Disneyland reaches settlement in $5M lawsuit filed by annual pass holder

(KTLA) — Disneyland has reached a settlement with a Magic Key Holder who claimed people were misled into thinking the most expensive annual pass would get them unlimited access to parks, only to be unable to secure reservations on certain days.

The $5 million lawsuit was filed by California resident Jenale Nielsen in 2021 after she bought the $1,399 Dream Key, the highest tier pass, shortly after the company launched the Magic Key program.

In the lawsuit, Nielsen claimed that Disney’s advertising of the Dream Key having no blackout dates made her think she could go to the Anaheim theme park any day she wanted.

However, not long after her purchase Nielsen noticed that she couldn’t make a reservation for most days in November, including each weekend date that month, according to the lawsuit.

“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.

Instead of using her pass, the Magic Key holder tried to buy a single-day admission ticket and found that reservations were available for both parks for single-day visitors in November 2021.

“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.

The motion for court approval of the class-action settlement is due on Aug. 31, multiple media outlets reported.

“Details about the settlement and what it means for pass holders will be announced by Aug. 31,” theme park blog Mice Chat reported. “We’re keeping an eye on it, but don’t expect to get rich on your payout.”

“We are satisfied that this matter has been resolved,” a Disneyland official told NewsNation affiliate KTLA.

KTLA also reached out to attorneys for the plaintiff, but did not hear back in time for publication.

The Dream Key has since been replaced with the Inspire Key, the resort’s most expensive pass that offers the fewest blackout dates.

Disneyland launched the Magic Key program in August 2021 after retiring the popular annual passport program during a yearlong shutdown of Disneyland and Disney California Adventure Park due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The keys give park guests access to the parks on select dates, depending on availability and pass type, along with select discounts on food, merchandise and Genie+, the park’s paid line-skipping service that replaced the Fast Pass program.