One of the most controversial parts of the current Disney World experience could be CHANGING in a big way.
Walt and Mickey
The Park Pass reservation system was introduced after the COVID-19 park closures and has stuck around ever since, gaining lots of praise from various Disney executives but a heavy amount of criticism from Disney fans. Essentially, because of the Park Pass system, a valid ticket is no longer enough to get you into the parks. Instead, if you want to visit a Disney World park on any given day, you’ll need (1) a valid ticket, and (2) a Park Pass reservation for the first park you want to visit. But could the system soon be altered in a way that’ll make guests happier? One Disney executive thinks so.
The Park Pass Controversy
The Harmonious barges (they’re going away!), the ending of the “Happily Ever After” fireworks show (it’s coming back!), and the introduction of PhotoPass automated photo boxes — all of these are controversial changes that have been made in Disney World. But one thing has been an even MORE contentious addition — Park Passes.
Complaints about Park Passes run the gamut. Some are not pleased with the way in which they impact spontaneity and the ability to book a last-minute trip to Disney World. Others feel that they are overly restrictive or are too restrictive on certain types of ticket holders (like Annual Passholders and locals).
Pandora — The World of Avatar
But perhaps the greatest evidence of the Park Pass “problem” are the 2 (not 1, 2!) lawsuits that have been filed related to Park Passes. One version addresses Park Passes and Magic Key holders at Disneyland, while another focuses on Park Passes and Annual Passholders in Disney World.
Both lawsuits make similar allegations — essentially that by keeping the Park Pass system in place, Disney has violated certain agreements with those passholders who got tickets that Disney advertised as having “unlimited access” to the parks. They also claim that Disney has used the Park Pass system to give preferential treatment to single and multi-day ticket holders as opposed to Annual Passholders to make more money.
EPCOT
Still, Disney executives have long sung the praises of Park Passes, insisting that they help balance things out between super fans and families that just travel to Disney once every 5 years, allow guests to have a better experience, and help manage demand. But that doesn’t mean the Park Pass system isn’t subject to changes.
Changes Have Already Been Made
We’ve already seen a number of changes made when it comes to the Park Pass system in Disney World (and Park Hopping at Disneyland too). Back in October of 2022, the system changed in Disney World so that you could book more than 1 ticket type at a time, and so that you could modify the date and park of a Park Pass without having to cancel it first.
Then, in November of 2022, more changes were announced. Disney World’s 1-day, 1-park tickets (which are currently priced differently depending on what park you want to go to) now automatically come with a Park Pass for the park you want to visit.
Dumbo the Flying Elephant
And in January of 2023, a MASSIVE Park Pass change was announced for Disney World. Within the coming months, Annual Passholders will be allowed to enter the parks after 2PM without a reservation. The exception, however, will be Passholders seeking to go to Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays. An official start date for this change has not yet been announced.
And at Disneyland, Park Hopping will begin at 11AM PT (instead of 1PM PT) starting February 4th, 2023. That could give folks several more hours in their second park of choice.
But these changes might only be the beginning!
More Changes Could Be On the Way
In a recent question-and-answer session with Josh D’Amaro, Chairman of Disney Parks, Experiences, and Products, D’Amaro referenced Park Hopping and Park Passes in a way that seemed to indicate that the restrictions aren’t going away any time soon, but Disney is taking steps to change them.
D’Amaro noted that while Park Passes were initially introduced due to caps on attendance after those caps were lifted Disney knew there would still be “some days where there are just too many people.” As D’Amaro put it, he would never run something like Disney’s BoardWalk Inn as an “open invite — first come first served.” There’d be so many guests people would end up sleeping on the floors, making for a less-than-great experience. D’Amaro explained that Park Passes, like hotel reservations, are there to make sure guests have a “better experience.”
Josh D’Amaro, Head of Disney Parks and Resorts
But D’Amaro fully admitted one big problem guests have with the system “You lose some of the serendipity.” So, he said, Disney is “trying to create ease” while also making sure the guest experience is good.
According to D’Amaro, the changes recently announced to the Disney World Passholder requirements are “just the start of changes to Park Passes.”
©Disney via IAAPA Expo 2020 Presentation
D’Amaro shared that there are individuals planning right now on how to improve the process. He shared that they are working to “make that reservation process as easy and flexible” as possible. D’Amaro shared, “Are you going to see more initiatives like you saw last week? I think you will.”
So what could the future hold in terms of Park Pass changes? Perhaps there will be adjustments made to how the system works with Park Hopping, how it further impacts Annual Passholders, or certain other modifications. What modifications would you want to see made? Tell us in the comments!
In the meantime, we’ll keep an eye out for more updates and let you know what we see.
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SeaWorld and Universal seem to run just fine without the reservation park pass system. What’s wrong with Disney?
This is regarding park passes. The change I would like to see take place is the opportunity to park hop more than one park after 2:00. It would be nice to be able to go to a second park earlier and then do at least one more. For people who purchase a park hopper and have to leave early, it does not seem fair that you only can hit a single park in one day.
One item that irks me is how the resorts charge according to which area of the resort you are in. So, at some resorts if you get in the building closer to the food court the cost of the room is higher than the same room in another building farther away from the food court. I just don’t think that’s right. Thanks!
Apparently the lawsuits that have been filed have had impact on management’s decision. They are in damage control.
Why not just do away with the Park Pass system? As a DVC member, I made my dinner reservations, and then decided on which park to go to based on that day’s dinner location (e.g., dinner at the Canadian steakhouse, Epcot was the park that day, dinner at the Hoop-Dee-Doo Revue, Magic Kingdom was the park that day, dinner in Disney Springs, Animal Kingdom was the park that day, dinner at Yachtsman Steakhouse, Hollywood Studios or Epcot was the park that day). I don’t want that day’s park to decide where dinner will be, which might happen if where I was planning to dine could not accommodate me that evening,
Most important comment- the park reservation system would be much more tolerable if they went back to the dining reservations at 180 days. The perfect example, I want to make a reservation for Cinderella’s castle but I have to wait until 60 days before. I am at WDW for 7 days and I make some park reservations so at least we can get into the parks. Now I make try my dining reservation but I can only get it for the days I booked animal kingdom or Epcot…now what. In the old days we made our dining reservations first 180 days ahead of time and then we planned what park to go with what dinner reservation. I live up North and come to WDW faithfully two times a year. Typically I am bringing my nieces or nephews (we are into the grands now since we have been DVC members since 2006). I am bring the youngest of grands this year. I am struggling to get all the special things I want to do with them such as Mickey’s not so scarry and Fantasmic. They also need to bring back the desert part for Fantasmic. I want to do the new Toy Story restaurant with a desert party for reserved seating for Fantasmic. It has gotten so hard to coordinate and plan a “trip of a lifetime” for these kids. Please bring back the 180 days dinning reservations…it will put us on an even playing field with the locals.
D’Amaro
Seriously, are u still on Chapek’s paycheck………..there has been NO MAGICAL EXPERIANCE on PARK PASS. The whole world knows, SCHEDULEING A PARK FOR THE DAY simply means, Disney scheduling employes according to ATTENDANCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Unfortunately the thing that most needs to change is probably the last thing that will change and that is to get rid of park passes once and for all. When you spend over £10,000 on a summer vacation and not be able to be spontaneous and impulsive when deciding your day’s activities . Something seems very off.
What about retired Cast Members? Status
My biggest complaint is we usually stay at boardwalk, we would walk to Epcot, go to France for breakfast, then get on the monorail and head to MK. You can’t do things like that now, and that takes away from certain locations.
I’d like to see annual passes return. Just purchased DVC when they did away with passes. Truthfully, would not have purchased if I knew there wouldn’t be an opportunity to visit multi times a year.
Get rid of the park reservations all together!!!
– Include Genie Plus when staying at a deluxe Disney resort as part of a DVC reservation or direct bookings through Disney (note: I would prefer that they simply get rid of Genie Plus !)
-allow advanced booking of up to 3 rides/attractions per day at the same park (similar to previous “Fast Pass” system). This should allow Disney to monitor park attendence without the need for a reservation.
– allow park hopping at Noon
Get rid of the reservation system!
When we buy a ticket to the parks , we should be able to just go without the hassle or worry of getting in or not getting in.
Disney executives have made life miserable when it comes to an overpriced Disney vacation.
I went many times for many years before the reservation system started and the parks were less crowded with none of the hassle or worries.
Disney should have an independent panel of every day Disney vacationers to help the clueless executives make better decisions for the everyday Disney vacationers.
The executives gave up their heart and the Magic for money in their pockets.
Iger, get off your high horse and make some Magic. You are no better than Chapek. It’s sad because you used to have the Magic in your heart.
Park passes are useful when the parks are at or near capacity. If they are not near capacity, then let us have our flexibility back. Lets say you don’t have a park pass and try to go into a park, if there are passes available, then let us in and automatically assign a park pass upon entry. Regardless if is your first park of the day, or you are hopping, or whatever time of day it is. Not much difference than before. When a park reaches capacity they turn people away, but if you previously booked a pass, you still get in. Seems like this would be the best of both worlds.
As Josh said about the hotel reservations, sure, you want to take reservations, but if there are walk-ups and you have availability, they will rent you a room.
On the park reservation calendar they should show levels of availability instead of just available or not. For instance if a park is within 20% of capacity for a given date show it in red, 50-79% yellow and less than 50% in green.
I would like to see the ability for lower tier passholders to have the ability to go to the parks on days that are blocked out if the parks are expected to be particularly uncrowded.
I don’t think Happily Ever After warrants being included in the examples as ending it wasn’t exactly controversial. To many it was celebrated in hopes of something better, in which Enchantment was.
Get rid of the whole system. It worked before without it,it will work again to everyone’s delight!
I would love to see the end of the 2pm time for park hopping or at the very least, make the time earlier!
We stay at Boardwalk Inn. When going to Magic Kingdom, we like to return on the Monorail & walk thru Epcot, usually before 2 pm. If Park Hopping started at noon, it would be very helpful
I like the change in Disneyland to 11 am for park hopping! I hope Disney World does the same.
Also, it is really annoying to have to check into your first park before you can park hop!! We always stay at Bay Lake area. We sometimes last minute want to go into MK to grab breakfast at Gaston’s or lunch at Casey’s Corner…with the current system can not do that anymore. Sometimes we just want to pop into a park to purchase something we saw the day before. It is difficult do that when you have to go to your first park and check in and wait until 2pm!! All the spontaneity is gone!
We are out of state annual pass holders from New England and stay on property 2-3 times per year. I think that Disney has forgotten about guests like us…and DVC families. We end up spending more money than the guest who only comes once every five years. (We are there several times per year) We like to be able to be more flexible.
Disney tried fixing what wasn’t broken! Disney needs to get rid of park reservations, Genie+, give back the original park hopping, and evening magic hours for all on property guests.
When I make reservations for 10 days with park hopper at a deluxe resort I feel that I should have a little more flexibility to include changing plans to meet my family’s needs and being able to ark hop and eat lunch in a different park. Things were just great before Covid so whyfix something that ent broke.
Park reservations need to go and Disney management needs to listen. NO ONE wants park reservations. Park tickets are no longer Oark Admissions, also, Genie Plus needs to go immediately. Do these two things and you will see happy people!
I agree with Karen’s comments.
We are also out of state Annual Passholders, stay on property between 3-5 times per year and stay at deluxe resorts. We pay premium prices to get the best experience every time we go. We resort hop to accommodate our stays to be in walking distance of the parks.
I would say that we definitely spend a generous amount of money on our trips and I would think that Disney should recognize these people, as well, and add more perks for its loyal customers.
We also kept our annual passes through the pandemic.
First of all we used to have a day like Shelly, not now . Actually we did since 1998. Yes we are dreaded “Disney Adults “ and forever pass holders. It’s no fun , not relaxing , too many hoops and no more out of the bed and into the car for a 2 1/2 hr ride. Don’t know when /if we will be back .
Park hopping needs to go back to normal. Ever stop to think since people are stuck there it makes the parks more crowded with longer lines? The
park reservations are a disgrace to WDW. You realize other theme parks specifically state “no reservations needed”. That’s pretty embarrassing and no one else is embracing the concept.
I forgot something. Why can’t more park pass reservations be made at the same time? If I stay for a week or longer I’m not allowed that many days of park passes. People have already complained about that . Puts a damper on the vacation .
Please let us park hop at anytime! We live in Colorado and visit Disney 6 or 7 times per year for a week at a time! If one park was too crowded, we just went to another park. Now we have to wait until 2😔.
Why not eliminate the reservation system and only sell the volume of tickets that you could allow each day? Once they are sold out, don’t sell anymore.
As someone who has been to Disney several times over the last 20 years with my grandchildren I am so sad that my six year old grandson hasn’t got the same Disneyexperience my 24 year old has had the main thing is COST , DISNEY DINING allowed our children to eat anything they wanted so annoyed it’s gone but not being allowed to just decide and visit whichever park you choose is so frustrating and makes me so cross ! who decides these stupid rules ? doesn’t think about the children Disney is about children’s imaginations and us adults enjoy the same as our children we are going this year and will be our last time I’m not paying for the big guys bonuses at my expense and am not looking forward like I always have to our holiday,😢 too restricted having to book 60 days or 30 days or whatever why can’t you just book restaurants when you book your holiday coming from uk it’s a very expensive holiday you want to be able to do everything I wish I could explain how wonderful Disney is to people who have never been but you have to experience it to know and it’s not like that now it’s about walking around with a phone in your hand booking everything so sad and so gutted as we should have gone to animal kingdom lodge before covid it was all booked with virgin now we have to go to port Orleans cost 6000 pounds more and no Disney dining no fast pass and have to book parks Things are supposed to get better with time DISNEY HASNT we are all gutted 😞
I agree with others that the reservation/park pass system makes planning your vacation even more difficult than it already was. Trying to coordinate dining reservations with park attendance will be almost impossible. It also takes out the spontaneous flexibility of your trip while you are there. Say you wanted to go to MK day 1 but it pours! You can’t go to another park for the day (say HS and do the indoor shows) until after 2pm. You have to make the most of a rainy MK day and that’s that. No switching up your plan. Now because of this I feel like I have to purchase park hopper, even if I may never use it as a failsafe against a situation like this I also think that if they are going to keep Genie pass system, they need to allow you to purchase it in advance of your trip rather than the day of. Of course getting rid of Genie pass all together and going back to fast pass is the best situation.
I just want to buy an Annual Pass again. I’m not a Florida resident, buy when I had an AP, I would book 3-4 trips per year. And YES, I spent a lot of money while I was in WDW. Without the AP, I am only going 1 or 2 days a year & I’m spending less money there in protest of them taking away my AP!!!
Get rid of reservations. Never needed them in the past. We live close by Disneyland and used to just go on a whim for just a short trip or stay all day. Now that can’t happen. Magic Keys should allow that to happen. Like others have said – No other parks require reservations and everything works out. But even worse is Genie Plus. I don’t mind waiting in line for an attraction but when 50+ people go in ahead of every couple of standby people it’s is so sad. As a retired couple, we can’t afford to pay more for what we used to get as a regular Disney guest
All who go to Disney should be treated equal with no special priveledges for annual pass holders!The middle class families want to enjoy it too! We also want to see Disney dining brought back. That for one is keeping a lot of people from coming back!
It would be great as a long time DVC member to be able to buy an annual pass again. The inability to purchase one in recent years has cost me several hundred dollars and hindered me from visiting the parks. Seems odd since I’m a DVC MEMBER and am getting no park benefits whatsoever.
Disney needs to get rid of all of this junk and go back to how it was, and D’Amaro needs to go out the door with with park pass and genie+ and whatever else mess is in place. Hes another leftover chapek minion. Like others have said seaworld and universal run just fine without this mess. People are irked and fed up. Get rid of the problem-makers instituting this stuff and then maybe it would go away.
I think Disney should get rid of the park reservations and genie+. As far as I’m concerned Disney has ruined the magic of coming to Disney anymore because most families are on a timed vacation so they want to be able to go to anyone of the parks and/ or park hop during the time they are there. I’ve quit going because of prices being so high and being nickeled and dimed for everything instead of enjoying the parks.
Where’s the magic of Disney!!!
Leave some form of park reservation in place at least for Disneyland! It got so horribly crowded from local pass holders flooding the parks, especially in the late afternoons and evenings. We were non local pass holders for decades and had decided not to renew before Covid because the crowds were so horrible it wasn’t fun.
As a years’ long annual pass holder I can honestly say I totally dislike the park pass reservation system. I work weekends so I have had the weekday pass (now the Pixie dust pass) for many years. Weekdays were never as crowded as they are now since the park pass system has been implemented. I don’t get Disney trying to even out the crowding with this system. If anything I think it makes the parks too crowded during the week to enjoy. Too many crowds make the Disney “magic” not so magical! I find it to be very stressful. You have made a very enjoyable experience of Disney magic a pain in the butt having to dodge tons of people. Bring back the enjoyable days with no park reservation hassles and also bring back the 180 days to make dining reservations! By the time you try to book dining reservations at only 60 days ahead, it is harder to get the dining reservations you want. The spots fill up too fast at just 60 days. I loved the old Disney World. Bring the magic back! I live in Florida and go there quite often. I love Disney, but dislike all the new changes. Also, BRING BACK THE FAST PASS!!!
Disneyworld opened in 1971. Each park as it was built had a capacity limit. Theses limits were adhered to for the last almost 49 years. Then the pandemic hit and closed the parks. When thy opened there were stricter limits on capacity and then came the park passes. All the free things went away to be replaced with pay for . We now pay for transportation to and from the resorts, fast passes and everything thing else that was free. We no longer have spontinaity due to park hopper having a time limit. The 50th Anniversary was 17 months long with more money being charged for everything and you cannot go through your time in the parks without being on your phone constantly. No MAGIC LEFT. For 49 years there were no park passes or timed park hoping. Josh and Bob you need to get rid of these things because they are not making for a better experience they are hampering the experience and making everyone think twice about vacationing at Disney.
If it’s good enough to renew annual passes, it should be good enough to sell them again. Universal has a great deal on annual passes and without park reservations required. Surely DisneyWorld could at least match that? As far as Genie plus, we never used it anyway and we’ve seen all the new rides. Why pay extra after you already purchased a ticket to the park? Terminate the useless park pass system and Genie Plus surcharges. Save those items for the Management that seems to be the only entity that loves them!
Bob Jackson, same here. We run into the same thing. DVC as well, and we book meals far in advance (as early as we can). We were just in the World for a month, and It was very difficult balancing being in a park with a dinner reservation at another park. We were there over Christmas — we wanted to get into one park in the morning but if we were having dinner in another park, we didn’t want to get “shut out.” 🙁
The Park Pass Reservation and the 60 Day Dining Reservations were both implemented for the same reason. Disney is short cast members to save money. When cast members are needed in a busy park, they are moved from another park that is less busy. When Disney needs restaurant staff in a busy restaurant, they are moved from a less busy restaurant. This is also why rides are shut down for longer periods of time. There are fewer repair workers employed. Our Disney experience is more expensive and less convenient.
I guess my biggest question is, why wasn’t this a problem before Covid? The parks only ever hit capacity three, four times a year at most before. What is the actual capacity number? I would love to know what the number that caused them to close admission before Covid, and what that number is now. I find it hard to believe they get close to those numbers all year long since reopening. If they are looking at long wait times for rides, that is 100% due to the lighting lanes. I believe that Disney has seen a way to get more money from less customers. And I’m referring to AP holders. The cost went up, they took away free FP, and now restrict the amount that can come in one day. Regardless of the fine print, an AP means you perpaid to come to the park whenever you want. This is still because of Chapek saying they want more people there that pay the maximum amount of money to be there. Meaning people paying at the gate to get in. Hopefully some day, and soon, Disney will realize that AP holders spend more money though out the year, then the guests who come once every three or four years. And also that it’s the lighting lanes that are making wait times long….
It is plain to read here, either only the complainers complain, or everyone is universally in agreement that the pass system is not well received. Realistically, it is only a way for Disney to control the crowds and improve effeciency to improve the bottom line. Iger was much more of a money man than Eisner was. How about a day pass that gets you into the park for shopping and dining but with no attractions. I would buy one.
Disney should just admit that now that COVID restrictions are over, the park pass reservation system is no longer needed. They save face and the guests are happier.
As a DVC member, they won’t sell annual passes anymore to out of state residents so we now drive instead of fly most of the time when we go to Disney World and eat outside the park a lot more than we did before. This is due to the fact that we would spend a ton of money on food at Disney World when we were annual pass holders but now that they have taken that away, we feel more compelled to spend our money outside of the park. We owe Disney nothing if they can’t understand how much money DVC members spend when in the parks. Please bring back annual passes for all!!!
Bring back any time Park Hopping .
I keep reading where executives at Disney say passholders do not spend the kind of money one does when coming once every so many years for a week. I am a passholder and even if I spend your week of monies in a year, I do it for every year. I spend to eat, drink and buy what I love. I collect Disney. If every passholder quit going for a year, would Disney make a profit? No, passholders keep the money coming in every day after day and year after year. Passholders are essential.