Magic Key Reservation Availability Is A Joke

[LAS2AMS]

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.

The daily rate ranges from $103 to $206, depending on the tier you purchase. In recent years, there’s nearly always been a discount. For the Holidays, they had a third day free for Disney+ members. Right now, kids get in from $50 and SoCal residents from $67.

The “break even” point will vary from person to person, but for most it’ll be more than 8.

 

[KimberMama]

We activated our Magic Keys on 11/9, and even though I had to cancel visits planned for 1/11 and 1/13 because I have the flu, I have still gone to the parks 9 times since activating the pass (1 before holiday time and the rest during holiday time). I have no doubt that my $1700 was money well spent. Doing the math, In December I went 5 times, but 3 of those were consecutive, so a T3 PH, a T5 park hopper, and a 3 day park hopper would have been $1010 just for those 5 days. November I went on 2 T6 days ($281 each) and 1 T2 day ($207), and my January visit was T6, so another $281. So far tickets for the days I’ve been to the DL resort since activating the MK add up to $2060 — even considering the discounted ticket price for going consecutive days — and I paid $1749. DH has been one fewer day than I have, a T2 day, so his cost so far would have been $1853. We were both in the clear within 2 months of activating the MK.

Edited to add that I didn’t add in what we would have spent on parking so far, which is $315

 

[LAS2AMS]

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.

The point of the thread was that things have changed . Yes, reservations were a non-issue last year. But that’s clearly changed since the last batch of MK went on sale

 

[LAS2AMS]

We activated our Magic Keys on 11/9, and even though I had to cancel visits planned for 1/11 and 1/13 because I have the flu, I have still gone to the parks 9 times since activating the pass (1 before holiday time and the rest during holiday time). I have no doubt that my $1700 was money well spent. Doing the math, In December I went 5 times, but 3 of those were consecutive, so a T3 PH, a T5 park hopper, and a 3 day park hopper would have been $1010 just for those 5 days. November I went on 2 T6 days ($281 each) and 1 T2 day ($207), and my January visit was T6, so another $281. So far tickets for the days I’ve been to the DL resort since activating the MK add up to $2060 — even considering the discounted ticket price for going consecutive days — and I paid $1699. DH has been on fewer day than I have, a T2 day, so his cost so far would have been $1853. We were both in the clear within 2 months of activating the MK.

Or alternatively you could’ve purchased two, three day Disney+ tickets and cut the numbers in half.

 

[KimberMama]

Or alternatively you could’ve purchased two, three day Disney+ tickets and cut the numbers in half.

Except that was announced after I purchased and activated my MK, and I would have needed 3 of the offers since I went 8 times in November and December. There was no way to know Disney would make that kind of offer during holiday time. And I still have nearly 10 months of pass left. Sure, I could have bought several SoCal resident offers for January - May 15th, but again, already bought the MK and no way of knowing that Disney would make the offer that much better this year. With the MK I also have parking paid for, which I didn’t figure into my math last time, so another $315. And we’ve used the 20% merchandise discount many times, and use the 15% dining discount every time we go.

I’m not saying a MK is always a good deal for everyone. This is my first time having an annual pass after choosing not to renew at the end of 2018. We did tickets offers in 2021, 2022, and 2023, and did one day tickets and a multi day ticket in 2024. Even though we live more than an hour away (without traffic), we tend to go at least twice a month if we have passes. I had 4 visits planned for January and now it will only be 3. February is likely to be 3.

As to the point of the thread about reservations, so far I’m doing okay getting what I need.

 

[LKing]

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

Not sure if I can add it here, but have you checked out ThemeParkIQ's notification system?

https://www.themeparkiq.com/disneyland/park/reservation/alerts

 

[ComeToSocialize]

The point of the thread was that things have changed . Yes, reservations were a non-issue last year. But that’s clearly changed since the last batch of MK went on sale

As I noted in my post, we were able to get morning of availability on Saturday, this year.

There have definitely been times in prior years where weekends were "sold out" for the next 4-5 weeks. Super annoying but not unprecedented.

So perhaps it hasn't changed as much as you think?

 

[MonocularVision]

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

Glad to hear you are voting with your wallet.

Hopefully my original post didn’t come off too negative. I just see MK’ers complaining a lot all over the Internet (FB, Reddit, here) about everything and all I can think is “Why would you spend so much money on a thing that causes so much dissatisfaction?”

 

[JerrodDragon89]

Glad to hear you are voting with your wallet.

Hopefully my original post didn’t come off too negative. I just see MK’ers complaining a lot all over the Internet (FB, Reddit, here) about everything and all I can think is “Why would you spend so much money on a thing that causes so much dissatisfaction?”

So I both agree but also....I've accepted Disney fans are nuts

We will never improve the parks as much as they should be because Disney fans refuse to leave

I skipped the parks for years....and did it again and guess what? Crowds stayed the same

When one Disney fans gives up another rises and so Disney never has to get better...so unless its a massive thing one day we are kinda dammed either way and including myself there are a BILLION Vloggers now, and we are basically giving people foam on going as well...so yeah unless a big big economic event happens again I think Disney won't be changing much up anytime soon

I mean look at the movies for example as well...everyone crapped on Wish and Lightyear...but the min Moana 2 and Inside out 2 came out....Disney isn't "woke" or "bad" at making films any more...funny how that happens

 

[LKing]

Feb weekends are starting to fill. If you don't have your February reservations, I would add them ASAP. March is wide open.

 

[Bruno33]

Glad to hear you are voting with your wallet.

Hopefully my original post didn’t come off too negative. I just see MK’ers complaining a lot all over the Internet (FB, Reddit, here) about everything and all I can think is “Why would you spend so much money on a thing that causes so much dissatisfaction?”

Two things can be true: the experience can be worse and devalued but still provide enough value to be “worth it” for a lot of MK holders.

There is both unhappiness at the nickel and diming, the increased inconvenience, the lack of entertainment, the lack of maintenance, etc… and ALSO there are still amazing memories to be made and a lot of value if you’re in a position to visit frequently and with flexibility.

So I wish things were better, but I’m probably also going to still renew. They haven’t hit the point yet where it’s no longer “worth it” to my family.

 

[disneychrista]

Two things can be true: the experience can be worse and devalued but still provide enough value to be “worth it” for a lot of MK holders.

There is both unhappiness at the nickel and diming, the increased inconvenience, the lack of entertainment, the lack of maintenance, etc… and ALSO there are still amazing memories to be made and a lot of value if you’re in a position to visit frequently and with flexibility.

So I wish things were better, but I’m probably also going to still renew. They haven’t hit the point yet where it’s no longer “worth it” to my family.

I find it funny that people both complain when rides are down for said maintenance and also complain attractions breakdown and that elements are not working. You can't have it both ways.

 

[planningjollyholiday]

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.

Wait what!?!?! As an out of town guest that likes to stay at DLH I would love to go on two seperate week long trips a year. The enchant key calendar looks good to me as most blocked times I wouldn't want to go then anyway. The only downside is only making 4 reservations at a time when I would want 7 days total. But are you saying that if I'm staying onsite I could still get in the other 3 days even if they are not available (as long as its not a blocked day for me)

 

[DLandgirlie]

Visited the last two Sunday's and very different experiences in crowds. This past Sunday was wonderful; prior Sunday took about 45 minutes just to get on the bus at TSPL (most likely due to the end of the holiday season)
I reserved my Sundays in December, and I've been able to add on this Friday, when it was previously unavailable.
They are toying/experimenting with MK availability in their 'off season', because it is different compared to last year.
I won't be renewing due to the lack of shows. I'm going to miss the foodie specialities, but there's always a SoCal offer going on. Now, all I do now is eat, walk and ride rides (at most like 4 rides due to not buying LL). Which is fine, but I'd like to part take in a day show (looking at you Hyperion) like they used to have in the past.
On the plus side, there is a benefit to being there at park opening, which we did on Sunday. It's just very tiring lol but worth it to experience the 'old' feeling of Disneyland, being relatively light crowds, walk on rides, place to sit and eat, meander your walking, and take in the atmosphere!

 

[AstroBlasters]

Wait what!?!?! As an out of town guest that likes to stay at DLH I would love to go on two seperate week long trips a year. The enchant key calendar looks good to me as most blocked times I wouldn't want to go then anyway. The only downside is only making 4 reservations at a time when I would want 7 days total. But are you saying that if I'm staying onsite I could still get in the other 3 days even if they are not available (as long as its not a blocked day for me)

I believe you are safe as long as you are booking the park reservation under your on property hotel reservation in the app.

It’s a perk of staying on property.

 

[disneychrista]

They are toying/experimenting with MK availability in their 'off season', because it is different compared to last year.

My assumption is that they are releasing an initial block of reservations for MK's. Then based on how many reservations they have for other types of tickets, will release more to MK's if those aren't filled up.

Disney looks at MK's as a way to fill the parks. They would rather have full price single day tickets and non-discounted multi-day tickets in the park than discounted tickets and MK's.

 

[Hyphen677]

The daily rate ranges from $103 to $206, depending on the tier you purchase. In recent years, there’s nearly always been a discount. For the Holidays, they had a third day free for Disney+ members. Right now, kids get in from $50 and SoCal residents from $67.

The “break even” point will vary from person to person, but for most it’ll be more than 8.

That $103 to $206 might be a single park ticket. It's an additional $65-75/ticket for a park hopper which is included for Magic Keys. We had the Enchant Key and dropped it because we live out of state and it was difficult to make our particular schedule work with the block out dates. I enjoyed it for the time we had it and really liked the discounts. I can't wait to retire and take advantage of the Magic Key savings.

 

[MonocularVision]

Two things can be true: the experience can be worse and devalued but still provide enough value to be “worth it” for a lot of MK holders.

There is both unhappiness at the nickel and diming, the increased inconvenience, the lack of entertainment, the lack of maintenance, etc… and ALSO there are still amazing memories to be made and a lot of value if you’re in a position to visit frequently and with flexibility.

So I wish things were better, but I’m probably also going to still renew. They haven’t hit the point yet where it’s no longer “worth it” to my family.

My point is that the commentary is like 90% negative. And it is often the same folks and the same things said over and over again.

But I hear you and get it. There are things I would probably change about how the parks are run right now but I generally don’t spend my time on the Internet obsessing over them (and I am not referring to you or anyone else on DISBoards!). It just seems like these folks are in some sort of abusive relationship.

 

[LKing]

I generally don’t spend my time on the Internet obsessing over them (and I am not referring to you or anyone else on DISBoards!). It just seems like these folks are in some sort of abusive relationship.

Off topic for this thread, but have you spent any time on the Community Board? Talk about unhappy, critical people.

 

[LAS2AMS]

My point is that the commentary is like 90% negative. And it is often the same folks and the same things said over and over again.

But I hear you and get it. There are things I would probably change about how the parks are run right now but I generally don’t spend my time on the Internet obsessing over them (and I am not referring to you or anyone else on DISBoards!). It just seems like these folks are in some sort of abusive relationship.

There’s a very solid discussion taking place in this thread. I would welcome everybody to voice their thoughts, but if the thought of something they deem negative is too much, I would suggest ignoring it.