Yesterday, Walt Disney World released a slew of new policies to be implemented throughout the resort and its theme parks upon the reopening.
One of these new policies includes a theme park reservation system, where Guests will need a park ticket as well as a theme park reservation each day in order to visit. Also, it’s important to note that just because you are staying at a hotel on property, does not mean that you will have guaranteed themed park access.
Today, it seems new policy for park hopping has begun circulating among travel agencies. An email has gone out to clients with Virgin Holidays that reads:
“A new park reservation system
When the parks reopen, park attendance will be managed through a new park reservation system.
To enter a park, both a park reservation and valid admission for the same park on the same date is required. Reservations need to be made via My Disney Experience in the coming weeks. You can request one park a day. As customers won’t need to hop between parks, the hopper service is currently suspended.
This reservation applies for all confirmed tickets through 2020, so reserve your parks as early as possible to help plan your itinerary.”
Currently, Disney has not released how this will affect Annual Passholders and their ability to park hop. In fact, Disney has not released any official information regarding park hopping, so it has yet to be confirmed whether this policy will be in effect upon reopening. (So far, travel agencies have been amongst the first to be informed of any operational changes, however.)
Follow along with us at WDWNT as we continue to cover the Disney Parks as they reopen around the world.
Where do you get your information?
Disney.
Hmm … well this comment specifically applies to me, so I’m not trying to say that anything needs to change at all just because it affects me.
As a local who needs excuses to get any kind of exercise at all, by far my favorite solo Disney visit is to park at DHS, enter at or near rope drop time, have a nice stroll around, and maybe enjoy an attraction or two. Then I leave, and walk along the waterway to the Boardwalk area, and into Epcot at or near the rope drop time for World Showcase. After a nice relaxing walk around the lake, I return to the International Gateway. If I have the energy, I walk all the way back to DHS, and if not, I take the boat back. I especially enjoy this during the festivals that have the extra food booths set up, as it gives so many great options for some snacks to add fuel for the return to DHS to get my car.
That said, this is generally the only situation for me where no park hopping will have a negative effect. So I’m totally okay with no park hopping. However, this probably describes a full one third of my solo visits over the past five years, so I would miss it a lot.
This is just more bad news especially for people only staying a few days I have been holding on to my trip in November but no fp and no park hopper may be the straws that push me over to Universal for my entire stay.I understand WDW can’t operate like it did 4 months ago but it is offering such a stripped down experience they would have to pay me to go at this point !
I wonder if I will be refunded for the Hopper part of my ticket that were March dated when we, hopefully, go in October?
If you can’t parkhop, as an AP, I want a, refund on the unused part of my ticket.
“won’t need to” lol
Hooray! I get to spend $200 more to renew my AP than it cost me to buy it in the first place, with absolutely no perks to the AP! It’s cheaper to buy tickets than an AP now, and that has never been the case. I may as well cancel my trip, I’m not spending $1200 to sit on my butt and watch basic cable TV. And they have the audacity to claim that passholders are their most valued customer. They’re Chapek’s for sure, he gobbles up that money. He’s obviously exploiting this COVID fear in a way that makes him the most money, and for that he should be immediately and permanently fired from the company. Disney is no longer in the business of creating magical memories, and that’s a damn shame. I even spoke with a cast member who sounded like a robot reading a script and basically said “Tough luck, you’re spending money.”
I suppose it would be too much to ask for them to refund guests’ Park Hopper options, then. Because money.
So are they refunding the premium paid for the PH ticket?
My july PH hasnt been refunded…just my dining plan. We shall see
The other thing that is frustrating is the fact that communication of the new policies is coming out in drive and drabs with each new communication getting progressively worse.
It’s like amateur hour in their corporate communications department.
I think Disney made the worst decision on not having guests park hop. I walked from DHS to EPCOT in August of 2019, now I won’t do it again thanks to Disney making a bad decision.
Are all these changes only temporary ?
Everything is until further notice.
Yet another horrible business move by Disney? Im so confused. First of all, CDC retracting almost EVERYTHING they said about covid and yet Disney is treating this like anthrax? Just have people sign a binding legal waiver and get back to business exactly like it was on Marc h 15th! extra cleaning and more hand washing/sanitizing stations and move on. Covid isn;t disappearing and next year it will be something else. Sadly i was so excited to get back to my happy place and support all our local servers (we eat at Disney restaurants at least 3-4 times a week) and now i dont wanna go at all. No parades, no meet and greats, no fireworks, no reservations for dining, hot stinky masks and now this. no thanks. Disney who used to be the leader and have some balls has now crippled themselves to the squeaky wheel. Cancelling our kids honeymoon trip for july ($10,000) and spending it over in SeaWorld and international drive.
I am an annual pass holder and have been for years. I check the app and my email daily. I click on the blue links and I dont see anything even relative to making reservations. Everything seems so vauge. Can you tshed some light on where i find the place to make park reservations. I dont want to call them and ask stupid questions. Also I for the first time am making montly payments and mine didnt stop nor did they refund themonth of April? Again can you shed any light on this subject also. I figured the phone lines are buried with calls and I didnt want to be one more person one the phone adking the same question with no answer. I just want my happy place back…
Disney continues to release cryptic – almost belligerent new rules that seem like nothing more than random outbursts. They seem to be a rudderless mess…NOTHING makes sense.
Thanks for the info Alicia. So do you think the statement “This reservation applies for all confirmed tickets through 2020” means that this reservation system is with us for at a minimum the next 6 months?
I saw in another travel agent leak that this reservation system is with us through 2021. If they are putting this much effort into this, it could be the new norm.