Disneyland has changed dramatically over the last several decades, and now it has changed again thanks to something central to the American legal system — a lawsuit.

A $5 million lawsuit started by just one Disneyland Magic Key passholder has had dramatic effects on the Happiest Place on Earth. An entire form of annual pass will no longer be offered, there is a LOT of language explaining all the ins and outs of the system now, and other changes have been made. Come with us as we explore the ways that this one little filing has changed an offering from one of the country’s largest companies.

The Lawsuit + Renewal News

In case you’re unfamiliar with it, Magic Key is Disneyland’s updated version of an annual passholder system.

The lawsuit at issue was originally filed in November of 2021 and moved to another court in December of 2021. It was brought by a single Magic Key passholder who had the most expensive pass type — the Dream Key. This pass came with no blockout dates.

But it is still subject to the Park Pass reservation system (which requires ALL ticket holders to have a Park Pass in order to enter the parks). And that’s where things get complicated.

In the lawsuit, the Plaintiff alleged that Disneyland “misled and deceived its most loyal fans by artificially limiting capacity and restricting reservations.” The Plaintiff claimed that Disneyland was allocating fewer Park Pass Reservations to Magic Key Holders than to guests with regular single or multi-day tickets.

That, she claimed, led to many days being sold out for Magic Key passholders, even though they may have been not technical blockout dates. The Plaintiff also noted that on some of those days that were “full” for Magic Key passholders, Park Pass reservations were still available for those with regular tickets.

The Complaint brought forth allegations against Disney, stating that it was “engaging in unfair, unlawful and deceptive business practices.” It also accused Disney of “breach of contract, negligent misrepresentation and false advertising.”

A big update on the lawsuit was shared back in May of 2022. At that point in time, the federal judge denied parts of Disney’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit and allowed some claims to move forward. Specifically, the Judge found that the “plaintiff has adequately pled facts supporting how a reasonable consumer may be deceived by the advertisement, which states ‘no blockout dates.'”

The judge allowed 2 allegations to move forward — the one relating to breach of contract and the one related to the California Consumer Protection Act.

The Orange County Register pointed out that 2 issues would be key to the case: (1) “whether a Disneyland Dream Key annual pass constitutes a good or service as Nielsen’s lawyers contend or a temporary license as Disney contends” and (2) “the meaning of ‘blockout dates’ and what that definition includes and excludes for passholders and Disneyland.”

Following that update, sales were paused for ALL Magic Key passes in Disneyland (the Dream Key and Believe Key had already sold out), and passholders were left “anxiously awaiting” any news about renewals or future sales.

Finally, in August of 2022, Disneyland announced that Magic Key pass renewals would begin on August 18th, 2022. No new sales will be allowed at this time, but existing passholders will get the chance to renew. But this is not a “return to business as usual.” Instead, Disney has made some pretty significant changes to parts of the pass system and had added language that (after reading that summary of the lawsuit) might sound particularly on point to you.

Some of the more practical considerations Magic Key passholders need to know about are price increases and changes in things like discounts. But let’s dive specifically into the big things you’ll notice now that seem to be a result of the lawsuit.

Dream Key Is DONE

Perhaps the biggest showing of the lawsuit’s impact is the fact that the Dream Key — which is the pass type that the plaintiff had, with “no blockout dates” — will NO longer be offered as a Magic Key pass option.

Disney has specifically noted that while Dream Key passholders can enjoy their benefits until the pass expires, Dream Key passes will no longer be available for purchase or renewals.

Instead, a new pass type — the Inspire Key — will take its place as the most expensive Magic Key pass type. But it comes with a big change when compared to the old Dream Key.

Blockout Dates for ALL

The old Dream Key had NO blockout dates, meaning it theoretically could allow the holder into the parks every single day, provided they could obtain a Park Pass. But now that’s changing.

The Inspire Key (which will essentially take over the Dream Key’s spot) comes WITH blockout dates. That’s right, now ALL Magic Key passes have blockout dates. There is NO pass that would allow you to enter the parks 365 days a year.

If you look at the Inspire Key’s blockout calendar, you can see that it blocks guests out from December 21st, 2022, through January 1st, 2023. Those appear to be the only blockout dates for that particular pass that are listed on the calendar right now.

Still, it does avoid the issue of a guest claiming they have “no” blockout dates. Instead, Disney notes that the Inspire Key and all keys are subject to “applicable pass blockout dates.”

A Limited License

Remember how we talked about how one of the big factors in the case would be “whether a Disneyland Dream Key annual pass constitutes a good or service as Nielsen’s lawyers contend or a temporary license as Disney contends”? Well, it seems Disney is addressing that moving forward with language on their site.

The website specifically notes that “Disneyland Resort Magic Key passes are a limited license to enter Disneyland Resort’s theme parks.”

It seems Disney truly wants to address this issue upfront to potentially deter or prevent future lawsuits.

“Reservation-Based Admission”

Another big thing you’ll notice now on the Magic Key pass website is the amount of language that now specifies how Magic Key passes work in interaction with the Park Pass system. There is a PLETHORA of statements now on the site explaining just how things work.

For starters, Disney notes that “the Magic Key program provides reservation-based admission.” The distinction is clear here — it doesn’t just provide regular admission, it’s “reservation-based” (or, more specifically, reservation-limited).

Disney also notes that the pass types provide you the opportunity to “make theme park reservations, subject to availability of park reservations allocated to Magic Key passes, applicable pass blockout dates, and the Magic Key Terms and Conditions.”

One of those statements is particularly critical — the specificity with which Disney has identified that Magic Key passholders aren’t just subject to Park Pass availability, they’re subject to the availability of Park Passes that have been allocated specifically to Magic Key Passes. That’s an important distinction as it plays into the lawsuit’s allegations that even when Magic Key Park Passes were “full,” there were Park Passes still available for regular ticket guests.

Now, Disney specifies that a “Magic Key pass does not guarantee park entry, even on dates when a pass is not blocked out.” Specifically, they note that “Disney allocates daily park reservations among Magic Key passes, other passes and theme park tickets.” In other words, there are SEPARATE groups when it comes to Park Pass availability.

Disney specifically “makes available to those Magic Key holders eligible to make reservations for a particular day only a portion of the total park reservation capacity. Disney determines the number of park reservations available to Magic Key holders for any date, and Magic Key holders may access only those reservations that Disney makes available to them.”

Disney goes on to specify that “[o]nce all park reservations made available to Magic Key holders for any date are reserved, Magic Key holders may not make reservations for that date using their pass unless and until reservations become available due to cancellations or Disney makes additional Magic Key reservations available, which Disney is not required to do, but may or may not do from time to time in its discretion.”

Disney also notes, “On any given date, park reservations may still be available for theme park tickets even though park reservations allocated to the Magic Key passes are fully reserved.”

This seems to directly address the Plaintiff’s claims and concerns surrounding Park Passes being available for other regular ticket guests when they’ve already been marked as “full” for Magic Key holders.

If that wasn’t already abundantly clear, Disney continues its explanation of the Park Pass and Magic Key systems, saying “Magic Key holders, regardless of their pass type, are not entitled to any or all reservations Disney makes available to others, including theme park ticket purchasers, on any date, to all reservations up to park capacity on any date, or to any minimum number of reservations on any date.”

They then warn, “Even for dates that are not blocked out to a pass type, it may be difficult or not possible for Magic Key holders to get park reservations to visit on their preferred dates or preferred theme park, including popular dates like weekends or holiday periods.”

Disney continues by saying, “Since Magic Key park reservations are available on a first-come, first-serve basis, it may also be difficult or not possible at times for Magic Key holders to get park reservations for certain dates in the near future.”

It appears Disney has taken some of the big allegations made against them in the lawsuit and has attempted to put language on the website to address those concerns and issues to prevent future lawsuits or issues. But that’s not all.

Binding Arbitration

The Magic Key terms and conditions page, which was updated on August 15th, 2022, contains some interesting information. Specifically, it has language in there to bind Magic Key passholders to binding arbitration. The terms note that all disputes related to Magic Key will be resolved through mandatory binding arbitration. It also notes that individuals, by agreeing to this, are waiving their rights to resolve the dispute in a court of law.

The terms and conditions outline the terms of the binding arbitration agreement and the agreement of a class action waiver.

When we first shared the news about the $5 million lawsuit, we shared that the Plaintiff’s attorneys were seeking to “have the case certified as a class action.” And the case has been brought before a court and judge, making this a very public affair. It seems Disney may be keen for that to not be the case in the future.

And those are just some of the ways that a single lawsuit appears to have impacted Magic Key passholders. Of course, things are subject to change in the future so stay tuned for updates.

To read more about new menu items coming to Disneyland, click here. And click here to learn about the “unfavorable attendance mix” Disney has reported at Disneyland.

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Are you a Magic Key passholder? Tell us in the comments.