All aboard the Disney World news train! We recently learned some major updates about changes coming to the parks soon, including park passes, hotel perks, and the Disney Dining Plan!
Cinderella Castle
And, while we certainly don’t want to be accused of being greedy — we’re hoping Disney isn’t done dropping major news just yet. The second quarter Walt Disney Company earnings call is scheduled for May 10th, and there’s just one more announcement we’re dreaming Disney will make tomorrow.
During previous earnings calls, we’ve seen announcements for new movies, new park experiences, and more. You never know what kind of news Disney will share! And, given all the news we just recently learned — we’re hoping they decide to share even more. One of the most exciting updates we got yesterday was about Park Pass Reservations.
Hollywood Studios
Disney announced that starting January 9th, 2024, those who purchased date-based tickets will NOT have to make ANY park passes! Not only that, but they’ve also announced they will introduce “Good to Go” days for Annual Passholders and Cast Members.
On “Good To Go” days, these groups can enter the parks without a park pass reservation. These days will be listed on the calendars on Disney’s website and the app, similar to how blockout dates are currently shown. They will be available on a rolling basis.
EPCOT at Disney World
According to Disney, a big reason for these changes is because of YOU. Yep, that’s right. Disney shared that these updates are part of a larger push to “improve the guest experience.” So in this case, Disney has taken some guest comments to heart and made changes. We’re expecting CEO Bob Iger to comment on these recent updates during tomorrow’s earnings call, and we hope he shares even more news.
©Disney
Because, you see, there was a glaring omission from the news about park passes and ticket changes…nothing was mentioned about Park Hopping. Right now in Disney World, if you have park hopping abilities (meaning you purchased the add-on to your ticket or are an Annual Passholder) you must wait until 2PM to hop to another park after scanning into your first.
This change was introduced along with the Park Pass Reservations System as a way to help manage capacity when Disney World reopened after the pandemic-related closures.
Tree of Life
It’s a change that made sense at the time, but many Disney fans have been begging for the time constraint to go away for quite some time now. And, now that these park pass and ticket changes have been revealed, wouldn’t it make sense that park hopping changes would follow?
Keep in mind that this is pure speculation and we have no idea whether or not Disney will announce any updates to the park hopping rules during the earnings call tomorrow.
Main Street, U.S.A. crowds
But we can certainly dream. If Disney no longer needs such strict requirements when it comes to managing capacity in each park, it could be that the same is true for park hopping.
Look at it this way — if an Annual Passholder heads to EPCOT at 9AM on a “Good to Go” Day for breakfast, they still wouldn’t be able to hop to another park like Animal Kingdom until 2PM, even if Animal Kingdom was also an option for passholders that day.
EPCOT
For now, we’ll just have to wait until the earnings call to find out. We’ll be listening to the call so that we can bring you the latest news and updates, so make sure to stay tuned to DFB tomorrow for more!
Disney Just Made 6 MASSIVE Announcements That Will Completely Change Your Trip
Join the DFB Newsletter to get all the breaking news right in your inbox! Click here to Subscribe!
WE KNOW DISNEY.
YOU CAN, TOO.
Oh boy, planning a Disney trip can be quite the adventure, and we totally get it! But fear not, dear friends, we compiled EVERYTHING you need (and the things to avoid!) to plan the ULTIMATE Disney vacation.
Whether you're a rookie or a seasoned pro, our insider tips and tricks will have you exploring the parks like never before. So come along with us, and get planning your most magical vacation ever!
What do you think of these changes? Tell us in the comments.
Our handy (and portable!) ebook guides make sure you get the best deals and can plan a vacation of a lifetime.
Love all the announcements. It’s almost getting back to normal.
Now if they would just get the parking lot trams back to all the parks like they said they were going to.
I’m assuming that there’s an aspect of the park hopping decision that still has to be based on virtual queue availability at both Epcot and MK. As of now, the 200p restriction makes it impossible for anyone who is park hopping to attempt to secure a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy (Epcot) or Tron (MK) at the second VQ drop time of 100p. You have to be in the park where the VQ attraction is at 100p to take advantage of that second drop. At the very least, they’ll need to consider the virtual queue impact if they’re going to relax park hopping.