Facts

In August 2021, Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S., introduced a sales program: Disneyland Resort Magic Key. Through this program, Disney offered, for sale, a variety of Magic Key passes which entitled purchasers to make reservations for entrance into Disney theme parks without additional charges for a one-year period. The top-tier pass, Dream Key, purportedly provided the most benefits, including not subjecting purchasers to "blockout dates," that is dates that the purchaser could not use the pass. At that time, the Dream Key pass cost $1,399. In September 2021, Jenale Nielsen purchased such a Dream Key pass. Around October 2021, Nielsen attempted to use her Dream Key pass to obtain a Disneyland admission ticket for November 2021, but, the Disney reservation website notified her that a total of 17 days in November, including all weekends, were unavailable for Dream Key pass holders. However, despite this, single- and multi-day tickets were still available for that time period. On December 15, 2021, Nielsen filed a class action suit in Orange Superior against Walt Disney Parks alleging several causes of action including violations of the Consumers Legal Remedies Act.

PLAINTIFF'S CONTENTIONS: Plaintiff generally contended that defendant falsely advertised its Dream Key passes' provisions, importantly regarding the blockout dates, thus misleading consumers. Consequently, defendant's practices violated several laws pertaining to unfair business practices and false or misleading advertising.

DEFENDANT'S CONTENTIONS: Defendant denied all material contentions.

Result

The parties reached an agreement wherein Walt Disney Parks admitted no wrongdoing or liability but agreed to pay $9.5 million to settle class members' claims.