Greetings, Shantel, and welcome to planDisney! San Diego is beautiful, and just a hop, skip, and jump from the Happiest Place on Earth! Considering a
Magic Key annual pass while you're in Southern California is a fantastic idea, and I’m so excited to help you explore some options.
Shantel, at the time of writing this, the Inspire Key and Believe Key are still available for sale. We don't know when sales will be paused, or when sales for the Enchant Key or Imagine Key will resume. Generally, there will be an announcement on the
Disneyland Magic Key Instagram account and a note added on the
Disneyland website a week or two before sales resume. Still, the timing is a bit of a pixie-dusted mystery, especially looking ahead to October. But I have an idea that might work for you.
One option, Shantel, is to purchase your Magic Key annual passes now. If you have a California address, you'll have the option of setting up monthly payments. Otherwise, you'd need to pay in full at the time of purchase. Your Magic Key passes won't activate until the
first time you use them to enter a Disneyland Resort park (or once you use the parking benefit on the pass for a fully-paid first entry into a pay-on-entry lot). If you don't visit Disneyland until October, then your pass would become active for a year starting at that point, even if you were to purchase the passes now. Just keep in mind that they need to be activated within one year of being purchased. Alternatively, you could wait and see what happens closer to fall, but there’s always a risk that passes might sell out or be paused again before then. That’s the tricky part!
This is a really festive year at the Disneyland Resort, with the
70th Anniversary Celebration in full swing. The fun is scheduled to continue through summer 2026, so you'll have plenty of time to enjoy all the entertainment, food, and other activities. When you arrive in October, you'll be greeted by the festive flair of
Halloween Time – imagine glowing pumpkins, cozy autumn colors, and spookily fun surprises. Not long after that, the Resort will transform again for
the Holidays, my favorite season, filled with dazzling decorations, seasonal treats, and heartwarming traditions.
If you're still comparing your options, the
Magic Key page on the Disneyland website has a side-by-side chart outlining details for each pass, as well as calendars that show which dates are blocked out. I love my Inspire Key – it comes with complimentary parking, PhotoPass downloads, great discounts, and very few blockout dates, which is great for me as a frequent visitor.
Shantel, I wish I could give you more details about what Magic Key sales might look like in October, but I hope this information has still been helpful to you. On behalf of all of us at planDisney, I'd like to wish you a warm, advance welcome to San Diego. If you have any other questions, please reach out. We'd be happy to help.
Sprinkling pixie dust for you,
Kriss