The WOO's thoughts on being a Magic Key holder

[whiteness]

DL is just much more intimate and easy to navigate. I also think some of the same rides such as HM, POTC, BTMR and a few others are better at DL. DL park has a special feeling.

Yes, POTC is clearly better at DL. We did POTC at MK yesterday, and it felt like a "Reader's Digest Condensed Version." It lacked the majestic scale, the story development, the immersion...I honestly cannot understand why they did such a poor copy. What's the point?

Haunted Mansion...yeah, I can see why they made certain choices, but I do prefer the original. Especially in context.

Looking back, a lot of DL rides and attractions felt more like they "belonged" where they were, somehow. Which is amazing, considering how little space they had to work with. With Jungle Cruise at WDW, I wondered "why is this here?" in WDW. Whereas in DL, I usually felt things belonged right where they were. I guess, when they had so little to work with, so much thought and care needed to be put into optimizing and maximizing space, flow and theming. Fortunately, the designers of Disneyland were up to the task. And they created brilliance born out of necessity. In WDW, they had so much just handed to them they didn't have to try as hard, so they didn't. And it shows.

 

[jknc]

Imagine spending $1400 on an annual pass you can’t use on a spontaneous basis

lol, huge win for Disney

 

[DonMacGregor]

Yes, POTC is clearly better at DL. We did POTC at MK yesterday, and it felt like a "Reader's Digest Condensed Version." It lacked the majestic scale, the story development, the immersion...I honestly cannot understand why they did such a poor copy. What's the point?

Because unlike what many on these boards are dying to believe, Bob “Cheapek” isn’t the first Disney exec to smell an opportunity to turn a buck.

 

[SOCALMouseMommy]

1. I think that if it's ultimately true that "Magic Keys can't be used for spontaneous, day-of trips," that was always an option given the restrictions of the passes, as clearly outlined prior to purchasing.
2. I think it's SUPER PREMATURE to decide that's going to be the case long-term.

Magic Keys have only been out for one month, and initially reservations were wide open. The first Monday-Thursday to book up in advance was LAST Thursday, as in four days ago, and besides Halloween and Veteran's Day weekend, weekends were only booked up two weeks out as of seven days ago. Friday, Sept. 10 had same-day DCA-start reservations available that morning, so we're talking two Fridays so far where you couldn't wake up in the morning and think, "I'd like to go to Disneyland today" and book it. So while the current reservation calendar looks suddenly very-booked-up and not spontaneous, we're talking about a program that's very new and has only had this "issue" briefly.

We have no idea how Disney will adjust to this NEW situation - I'm not expecting them to immediately pivot on their AP policies due to things being booked up for like a week, especially when there's a lot else going on at the parks.

Long term, I do hope they'll make some adjustments. To me, same-day cancellations up to a certain time would make a LOT of sense on a whole variety of levels, and I hope they'll allow for that. I also think that if they can get staffing up and allow more people, reservations may become more plentiful, so days being full may be less of an issue.

Basically, I'm hopeful that some adjustments might allow for more spontaneity, but I also think that if nothing changes... I'm still getting what was advertised, and honestly, it's a lot more than I expected as of a few months ago when it didn't seem like something resembling APs was even coming back.

I'm glad you think it's too soon to say what long-term might be. I really hope Disney opens up more reservations for MK holders. I am planning on upgrading parkhoppers to Dream and Believe MKs on my next visit. But looking at the calendar now, it's so dismal. Only three weekend days left in October ... November seems to be going fast as well with many weekend days already as DCA-start only. At the rate the reservations are booking up, by the time I get to the park to use and upgrade those hoppers (hopefully within one to two weeks), I might be looking at just a few weekend days left for the rest of the year. Which does make me pause for a moment and ask, wait, why am I going to pay $1,400 and $950 for my Magic Keys NOW when I might not be able to reserve many weekends through the end of the year? Maybe I should wait until 2022 when more weekends will be available.

It's really troubling me to be honest! I think I might have to make a "game time" decision and see what the calendar looks like when I'm finally able to get to the parks with my son. He's in school and we are 45-minutes+ away so we really need weekends (and that is the entire point of buying Dream + Believe keys for us). But if the weekends are all booked up, it's so much less attractive.

 

[dieumeye]

I'm glad you think it's too soon to say what long-term might be. I really hope Disney opens up more reservations for MK holders. I am planning on upgrading parkhoppers to Dream and Believe MKs on my next visit. But looking at the calendar now, it's so dismal. Only three weekend days left in October ... November seems to be going fast as well with many weekend days already as DCA-start only. At the rate the reservations are booking up, by the time I get to the park to use and upgrade those hoppers (hopefully within one to two weeks), I might be looking at just a few weekend days left for the rest of the year. Which does make me pause for a moment and ask, wait, why am I going to pay $1,400 and $950 for my Magic Keys NOW when I might not be able to reserve many weekends through the end of the year? Maybe I should wait until 2022 when more weekends will be available.

It's really troubling me to be honest! I think I might have to make a "game time" decision and see what the calendar looks like when I'm finally able to get to the parks with my son. He's in school and we are 45-minutes+ away so we really need weekends (and that is the entire point of buying Dream + Believe keys for us). But if the weekends are all booked up, it's so much less attractive.

That’s an interesting point. People buying keys now have the “benefit” of seeing the calendar now that it has had a chance to fill up, and as a result already know some days won’t be available.

It’s one thing if a person bought the key on day 1 knowing that some days might not be available, but it seems different to buy a key knowing that some days are already unavailable. Is that better or worse?

I sympathize because I am mostly a weekend visitor. And it sure would feel silly to buy a Dream Key for weekend use if you can already see, for example, that most of the next couple months are unavailable. It’s a peculiar predicament.

I wonder if this problem is going to get worse as more people buy keys. I also wonder if key sales will slow down if the calendar gets too full. And if so, will they open more reservations to promote key sales, or will they reach a keyholder number they are happy with and leave it at that?

 

[KittyKitty]

I don't have a problem with the 'no day of' MK cancellation policy. You have until midnight the day before your reservation to cancel.

I misread Adams dilemma. I thought it was no cxl ever..... but it is cxl by midnight day before seems reasonable.

 

[longboard55]

The crowds were not sustainable. The other option was to keep increasing prices. This system works well

 

[DonMacGregor]

I misread Adams dilemma. I thought it was no cxl ever..... but it is cxl by midnight day before seems reasonable.

He does say "can't cancel" quite a few times without qualifying that you CAN, but not the same day.

 

[bwvBound]

If I lived nearby I’d make reservations daily, scan in and go home, just because I could

Ah, but you might not actually want to live *that* close???

 

[cruisehopeful]

I really wish they would allow cancellations day of, even if it's limited to the minute before the parks open for the day, like 7:59 am on an 8am opening. We we t Saturday, but I woke up with a migraine and really wanted to just cancel, but didn't want the penalty, so rather than cancel, I drugged myself up as best I could, downed a Coke Zero and hoped for the best. We ended up going later than planned, but still got in just before noon and grabbed a Webslingers BG. It was a stressful morning.

This is a big issue! I went on Labor Day and had really bad traffic driving up because of an accident. What normally takes 90 minutes took me approx. 3 hours. I seriously considered just turning around and going home, which is what I would have done if not for the penalty. I decided to just suck it up and sit in the car on the freeway because who knows if I'll have an emergency on another day that I reserve and can't go. They really should allow us to cancel by 8am on the morning of and let other Key holders get that spot. It doesn't make sense to me that they aren't doing that.

 

[Bigmace]

I get why the magic keys sucks for locals but I think that was the whole point. Disney didn't like how locals were using the old AP system. For someone who has to fly a couple hours or drive almost a whole day to get to the parks its perfect for me because we have to plan our trips a month or two in advance.

 

[cruisehopeful]

Only three weekend days left in October ... November seems to be going fast as well with many weekend days already as DCA-start only.

Really disappointed right now. I was thinking of going on Friday and when I checked for a reservation, not only is Friday not available, this entire week isn't available.

I had to release one of my Dapper Day reservations in order to be able to make a reservation for a sooner date and now that date is showing at DCA only. I need to keep that day open so I can make another sooner reservation, but I fear that day will completely be unavailable.

 

[Skyegirl1999]

I had to release one of my Dapper Day reservations in order to be able to make a reservation for a sooner date and now that date is showing at DCA only. I need to keep that day open so I can make another sooner reservation, but I fear that day will completely be unavailable.

I’d definitely drop father-out stuff so you can focus on upcoming days you want to go. I mean, Halloween was back to available for a bit this morning, and that's been gone for a couple of weeks. (And is still over a month away.) So there’s a lot of time to pick up cancellations (or for Disney to add slots) for something far away.

 

[Buson808]

The only real bloggers are Adam and Fresh baked! The rest are fake and just an act!

 

[Evita_W]

DH and I haven't felt that the Magic Key is a good value because the parks just don't feel the same right now.
Some of our issues are:

• They are still missing a lot of entertainment
• the character meet and greets are still an issue
• you have to wear masks indoors
• they are massively understaffed
• Certain attractions are still not reopened
• There are no trams to and from the Mickey and Friends Structure
• The new buses to and from the Toy Story lot might as well be labeled as not accessible for anything larger than a manual wheelchair
• Food lines are insanely long, even with mobile order

Before the shutdown, we had Flex passes, so we really aren't a stranger to the idea of reservations and kind of figured that was the direction Disney would be headed eventually, COVID just sped it up. But to be charged the same or higher prices than before and still require reservations is where I can't see it being a good value, as with the Flex Pass, we were making a choice to save money in exchange for doing the reservations and that was our choice, now there is no option.

Until a decent amount of these items are resolved, we just can't justify getting a Magic Key, sure if we can get a good deal or are given tickets, we will spend the $25 on parking and go, but can't justify buying a Magic Key at this point in time.

 

[Evita_W]

The only real bloggers are Adam and Fresh baked! The rest are fake and just an act!

That isn't true, Fresh Baked is most definitely an act and there are a few other good ones:

• TimTracker
• MrCheezeyPop
• Magic Journeys

 

[HairyChest]

Bestlifeandbeyond and freshbaked! are the best.
I’ve recently noticed some new vlogs that Im enjoying like Disneyworld Vacationer and catching livestream of Attractions Live here and there.

 

[bwvBound]

Before the shutdown, we had Flex passes, so we really aren't a stranger to the idea of reservations and kind of figured that was the direction Disney would be headed eventually, COVID just sped it up. But to be charged the same or higher prices than before and still require reservations is where I can't see it being a good value, as with the Flex Pass, we were making a choice to save money in exchange for doing the reservations and that was our choice, now there is no option.

Well said.

We also held Flex passes at the shutdown and really enjoyed them. One element that pushed us to purchase the Magic Key passes was "fear of missing out." Long ago we had SoCal passes that could be renewed but not purchased new. We figured buying the pass now might "keep us in the game." Yours is a smarter position ... we were weak and caved early.

 

[DonMacGregor]

Well said.

We also held Flex passes at the shutdown and really enjoyed them. One element that pushed us to purchase the Magic Key passes was "fear of missing out." Long ago we had SoCal passes that could be renewed but not purchased new. We figured buying the pass now might "keep us in the game." Yours is a smarter position ... we were weak and caved early.

 

[Howry]

I think the really telling thing on the Keys will be how many people renew when this one expires. Still to early to tell how much it will change peoples plans that have had annual passes.