2024 Magic Key Sales – Looking at the Numbers

The dates that many Disneyland Magic Key holders have been waiting for has finally arrived! Disney announced the reopening of Magic Key sales, which gives you the opportunity to purchase a Magic Key if you never have before, or to change tiers if you had been renewing at a tier you no longer need or want. You can find basic data about this information release pretty much anywhere. But here are TouringPlans we love analyzing all of the data and figuring out what this news means from a numbers perspective.

The Basics

Rule number one: These are finally Magic Key sales, not just Magic Key renewals. That means, for the first time in a long time, you can get a Magic Key even if you’ve never had one before.

Rule number two: If you want to purchase the Imagine Key, you must be a resident of Southern California

Rule number three: Sales begin on January 10th and will use a virtual queue system. Expect LONG waits, especially on that first day.

Rule number four: No complaining about anything in the comments (I had to try …)

Magic Key Options

Inspire Key ($1649) – this used to be the Dream Key way back when. It’s the most expensive, still has blockout dates, but also has the best perks.

Believe Key ($1249) – this one doesn’t have free parking like Inspire, plus a few more blockouts, but is otherwise very similar.

Enchant Key ($849) – more blockout dates, less parking discount, fewer park reservations and no PhotoPass included

Imagine Key ($499) – Southern California only, with the most blackout dates, fewest park reservations, and fewest perks.

The Math

Let’s take a walk through the price history and benefits of each Magic Key pass.

Inspire Key

The price of this top tier has only gone up by $50 in the past two years … which is actually less than the rate of inflation over the same time. Those who renew at this level will also have blockout dates unlike at the old Dream Key level – from December 21st through January 1st.

But, they do get two “bonuses” too – free PhotoPass and a discount on any daily Genie+ purchases. So if you were at the Dream Key and were purchasing Genie+ during every visit, just the Genie+ discount will make up for the price difference after … 9 visits. Y’know, if you were purchasing it every time.

Believe Key

The Believe Key is an interesting blend of Inspire perks at a slightly lower price point. Not a low price point, mind you. But lower than Inspire. Like the Inspire Key, this key now includes PhotoPass and that same daily 20% Genie+ discount. Plus you get the same number of park reservations.

Interestingly, back in 2022, the price difference between Inspire and Believe keys was $500, and now that has decreased to $400. Maybe Disney is trying to “inspire” people to make the jump up to free parking and a few more available park days.

Enchant Key

The Enchant Key has a significant number of blockout dates, plus fewer park reservations that you can use. But if you’re willing to park in the Toy Story lot, you should get a 25% discount. And, you are eligible for the same 20% daily discount on Genie+ purchases. That means on a daily visit you could save $7.50 on parking and $6 on Genie+. So you’re getting a potential $13.50 in savings with each visit, assuming you would have already paid for parking and Genie+.

Imagine Key

For the cheapest Magic Key, you must be a Southern California resident in order to purchase. There are a whole bevy of black-out dates which leave you eligible to enter the park about a third of the days in a year.

What Does This Mean For You?

1. The big winners here are the Enchant and Believe Key holders. If you account for inflation, the price of these passes actually went down. And they didn’t have any significant removal of availability. Plus they both have potentially helpful perks.
2. The big losers are the previous Dream Key holders. You can pay significantly more and attend the park less!
3. The discounted purchases of Genie+ are an interesting addition, since that’s the first time we’ve seen any sort of official recognition of the need to offer some sort of Genie+ discount or packaging to AP or Key holders. I’ve emphasized many times in this blog that Genie+ is a totally worthwhile purchase for normal Disneyland visitors, and this discount makes it a better options for Key holders as well.

What are your initial thoughts about the newly-announced Magic Key sales information? Will you be renewing your pass? Let us know in the comments!