Disneyland reaches settlement in $5 million lawsuit filed by Magic Key holder

Disney has settled a lawsuit with passholders who sued the company after alleging they had been deceived by the marketing of the Magic Key Disneyland pass. 

The Dream Key pass cost Jenale Nielsen of Santa Clara County, California $1,399 and was advertised as having no blackout dates at the time of purchase. 

In reality, when Nielsen when to book a reservation for November 2021, she found that 17 days were completely unavailable, including every weekend date. 

She later filed a lawsuit after she and other Magic Key holders found out that single-day ticket purchasers were favored over them. 

Similarly, in 2022, Disney World passholders also filed a lawsuit in Florida, making similar allegations against the conglomerate regarding ticketing and reservations. 

The Dream Key pass cost Jenale Nielsen, shown here, of Santa Clara County, California $1,399 and was advertised as having no blackout dates at the time of purchase

According to local reports, the motion for court approval of the class action settlement will occur on August 31. 

It’s currently unclear how much the plaintiffs will receive in the matter. Theme park blog Mice Chat reported that plaintiffs should not ‘expect to get rich’ however. 

In a statement to the Los Angeles Times, Disney officials said they are pleased that the situation has been worked out among the parties. 

‘We are satisfied that this matter has been resolved,’ Disney officials said. 

At the time of purchase, the Dream Key pass was the most expensive pass option. 

Nielsen and her attorneys argued that the language advertising ‘no blackout dates’ made the Santa Clara County woman believe she could visit the park whenever.

It was only after she began doing more research that she noticed the unfair treatment of passholders as compared to single-day tourists. 

‘As a frequent Disneyland visitor, Ms. Nielsen thought it was unlikely that all tickets and/or reservations for both Disneyland and California Adventure had already been sold for 17 of the 30 calendar days in November 2021,’ the lawsuit said.

When she went to buy a single-day ticket for the same days in November, she found reservations available for both Disney California Adventure and Disneyland. 

‘The problem was that Disney had decided to block out reservations so that they were only available to new purchases and not available to Dream Key pass holders,’ court documents said.

Disney has since discontinued the Dream Key and replaced it with the Inspire Key. 

The Inspire Key – now the park’s most expensive annual pass – costs $1,599. 

The pass offers numerous perks including discounted food and merchandise, free parking, free PhotoPass pictures, and the ability to hold six reservations at a time. 

Magic Key passes – of which there are multiple tiers – began in August 2021 after the previous annual passport system was discontinued during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The lawsuit out of California is eerily similar to one filed in 2022 by passholders at Disney World in Florida. 

In October, the pair claimed unfair treatment when it comes to their purchase. 

The suit, filed in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida, was brought by the passholders who said the company is favoring single-day tickets. 

The lawsuit out of California is eerily similar to one filed in 2022 by passholders at Disney World in Florida. Pictured: Magic Kingdom in a file photo

In that class-action suit, the filers shared their concerns with the reservation system which required both passholders and short-term ticketholders to claim a spot. 

‘Platinum Pass holders and Platinum Plus Pass holders cannot make reservations to go to a Disney theme park, even though there are single day passes available for purchase,’ the lawsuit stated. 

In May, Disney officials announced that most of the park’s single-day and multi-day reservation systems would be going away in 2024. 

Annual passholders will still have to make reservations to secure their spot.