{"id":501329,"date":"2026-10-19T19:40:08","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:40:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501329\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T19:40:08","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:40:08","slug":"disneyland-considered-eliminating-annual-pass-program-chapek-says-orange-county-register","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501329\/","title":{"rendered":"Disneyland considered eliminating annual pass program, Chapek says \u2013 Orange County Register"},"content":{"rendered":"

Disneyland considered eliminating its annual pass program in a move former Disney CEO Bob Chapek knew would have been unpopular with the Anaheim theme park\u2019s most loyal customers.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe understood we would get blasted if I attempted to eliminate annual passes altogether, so I moved to shift the math,\u201d Chapek writes in his new book \u201cBehind the Castle Walls.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Disneyland passholders stood in the way of maximizing profits, Chapek says<\/a><\/p>\n

Shifting the math meant focusing more on free-spending vacation travelers who stayed on property in Disney hotels and less on budget-conscious annual passholders who dropped in for just a few hours after work or school.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe passholder experience was a fantastic deal for the passholder, but a terrible one for Disney and its more vacation-oriented guests,\u201d Chapek wrote.<\/p>\n

\"BobBob Chapek, then chairman Walt Disney Parks and Experiences, speaks during an unveiling event of Star Wars: Galaxys Edge at Disneyland. Photographer: Patrick T. Fallon\/Bloomberg<\/p>\n

Chapek became Disney parks chairman in 2015 before being named CEO of the company in February 2020.<\/p>\n

A month later, the COVID-19 pandemic closed Disneyland and Disney California Adventure for more than a year.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Disneyland focused on \u2018elite\u2019 visitors willing to pay more under Chapek<\/a><\/p>\n

While the parks were still closed, Disneyland canceled its decades-old annual pass program in January 2021.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pressure from the passholder not to change the status quo was enormous,\u201d Chapek wrote in his book.<\/p>\n

\"BobBob Chapek, former CEO of Walt Disney Co. (File photo by Kin Cheung, Associated Press)<\/p>\n

Disneyland reopened in April 2021 with limited capacity and pandemic restrictions.<\/p>\n

The new Magic Key program was introduced in August 2021 as a replacement to Disneyland\u2019s annual pass program with higher prices, more restrictions and limited access.<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: Disneyland has 1.1 million Magic Key annual passholders<\/a><\/p>\n

Disneyland\u2019s 1.1 million passholders blamed Chapek for the changes to the program, which led to widespread outrage and public backlash.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat seemed like a straightforward solution to me provoked predictable reactions ranging from unease to outrage among passholders,\u201d Chapek wrote. \u201cIn particular, the passholders felt the changes did not fit their personal interests and deemed them unfair.\u201d<\/p>\n

ALSO SEE: When are the cheapest and priciest times to visit Disneyland?<\/a><\/p>\n

A class-action lawsuit filed in November 2021 alleged Disneyland misled and deceived Magic Keyholders by artificially limiting capacity and restricting reservations despite the promise of \u201cno blockout dates.\u201d The $9.5 million class action lawsuit<\/a> was settled in 2024.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer Disney CEO Bob Chapek at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, CA, on Thursday, Aug. 22, 2019 when he was still chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences and Products.
\n(Photo by Jeff Gritchen, Orange County Register\/SCNG)<\/p>\n

Chapek cemented his role as a Disney villain in the eyes of Disneyland passholders when he called them \u201cunfavorable\u201d guests<\/a> during a quarterly earnings call in August 2022.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact remains that some customers generated more revenue than others,\u201d Chapek wrote in his book. \u201cNot that I didn\u2019t appreciate the passion and enthusiasm the passholders had for Disney.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chapek was fired in November 2022 and replaced by former Disney CEO Bob Iger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Disneyland considered eliminating its annual pass program in a move former Disney CEO Bob Chapek knew would have…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[36],"tags":[2223,163,165,164,7,2222,1341,611,420],"class_list":["post-501329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-anaheim","tag-amusement-parks","tag-anaheim","tag-anaheim-headlines","tag-anaheim-news","tag-california","tag-disney-california-adventure","tag-disneyland","tag-orange-county","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}