Disney has agreed to settle the class-action lawsuit brought against the Walt Disney Company over claims that they restricted dates for Magic Key Users even when theme park availability was there.
They have agreed to pay $9.5 million to those in the lawsuit, which is estimated to cover 103,435 Dream Key pass holders between the dates of Aug. 15-Oct. 25, 2021.
The initial lawsuit was filed in 2021 by Janale Nielsen in Orange County. The argument was that Nielsen purchased the $1,399 annual Magic Key pass but was then unable to use it to reserve a park space as the system would not allow her to do it although full-price day passes were still available.
It was being argued that Disney basically charged people a lot of money for “unlimited” passes and then restricted them from using them to gain more money from the higher day pass guests. Which is something I have felt Walt Disney World was possibly also guilty of, but I digress.
I know at Walt Disney World, they required Park Passes due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and then divided those passes into groups by type of guest. Annual Passholders, ticketed guests, and resort hotel guests with tickets. By doing so, it put limits on how many guests could attend from each category, with many Annual Passholders feeling like their category was much more restricted than others. Of course, no one had the percentage allotment numbers to validate that.
I’m not sure how similar that situation was in Disneyland, but it sounds like it was the same.
According to Deadline, the proposed settlement will give each Dream Key pass holder only $67.41, which is a far cry from the cost of $1,399 per year. Even if they broke it down by month and argued only a month or two were problematic, that should still be about $116.58 per month per pass holder.
“The proposed settlement filed Thursday covers 103,435 Dream Key pass holders from Aug. 15-Oct. 25, 2021. The preliminary agreement estimates each class member will receive about $67.41.”
A hearing is set for October 16 to examine Disney’s motion to settle.
What do you think? Comment and let us know!
Source: Deadline
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