Magic Key Reservation Availability Is A Joke

[LAS2AMS]

Disney had to pay out a $10M settlement related to the reservation system (advertising “no blackout dates” but no available reservations = lawsuit) so I’m not surprised by the tightened verbiage.

But still, with the prices Disney charges, the whole reservation system is silly. Just sell less tickets…

 

[JerrodDragon89]

I believe that limited reservation availability was explicitly listed in the terms of these specially-priced ticket deals. I think it is reasonable for Disney to make more reservations available to those who paid more for their tickets, as that is the type of purchasing behavior (buying full-priced tickets) that Disney wants from its guests.

Here is the detail from the So Cal ticket offer page (bolding is mine):

To enter a park, both a theme park reservation and a valid ticket for the same park on the same date are required. Theme park reservations for Southern California Resident Ticket holders are limited in number and subject to the availability of park reservations allocated to the Southern California Resident Tickets as determined by Disney, applicable blockout dates and theme park capacity. Reservation availability for Southern California Resident Ticket holders is not guaranteed for any date and reservations may be difficult to get for any particular date, especially as the ticket expiration date approaches. To ensure best availability, make reservations early. On any given date, park reservations may be available for general theme park tickets even though park reservations allocated to the Southern California Resident Tickets are fully reserved. Southern California Resident Ticket holders are not entitled to any reservations Disney makes available to others. Parks, attractions, entertainment, experiences, services and offerings may be modified, limited in availability or unavailable, and are subject to restrictions, change or cancellation without notice. Park admission and offerings are not guaranteed. View important information about what you need to know before visiting the Disneyland Resort.


To purchase by phone, call (800) 859-8269 to speak with a vacation-planning expert. Guests younger than 18 years of age must have parent or guardian permission to call.

That is not how it worked back in the day...you got a Ticket and you could go

To defend Disney on making it where less can come in for profits? You pay for a ticket you should be able to go unless its sold out same with MK's

They are just nickel and dimming customers and if they fully offered the value of full price tickets we would see days selling out...but we don't the demand is only there if MK and sales happen now

 

[LKing]

One of the complaints with the reservation system is that MK holders can't visit spontaneously like they used to.

For those who want to visit spontaneously, MK reservations were available yesterday (Thurs, Jan 9). Today both parks have reservations available. Saturday, Disneyland is available.

ETA: Disneyland has reservations open for Sunday.

 

[LAS2AMS]

One of the complaints with the reservation system is that MK holders can't visit spontaneously like they used to.

For those who want to visit spontaneously, MK reservations were available yesterday (Thurs, Jan 9). Today both parks have reservations available. Saturday, Disneyland is available.

ETA: Disneyland has reservations open for Sunday.

The current reservation system encourages people to book placeholders, then decide later if they want to visit. As you have a generous window to cancel (equal to eight hours before the park opens) without being charged with a no-show, reservations do open all the time. This availability often go quickly. Disney could rectify this by penalizing people who frequency cancel/ modify their reservations.

Some people go to the parks a lot — I’ve met many people who claim to visit over 300 times per year. If you have no job (or are underemployed) and have time to refresh the reservation screen dozens of times per day (you know, well waiting in lines at DLR), then this system works for you. If you’re everyone else who has a job, this is a distraction.

Sometimes Disney does add bulk availability at the last minute. That appears to have been the case the last few days, but it definitely does not happen all the time. A”spontaneous” trip to somebody who lives near DLR may be deciding that same afternoon they want to go to DLR. But for somebody who lives a couple hours away, a “spontaneous” trip may mean making reservations a few days out.

 

[LAS2AMS]

Disney did add availability for today, but the next available reservations aren’t until the 21st. That’s beyond crazy for January. Beyond the end of the Holiday period/ pent up demand for a few days from lower MK, January is historically a slow period.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Disney did add availability for today, but the next available reservations aren’t until the 21st. That’s beyond crazy for January. Beyond the end of the Holiday period/ pent up demand for a few days from lower MK, January is historically a slow period.

I just went the parks are noooooo where near packed

This has to be for staffing...Period.

We just saw the packs full and even then they were not sold out but now...they are just limiting the guests which is a good and bad thing

Good if you can get in bad for those trying to get reservations

 

[KPeterso]

We went on Saturday and it was not bad crowd wise at all. And actually met up with a friend who made a same day reservation for Saturday. She goes almost weekly, but mostly on weekday afternoons after work. There were a lot of people trying to get the Magic Key pin giveaway. We got in the queue, but did not get the text to return until after we were gone that day. Oh well.

 

[disneychrista]

Disney had to pay out a $10M settlement related to the reservation system (advertising “no blackout dates” but no available reservations = lawsuit) so I’m not surprised by the tightened verbiage.

But still, with the prices Disney charges, the whole reservation system is silly. Just sell less tickets…

How can they do that when they don't know what days someone will be coming? That is the whole reason behind the reservations. They can't sell less tickets for a particular day without knowing what attendance may be.

 

[AstroBlasters]

For those frequent guests who are staying on property then there is a separate bank of MK reservations for the hotels which I have never heard of being blocked out.

 

[joseph821]

For those frequent guests who are staying on property then there is a separate bank of MK reservations for the hotels which I have never heard of being blocked out.

Yes there is a separate hotel buckets for guests whether they have a MK or not. It is never blocked out -- only perhaps on New Years Eve if you are not in the parks by 3/4pm.

 

[ComeToSocialize]

As a former AP holder I hate the reservation system. That being said, we've had a lot of success booking reservations night before or same day. This most recent saturday, for example, we decided Friday night we wanted to go. There was no availability Fri night, but when we woke up Sat morning, there were spots.

I think we've only had 1 day ever where we decided night before we wanted to go and could not get a reservation. You might have to play the refresh game a bit night before.

So while the reservations are annoying, it has been mostly a non-issue for us with a little persistence. I encourage everyone to keep checking.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

As a former AP holder I hate the reservation system. That being said, we've had a lot of success booking reservations night before or same day. This most recent saturday, for example, we decided Friday night we wanted to go. There was no availability Fri night, but when we woke up Sat morning, there were spots.

I think we've only had 1 day ever where we decided night before we wanted to go and could not get a reservation. You might have to play the refresh game a bit night before.

So while the reservations are annoying, it has been mostly a non-issue for us with a little persistence. I encourage everyone to keep checking.

I kinda get this but also we are paying 1700 bucks....I think there should be a system where I can say I want to Go X day and if it opens up you get a spot

Or even text me when they open something it being random just sucks, we have lives I can't check all the time

 

[ComeToSocialize]

I kinda get this but also we are paying 1700 bucks....I think there should be a system where I can say I want to Go X day and if it opens up you get a spot

Or even text me when they open something it being random just sucks, we have lives I can't check all the time

I completely agree. It's very annoying.

The other thing it has ruined is deciding in the early afternoon that you want to pop in for dinner and a few rides. We used to do that with APs. Usually, same day availability is gone by noonish in my experience (though not always)

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

I just went the parks are noooooo where near packed

This has to be for staffing...Period.

We just saw the packs full and even then they were not sold out but now...they are just limiting the guests which is a good and bad thing

Good if you can get in bad for those trying to get reservations

Agree, we went yesterday and DL was not crowded at all in the morning. Then later on was a little busier but no where near jam packed. Parking attendants were doing double lanes … I think it’s low staffing that’s limiting the park reservations.

 

[MonocularVision]

I kinda get this but also we are paying 1700 bucks....I think there should be a system where I can say I want to Go X day and if it opens up you get a spot

Or even text me when they open something it being random just sucks, we have lives I can't check all the time

Yet you continue to give them $1,700 a year. Why?

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Yet you continue to give them $1,700 a year. Why?

Last year wasn't that bad until Christmas

Also this might be my last year.....so yeah I'm not too impressed I can't go two weeks of the year and the staffing issues now

Also unless magic happens nothing new for 2026 besides maybe the dragon coming back and new fireworks

 

[Hyphen677]

Last year wasn't that bad until Christmas

Also this might be my last year.....so yeah I'm not too impressed I can't go two weeks of the year and the staffing issues now

Also unless magic happens nothing new for 2026 besides maybe the dragon coming back and new fireworks

Compared to day tickets, Magic Keys are a screaming deal. I think we paid around $230/day the last time we were there. That's only eight visits for an Inspire keyholder. How many days did you actually visit in 2024? What do you think your price per visit is? The hassle sounds annoying but the savings are pretty sweet.

 

[Lisa24jks]

Also unless magic happens nothing new for 2026 besides maybe the dragon coming back and new fireworks

Please tell me you aren't complaining about nothing new for 2026 when we are only 13 days into 2025. Let this year get a little dirt on it before you start worrying about that. You should know as well as any of us that there won't be announcements of anything about 2026 until MUCH much further into this year.

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Please tell me you aren't complaining about nothing new for 2026 when we are only 13 days into 2025. Let this year get a little dirt on it before you start worrying about that. You should know as well as any of us that there won't be announcements of anything about 2026 until MUCH much further into this year.

Not complaining but Disney is playing clean up

I'm excited for HM new scene....but we got Tia's redo last year and this year is Walt show but unless dirt magically starts moving...not sure we will see anything Big until The Avengers ride which is 3+ years away...heck Coco might come first.

But without them redoing a ride again, I can't see anything big happening at Disneyland until 2027 and beyond.

I assume we will get a new location for Star Tours...and then monkey par they turn off the fun element where you get random locations...and its cool for the first months but its been 7 months and its still the space whales.

We might see them update Smugglers run in 2026.....and maybe the dragon comes back? But since DCA is the focus next and they don't like live shows any more and no dirt is moving at Disneyland...yeah I can see me not wanting my pass as much next year if they are having smaller MK pools and nothing big comes to the park.

Compared to day tickets, Magic Keys are a screaming deal. I think we paid around $230/day the last time we were there. That's only eight visits for an Inspire keyholder. How many days did you actually visit in 2024? What do you think your price per visit is? The hassle sounds annoying but the savings are pretty sweet.

It is, for sure its not a bad deal if you can come a lot like I do but its also a lot of money

I went alottttt but also have a youtube channel. It has some pros but I used to have an AP back in the day.....it was cheaper and just better the parks had more live entertainment like Aladdin which was a wonderful way to take a break in the afternoon and now most shows are street standing shows...but would be nice to have shows where you can get off your feet for a little while

 

[LAS2AMS]

How can they do that when they don't know what days someone will be coming? That is the whole reason behind the reservations. They can't sell less tickets for a particular day without knowing what attendance may be.

By tickets, I mean MK sales. I wouldn’t be surprised if Disney has more data on individual MK members than Uncle Sam has on them. I would bet that Disney can generate some pretty accurate MK attendance forecasts based on historical use, the date, the weather, etc.

It isn’t that Disney doesn’t know. Disney always knows.