Greetings, Karen, and welcome to planDisney! I love that you're interested in becoming a
Magic Key passholder. I'm happy to share some information that may help your Magic Key dreams come true!
Karen, it would be possible to
upgrade a theme park ticket (such as the
3-Day Park Hopper Ticket for California residents) to a Magic Key pass, as long as Magic Key passes are available for sale. A wholly unused theme park ticket would need to be upgraded in person at the ticket booth in the Esplanade. To upgrade a ticket online or via the
Disneyland mobile app, you must have used at least one day on the ticket. There are a few important considerations (remember these are subject to change):
- Existing park reservations associated with a ticket do not transfer to the Magic Key pass after upgrading. This is one reason why Guests who want to upgrade in person do so at the end of their day in the park.
- The start date of the Magic Key pass goes back to the first day of a multi-day ticket. Try to time your upgrade close to when you first use the ticket.
- If you use your theme park ticket and it expires, you can no longer upgrade it. It would have to be done by the end of the last day the ticket is valid. As a note, wholly unused, expired tickets can be upgraded in person.
- If a Magic Key pass type is no longer available for purchase, you can't upgrade your ticket to that type. You must choose from the available passes at the time of your upgrade.
How and when you upgrade your theme park ticket depends on how often and on which dates you plan to visit over the next few months, as well as which Magic Key pass you will upgrade to. As you might know, the
3-Day Park Hopper Ticket for California residents is valid through May 21, 2026, and you don't need to visit on consecutive days. There currently seems to be
a lot of reservation availability – for example, at the time of writing this, many Saturdays are still available to reserve. Take a look at the
Magic Key Calendar to view the blockout dates for the pass you are interested in, and plan out your upcoming visits.
If you're visiting the Resort multiple days within a short timeframe, it might be best to make your theme park reservations for the three days of your ticket, and upgrade the last day you use it. If you live locally and want to upgrade now (to ensure you get the Magic Key pass type you want), you could head to the Resort just for that and not enter a park. If you upgrade an unused ticket, your Magic Key pass won't activate for the year until you use it for the first time.
When deciding on dates to visit, you should also check out the
Disney Parks Blog to look through the roundup of upcoming events and experiences. There's a lot to look forward to in the next few months!
Karen, I know this was a lot of information, but I hope it was helpful to you. If you think of any other questions, please reach out. We're always happy to help here at planDisney!
Your pal,
Kriss