What’s the Difference Between Disneyland’s Magic Key Tiers?

Magic Key is Disneyland Resort’s current annual pass program. They have a different name, but they work similarly. A Magic Key will get you in to either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure multiple times in a 365 day span. Currently there are four different Magic Key tiers with confusing and non-descriptive names. In this post we’ll go over everything you need to know about what’s the difference between Disneyland’s Magic Key tiers.

What’s the same?

All four Disneyland Magic Keys share some similarities and rules:

Park Reservations: All Magic Keys require an advanced reservation for either Disneyland or Disney California Adventure for the day you are trying to visit. If you don’t have a reservation, you can’t enter the parks. Reservations can be made on Disneyland’s official website, and they regularly “sell out” of most dates, sometimes immediately upon becoming available. Magic Key holders can make reservations for dates 90 days in advance, as opposed to 120 days in advance for visitors with regular theme park tickets. The amount of reservations you can hold at one time depends on which tier of Magic Key you have.

No-show Penalty: Magic Key holders who fail to show up for their reservations 3 times in a 90-day period will then be blocked from making any other park reservations for 30 days.

Park Hopping: Park hopping is when you start at one park, and then “hop” over to the other. This is an extra-cost feature with regular tickets, but it’s included with all Magic Keys. All Magic Key holders can park hop from Disneyland to DCA, or vice versa starting at 11 AM each day.

Block outs: A block out is a day in which Magic Key holders are unable to make a reservation for, and thus unable to enter the park. All Magic Keys have block out dates. The more expensive the Magic Key, the less block out dates you’ll have. See Disneyland’s block out date calendar for the specific dates for each pass. Our Disneyland Resort crowd calendar also shows this along with a ton of other useful information.

Magic Key Membership Services phone number: Magic Key holders can call (714)781-7277 for any issues with their Magic Keys. Call as early in the day as you can, this line can have long waits.

Monthly Payments: All Magic Key holders living in Southern California (zip codes 90000-93599) can pay for their Magic Keys with monthly payments. Anyone outside of Southern California will need to pay in full.

Food & Merchandise Discounts: All Magic Key tiers have food and merchandise discounts. Most of the tiers have a 10% discounts, but the highest tier (Inspire Key), offers a 20% discounts on merchandise, and a 15% discount on food and beverage.

Access to Magic Key Terrace: Disney California Adventure is home to a lounge that is exclusive to Magic Key Holders and their guests. Magic Key Terrace offers appetizers and drinks. Be sure to make a dining reservation if you want to dine there, this location is very popular.

Magic Key Tiers

There are four different tiers of Magic Keys, with various prices and features:

Imagine Key – $449

• 2 park reservations at a time
• 10% off food and merchandise
• 25% off standard theme park parking at the Toy Story parking lot
• 20% off Disney Genie+ when purchased after entering a park

Most weekends and holidays are blocked out with Disneyland’s Imagine Key, as well as almost entire seasons like spring break, summer, Halloween, and Christmas. For example, all but one day in June, and all of July and December are blocked out with this Imagine Key. This pass is only available to Southern California residents. Parking is not included, but you get a discount.

Enchant Key $699

• 4 park reservations at a time
• 10% off food and merchandise
• 25% off standard theme park parking at the Toy Story parking lot
• 20% off Disney Genie+ when purchased after entering a park

The Enchant Key is similar to the Imagine Key, but with slightly less block outs, and the ability to hold 4 reservations at a time instead of 2. Unlike the Imagine Key, the Enchant Key does have a few unblocked Sundays.

Believe Key $1099

• 6 park reservations at a time
• 10% off food and merchandise
• 50% off standard theme park parking at the Toy Story parking lot
• 20% off Disney Genie+ when purchased after entering a park
• Unlimited PhotoPass downloads

The Believe key not only offers significantly less block out dates, but also other useful perks like a free PhotoPass downloads and a higher discount for parking. Unlike the two cheaper Keys, most weekends are unblocked with the Believe Key.

Inspire Key $1599

• 6 park reservations at a time
• 20% off merchandise
• 15% off food and beverage
• Standard theme park parking included
• 20% off Disney Genie+ when purchased after entering a park
• Unlimited PhotoPass downloads

If you want almost unlimited visits to Disneyland, this Key is for you. All dates are unblocked, with the exception of December 20, 2023 thru January 2, 2024. The Inspire Key is also the only Key to include free parking. You also get a higher discount on food and merchandise. This of course all comes with a high price tag.

Magic Keys are available for sale on and off throughout the year. Disney doesn’t give much advance notice about when they become available, so be sure be ready to dedicate some time to wait in their online queue when they do.

Magic Key holder or not, TouringPlans can help you plan your perfect Disneyland vacation. Be sure to check out our Disneyland Crowd Calendar, which rates every day of the year on a scale of 1 to 10 so you can see how busy Disneyland and DCA will be during your visit. Also check out our Disneyland Touring Plans. These itineraries can show you how to beat the crowds and spend less time in line at your favorite rides. Our Touring Plans can also be personalized! All of our tools are used by hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and are constantly being updated by our in-park team of researchers and data scientists.

Which Magic Key tier are you thinking about purchasing? Which Magic Key do you already have and how’s it working out for you? Let me know in the comments.