Since Disney World’s reopening in summer 2020, Disney has introduced the Park Pass Reservation system.
Magic Kingdom
What started as a way to control capacity at Disney World as a health and safety measure seems to be the new “normal” of Disney vacation planning. The Park Pass Reservation system requires that you make a free reservation at the park you’re planning to go to before you can go in. This is pretty different from how park entry worked before, so we asked our readers if the park pass reservation system has changed the way they plan Disney World trips!
Yes, it takes away flexibility
Reservations can fill up very quickly, especially during busy times of the year, so you have to make your reservations early, and once they’re made, it’s difficult to change them. Some of you said that yes, park pass reservations have changed the way you plan your trips because they take away some of the flexibility that we knew before.
EPCOT
One reader said,”Yes. No more last minute decisions when park hopping. Back in the day, we bounced around depending on what we felt like that day.”
Yes, because Park Hopping is later
The Park Hopping rules have also changed with the reservation system. Now, guests must enter the park they made a reservation at before hopping to another park, and you can’t hop before 2PM.
Animal Kingdom
One of our readers doesn’t like “needing to wait until 2 to park hop! The reservation wouldn’t be soooo bad if we could leave and go somewhere else for lunch!”
Read more about park hopping in Disney World here!
Yes, because I planned my Park days around Dining Reservations
Some of you noted how planning which park you would do what day isn’t a new concept at all. The old FastPass+ system allowed you to make FastPasses for rides in advance, and a lot of exclusive dining options also require advance reservations.
So pretty!
One of you said, “Yes, we used to make dining reservations and then base our park day on that or hit up HS when raining. We miss the flexibility!”
No, I like planning ahead
Some of you said that the reservation system hasn’t changed how you plan at all! Some people like planning ahead and knowing exactly which parks they’re going to do what day. If you like having your plans set in stone ahead of time, the reservations can guarantee that you can get into the park you want!
Slinky Dog Dash
A reader said, “We had no problems with the reservation system at all. We were able to go to our planned park in the morning and then go wherever our hearts took us once park hopping was available.”
See which dining reservations you need to make in Disney World this year!
No, I don’t care for Park Hopping
Alternatively, some people don’t care for park hopping to begin with, so the changes to the park hopping system don’t affect their plans.
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Someone said, “We have no problem with it. I always go by crowd calendars and don’t bother park hopping.”
‘Star Wars’: Galaxy’s Edge
Another one of our readers told us, “No. We go to the parks at rope drop anyway. So nothing has changed for us. Park hopping availability, maybe but that was more prevalent when we were able to make FP reservations.”
EPCOT Flower and Garden Festival
There are so many things that have changed at Disney World over the last few years, like Genie+, so planning a Disney vacation is pretty different from how it used to be! And Disney CEO Bob Chapek has commented on Park Passes and their impact on capacity, so it seems like this is another change that is here to stay for the time being. We’re always staying up to date with all the latest in all things Disney, so stay tuned to DFB for more!
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For me, the issue is more Genie +. I don’t mind park reservations since I am a PLANNER, but I hate not making at least some plans for the day.
I always plan ahead for my trips anyways and pick what parks I want to do each day. What I don’t like is if my plans change and I want to add an extra day to my trip, the park passes are sometimes sold out for the park that I want to go to that, so I guess it is a flexibility issue!
The reservation system is terrible. You have to pre-plan to plan and then you may not get in so<you have to re -lan. Before, it was welcome to all, any day, any time, as many times as you want. I miss it
Hate the park reservation system. We always had a plan in the past but we had the flexibility to change our minds. Now we have to lock in what park we go to as soon as we book the trip. We also used to be able to park hop anytime and now we have to wait until 2. It’s just taken away the spontaneity in our trips and it’s so much work. Getting into a park was never an issue except on days like Christmas Day so locking in a park reservation isn’t a benefit. I’m not sure why they can’t control capacity the same way they did before by locking out by tier when a park got near capacity.
Overall the resevations blows. For annual pass holders (especially in SoCal), it takes away the spontaneity of deciding on a whim to go to Disneyland. Many times my duaghter and I would go on a Friday afternoon after school just because we could (we live close by), or wake up on a Sunday and just go if we wanted to. But we can’t do that now with the reservation system. Not only are certain days sold out at times (not blackout days), but many times day are sold out to pass members, but single day tickets are availbe o buy (hence the law suit).
Not to mention that you cannot park hop until 1:00 at Disneyland Resort, where you basically are trapped half the day in one park, where as before you could hop anytime of the day or night as they are about 100 yards apart. So when the parks close early, your time is even more limited. Genie+ isn’t worth it as many rides are sold out and/or the return time is hours later, so you have no choice but to wait in standby lines.
So for me, the reservation system and Genie+ take all the fun and spontaneity out of going and enjoying the at the parks. I don’t mind planning, but I also enjoy spontaneity and freedom. Get rid of the reservations and bring back FastPass. Bring back the fun and the joy and get rid of the stress and hassle of planning out evry detail to what should be a simple enjoyable day.
The Park Pass Reservation system will be a negative if there will be special events (like chef demos) during Food & Wine. I can’t book an EPCOT rezzie until I know what the festival schedule will be.
The new park hopper system has stopped me from going to Disney any longer. We went to the park for a relaxing vacation and since we were familiar with the park offerings we were more interested in the shows and restaurants than with the rides, we would plan to go to different parks for meals and shows on the same day. This also gave us the opportunity to take relaxing rides on the boats between the resorts and parks. It was not unusual for us to visit all the parks in the same day, sometimes twice in the same day perhaps having breakfast and a dinner in the same park. Now that it has become an amusement park rather than a resort we see no reason to return to Disney.
It appears that anything Disney can do to make it more expensive and or inconvenient for the guest, that is the avenue they will take. It’s simply mind over matter. They don’t mind, as the guest don’t matter!
We’ve only park hopped a handful of times in our visits to WDW since 1991. There’s enough to do in each park. We DON’T like losing the park choice if we change which park to visit each day. It the constant & huge price jumps we HATE. YOU BLINK & they’re up again!
I don’t like the reservation system when I go I like to be spontaneous. And to make matters worse I have a trip planned since February and I am an AP holder from PA. I am going 16 Oct and my AP expires 17 Oct. I can’t make park reservations until 17 Aug when my window opens to renew my AP. I’ve sent 4 emails and 2 phone calls to Disney and they won’t help me resolve this. They just blow me off and say you have to wait til august with no regard that the park reservations might not be available. Disney tells you to make the reservations as soon as you can but yet they hold you back and won’t help with an exception to the rule. I’ve spent thousands on a room at the riviera for the week not knowing if I’ll get into any parks. Another reason to hate the park reservations.
Our last trip was over New Years 2018-2019 with our family of four. This was our third WDW trip for my husband and I in 18 years. We talked about wanting to return in the future, just the two of us, and be completely spontaneous, food, parks, activities, etc. I fear that will never happen now with park reservations, late time for park hopping, and having to mobile order hours ahead of when you want to eat. I am a planner but we would love to not have a schedule sometimes.
I absolutely hate how structured everything is now when planning a trip. I miss the flexibility of going wherever you want to go without planning for that day months in advance. We actually had a game of “bus roulette” where we would go to whatever the location the bus is going to. I also hate how Disney is catering so much to the people that get to stay at deluxe resorts. They have an option of late evenings at one park after it closes to the “peasants”, get housekeeping every day instead of every other day and various other perks. I remember the days where the moderate and value resort guests had the same options. It’s all about the money now with the Disney corporation. Chapek is ruining the parks in my opinion. To have to pay extra to ride certain rides after paying the high price to get into the parks in the first place is ridiculous. Walt would be horrified at the parks now.
We haven’t been there since they started requiring park pass reservations, but I do worry about it because of our style of touring. I generally do plan specific days for specific parks, at least to start with, but then we also park hop if we’re not feeling it in one park. And as one trip reporter said on a Disney form, she picked the wrong day for Animal Kingdom. She had only planned one day for that park, and that was the day it stormed. When it storms, everything outside gets shut down, which in Animal Kingdom is almost everything. There’s not much in AK that’s indoor except a couple of shows, and if you’ve already done those, you probably don’t want to sit and watch Festival of the Lion King over and over. And because everything is closed, people congregate in any covered space to get out of the rain, so all the restaurants and shops are packed and you can’t move. Normally, you would just pack it up and go to a different park, but now you can’t, and because the reservations sell out so quickly, you can’t change your reservation to a different park for that day. You’re just stuck in a park where you can’t do anything but stand in a pack with everyone else. Not convenient.
And someone else mentioned that Hollywood Studios was nearly impossible. If you can’t get a park reservation for that day, you have to wait until 2pm to hop there, and you won’t be able to get lightning lane passes for any of the big attractions that late..they’ll all be gone. In Hollywood Studios, there aren’t many attractions that aren’t majorly popular. That one won’t be an issue for me as I don’t do thrill rides, so Tower of Terror, Slinky Dog Dash, and Rock n’ Roller Coaster are all nopes for me, I don’t like Toy Story much, and am not a Star Wars fan, so the only real reason for me to go to HS at all is the Frozen Sing A long, and maybe some dining. But if you like the thrill rides and Star Wars, good luck! Those are so popular that it can be tough just to get a reservation for that park, from what I hear.
Overall, it sounds extremely inconvenient, and don’t really make much sense.
I don’t like the sound of Genie+ and how complicated it sounds. Definitely do not like having to get up at 7 a.m. on my vacation to try to log on and get something. What also is bothering me is the fact you can make your dining reservations months in advance – in fact, you basically have to to get the restaurants you want, yet the Genie+ and Lightning Lanes don’t take that into consideration and many have been given times during their dinner reservation. How stupid and inconsiderate is that?! It should all be linked together. And I definitely hate the park reservation system and what they’ve done to park hopping. Can we get rid of Chapek now?
I detest the park reservation system. Not at all guest friendly!!! I dont care how they spin it. One more layer of having to do something on the app before you go. It keeps adding up which adds to the complicated “vacation” a trip to Disney has become in the past year. And SO many changes every month! Who can keep up except those that do this for a living?
I believe that they are going to do away with the current Genie Plus in 2023 which is why you won’t be able to order it in advance beginning the same day the 2023 packages become available. Then it will be something completely new, but hopefully less cumbersome.
I hate everything Disney has done in the last 2 years. My family has had annual passes for 20 years. We sleep in and go wherever we feel like going that day. Now that has changed and we hate it. Disney has really disappointed us.
HATE the reservation system. I’ve got a mobility disability and used to get in the line with the fewest people and go there. If it was too crowded, I’d leave and go somewhere else. It’s hard enough to be on a scooter, let alone in crowds.
We just came back from the world and can safely say we won’t be going back until changes are made. Chapek resigning is at the top of the list. The absolute worst rule is having to check in to park one before hopping to park two – especially when the first park is MK.
To be quite Frank planning A Disney vacation has always been a pain..Having to plan every single thing But I was willing to do it if I got at least 3 of my favorite rides guaranteed. Anything else was extra. Now you have to plan on that day. I’m already stressed with the whole planning process now to do it day of. NOPE its not worth it to me and I will no longer go to Disney unless they bring fp back. I have been going elsewhere much cheaper and more relaxing. So they can change it or not either they dont they dont get my money or they will and then I will start going b. Either way I will go on vacation all that changes is where and where I feel apreciated!
I am a planner by nature but Disney park passes are overkill. I used to plan which parks we would go to, but could and would alter the choice as needed. One day we easily moved between three parks. Rope drop at HS. lunch res at EPCOT. Then onto MK for the evening. Now we are stuck. Can’t even take a day off from the parks or you’ll waste a park pass. Disney says it’s to “enhance the guest experience”… That is pure BS… It’s so they can save every nickel and dime by moving cast members and reducing ride capacities. All which make the our experience lousy.
Done with Disney… We’re off to Universal instead.
What else is there to say after reading all these negative reviews. We live 10 miles from Disney World and in years past, we walked around the parks several times a week. We ate dinner in park restaurants and went on a few rides. Well, we’re done with that now since it became far too time consuming and cumbersome to make so many reservations for park entrance, ride passes, etc. We always made restaurant reservations which was no problem, but with price increases almost daily, that will also stop. We recently drove to Universal and what a delight! It’s more of a drive for us hut we plan to buy Universal annual passes. Bye Disney!
I hate how this debate is all about personal preference. You can’t make everyone happy in a business but recently, Disney seems to care more about themselves than their consumers.
I don’t mind the park reservation system, as I am a planner as well, by here is what happens. You can’t park hop until 2, and you must swipe in your first park. They should let you after two, go wherever with park hopper. Also, don’t charge a cancellation fee for dinner Reservations that I had to make when I booked the vacation. Who knows what happens between the time I book my reservation and the time that Gennie plus decides to change or alter or grow or move or whatever. So what if Gennie puts me day of on a ride at dinner reservation time? Just not eat that day? . What do we do then? Has anyone been in this spot? Well, the higher ups as Disney doesn’t think that is even a possibility. They made no allowances for the guest that actually pay to visits. What a huge mess this has been.
We haved gone to Walt Disney World almost every other year since 1997. Last visit was 2019, and we have no plans to go back with all the changes they have made.
For me, it’s kind of a grey area. I hate having to constantly remember to cancel my reservations when we know we’re not going. But at the same time I have really bad anxiety and having the reservation system takes a huge chunk of the stress out of it because I can get a better feel for which days aren’t going to be as crowded based on my previous experiences and the availability. It also helps me figure out how to best budget my spoons (energy) because I know when we’re going about a month in advance. It also helps that we have magic key passes so we have a little more flexability. But for stress/energy management, the reservation system is great!
Travelling from the UK and spending a considerable amount on my family holiday, only to be dictated to by Disney is no longer for me. I loved the planning aspect and for many years have done just that, but as someone who stays on Disney property I loved the flexibility of being able to stay on the boardwalk and maybe take a stroll through Epcot first thing before going on to another park – Disney has taken this option away now along with fastpass, Dining Plan, free parking at hotels and Magical Express it’s no longer the most magical place on earth for me and is pricing the normal families out of going!
We plan, so theoretically, we are not adversely affected by Reservations. But… We like to grab crepes in the back of France in EPCOT for breakfast, then head into MK a little late. That’s a no-go. Or we elect to stay at Boardwalk, and have to take a bus EVERYWHERE unless we’re slated for early into EPCOT (yes, Skyliner will get us to Hollywood Studios but we can walk from Boardwalk as fast). We do at least one morning in Animal Kingdom but if we’re there for early hours or rope drop, the 2 adults (our kids are grown and gone) are AK’d out well before we can get into another park.
We used to start at a favorite park in the morning, pop over to another mid-day and come back or go to a third objective later. That wasn’t spontaneity, that was planning. As military Disney fans, a trip to Disney is a MISSION, not a vacation, so we’ve planned each and every day. Now, we still preplan but we don’t accomplish as much as we used to.
Park reservations are a bust.