Eight California theme parks could merge to offer supercharged annual passes

Credit: Knott’s Berry Farm

Several major California theme parks are reportedly considering offering a joint annual pass for both theme parks.

For die-hard theme park fans, an annual pass is a must. Disneyland Resort and Universal Studios Hollywood have offered a variety of passes for decades, with visitors paying an annual fee to visit their favorite theme parks whenever they want.

In recent years, the topic of annual passes has become much more complicated. While Disneyland Resort once sold passes year-round, its structure changed since COVID-19, when it introduced Magic Key passes in August 2021. Now, Magic Key sales are sporadic, with new pass sales last suspended in June 2024.

When passes go on sale, there are caveats. Magic Key passes are sold in four tiers. The least expensive is the Imagine Key, which costs $499 and is only available to Southern California residents living in zip codes 90000 to 93599. This allows access to Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure on select dates throughout the year (none of which are weekends).

The top tier is the Enchant key, which costs $849 and blocks most of the summer, Saturdays, and peak periods like Christmas, Thanksgiving, and New Year’s. One step up is the Believe key at $1,249, which allows access for most of the year, with the exception of the busiest days. The Inspire key is the most expensive, which at $1,649 still doesn’t get you access every day of the year, blocking out late December and early January.

Of course, all of this depends on your ability to get a reservation, which is still required to visit Disneyland Resort with your Magic Key (and has frustrated some passholders to the point of filing — and winning — a class-action lawsuit). For that reason, some people prefer passes to parks like Universal Studios Hollywood, which don’t require a reservation.

The same goes for the closest theme park to Disneyland Resort, Knott’s Berry Farm, home to iconic attractions like Xcelerator, GhostRider and Silver Bullet for thrill seekers and the recently reopened Camp Snoopy for families and youngsters.

The Prestige Pass, the park’s highest-end pass, requires no reservations. You can also purchase an All Park Passport to access other Cedar Fair theme parks, including Canada’s Wonderland, Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion and Kings Island.

This week, Cedar Fair officially merged with Six Flags to create Six Flags Entertainment Corporation, America’s largest amusement park company. So far, this doesn’t appear to have had any impact on Knott’s Berry Farm’s annual pass program, but that could change soon.

According to new FAQ sections added to each park’s website (including Knott’s Berry Farm), Six Flags is considering new season passes that would allow guests to pay a single fee to access all 27 theme parks and 15 water parks under the company’s banner.

“It is clear that our customers see significant value in season pass programs,” the FAQ reads. “We do not intend to offer a new season pass that provides access to all parks in 2024. However, we believe there may be an opportunity in the future to offer expanded park access to season pass holders.”

If this were to happen, it would benefit all die-hard theme park fans. However, the state that would benefit the most is California, where visitors would be able to visit eight parks with a single pass: Knott’s Berry Farm, California’s Great America, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Six Flags Magic Mountain, Knott’s Soak City, Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Los Angeles, South Bay Shores, and Six Flags Hurricane Harbor Concord. What a value!

Of course, this is all theoretical at this point, but it’s good to hear that Six Flags is considering this option, especially considering that passholders for other theme parks feel like their own passes have been devalued in recent years. Watch this space.

Would you buy an annual pass to visit all Six Flags properties?