell out before then.
Our experience with the FlexPass was just as you said –the first 6 or so months it existed it was super easy to add on another day’s reservation just one day ahead. By January and February of 2020 it was becoming more difficult to get reservations last minute. So we think your advice to get one of the new passes and use it now and think about it later is spot on.
Although we are not California residents, as long-time annual passholders we have also been “guilty” of visiting the parks just to soak in the atmosphere, go on 1-2 attractions and have a meal. We have also seen what you are mentioning where the parks were taken over in the late afternoon by large numbers of young locals — sometimes the energy was great, sometimes . . . not so great. We are definitely in favor of Disneyland being able to manage crowds through a Flexpass-style reservation system for all passholders in order to create a better experience for everyone, even if it means there are days we can’t get a reservation — and find a different place to hang out 😉
One thing I hope happens with the new Magic Key plans — hoping that special events are announced enough in advance to get a flight and a hotel for those of us from outside the immediate area.
Correcting myself … the Enchant Key for Arizonans! Wish I could get the SoCal version but then I’d be paying more to live there!
Count Arizonans among those benefiting from the mid-range passes. Everyone from here goes to DLR! Our fall and spring school breaks and summer release even mostly fall into the Imagine allowed dates. With current hopper prices the break-even point for the Imagine pass works out to about 5 days at the times of year I’d probably go.
Hmm, most of this seems reasonable but we usually take a few trips throughout the year of about 4-5 days at a time. We’re going in October and December but if we book the 5 October days we can only book 1 day in December until our first trip is underway? Not too comfortable with that =\ I know availability is still high for now but I don’t know if that will be the case with the new program underway and I don’t know how confident I am in just hoping the December availability will hold through the first trip
Are the blackout dates about the same as before? For example, i would be interested in the Dream key but basically every weekend is blacked out and the whole summer – so obviously as a parent of kids in school this doesn’t work for us…
@brighter – FlexPass was rolling reservations, so you could have as many reservations as you could get with a cap on how many were queued. Once you used a reservation you could get more, unless you missed a certain number without cancelling and I forget how you were punished.
We tried the FlexPass and overall we were happy. I had no trouble getting dual park reservations a few weeks out and usually could get California Adventure for the next day if we wanted to come back. Disneyland was harder to get short notice, although I’m sure that will change now that Avengers Campus is open. I’m hoping the new system works well too.
When we has the flex pass, pre covid, as soon as we got scanned into the turnstiles another reservation became available to book on the app. Hoping that remains the case.
We already purchased 5 day tickets. Will we be able to apply those funds towards Magoc Keys? Thanks
Do you think we’d be able to purchase a Magic Pass at the gate on August 25? Would that be easier than online? Or even just buy a park ticket that day and upgrade to the AP like the old days?
Does it say how many days each reservation covers? For example; under the top level pass, my 6 reservations isn’t 6 days, but 6 separate weekend trips?
Finally! An explanation of what E-ticket means. And a link to a full article with a complete explanation!! Obviously I am a latecomer to the party and have only visited WDW twice now, but I have been a daily reader since 2018. Using context and inferences in past posts, I was able to figure out it referred to the latest/greatest/best rides, but for the life of me, I could never figure out the use of a capital E and what that letter might signify. Now I have the whole history. Thanks Tom. Another Disney vernacular mystery solved!
“there aren’t enough of them”
What are you talking about, there are dozens of us. Dozens!
Anyway, see you all in about 4 weeks at the talking dinosaur bones next to the goat.
Personally I love this plan but we were the APs Tom predicted would love it. We live 6 hours away so when we hit the parks it was for a couple of full days not just a couple hours or to camp out all day for one event. I’m sure locals won’t agree but I feel this will make the parks less hectic and more fun for all 🙂
I maintain that the Signature holder is the biggest loser, not the Signature Plus, despite the $250 savings. Even 50% parking is like $2.50 costlier than downtown LA parking. Look, I just don’t want to be the biggest loser here, obviously.
I’m most surprised by the speed of all this. They apparently need us back sooner than later! I am hoping that at some point they will bring back “open admission” days, but I’ll begrudgingly use the reservation system, which is how one who misses spontaneity should use such a thing –begrudgingly. I will also miss MaxPass. That’s a huge drop in value. But to be honest I was half-expecting the Magic Key to be like just an eternal discount card. Join us, Danny. Be a Legacy Passholder for ever, and ever, and ever, and ever.
A little surprised they’re bringing back the payment plans as well. I’ll be buying my pass outright (because as I’ve mentioned somewhere in these message boards previously, I am very rich), but it’s nice to know they’re still keeping folks priced in as much as possible. Also glad to see the discounts in case I need to buy some merch.
…or candy…
This news pretty well disproves two common misconceptions:
“Disneyland doesn’t need Annual Passholders anymore.”
“Disneyland wants to price out anyone who isn’t rich!”
The former point is self evident. As for the latter, Disney wants more money from its target demographics, not to price them out and exclusively target more affluent guests–there aren’t enough of them!
I think the big question remains: What happens to Fast Pass/Max Pass? The fact that there is NO mention of that, in any form (even to say “fast passes will return at a later point”) worries me as that suggests that we may well be seeing a paid Fast Pass similar to Disneyland Paris in the near future. And that, IMO, would devalue the MaxPass/AP combo that used to exist far more than anything else has.
Premier Access and Standby Pass (or whatever names are used here) are almost certainly the future at Walt Disney World and Disneyland. Doesn’t make sense to me that Disneyland would go that route–I think MaxPass is probably more lucrative there–but that seems to be the plan.
Anyone want to guess how long the queue will be at 10:00 am on August 25?
I think we should probably refer to it as the August 25-26 queue. 😉
What I’m really curious about is how WDW will handle existing reservations when new AP sales come back. They say they’ll be back before the anniversary, but 10/1 has been fully reserved for APs for months. So what about all the new FL transplants/DVC owners/other ticket holders who want to purchase an AP but have an anniversary reservation based on a day ticket/resort stay? For example, someone who booked a resort/ticket package and made their park reservation off of that but purchases an AP when it goes on sale before 10/1? Or any other popular day that’s already reserved? Will WDW just be like too bad, you lose your reservation if you switch to AP now, or will they have a workaround?
Once made, it does not seem like reservations are tied to tickets–the system just validates the tickets while making reservations to ensure you’re eligible. So in theory, there should be no impact.
In theory.
Is this only for Legacy passholders? Or, can new guests purchase it on Aug. 25th?
Everyone.
When they say a keyholder may hold x reservations at a time in a 90 day period, they mean that if I have two reservations, when I use one, I may make another to replace it, correct? It’s a rolling number?
Rolling.
Surprised these might go on sale before WDW APs…
I don’t think they will.
But Disneyland is going to need Passholders more than WDW in the next 6 months.