The Park Pass theme park reservation system has been in place in Disney World and Disneyland since the parks reopened following the COVID-19 closures.
Easter Crowds
The system helps Disney control capacity in the parks and know how many guests will be there each day. We’ve seen Disney executives comment on the park pass system in the past, how it’s being used, and how it could be here to stay, but today we got even more updates on the system and how long it could be sticking around.
On May 11th, 2022, Disney shared its quarterly earnings report for the second quarter of fiscal year 2022. In that report and during the earnings call on the same topic, Disney shared updates on their fiscal standing, Disney+ subscribers, and more.
During the call, Disney executives were also asked a number of questions, including some that prompted responses related to Park Passes.
©Disney | Walt Disney Company Headquarters
Disney CEO Bob Chapek commented on the Park Pass system by noting that the Company is still encouraged by the way that attendance is trending in relation to the reservation system. According to Disney CEO Bob Chapek, Disney continues “to see really strong demand” and they’re “encouraged by the trends” that they’re seeing, particularly as they expect improvements to international visitation.
Chapek said, “We’re controlling our attendance…using our reservation system to optimize the guest experience. But that domestic yield strategy…is really exceeding our expectations.” Chapek shared that they’re encouraged by the continuation of the trends they’re seeing when it comes to things like the number of people signing up for Genie+, plus the willingness to come to the parks with the reservation system, which helps them manage their price per day.
Bob Chapek
According to Chapek, “That domestic yield strategy has really structurally allowed [Disney] to increase that per capita spending meaningfully without having to rely solely on raising ticket prices.” And, he added, “we don’t see any end in sight for that.”
©Disney
Christine McCarthy, the Chief Financial Officer of the Walt Disney Company also discussed Park Passes. According to McCarthy, Disney is “choosing to limit attendance using [the] reservation system.” McCarthy said that this goes back to Disney trying to “balance demand and attendance throughout the year, not have days when consumers in the parks aren’t enjoying the experience.”
McCarthy said attendance is something they’re controlling but they’re doing it to “have a better consumer experience.”
Christine McCarthy ©The Walt Disney Company
According to McCarthy, they will continue to increase attendance in the parks with capacity as things change. She noted how things have changed recently, like the return of “normal” character meet-and-greets and the return of nighttime spectaculars at Disneyland.
McCarthy also said that things like the opening of the Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind attraction in Disney World can potentially change capacity. McCarthy said that this is “all new capacity” and they’re looking forward to having guests experience that.
Even Journey Into Imagination has had a long line recently!
Neither Chapek nor McCarthy gave any indication of an end to Disney’s Park Pass system. And in fact, as we noted above, the Disneyland Resort President previously shared his thoughts on why Park Passes could be here to stay.
McCarthy had also previously noted how they are managing the parks differently now when it comes to attendance levels and talked about how they know how many people are going to the parks on a given day, which allows them to better balance load throughout the year, week, and month.
Crowds
So it seems Park Pass reservations could be sticking around for quite some time. Right now the Park Pass availability calendar shows available dates through January of 2024.
We’ll be sure to share any further updates with you.
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went to disney for a total of 25 years and recently sold our timeshare for which I am grateful. Disney is not the wonderful disney of the past. It has become a money maker and not what Walt Disney intended
Twilliam: Why are others allowed to complain here, but I’m not? That’s garbage! To answer your question though, by adapting to the changes, I was able to have a fantastic 4 day trip at the end of March. Thanks to learning how new things work (Genie+, ILL, etc) we spent 1 day at each park and were able to ride everything that we wanted to, and mostly with limited times waiting. We then spent 2 days at Universal where we were able to ride everything as well, though we had to pay much more money to skip the lines there. We had a fantastic time in Orlando, and can’t wait to go back!!
I got to say, I’m starting to lose that “magical feeling” Disney provided. We have no more Freedom at Disney. My family and I would decide to go in the afternoon to see a show at EPCOT. Is that even possible anymore? Can I go to a park at 12:00 noon? It really stinks that the fun and fancy free Disney has been replaced with a robotic rules system to control people and control when and where they should have fun!! First they are slowly removing Christmas (Osborne lights being gone started the madness), now they are controlling our fun!! That is not the Disney I’ve loved all my life. Shame on you Disney! Go back to free fun, go back to freedom. I think you owe your long time loyal customers a bit of loyalty in return.
So in the past without the park reservation system there were days when you would go in and the park was fully staffed but there weren’t a lot of guests, and your guest experience was amazing .
With the reservation system, if there aren’t a lot of people going, there will be less cast members, and the guest experience stays at this new lower bar level that you have been experiencing since the inception of the reservation system.
Disney manages their costs but it affects our experience. It also affects the workload of the cast members schedule to work. Now, even during a light day in the park, the cast members are stretched. And God forbid there are a lot of last minute reservations because then there will be callouts, and most cast members I talk to you don’t like being called out anymore, because they know the park is shorthanded and they will be stressed. No longer are they called out simply because the area would like an extra worker available, just to be sure they have enough staff.
I wish these fools that put all this in place would have to follow it the way guests have too. But no, they are privileged when they go to the parks. That is, if they actually go to the parks as guests. Let them stand in a two hour line like the majority of guests do, because they can’t, or don’t want to spend more to get onto maybe three or for rides. But no, they are privileged because of their position in the company. Now it’s all about how much money they can make, and not about costumer care. Yes I will continue to go because for me, I can escape reality for a while. If I get on three or four rides, I’m ok with that, because I go a few times a year. Unfortunately for the ones who save to go once every few years, they are the ones it affects the most. Unfortunately, I don’t see this changing any time soon, as long as they keep making money. That’s all they seen to care about.
Vacations should not be stressful. I want to relax and enjoy time with my family. All of this scheduling is a headache. We are not fans of the park reservations. Who knows what they want to eat 90 days in advance? Not magical at all!
As a longtime Disney World consumer and DVC member, the park pass system is by far the worst thing Disney has done. I accept that for a short time, when they reopened parks, it was necessary, but the crowds now are terrible. Those of us who loved to park hop, now pay for a park hopper that can hardly be used. If part of your party ends up with a delayed flight, as happened to us recently, in order for them to join us in the second park, they had to check in at one, and then travel to the other one. That is the most ridiculous system I have ever experience. The lines were long, and even though we paid for Genie+, we still had difficulty getting to what we wanted to see. If a park was crowded, we could not move until 2pm. I hate it and find it interesting that there were no surveys offered to see how we felt about the experience.
Been to Disney a few times in the last 40 years. This June will be my last. I don’t like having to schedule everything in advance. I used to enjoy going to a park of my choice each day. The fast pass kiosks were great. You’d get your FREE fp for the ride you wanted to go on and planned your day around it. Now there is Genie + which you have to pay for and then you have to pay more $$$ for the high demand rides. The ticket prices have skyrocketed to the point where it is just no longer affordable. Food and drink prices are insanely high and just getting higher. Bob Chapek has ruined Disney for many of us with his greedy ways.
What a bunch of lip service! As a Disney shareholder who voted to retain both these people at the last shareholders meeting, I truly wish I could change my vote. Fix this company!
I’m a retired cast member and for the last 8 months been trying to make a park reservation and it wont accept my password, tried calling and got disconnected after a 2 hour wait everytime I try to make a reservation it wont accept it I really am frustrated!
Could not agree more with all of the comments above. The magic is gone, no spontaneity at all. Everything is tied into your smart phone, what if you do not have a smart phone like some Senior Citizens. Unless management becomes more family friendly it is slowly going the way of the dinosaur.
As a retired cast member, I have to say the magic is gone. I was looking forward to being able to use my pass to go to the parks on a last minute whim, much as I’ve always done with my family on weekends but that’s no longer possible. I feel bad for vacationing families who no longer have the flexibility to wing it day by day but have to schedule every aspect of their Disney trip.
It’s sad. I don’t care what he says. I’ve been there three times since the changes. I don’t like them. Someone can take my place in line and is welcome to do so. I’m out.
Just sold my DVC membership.
Bravo Roxanne & Matt! Disney will only change things for the better when they see their revenue dwindling.
My first and last to WDW coming up in July. If people truly get fed up and profits dwindle AND remove him from his position, then MAYBE the Disney enterprise can TRY to get back to what Walt was trying to do.
This is an older posting, but it is still the same issue and problem for guest, especially pass holders. Of all the screw ups Bob and his minions have created and caused since he took over as CEO, the reservations system is probably the worst. I understood it while the country was in the middle of the pandemic, but there is no reason for reservations other than greed.
I say greed because they base staffing on how many reservations are made for a certain day. Instead of scheduling and staffing a full crew, they only schedule skeleton crews to meet the minimum requirements. This is why so many things are closed on certain days. They also use it to block out pass holders even though it is not a black out date for their passes. They have two reservation calendars, one for pass holders and one for single day tickets. So even though the pass holder calendar is booked up on certain day, the single day calendar has plenty of single day tickets available for those same days. This why there is a pass holder law suit against Disney.
I can see reservations for those staying at Disney hotel and/or their partner hotels as part of a vacation package. But in general, get rid of the reservation requirements, there is no need for it other than greed. Let it be like it was before, first come first serve. Disney parks almost never close the gates due to full capacity, and recently Disney confirmed that they do not ever expect to reach full capacity. So why do they keep trying to screw guest by demanding reservations and keeping guest out? Get rid of the reservations!
I’m trying to figure out how having to have a reservation to get into the parks helps with staffing when after 2:00 p.m. (with Park Hopper) you can then attend any park you want? Or do you still need a reservation for the park you are ‘hopping’ to? If not, and everyone hops to the same park, how are they staffed for that? IMO, Igor and Chapek have both hurt the Disney magic, slowly taking away every free perk and replacing with a cost. It started with charging resort guests to park and it’s been non-stop ever since. I miss Eisner. And what’s the deal with having to have your dinner reservations months in advance yet that doesn’t guarantee you admittance to the park where your meal reservation is? And if you want a LL pass, it may be schedule during your dinner reservation?! They can’t connect the two experiences so this doesn’t happen?! Chapek is lying thru his teeth. Resort guests are not happy and many are not returning. The following years will tell. Fire Chapek now!
We are here at the moment on a two week trip booked over 4 years ago as we are from the uk and wasn’t able to fly because of covid. This is my 6th and last trip to Disney I’m very sorry to say. The park reservation is a joke !! Who knows where they will want to be. 12 months in advance. Also the geni and geni plus lightning lanes is just a con to get the people who are maybe there for the day or a couple of days get to ride the popular rides and us poor people can’t get on it . It’s discrimination!! I feel like that anyway. I’ve got up today to ride flight of passage at 6.15 am to get there for rope drop and get in before the regular crowd as we are staying in Disney and the queue was still huge but this is the only way to ride it. Unless of course you are a lightning lane pay £60 to go on an ride and skip the queue. The magic is definitely gone. It used to be the happiest place on earth … it’s not anymore it’s the most stressful and expensive place on earth.
Flight of passage was fantastic by the way !!
We went the end of April (a roll over trip from 2020) – started out Hard Rock Hotel first to get unlimited fast passes to Universal – (and daily maid service) our stay brilliant – walked into the park, just go on any ride, no planning needed, could just go to Volcano Bay then onto a park – no hassle, no phone needed THEN we moved to Riverside (maid service every two days) and then the phone is glued to my hand – we had Genie+ on a deal so alarm set every morning, if you weren’t intending to go to your chosen park until the afternoon you had to keep refreshing your phone until wait times got to your time of arrival, you can no longer choose morning, afternoon or evening – like you could with fast pass so on a water park morning I had to take my phone around with me in a waterproof bag and then also to stack the genie+ I had to set an alarm for every two hours. We did a couple of parks quicker than we thought and wanted to change our day reservation to another park – no availability so we had to go to our first one then park hop. We love Disney but we didn’t enjoy it, we gave up going to Typhoon Lagoon and just stayed round the pool – why couldn’t they just have charged for Fastpass and left it as it was…… we plan to come back to Orlando in 2024 but will just be going to Universal and Seaworld . The only thing Disney had was a lot more photographers than Universal . The criowds at Disney seemed as high as when we last went in July 2020.!!!
Not really sure how they are ‘improving the guest experience’ if anything I think they have managed to diminish it significantly. I feel for the families who scrimp and save for years to afford a once in a lifetime vacation. We just returned yesterday from a 5 day stay where we were not able to do many rides or attractions without exorbitant wait times. I realize that was our decision but we refuse to pay additional fees when the FP system was perfectly fine. Are they inflating wait times to encourage the purchase of Genie+, possibly, but waiting 30+ minutes for the People Mover or Small World? Uhm, NO. We are seriously considering selling our DVC points, and definitely know will not be going back to our 2-3 trips per year.
I’m in FL and have a cast member as a husband. Even he agrees that we should have dropped our annual passes (we pay monthly) and gone with annual passes for Universal or Sea World, both of which are much cheaper.
I hate the reservation system. We used to just run over on the hubby’s day off, pick a park, then go after our chores were done. That is no longer an option, and we’re unhappy about it.
I am very saddened to read about the possibility of keeping the new reservation system. I have canceled two of our reservations to attend Disney over the past couple of years because of Covid. I attribute Disney with helping me through and beating cancer. Traveling to Walt Disney World allowed me to experience a stress free vacation and enjoy the magic I was brought up loving. I grew up In the 50s and 60s with the Mickey Mouse club and quite honestly idolize Walt Disney for his beliefs and his characteristics not to mention his imagination. At a time in my life when I thought I would be visiting and enjoying more leisure time with my family it looks like those days are over. They can say all they want about the reservation pass system but in the end we know that the reason they are doing it is to regulate staffing with the days that coincide with lower attendance. It’s all about the bottom line and unfortunately My family and I are not concerned with Disney’s bottom line. As a stockholder I would hope that not only would they look to replace Bob but look into why he has fired people like Peter Rice!
The park pass system would be a good idea if they used it correctly. It should limit the number of people in the park so that people could enjoy their day in the park. The current pass system is supposed to control the crowds in the park but reading the comments of people who are crowded into each park without enough cast support is terrible. The quality and quantity of the food is terrible and “Disney” service is non-existent. There only seems to be amusement service. I apologize to the Cast Members that this does not apply to. As far as the wait times, lightening lane and pay per ride, Disney just needs to go back to low park entrance fees and the ride ticket books. That should eliminate long lines because people would only have a certain number of ride tickets for each type of ride. Just like the tier system, you could only ride so many rides of each level. We have waited to go to Disney World for the 50th, but will probably be the last until “Paycheck” and company are gone.
Park pass reservations are the worst and park hopping has been ruined. This was my favorite place to go in the world; why did the present people in charge ruin the magic for everyone?
Guests have “the willingness to come to the parks with the reservation system”? There’s no other way to get into the parks!!😡
The magic and spontaneity Disney once had is being held prisoner by Mr. Cheapskate. He has ruined Walt’s dream .
Essie… Why??? Because they don’t care about the MAGIC. The MAGIC doesn’t factor in to their decisions. It appears that the only thing driving their decisions is GREED. It’s so obvious.
I agree with David Dominie. Many passholders feel they HAVE to go on rides because the cost to get into the park is so high. Some of us are “meh” on the rides and really want the atmosphere, the shows, the food, the characters, and the shopping. If you offer multiple options, such as the current admission and rides, admission only, admission with limited rides, you’ll have smaller lines for rides, but still make bank on the food and shopping, and the special seating options for shows. Everyone will win. Since you’re insistent on doing everything mobile (which I abhor), you won’t even have to print ticket books. You would have to have a cast member scan tickets/apps at each ride, but you do that already for all of the special ride reservation nonsense so that would not be an additional cost to you.
My family, 13 of us in total, just visited Disney World for 8 days in July. There were 8 adults and 5 kids ranging from 6 to 13 years old. We are DVC members and weren’t able to travel from NJ during the pandemic since 2 adults have autoimmune problems. We love Disney and have been DVC members since 1999 and visit at least 2 times a year in the past. Notice I said past since that won’t be happening anymore. The park reservation is ridiculous. As an example my husband is on kidney dialysis and he needed to have dialysis while in Disney. On that day our group was going to Animal Kingdom. 10 of the group went in the morning but I stayed home with my 6 year old grandson while my husband was in dialysis. When he returned at 1pm he was tired so we decided not to go to Animal Kingdom however this caused a problem with visiting another park. He went down to customer relations to see if we could go to another park later in the day. The person said they would need to cancel our original reservation and try to book another park instead however turns our no reservations were available. The only advice he could offer was for us to take a bus to Animal Kingdom and enter the park, even though we had no intension of staying, so we could park hop later in the day to another park. So much for DIsney magjc. If the reservation system becomes permanent I will sell my DVC points since it will be harder and harder to make reservations since Disney continues to build additional DVC sites. As far as Genie + is concerned I refuse to spend extra money to get on rides and I wonder is the annual pass will ever be offered again. We loved our trips to Disney in the past but not anymore.
I to am so disappointed with the way Disney is doing things . I dont like having to make a reservation it was more fun to just go and enjoy what you did for that day. Even now if I want to go on a ride I now have to pay extra to get on or wait 2 to 3 hours. Which also mean that there are people that DO go to Disney . All I know is WALT himself would not let this happen. Walt did it for the people . It may have started with the mouse (Mickey) but might end up with something more violent like a marvel character . Actually when was the last time you Saw a commercial or cartoon with the Fab 5 . Its almost as if forgotten. Mickey WHO ?