The fine print on the Disneyland website says Magic Key pass types are limited in quantity and may not be available for purchase or renewal at any given time.
Visitors to Disneyland walk up Main Street U.S.A. just after the gates opened in Anaheim, CA, on Friday, April 30, 2021. Since the park reopened from the COVID-19 pandemic, visitors have had to buy daily admission to enter the park, which costs up to $154 for a single park ticket and up to $209 for a parkhopper. (Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register/SCNG)PUBLISHED: August 19, 2021 at 11:28 a.m. | UPDATED: August 19, 2021 at 11:43 a.m.Die-hard Mouseheads waiting in what could be a long virtual queue to buy new Disneyland annual passes after 17 months of going pass-less will have one nagging question they won’t be able to avoid: Will Magic Key passes sell out?Disneyland’s new Magic Key annual passes will go on sale no earlier than 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 25 with prices ranging from $399 to $1,399. Disneyland ended its former four-decade-old annual pass program in January after nearly a year of coronavirus closures that shuttered the Anaheim theme park.Sign up for our Park Life newsletter and find out what’s new and interesting every week at Southern California’s theme parks. Subscribe here.SEE ALSO: Disneyland drops free FastPasses, will charge extra to skip lines on some ridesThe fine print on the Disneyland website says Magic Key pass types are limited in quantity and may not be available for purchase or renewal at any given time.Disneyland will closely monitor the sale of Magic Key passes and make any needed adjustments as the park does with all ticket products, according to Disneyland officials.Before the pandemic, Disneyland occasionally discontinued pass types but didn’t sell out or limit sales of annual passes.SEE ALSO: Disneyland may offer pay-to-ride option for Rise of the ResistanceDevoted Disneyland fans are concerned about Magic Key passes being “limited in quantity” as noted in the terms and conditions, according to SYFY Wire theme park reporter Carlye Wisel.“Magic Key could sell out even before hopeful passholders are able to nab one,” Wisel wrote on SYFY Wire. “However, in speaking to Disneyland directly, it doesn’t seem to be a pressing issue.”Disneyland is preparing for at least two months of Magic Key annual pass sales. Charter members who sign up during the first 66 days, in celebration of the 66th anniversary of Disneyland, will receive a Magic Key swag box that includes a pin, button, magnet, lanyard and park map.The virtual wait could be long to buy Magic Key annual passes online.Disneyland officials won’t say how many people had annual passes, but theme park industry observers have estimated the number to be 1 million. Annual passholders comprised an estimated 50% of Disneyland resort attendance, according to UBS financial analysts.SEE ALSO: Disneyland Splash Mountain makeover is going to take some timeDisneyland’s recent online ticket sales have seen virtual crowds overwhelm the website for A Touch of Disney food festival in March and virtual waits stretch up to 28 hours for tickets and reservations for the reopening of Disneyland and DCA in April following a 412-day pandemic closure.Leisure Business Advisors Managing Director John Gerner doesn’t expect Disneyland to sell out of Magic Key annual passes.“Although it’s possible the Magic Key annual passes may sell out, Disney did not likely plan it that way because that reduces its potential profit from the overall pass program,” Gerner said via email.SEE ALSO: Universal and Six Flags won’t require masks outdoors under mega event orderCarissa Baker, a University of Central Florida assistant professor of theme park and attraction management, said Disneyland could regulate sales of the new annual passes that require advance reservations.“They may limit the number of Magic Keys sold as it will necessarily increase daily reservations,” Baker said via email. “However, the pandemic will continue to be a dynamic situation that impacts operational decisions.”Magic Key prices could tamp some demand for the new Disneyland annual passes, according to Baker.
