Walt Disney World has filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit filed by two Annual Passholders over the Park Pass reservation system.
The lawsuit was first filed in October 2022, and said about Park Passes, “Disney’s conduct is a predatory business practice, aimed at exploiting the customers who support it the most, its annual pass holders. Disney abused a global pandemic to take advantage of its own loyal customers and increase its revenue.”
The Park Pass reservation system was introduced in 2020 after the parks reopened following the COVID-19 lockdown. Executives have made it clear that Park Passes are here to stay, with few changes made to the system since its launch. It was announced last month that Passholders will soon no longer need a Park Pass to enter a theme park after 2:00 p.m.
Florida Politics reports that Disney filed a motion to dismiss the lawsuit last month, stating, “Changing the terms of their annual passes’ park access due to a pandemic, after expressly reserving the right to do so, is not plausible bad faith, injustice, or an unfair business practice.”
The lawsuit was almost dismissed because the two Passholders suing wanted to remain anonymous. But they eventually agreed to reveal their identities: Palm Beach County resident Erica Kelly and Orange County resident Marilyn Paone.
Disney said in court documents, “Kelly and Paone omitted from their complaint everything that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts did for annual passholders during the transition to the reservation system — including, most notably, giving every passholder the chance to opt-out and be refunded.”
Kelly and Paone are following in the footsteps of several Disneyland Resort Magic Key holders, who filed a similar lawsuit in late 2021. The lawsuit moved forward in May 2022, but there hasn’t been much news about it since. The Disneyland Resort Magic Key terms and conditions were later updated with language about class action lawsuits.
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