Magic Key sales are back, 3/5/2024!

[twodogs]

We had the Flex Pass pre-COVID, which required park reservations, had block out dates and "good to go" dates (where you didn't need a park reservation), and had a limited number of days you could have reserved at a time (I think it was 2 because we do 4 day trips, and I would try to pick at least one "good to go" day in there so that I would minimize the risk of not being able to get a reservation on the last day after using the park reservation for the first day of the trip). You didn't pick a starting park back then because park hopping was allowed all day long, as I recall. As folks who live in Texas, it worked well for us because it was very inexpensive compared to the APs of that time and also compared to multiple day tickets. I didn't mind making a reservation because we had to plan hotels and flights in advance anyway.

Separately, I thought one of the reasons the parks have kept the reservations system is to help them save money on staffing. This way they know how many people to expect and staff up or down accordingly. Maybe that is not the reason, but I try to remember that every decision Disney (or frankly most any public company) makes should be looked at through the lens of economic interest of the company. Then decisions usually make sense (not that I always agree with them!).

 

[CoachBeard]

I caved and did the Enchant again. Works for me since I have a 9/80 schedule and get a lot of fridays off.

 

[brightlined]

Also, let’s be honest here, Disneyland didn’t reach capacity more than once or twice a year, where they were forced to turn away guests. Turning away guests is bad, but there was a good reason. The reservation system had nothing to do with park capacity, it’s to control the type of guests, and maintain cast member numbers/staffing.

Why are you arguing over this? What's the point here?

For starters, just because they only actually closed a couple of times a year doesn't mean that they didn't have issues on other days and simply chose to stay open. Closing was always an act of last resort. It also doesn't mean that attendance was going to stay that way for the rest of eternity - anyone who's been to the parks in the last year can count days that they would have exceeded capacity if not for the reservation system.

Do you have a source that says that the reservation system was only for customer control and staffing? Because that sounds like an opinion that most people here would disagree with. How often have you been to the park since COVID?

 

[kucanhead]

I’m curious how you know that the reservation system was in development before. I have never heard anyone claim that. If you have a source for that, I’d be interested in looking at that.

Disneyland released the Flex Passport back in 2019. You were able to make 2 reservations at a time up to 30 days in advance. The blockout dates were minimal, and it even had "Good to Go" days where no reservation was required. It was $599 with an option to add on unlimited MaxPass for $100.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Why are you arguing over this? What's the point here?

For starters, just because they only actually closed a couple of times a year doesn't mean that they didn't have issues on other days and simply chose to stay open. Closing was always an act of last resort. It also doesn't mean that attendance was going to stay that way for the rest of eternity - anyone who's been to the parks in the last year can count days that they would have exceeded capacity if not for the reservation system.

Do you have a source that says that the reservation system was only for customer control and staffing? Because that sounds like an opinion that most people here would disagree with. How often have you been to the park since COVID?

I mean, ive gone many times and while I can't prove it like we can't prove they "lie" about say ROTR having a 60 min wait when its only 40 mins to sell more passes.....I mean this is where we are at with companies now. I have no good will with them on things like this

The rides back down as much if not more now then ever and e aren't seeing Indy/ROTR/Space at constract 2 hour+ waits means something post covid has changed because before Covid 2 of those rides had hour waits most days and now magically they dont?

Maybe demand went wayyyyyy down but it makes more sense that while the parks are packed they are at capacity or reservations have changed when people come to the parks

I will say while I miss FP/Max pass......the current parks while crowded most rides you can find times to get on and its under an hour with the exceptions of Cars Racers which seems to always have a 90+ min wait on most days

 

[DLandgirlie]

I caved and did the Enchant again. Works for me since I have a 9/80 schedule and get a lot of fridays off.

I renewed into Enchant (during my renewal period in Jan.) from Imagine, due to my work schedule and because Imagine took away the 3/4 days in June this year. I have a weekday off as well. I'm a bit salty that Enchant used to have some Saturday availability, but Sunday's will do just fine. I am most excited to be able to go in December for the Holidays!

 

[brightlined]

The rides back down as much if not more now then ever and e aren't seeing Indy/ROTR/Space at constract 2 hour+ waits means something post covid has changed because before Covid 2 of those rides had hour waits most days and now magically they dont?

To Steven's point - the answer is that they're using the reservation system to control capacity. To his point, they are also using it to control the type of guest that's coming - I would never disagree with that. But Steven said: "The reservation system had nothing to do with park capacity", which is flat out untrue by a factor of a billion.

Honestly, one of the random benefits of the park reservation system is that they have the ability to adjust park capacity for ride closures. For example, if they know that Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Matterhorn are down for maintenance/construction on the same day, they can cut the available capacity at the park for that day, and most people at the park wouldn't notice the outages. (I can't say with certainty that they're using the reservation system that way, but I would hope they are.) In the old days, that would not have been possible - it would have been a full park with three major rides down.

And I actually like the use of the reservation system to limit attendance, if only to make the park experience more enjoyable. It isn't fun when the parks are absolutely slammed. I'd be happy to never wait in a 2+ hour line at Space Mountain again.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

To Steven's point - the answer is that they're using the reservation system to control capacity. To his point, they are also using it to control the type of guest that's coming - I would never disagree with that. But Steven said: "The reservation system had nothing to do with park capacity", which is flat out untrue by a factor of a billion.

Honestly, one of the random benefits of the park reservation system is that they have the ability to adjust park capacity for ride closures. For example, if they know that Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Matterhorn are down for maintenance/construction on the same day, they can cut the available capacity at the park for that day, and most people at the park wouldn't notice the outages. (I can't say with certainty that they're using the reservation system that way, but I would hope they are.) In the old days, that would not have been possible - it would have been a full park with three major rides down.

And I actually like the use of the reservation system to limit attendance, if only to make the park experience more enjoyable. It isn't fun when the parks are absolutely slammed. I'd be happy to never wait in a 2+ hour line at Space Mountain again.

I agree for the most part

I just know one day....I'll have a friend or family who randomly shows up and I wont be able to make reservation...and that will suck but until then its more of a fear

So far, ive had nooooo issues getting the days I want but I also pick days ahead of time and have my trips planned out and many locals just want to go any day...which 99 percent of the time I don't need that option

 

[Peachy0118]

To Steven's point - the answer is that they're using the reservation system to control capacity. To his point, they are also using it to control the type of guest that's coming - I would never disagree with that. But Steven said: "The reservation system had nothing to do with park capacity", which is flat out untrue by a factor of a billion.

Honestly, one of the random benefits of the park reservation system is that they have the ability to adjust park capacity for ride closures. For example, if they know that Splash Mountain, Haunted Mansion, and Matterhorn are down for maintenance/construction on the same day, they can cut the available capacity at the park for that day, and most people at the park wouldn't notice the outages. (I can't say with certainty that they're using the reservation system that way, but I would hope they are.) In the old days, that would not have been possible - it would have been a full park with three major rides down.

And I actually like the use of the reservation system to limit attendance, if only to make the park experience more enjoyable. It isn't fun when the parks are absolutely slammed. I'd be happy to never wait in a 2+ hour line at Space Mountain again.

We have no problem with the reservation system, either, but as out-of-towners we are planning in advance no matter what.

Disney said "Disneyland is your land". I know it has always been a locals park, at least in recent decades, but the reservation system actually makes me feel like he wasn't just talking to those living close by. I may have to pay more to go, and spend more when I am there, and go far less often, but it has shifted the dynamic and feels like it isn't just a locals park that I feel like I am an outsider visiting when I am there.

I am sorry that it is less convenient for people who used to go spontaneously. I get that frustration.

A lot of tourist places have started utilizing some sort of reservation system, so it isn't just Disney. I remember in 2019 seeing the amount of people turned away from the Anne Frank House in Amsterdam because they didn't have reservations. (It was a lot. They were upset.)

It is a business, at the end of the day, and Disney seems to be able to maneuver its way through the machinations of ride closures and staffing and mixing up guest capacity to have full parks, full lines, and make money. We still go, and I'm going to guess most people on here still go. For every complaint about a long line is a comparison to a time when the line was shorter and also to when it was longer. For every story about a low-capacity park is a story about a full one.

We're just happy to get to go.

 

[brightlined]

For anyone curious with the sales at the moment:

At the moment, the queue is down to seconds. They say that Imagine is close to selling out.

Man, it'd be nice for this to be the new normal - that they're just readily available when if/when you want one.

 

[MsChristy12]

For anyone curious with the sales at the moment:

At the moment, the queue is down to seconds. They say that Imagine is close to selling out.

Man, it'd be nice for this to be the new normal - that they're just readily available when if/when you want one.

I'm not buying one but went to the website to check it out anyways...the "queue" was like 10 seconds.

Imagine key are gone. Only Inspire, Believe and Enchant left.

 

[Steven G]

I'm not buying one but went to the website to check it out anyways...the "queue" was like 10 seconds.

Imagine key are gone. Only Inspire, Believe and Enchant left.

Why are you arguing over this? What's the point here?

For starters, just because they only actually closed a couple of times a year doesn't mean that they didn't have issues on other days and simply chose to stay open. Closing was always an act of last resort. It also doesn't mean that attendance was going to stay that way for the rest of eternity - anyone who's been to the parks in the last year can count days that they would have exceeded capacity if not for the reservation system.

Do you have a source that says that the reservation system was only for customer control and staffing? Because that sounds like an opinion that most people here would disagree with. How often have you been to the park since COVID?

My point was that they are creating demand for a virtual product just so they can get the "customer mix" that they want, and to plan staffing levels, no matter how customer hostile it is to have the policy. I just don't see any positive benefit for the average customer.

Already, the Imagine key is gone, as a PP said. Sucks to be the people who really wanted one, but couldn't get online today, they will need to wait ??? months until the next time for the privledge of giving Disney money, or have to decide to get a lesser or greater pass, that may not meet their needs (blackout dates, etc.)

You asked, soo... I've been to Disneyland quite a few times since Covid. In fact, I am going there from March 24 to March 26, and probably during Thanksgiving, and was in Disneyland at least once last year. I have a son, so I have to always go during busy times.

Again, I know it's anecdotal, but I haven't really seen the reservation system help in any tangible way my experience in the park. Again, I'm sure it's helped Disney plan staffing. Whether it's because they let a bunch of CM's go during the pandemic, or the morale at the parks in general, the CM's at least to me, were slightly to much better before Covid, then after, so I am not sure if it's really helping the CM's either.

 

[LKing]

I just know one day....I'll have a friend or family who randomly shows up and I wont be able to make reservation...and that will suck but until then its more of a fear

Don't worry about it. MK holders reserve 4-6 dates in advance. As the dates get closer and something else comes up, they cancel. Many cancel the night before a reservation. You'll get into this cadence of reserving and then moving things around as well.

One of our reservations was for an upcoming Saturday. Something came up so we tried to change to Sunday. Sunday was full. My spouse checked daily for 3 days and reservations finally opened on Sunday. We moved our Saturday reservation to Sunday, opening a space for others on Saturday. It happens frequently.

 

[brightlined]

Already, the Imagine key is gone, as a PP said. Sucks to be the people who really wanted one, but couldn't get online today, they will need to wait ??? months until the next time for the privledge of giving Disney money, or have to decide to get a lesser pass, that may not meet their needs (blackout dates, etc.)

The Imagine Key is the "lessest" key. There isn't a lesser pass - that's the cheapest one with the most blockout dates.

You asked, soo... I've been to Disneyland quite a few times since Covid. In fact, I am going there from March 24 to March 26, and probably during Thanksgiving, and was in Disneyland at least once last year. I have a son, so I have to always go during busy times.

Again, I know it's anecdotal, but I haven't really seen the reservation system help in any tangible way my experience in the park. Again, I'm sure it's helped Disney plan staffing. Whether it's because they let a bunch of CM's go during the pandemic, or the morale at the parks in general, the CM's at least to me, were slightly to much better before Covid, then after, so I am not sure if it's really helping the CM's either.

"At least once last year" doesn't really me sell me on this affecting you - and giving you the range of personal experience - to the level that your posts suggest. The complaints you've got in that last paragraph are valid - but staffing issues, crappier management training, etc., aren't specifically related to the reservation system. That stuff can kill morale with or without the reservation system - and neither of us can say for sure if the system does or doesn't impact CMs personally. (I might argue that the system would make it a lot less likely for a CM to get called into work on short/no notice, which would be at least one benefit.)

But we also weren't talking about those issues when I said what I did.

You're more than welcome to have the opinion that you have - that the reservation system doesn't work for you. But I don't understand why you've gone this deep into it in this thread, when it's clear that it doesn't personally affect you all that much. (And it feels like you've been making strong statements about things you're not entirely informed about.)

 

[Love Tink]

Already, the Imagine key is gone, as a PP said. Sucks to be the people who really wanted one, but couldn't get online today, they will need to wait ??? months until the next time for the privledge of giving Disney money, or have to decide to get a lesser or greater pass, that may not meet their needs (blackout dates, etc.)

You've repeatedly complained that the keys don't have limitless quantity. ??? This isn't a new concept. Movie theaters sell out. Plane tickets sell out. Party tickets sell out. Sometimes you decide you want something and it is no longer available.

Disney is protecting the guest experience by having passes with different blackout dates, and by limiting the quantity of each sold. It's a plus for anyone without a key, and an avoidable issue for anyone who handles their business.

 

[Lisa24jks]

You're more than welcome to have the opinion that you have - that the reservation system doesn't work for you. But I don't understand why you've gone this deep into it in this thread, when it's clear that it doesn't personally affect you all that much. (And it feels like you've been making strong statements about things you're not entirely informed about.)

This has been a fun couple weeks of threads kinda going off the rails around here. This isn't even a thread about reservations, it's about MK sales. But then people bring their complaints about other things and how MK isn't worth it to them in here and welp, here we go again. (Not your fault @brightlined, it just happens to be your post I'm quoting.)

Some people, I'm sure, are very happy about getting to purchase a MK today, and some of us who already have them are happy as well. But some people will jump on every opportunity to complain. (Not saying there aren't plenty of valid complaints, it's just not always the right time or place to have them.)

 

[TinkAgainU]

I just signed into the queue (3/4 at 4pm PST) and less than 1 minute hold. All four passes showed available. Sooooo different than last time where we signed in within 15 minutes of start, and waited seven hours to buy the pass.

 

[brightlined]

This has been a fun couple weeks of threads kinda going off the rails around here. This isn't even a thread about reservations, it's about MK sales. But then people bring their complaints about other things and how MK isn't worth it to them in here and welp, here we go again. (Not your fault @brightlined, it just happens to be your post I'm quoting.)

Some people, I'm sure, are very happy about getting to purchase a MK today, and some of us who already have them are happy as well. But some people will jump on every opportunity to complain. (Not saying there aren't plenty of valid complaints, it's just not always the right time or place to have them.)

Totally fair. Honestly, I didn't love even responding - but that's something that's been bothering me here for months. It's the intense cynicism that gets to me - I've always had a difficult time walking away from that, especially if it's an unfounded complaint.

A lot of the negative comments recently have seemed pretty misplaced - like they're angry in a vacuum rather than because of something that's actually happened at the parks. If something happens to someone because of the reservation system, and it's a repeatable problem - I want to hear that. But the generic venting just makes the board less fun. Especially in the case of the reservation system - the system is here, most of us know how to deal with it, it's not going away, there's really not much more to say about it. (Having said that, I'll gladly dispel the "WDW got rid of park reservations" myth whenever it gets brought up.)

If there's one positive about this thread - it sounds like everyone here who has wanted an MK might actually have one now. (There was that one person from January who wanted an Imagine but couldn't get one because they wanted to do it with a ticket upgrade - but I don't know if they're still around.)

I just signed into the queue (3/4 at 4pm) and less than 1 minute hold. All four passes showed available. Sooooo different than last time where we signed in within 15 minutes of start, and waited seven hours to buy the pass.

Holy cow, they actually did make Imagine available again.

 

[Tinkaboo]

This has been a fun couple weeks of threads kinda going off the rails around here. This isn't even a thread about reservations, it's about MK sales. But then people bring their complaints about other things and how MK isn't worth it to them in here and welp, here we go again. (Not your fault @brightlined, it just happens to be your post I'm quoting.)

Some people, I'm sure, are very happy about getting to purchase a MK today, and some of us who already have them are happy as well. But some people will jump on every opportunity to complain. (Not saying there aren't plenty of valid complaints, it's just not always the right time or place to have them.)

You are so right, @Lisa24jks! Off the rails right and left lately. If I want to hear people complain about how everything was better decades ago…well, I’ll go over to mice hat and visit the curmudgeons. Disboards have always been a go-to for people for information. I hope it continues to be that way.

I love the reservation system, Genie +, just as I once loved Fast Pass and just as I once loved totally unrestricted Disneyland. All things pass…I look forward rather than hold onto the past. I’m just glad I can afford to indulge in the place that makes me happy. Maybe one day that won’t be the case and then I’ll find something else.

What I won’t do then is hang around the DisBoards complaining about the good ole days.

 

[starlite_]

You are so right, @Lisa24jks! Off the rails right and left lately. If I want to hear people complain about how everything was better decades ago…well, I’ll go over to mice hat and visit the curmudgeons. Disboards have always been a go-to for people for information. I hope it continues to be that way.

I love the reservation system, Genie +, just as I once loved Fast Pass and just as I once loved totally unrestricted Disneyland. All things pass…I look forward rather than hold onto the past. I’m just glad I can afford to indulge in the place that makes me happy. Maybe one day that won’t be the case and then I’ll find something else.

What I won’t do then is hang around the DisBoards complaining about the good ole days.

Amen! It's always funny to me when ppl rant about how awesome it was in the 90s or the 80s or the 70s. Decades ago when I wasn't even born. Begging ppl to least make a recent comparison if they wanna complain so much about it.

If the comparison is legal to drink, then maybe re-think making it xD