Yesterday, Disney announced their plan to reopen Disney World beginning July 11th with Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They then plan to reopen Hollywood Studios and Epcot beginning July 15th.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad in Disney World’s Magic Kingdom
Many changes have been announced as part of Disney World’s reopening plan. For starters, they have suspended new hotel reservations and ticket sales as they roll out a brand new reservation system. Now, they have made a HUGE update regarding FastPass+.
According to Disney, due to the current health situation, “the FastPass+ service will be suspended for the time being as we plan to use additional queue space to manage capacity at our attraction and maintain physical distancing. We will automatically cancel existing FastPass+ selections and share any future updates on the service at a later date.”
©Disney
We noticed our FastPasses we had booked for July disappeared earlier today, but we weren’t sure why. Extra Magic Hours will be suspended for the time being as well. We have MANY more updates that Disney has released regarding the Disney Dining Plan and MORE.
Disney has also canceled all Disney Dining Plans and current Dining Reservations through the end of the year. Click Here to Read More!
So What Should You Do NOW?
First of all — don’t panic. If you have a current Disney World hotel package, that’s still there, and Disney has stated that those guests who have existing reservations will get priority access for new bookings.
Disney has also stated that they will re-open Dining Reservation and Experience (e.g. Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, backstage tours, etc) bookings closer to their opening date (the lead time will be 60 days instead of 180 days for now). But you should still be able to make dining reservations and experience bookings for your vacation.
As for the FastPass system, Disney has noted that the limited capacity of the parks will offer a reduction in wait times for attractions and rides. We’ll keep our ear to the ground for more details there a well.
That said, we understand that many of you worked very hard to book the perfect plans for your vacation — some of you having rescheduled multiple times already. And on that we truly feel your pain. This is a very difficult time when it’s so hard to book these trips in the first place.
If you have worked with a travel agent to plan your trip, contact them for more details and for next steps. If you booked your trip yourself, try not to worry. We will get more information from Disney about the new booking procedures and we’ll share them with you ASAP. Things are gonna be a little bit different here for a while, but stick with us. We have your back as far as Disney info, details, and advice. And if you have any specific questions, please let us know in the comments and we’ll do our best to find answers for you.
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
For over 20 years my family has been Disney World “whales”: staying in Disney deluxe resorts, booking fast passes 60 days in advance, and making sit down (including signature) restaurant dinner reservations well in advance. Last January we booked a trip for the end of July, and we currently have lunch and dinner dining reservations for every single day of our planned July stay.
Over time Disney World has gotten progressively more crowded. At busier time of the year it is now almost impossible to get on any of the more popular rides without a fast pass. It is also very, very difficult to score last minute dining reservations at many of the more upscale restaurants. As long as these new policies are in effect I will never return to Disney World again.
Should we not buy tickets from a secondhand dealer (AAA and other websites)? I’ve made reservations at a Disney Springs Resort Hotel (One that had the benefits of fast pass and extra magic hours. ‘Hilton Buena Vista Palace’). But I don’t want to buy secondhand dealer tickets even if they are available if Disney won’t honor them near the date of my reservation or in the future with a rescheduled reservation.
My friend and I are going to Walt Disney World in September. We already have dinning reservations and fast passes. I don’t care so much about the fast passes but would like to know about our Dinning reservations. If and when you cancel them we will be getting our money back correct? Thank you
I will be going with my Family in October to Disney World. I already have our reservation at Wilderness Lodge. I am a DVC Member. Should I make my dinning reservations or wait??? Thanks.
Carol, Disney has cancelled all current ADRs (or will be soon), per their announcement last night. Click here to read about it and to see how it might apply to you.
Reece, sorry, I don’t know about this. You could try asking Disney.
So you spend 1,000 of dollars but more and more of the experiences are getting canceled. I wouldn’t go to wdw without a fp. Sorry my time is more valuable then spending tons of time waiting!! Why do people Continue to want to go is beyond me til this gets straight! The experience will b severely diminished!!
I hate to be negative..but. With other theme parks charging for ” Head of the line” and FastPass like extras, and Disneyland offering MaxPass for an additional charge. Could this be a opportunity for Disney to modify the FastPass system accross all park locations to a pay for FastPass add on. Just sayin’…..
I would like to know what will be open at the resorts, come July. We’re currently booked for September at Fort Wilderness and hear there’s a lot of fun things to do there, bit will those things even be open to do?
Hopefully y’all will be able to find that out!
Lilah, I promise we’ll try!
I am DELIGHTED! I absolutely believe that FastPass has removed so much magic from the Disney experience. The Disney Imagineers put so much effort into the queue areas and all areas of the park, and far too many visitors are just rushing from one “ride” to the next. Slow down. Enjoy the magic. It’s NOT all about the attractions!!
Good! Keep fastpass+ gone 😅 I remember the days you could go to Disney and enjoy the experience and just take everything in as and when you felt like it. Seeing things like a kid again without worrying about having to be here or there at a specific time. Now you have to have a plan, then plan and plan some more. It’s started to feel like work, makes it really difficult to relax in my opinion. But that’s just me!!!
I agree with Chris D .Disney has visitors to depending on electronic devices
I’d like to know wgat my options are as an AP holder. Many times we just drive over without reservations. Are we going to be let out of our commitment to keep our AP? Not sure I want to go with these restrictions anyway.
Stephanie, you may want to browse through the AP page Disney has established. Linking it here!
We have a trip of a lifetime booked which has been booked almost 2 years. We are supposed to be staying at animal kingdom lodge for 14 days on the 2nd august with the dining plan. We have already booked our dining reservations 180 days out (38 reservations to be exact) and are due to book our fast passes on Wednesday (60 days out). But we know this won’t be ahead! We have not received any communication from Disney or our travel agent to inform us of any changes. We can’t even get in touch with our travel agent! So you can imagine how devastated and furious we were to find updates of the latest cancellations of fast passes, dining plans and reservations via blogs we follow!!!! Disgusting behaviour from all involved! Apparently our travel agent will contact us 72 hours prior to travel to let us know about our options! (As if that’s helpful) meanwhile we aren’t sure what to do about ESTA’s etc! Disney seems to no longer be the dream. The amount of nights we spent crying over this isn’t fair! ☹️ they’ve broken our hearts and our trip! Don’t get me wrong I completely understand the position Disney are in and the reasoning behind changes. But it just seems like this is a lose lose situation for customers. Who are already suffering due to rearranged travel plans.
Michaela, I think your reaction is valid, and it’s possible both to be heartbroken/angry and yet also understand where they’re coming from. I hope things work out for you (and everyone else who’s struggling with this). Good luck!
Since Disney will not be using FastPass right now, will Rider Swap still be available? Just wondering, since “group 2 uses the FastPass line, not stand by.
Eva, to my knowledge, we have not heard from Disney on this. I’m going to see if I can chat with Disney about this.
People are still going through fast pass lines as of today 11/4/2020 ! Every staff member is scripted saying the same thing but its not true. They are saying its only for disabled, ride swap because of a ride malfunction , and club 33. I can tell you for sure these people are not phsyically nor mentally disabled, the rides are not broken and its not a rider swap, there is NO Way that all of these people are club 33. Something is shady about this !
Disney is definitely booking over 30% capacity. I would say it’s about at 60% capacity. I saw fast pass lines and Epcot but have no idea how to get passes. I did not see them at Magic Kingdom. The lines are average about an hour wait per ride.