We’ve seen crowd levels changing at the Disney World theme parks and Disney Springs since they reopened a few months ago.
Disney Springs
We’ve also seen Disney Springs reach capacity recently. That got us thinking, if you’ve got a movie ticket for the Disney Springs AMC Theatre or a dining reservation in Disney Springs, and the area reaches capacity, what happens?
Unlike Disney World’s theme parks, Park Pass style reservations are not required to enter Disney Springs. That means you can theoretically decide to visit the shopping and dining area (basically a theme park of its own for foodies and shoppers) at any point of the day and simply show up without making any prior arrangements.
Disney Springs
But, like other areas around Disney World, Disney Springs reopened with its own set of guidelines including the required use of face masks and limiting capacity to help promote social distancing.
People Headed to Homecomin’
Specifically, the Disney Springs website notes that one way in which they were limiting capacity was to limit guest parking locations to the Orange and Lime Parking Garages. According to Disney’s reopening guidelines, guests are not allowed to park and enter Disney Springs once the two in-use parking garages (Lime and Orange) are full.
Orange Parking Garage
Since the reopening, however, limited surface parking has also become available, providing some more spots for guests to park.
Disney Springs Surface Parking
But, what happens if you’ve got tickets to see a movie at AMC Movies at Disney Springs 24 or a dining reservation for somewhere like The BOATHOUSE and Disney Springs reaches capacity?
If You Have a Movie Ticket
We reached out to a few people to find out. One employee at the AMC in Disney Springs said that they’ve been directing guests to use the surface parking, where they can then inform the Cast Member there that they’ve purchased a movie ticket. It’s important to make sure you’ve got it printed or accessible on your phone so you can show them.
AMC Movie Theatre Reopening
A Disney World Cast Member also told us that a guest with a previously purchased movie ticket would be considered part of the capacity. But, some other Cast Members we spoke to gave us an entirely different answer.
World of Disney
We called Disney’s guest services and spoke to a Cast Member on the phone and asked specifically about what the situation would be if we had a pre-purchased AMC movie ticket and Disney Springs reaches capacity. After a bit of time on hold, they said that if Disney Springs is at capacity, whether you’ll be able to get in or not (even with a pre-purchased AMC movie ticket) will depend on the Cast Member working the transportation area.
AMC Movie Theatre Reopening Day Movies
They said that it would be on a case-by-case basis, and then the guest would have to reach out to AMC regarding canceling the ticket and getting a refund. We tried calling AMC and sent them a message on Instagram, but we haven’t been able to speak to anyone yet.
AMC Disney Springs
If You Have a Dining Reservation
We also chatted with a Disney Cast Member and specifically asked what would happen if we had a dining reservation and Disney Springs reaches capacity. They noted that even though you may have a reservation, that does not guarantee you access to Disney Springs. Instead, you may be turned away from entering Disney Springs, in which case you’ll need to call reservations and let them know you were not able to get in due to capacity issues.
Screenshot of Chat
This is also what’s noted on the Disney Springs website, which specifically says that once parking is full, Guests will not be able to park and visit Disney Springs, even if they have a dining reservation.
Screenshot from the Disney Springs Website
We asked the Cast Member via chat whether this would be the same for the AMC movie tickets, and they said it would be.
Screenshot of Chat
So, it seems we’ve received a few responses to this question. Here’s what we advise you do:
Our Advice
First, if you’ll be going to Disney Springs on a high-capacity day, particularly toward the evening on a weekend or on a holiday, and you’ve got a dining reservation you don’t want to miss — get to Disney Springs early. You can walk around the shops, have a pre-dinner snack, and take some great photos with the cute decor.
Fall Decorations at Disney Springs
If you’ve got other plans and have to arrive closer to your reservation or movie time, and the parking garages have reached capacity, check to see if the surface parking is available. Sometimes this can be emptier than the parking garages, and you may just be able to find a spot to park.
Surface Parking
If you arrive and everything is at capacity, be sure to tell the Cast Member handling transportation in that area that you’ve got a reservation or movie ticket and have a copy of the ticket or a confirmation number handy so they can verify it. According to some people we spoke to, that might get you in.
Too Cute!
If all else fails, contact Disney, the restaurant you were meant to eat at, and/or AMC to let them know that you were unable to go in due to capacity issues as soon as possible. If you want some proof, try to take pictures of signs in the area confirming that the area was at capacity and that is why you were not able to go in.
Disney Springs at Capacity
Update: Note that the Disney Springs website says, “once the parking garages are full, Guests will no longer be able to park and visit Disney Springs. This includes Guests who have a booked a dining reservation.” So, if you are walking to Disney Springs from Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa or another hotel close by, or you’re taking a Disney bus from a Disney hotel to Disney Springs, it’s our understanding that you should be able to enter Disney Springs even if the parking garages are full.
Disney Springs
We chatted with Disney to confirm this and they said that even if the parking garages reach capacity, you should still be able to take a bus to Disney Springs from a Disney hotel, but they mentioned that you may need to enter in a virtual queue once you arrive.
Screenshot from Disney Chat
We asked if this was a virtual queue to enter a specific store or Disney Springs in general, and the Cast Member said it was to enter Disney Springs in general. They also said that Cast Members would be posted to help if necessary.
Screenshot from Disney Chat
We’ll continue to monitor this situation and let you know if anything changes at Disney Springs or if we hear any different responses from AMC or Disney in the future.
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I am staying at The Pop Century Resort and have dining reservations several evenings. Will I still be able to use WDW Bus Transportation to travel to Disney Springs for those reservations, or will I be excluded or denied transport if Disney Springs reaches capacity limits?
So even if I have a confirmed reservation at a restaurant in DS I can be denied entry?!?!? Seriously, Disney is doing everything it can to DISCOURAGE people from returning. I will either wait until sanity returns or just go elsewhere. Not worth the headache.
What if it is to capacity but you arrive on the Disney bus????
If staying on site and DS reaches capacity, do the buses stop running to it?
Is this only if you are driving and need to park in the garage? If we are staying at a Disney Resort and are taking a bus to Disney Springs, will capacity issues apply? Thanks!
Does this apply if arriving by Disney bus from a resort? Will they turn resort guests away?
What happens if you are staying at Saratoga? Will they stop you from walking over?
What if you are traveling via Disney transportation (bus, etc.) and not parking in DS?
What about if you are staying on property and are planning on using the buses to get to a dining reservation?
Tracey, you can still access the Disney Springs bus stop.
Lori, the bus stop should still be accessible.
Lori, buses are operating as usual!
Christine, the walking trail is still accessible.
Adam, guests arriving by bus have been fine to enter. It’s more to do with parking capacity than actual numbers of guests, we believe.
Lisa, you should be fine with the bus. They are coming and going as usual.
Sue Ann, you’re fine to arrive by bus.
River, the buses keep running. Capacity seems to refer to the parking rather than the number of guests.
Tina, if you have a reservation, you’re able to enter.
Wayne, yes, you can still use buses to go to your ADR.
No wonder they changed the sign from The Happiest Place on Earth.
Tina is right. Disney IS DOING EVERYTHING TO DISCOURAGE folks. For such a customer service driven industry, they are not ( customer servicing).
I am staying at the B resort and have multiple Disney Springs reservations after the parks close. I don’t have a car so I am Taking an Uber. Would I not be allowed in? That would be a big waste of money to Uber to and from for nothing. Please help.
What about Ubering in?
I’ve never been to Disney Springs, but I know someone who would like to go to the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique and the Royal Hall 😊😁😀☺️🤠😸🙂😃🙂❤️💙💞😻💕💘💗💟❤️💙💜 in Disneyland and that would be the someone who has two daughters, that look like excellent Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique customers and the kind of girls who would like to get a hug from Ariel, Snow White and Cinderella 😍🤩☺️🤠😸🙂😃🙂❤️💙💕💘💗💟❤️💙💜 in the Royal Hall 😊😁😀☺️🤠😸🙂😃🙂❤️💙💞😻💕💘💗💟❤️💙💜.
I’ve never been to the AMC movie 🍿 theaters in Disney Springs, but I want new Disney movies like “Raya and the Last Dragon 🐉” to be released in movie 🍿 theaters everywhere first and then go to Disney Plus streaming 3 or 4 months after.
Beth, we haven’t seen this so we can’t be 100% sure, but since Uber would be dropping off, not parking, we think it should be okay.
Denise, we’re not 100% sure about Uber. I would recommend contacting Disney to confirm.
Disney Springs needs to save a surface parking lot for those with confirmation of a dining reservation or theater ticket. Problem solved. Show proof to park.
Turning away people with reservations is bad for public relations.
I have the AMC Stubs membership where I go to the movies three times a week. Last week I went and they were at capacity. I didn’t bother with actually trying to get into Disney Springs. As my husband drove us home I contacted AMC theatres customer service via Facebook Messenger and they refunded me my ticket. I recommend if you find yourself if a situation where you are willing to come back a different day that you take this approach. It was painless.
I thought masks were necessary ONLY if social distancing was not possible. It seems to me two guidelines (distancing and masks) have been conflated to one guideline for months. (I say months as we were first told masks were NOT needed.) If you are outside and distanced why is a mask necessary? If you are masked why is distancing necessary? Fast forward to April 28, 2021: Summer and warm temperatures are upon us. millions have actually had Covid – some knew and others were asymptomatic, millions have been vaccinated and cases the younger you get are not as detrimental as to those over 65! Isn’t it time to reassess? Why are we “driving” in a 35 mile an hour zone when we have hit the interstate and can take speeds up to 70mph?? (Anology) Personal opinion: Bring back FAST PASSES, increase capacity, and ease mask mandates ASAP.
Uh OH. We have some dinner reservations for Springs restaurants in June. I really hope they straighten this out more by then.