It appears that the griping about Disneyland ticketing and queues has boiled over into a lawsuit. A woman has filed suit for $5M, alleging that Disney has done exactly what the fine print said they would.
Disney stands by the agreement the woman accepted when she purchased the pass.
According to Wow Disney News Today, Nielsen filed a $5 million dollar suit with the Orange County Register, alleging that Disneyland theme park treats "Magic Key" holders as "second class ticket holders by artificially limiting Magic Key reservations and the number of key holders that can visit on any given day." Nielsen is petitioning the court to up the case to a class-action lawsuit on behalf of purchasers of the highest tier.
According to the L.A. Times, spokesperson for Disneyland, Liz Jaeger, responded to the suit by stating, "We have been clear about the terms of the Magic Key product and we know that many of our guests are enjoying the experiences these passes provide." She added, "We will vigorously defend our position as the case proceeds."
There is a no-guarantee disclaimer on the Disneyland website regardless of purchase.
This is understood and the whole second-class citizen thing is hilarious — this is what folks signed up for! Annual pass programs help theme parks manage capacity. Passholders are naturally less profitable than single-trip ticket buyers but the narrative so many of the complainers have seems to be around how they should be held more dearly than folks taking a once-a-lifetime trip to blow their entire savings.
The best way to tell a company you do not like their product is to not buy it. It seems many people have bought these passes knowing they didn't like the structure ahead of time.
