AutoMatters & More: Is Disneyland your happy place?

Ever since my first visit there as a little boy, Disneyland has been one of my most happy places. Indeed, its slogan is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” so why, after many years of being an annual passholder, did I recently let my annual pass expire?

Annual price increases have made tickets and annual passes very expensive. All levels of annual passes (“Magic Keys”) have blackout dates (when the passes are not valid for entry or parking benefits). The least expensive annual passes have lots of blackout dates, including weekends, holidays and popular summer and winter vacation days. The top annual pass (the Inspire “Magic Key”) — is now $1,899 for a year, and though its predecessor had no blackout dates (and was much less expensive), this one blacks out the popular Christmas through New Year’s holiday season. Compare those to the far less expensive annual passes at nearby Knott’s Berry Farm, which has no blackout dates and even offers an inexpensive, add-on, annual meal plan.

Live entertainment used to be included with the price of admission. The Hyperion Theater in Disney California Adventure used to stage major live theatrical productions, including “Alladin,” “Frozen,” “Steps in Time,” “The Power of Blast” and “Rogers: The Musical,” but the Hyperion Theater has been dark for many months. Remember when Disneyland’s Fantasyland Theater, Royal Theater, Golden Horseshoe and other venues used to have live entertainment, too? The high-energy, live performances for “TRON” and “Alice in Wonderland” were terrific, as were the live bands. Live entertainment, including parades, is often presented exclusively at extra-cost, after-hours special events.

For several years, reservations have been required for the theme parks. Many days and dates are often unavailable, and there are penalties for no-shows.

Costumed Star Wars characters were originally supposed to not only populate Galaxy’s Edge, but also engage with guests through interactive stories and quests. Instead, that was scaled back to meet-and-greets.

Huge crowds often limit the number of popular attractions that guests will have time to enjoy. To address this situation, Disney used to offer guests free “fast passes,” with which they could get assigned return times to popular attractions so that they could spend less time standing around waiting in long lines and more time enjoying their days. Those were eliminated, replaced with extra-cost, add-on programs to get this benefit, plus “Virtual Queues” for new attractions — that are often filled to capacity within seconds of becoming available.

Disney eliminated guests with physical disabilities from their DAS program, whereby guests may get attraction return times (one-at-a-time), thus enabling them to return later instead of having to stand and wait in long lines.

When popular attractions break down — for example, the large guns in “Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance” and the dramatic, fire-breathing Maleficent the dragon in “Fantasmic!,” it often taken years, if ever, to fully repair them — instead keeping the attraction running with lesser functionality in what is known as “B-mode.”

Lately Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure have been closing earlier: 11 p.m. at Disneyland and 9 p.m. at DCA.

Disney Security spends much more time inspecting guests’ belongings, than do other popular SoCal theme parks, including Knott’s Berry Farm and SeaWorld San Diego. For my final visit before my annual pass expired, I wanted to be able to recall that visit later with higher quality night-time and dark ride photos than my iPhone was capable of capturing on a recent visit. With that in mind, I brought my best camera (a Canon R1) and a low-light-capable “fast” lens. That earned me a detention by Disney security at the Esplanade gate, where I had to wait for a security supervisor to be called over. He asked me if my intention for bringing such a good camera with me was to photograph park guests for money, warning me against doing that. He also asked me to demonstrate that my camera harness would hold my camera securely. Thankfully, I did not have to drive back to San Diego. He allowed me to enter. If I had any lingering doubts about letting my “Magic Key” expire, that experience eliminated them.

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Copyright © 2025 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #904