Fall is a time of anticipation for me at the Disneyland Resort: I look forward to Halloween decorations going up, the temperature going down, and unfortunately, the yearly announcement that Magic Key prices are increasing.
Being a Disneyland subscriber looks a LOT different than it used to, especially pre-Covid, and I’m seeing more and more people letting their Key expire due any number of reasons: increased parking and food costs, continued reservation system, overcrowding. However, I have long ago accepted that I will probably continue to pay any amount to keep my Magic Key, despite these frustrations.
I will admit that up until this point, my only big complaint had been blockout dates during the two weeks of the holiday season. It is a little depressing seeing no availability for two weeks, especially being on Winter break from teaching.
I’m quickly brought back to reality upon seeing the sheer chaos that is the holiday season at the parks. The reason I don’t really mind the continued use of the reservation system is not having to wait in a crazy line to enter the parking structure- something common on any given weekend night or holiday.
Let’s just admire this relic from the past – pricing for Annual Passes, 2010. For $36, and a little more for parking, per month you could go every single day. Which was great – but when thousands of others could do the same, it was getting more ridiculously crowded every year.
Which is why, despite losing about $3 billion in operational income during Covid, the extended resort lockdown was probably exactly what Disney needed to solve its Annual Pass problem. It’s estimated that Disneyland had about 1 million Annual Passholders, and they accounted for upwards of 50% of visitors during any given day.
If you remember, Disneyland execs even called Annual Passholders “unfavorable” in terms of their ratio to single-day visitors. So, it’s no surprise that when Annual Passes were “sunsetted” during quarantine, it was all but certain no blockout days would be a thing of the past.
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