The Disneyland Resort has paused the sale of all annual passes as the theme park works to control crowding at the start of the busy summer travel season.
The new annual pass system launched in August, dubbed Magic Key, created four annual passes that ranged in price from $399 per year for Southern California residents to $1,399 for the option with no block-out days and the greatest flexibility for making reservations.
But in October and November 2021, the resort paused the sale of the two most expensive passes — the Dream and Believe Key — and stopped the sales of the two least expensive passes — Enchant and Imagine Key — Tuesday.
"It's all about managing the guest experience," said Disneyland spokesperson Jamie Clower.
The resort plans to let current passholders renew their passes this summer with more details to be released later, she said.
The previous annual pass program was scrapped and replaced last year with passes that are slightly more expensive and require park visitors to make reservations before entering Disneyland or Disney California Adventure. Daily ticket holders are also required to make reservations. Under the previous system, pass holders could show up any day, as often as they wanted, as long as their pass was not blocked on that date.
Theme park experts blamed the persistent crowding problem at the Disneyland Resort primarily on annual pass holders, especially local fans, who visited several times a week, often to ride one or two attractions or to have a meal in the parks.
After the parks reopened following a 15-month closure due to the pandemic, the resort operators adopted a reservation system for all park visitors to maintain attendance limits imposed by the state health officials. Once the pandemic limits were lifted, the resort kept the reservations requirement to attempt to reduce overcrowding, congestion and long attraction queues.
Disneyland representatives declined to disclose how many passes they have sold or how many visitors they are allowing into the parks on a daily basis. Before Disneyland added its newest expansion — Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge — insiders said its capacity was 80,000 visitors. A longtime Walt Disney executive revealed that Disneyland attendance on a "normal" day is 65,000.
Starting Tuesday, California residents can buy a 3-day ticket, starting at $249 per person for admission on Mondays through Thursdays or $299 for any day including weekends. The tickets don't have to be used on consecutive days and can be used at either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure. Reservations are required. More details are available at the Disneyland website.
