A class action lawsuit against Disneyland was recently filed after the attraction sold Dream Key annual passes for $1,400 each between August and October 2021.
Gizmodo reported that the $9.5 million lawsuit was triggered by an incident involving a disgruntled customer named Jenale Nielsen, who purchased a Dream Key, Disneyland's highest-tiered Magic Key access pass, under the assumption that she could visit the theme park any day she pleased.
However, since the COVID-19 pandemic, Disneyland has adopted a reservation system to limit the number of guests on given days, which means that having the pass is no longer enough.
Annual pass holders who paid for unlimited access could not use them if reservations sold out.
Disney Disenfranchising Dream Key Pass Holders
Business Insider reported that Nielsen attempted to use her Magic Key to make park reservations to visit Disneyland but was disappointed that Disney had already blocked out many days in November 2021.
The lawsuit mentioned that visitors could make park reservations or buy single-day passes for specific dates if they paid the admission price for that day.
Prior to the lawsuit, Disney awarded Nielsen $5,000, while 100,000 customers who purchased a Dream Key between August and October 2021 were only awarded $67.41, significantly less than the cost of the day pass, in exchange for not suing the park.
However, the deadline for objecting to the settlement passed on January 15 this year.
On the other hand, Disney has denied any wrongdoing despite agreeing to settle the issue in July 2023. It has also made several changes to its annual pass system, including renaming the Magic Key's individual tiers and clarifying in writing that the pass would always be subject to reservation ability in the agreement that people would sign when buying a pass.
The class action lawsuit was made a week after Disney and Florida Governor Ron DeSantis settled a legal battle involving a $17 billion expansion of Disney's Florida resort over the next one to two decades.
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