Hard blow for Mickey Mouse. The DGCCRF (General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control) and the DDPP 77 (Departmental Directorate for Population Protection) have just issued a ruling a fine of €400,000 against Disneyland Paris pour “misleading commercial practice due to its inadequate communication towards annual passport holders“. If the amount of this fine will certainly have the effect of a drop in the bucket on the scale of the Walt Disney Company, the decision nevertheless stands out as a victory for regular visitors to the amusement park.
Following the Covid-19 pandemic, the tourist destination had no choice but to transform its annual passport offers in order to adapt to the health context. Formerly designed to offer free access to the two Ile-de-France parks, the annual packages now require a prior reservation in order to be able to enjoy a day on site. However, the first years of implementation of this system worked to the disadvantage of regulars. In order to meet quotas of visitors whose precise data has never been shared with subscribers, many annual passport holders found themselves unable to go to Disneyland Paris for many months.
Weekends, public holidays and school holidays disappeared as soon as they became available on the reservation platform, despite a limit on simultaneous reservations for each customer. “Agents of the DDPP of Seine-et-Marne highlighted inadequate communication, in the presence of quotas restricting access to Disneyland Paris parks for annual pass holders” explains the DGCCRF in its statement. Without further details, it seems that the legal decision concerns this uncertain period between 2020 and the deployment of the new range of passes in July 2023.
What about annual passports today?
With the arrival of the Disneyland Pass Bronze, Silver and Gold last year, the amusement park has greatly improved the reservation conditions for its loyal visitors. If this new comfort is unfortunately expressed by a loss of advantages and an increase in subscription prices (€699 compared to €499 previously for the most high-end passport), the difficulties of access are now history Ancient.
In addition to the dematerialization of Passes via the Disneyland Paris application, visit days can be selected directly from this same tool. In terms of the calendar, no date seems truly inaccessible anymore, with the exception of the restriction days established in the Bronze and Silver Pass contracts. The DGCCRF’s decision therefore does not seem to concern the current formulas, even if the new visitor quotas are still unknown to the public.
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