Last month, Disney announced 3 BIG Changes Coming to Walt Disney World to Improve Guest Experience & Value. One of those is that Annual Passholders will be able to enter the parks after 2 pm without needing to make a reservation, with some exceptions. We now have more details about this and share those along with Park Pass commentary here.
Already in the last two months, the Disney Park Pass system has changed significantly. Back in December, Walt Disney World stopped requiring reservations for single-day tickets. With these tickets being both date-based and now park-specific, reservations would be redundant. As such, Walt Disney World’s system automatically makes a reservation for that ticket type.
However, that change was only for visitors who purchase 1-day, 1-park tickets. That’s a big chunk of guests, but probably not most people reading this. The vast majority of other guests will continue to make theme park reservations. As before, Annual Passholders, Park Hoppers, and multi-day tickets still need to make reservations. As of early 2023, there have been no changes to the Disney Park Pass system for these ticket types yet. But that’s about to change.
Beginning April 18, 2023, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will be able to visit the theme parks after 2 pm without needing a Disney Park Pass reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom. All Annual Pass blockout dates will continue to apply (h/t Scott Gustin).
Visiting any park before 2 pm will continue to require a Disney Park Pass reservation, as is the case currently. Moreover, Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom will work the same way as now–Annual Passholders can still visit Magic Kingdom on weekends after 2 pm if you have a park reservation (and have entered) a different park.
The timing of this change is unsurprising if you’ve read our 2023 Spring Break Crowd Calendar for Walt Disney World. Spoiler: that’s the day after the popular school break season ends and shoulder season starts. That’s why it’s also the date we previously identified as the most likely time for Annual Passes to return. (I’m guessing Walt Disney World won’t make this change and reintroduce APs on the same day, so now you might have to wait a bit longer for that to happen.)
What’s unclear to me, and what this announcement does not resolve, is whether you could enter EPCOT without a reservation at 2:01 pm on a Saturday, immediately exit and take the monorail to Magic Kingdom, and enter that park without a reservation. The verbiage of the announcement (“and” instead of “or”) suggests this would not work, but I’m skeptical. Currently, tapping into one park is what “unlocks” the others in Walt Disney World’s system.
Another unknown is whether Annual Passholders planning after 2 pm visits will still be able to purchase Genie+ in the morning and “stack” Lightning Lane reservations for their afternoon arrival. Likewise, will they be able to join the virtual queue for Cosmic Rewind (assuming it still exists) or TRON Lightcycle Run if it’s still available when they enter after 2 pm.
My guess is that the answer to all of these questions is “yes.” Of course, this assumes there’s an internal logic to everything and Disney IT follows clearly-defined rules…rather than being a patchwork of systems that make little sense, frequently conflict with one another, and are basically held together by duct tape. (I’ve inquired about all of this and am awaiting a response–I’ll update accordingly when I have it.)
As we’ve previously discussed, this relaxation of Disney Park Pass policies for Annual Passholders is one of many changes we’re expecting this year. Frankly, I’m surprised this is happening before changes for multi-day ticket holders and Park Hoppers, but Annual Passholders have been quite vocal in their complaints. I guess let this be an example: the squeaky wheel gets the grease!
There’s a very good chance that something similar to the prior changes for 1-day, 1-park tickets will occur before Summer 2023 for multi-day tickets. The expectation is that reservations will be integrated into the buying flow for those tickets, or be dropped entirely. After that point, it’s likely reservations are only an issue for Cast Members and Annual Passholders without an on-site resort stay. As for when that’ll happen is anyone’s guess–I’ve been told repeatedly that this was just around the corner for well over a year. I’m not holding my breath at this point.
Don’t get too excited about the relaxation of reservation rules for Annual Passholders occurring first. As we’ve indicated repeatedly, the most likely long-term scenario is that Disney Park Pass is here to stay for Cast Members and Annual Passholders in some capacity, but will be eliminated entirely or at least integrated into tickets for everyone else. Josh D’Amaro was at Disneyland when the Flex Pass debuted there, and was reportedly an advocate for the reservation system for Cast Members.
Retaining reservations for APs and CMs gives Disney control over the attendance mix, and allows the company to prioritize tourists who spend more per visit on average. Although Disney wants Annual Passholders and Cast Members to visit–and spend money–when there’s excess capacity, the circumstances are different when the parks are busier.
It thus makes sense that Walt Disney World would want to prioritize resort guests and other tourists and not fill the parks with Annual Passholders at the expense of more lucrative vacationers during busier dates. Hence the compromise of no reservations after 2 pm most days for APs. That’s also why we do not expect park reservations to be retired for Annual Passes in 2023. (Perhaps a super-expensive ‘no-reservations’ AP will be introduced, but even that is doubtful.)
At this point, the only parks that are regularly running out of reservations are Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios. This had been occurring on many days regardless of wait times, with both parks unavailable on occasion with 7/10 or lower crowd levels last fall. This meant that Walt Disney World was using reservations to redistribute attendance on those days, rather than actually running out of reservations.
Thankfully, this is happening less and less. It occurred again for the week of Presidents’ Day and Mardi Gras, but that’s actually more about anticipated crowd levels being high than it is Walt Disney World trying to artificially manipulate attendance dynamics. Here’s hoping the company found that approach backfired, and has eased up on it.
Using park reservations to redistribute attendance by limiting availability at Magic Kingdom pushes people towards Animal Kingdom and EPCOT to increase the utilization of those parks and normalize numbers across all four parks. This is an instance of the infamous “yield management” approach discussed by executives on earnings calls and in interviews. There actually are benefits to this approach, including making for a more pleasant guest experience and easing staffing shortages.
However, there are also downsides to this approach for Disney. If someone is traveling to Florida and wants their kids to experience Walt Disney World, they probably will not going to be satisfied if only EPCOT or Animal Kingdom are available. Rather than make reservations to those two parks, some guests will choose not to buy tickets at all and simply not visit Disney if they cannot do Magic Kingdom. (For many causal visitors, Magic Kingdom is synonymous with Disney; EPCOT and the rest are not a comparable substitute.)
Beyond this, Walt Disney World continues to operate at a somewhat reduced capacity, although that improves with each passing month. This might come as a surprise to anyone who has visited in the last several months, especially on dates when wait times hit their highest levels in two years.
However, the larger crowds are a byproduct of staffing shortages, plus less to do and less time to do it, which consolidate crowds. In a nutshell, if certain entertainment and experiences are missing or the parks are unable to operate for as many hours as normal, overall park capacity decreases. Wait times are longer even though overall attendance is (significantly) lower because more guests are consolidated into fewer options.
Since debuting the Park Pass system, Walt Disney World has quietly extended the reservation calendar on a number of occasions. It was originally going to end the week before Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. That was undoubtedly strategic, as that was the company’s target date for operational normalcy back when the parks reopened.
Obviously, that did not happen. With the subsequent release of 2023 Walt Disney World vacation packages, the Park Pass calendar was extended again. Currently, it runs until January 18, 2024. This doesn’t mean it’ll continue until then, nor does it mean it’ll stop then. Our expectation is that it’ll be in use for Annual Passes long after that date, and will end for guests using regular tickets well before then.
Ultimately, removing reservations for Annual Passholders after 2 pm–with the exception of Magic Kingdom on the weekends–is a step in the right direction. One of the big complaints from locals is that Disney Park Pass eliminated spontaneity and the ability to “drop in” to the parks after work or school.
This effectively eliminates that complaint. It’ll once again be easy for local Annual Passholders to do an after 4 pm visit to EPCOT to graze the food booths, catch a late showing of Fantasmic, or do a late night in Magic Kingdom when the weather is nice. All of those are concrete examples of things that are actually popular with APs, and that they haven’t been able to do up until now with pre-planning. Bringing back that spontaneity is a good thing. Sure, it doesn’t help non-local Annual Passholders who still have to choreograph every day of their vacation with reservations…but it’s a start. (Beyond the scope of this post, but there’s a reason why Disney does not favor non-local APs!)
It’s still our expectation that Walt Disney World will drop reservations sometime in 2023 for regular ticket holders or the system will be rolled into the process of purchasing tickets. As things continue returning to normal, there will be less need from a capacity perspective for Disney Park Pass for regular multi-day tickets.
From a resource allocation perspective, the reservation system already offers little advantage over what already exists–it’s just extra friction in an already complicated vacation planning process. With that said, Walt Disney World has been way more conservative during the last few years than we would’ve expected. With more guest feedback and increased staffing to facilitate more reopening, we can’t help but wonder if that approach changes. What Disney has done thus far has achieved mixed results, but staying the current course until after Spring Break 2023 does make sense.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
How do you feel about Walt Disney World mostly dropping reservations after 2 pm for Annual Passholders? If you’re an AP, does this change give you enough freedom and spontaneity, or is it still not enough? Do you expect the Disney Park Pass reservation system to be retired at some point, or continue forever? Think Walt Disney World regrets requiring resort guests and theme park ticket holders to use Park Pass? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
