Be Prepared for These Big Disney World Park Pass Surprises

Ah, 2019. What a time.

Magic Kingdom

Disney+ officially launched. Galaxy’s Edge opened in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. You could wake up one morning on a whim and head to the parks without (gasp!) a park pass reservation. Can you even remember a time before park pass reservations? Okay, so you have a Disney World trip planned, and you think by now you understand all there is to know about this system. Before you make the mistake of letting your guard down, we have to warn you of a few things that might surprise you on your visit.

1. The Park Pass System Can Malfunction

No matter how hard we plan, sometimes technology just doesn’t work as smoothly as we want it to. When it comes to park passes, we’ve seen all kinds of dilemmas. Occasionally, we’ve noticed that the website wouldn’t even let us make a reservation in the first place.

©Disney

As happy as we are to see Olaf, trying to score those reservations for our trip and coming up short is no fun. Fortunately, in this scenario, you will be able to call Disney at (407) 939-5277. They can make your reservations for you, but keep in mind, depending on how busy the day is, you might have to wait a long time to talk to someone.

Another time, a glitch happened with the system that wasn’t so easy to fix. On April 25th, 2023, visitors had trouble accessing Virtual Queues, Disney Park Passes, Genie+, AND Individual Lightning Lanes. What a doozy! This error seemed to be linked to the system not registering guests’ park passes, and unfortunately, it prevented visitors from booking their plans for the day for hours.

A glitch in the app

While it did start working eventually, this prevented a lot of people from being able to grab Virtual Queues for the day. Be prepared that if this happens again, you might have a harder time managing your plans for the day.

2. Park Passes Get Replenished

Ok, so you wanted to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on May the Fourth, or Magic Kingdom on Christmas. It’s not uncommon for those reservations to sell out quickly!

Disney World Annual Pass

Even if you plan ahead and make those reservations early, on occasion you miss out and you’re just out of luck. Or are you?

Cinderella Castle

Sure, you could get a park pass for a different park and hop at 2PM. But, Disney can adjust the amount of park passes in each of its parks at any given moment, and we have frequently seen them add more reservations on days that have sold out.

Summer has arrived!

If you had your heart set on a certain park for a specific day and the reservations are all sold out — sure, make backup plans. But, don’t make the mistake of not checking back! You may be surprised to find out you actually can make your first choice work.

3. You Won’t Have as Much Trouble as You Think

Ok, yes, there are definitely days that it is a struggle to get a park pass reservation. We’ve seen passes fill up during Spring Break, new ride openings, and more. But lately, reservations just haven’t been as hard to come by.

Crowds

Recently, we noticed that summer reservations are nowhere near as full as they have been in the past. In May of 2022, park pass reservations were completely gone for the 4th of July in Magic Kingdom. As of the beginning of June this year, July 2023 had complete availability!

Red, White, and Blue!

Combine that with the fact that Disney has been getting more lenient with the park pass reservation system, you might actually be surprised with how little you actually have to worry! We’re not saying don’t be prepared — you should definitely make your reservations when you can, especially on holidays. But, things haven’t been quite as crazy lately.

Hollywood Studios Christmas tree

Have you had any of these surprises happen to you before? Let us know in the comments below. As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest Disney news.

Click here to see what Disney doesn’t want you to know about the Park Pass Reservation System

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