Disney World Updated Park Pass Reservations. Here's a Helpful Tip!
Here’s a tip for finding Disney World park reservations
You may notice that May and June Park Pass reservations for Walt Disney World just opened up slightly. This is due to a new policy Disney has implemented to help make theme park availability accessible to more people.
Walt Disney World Park Reservations
Has Disney increased park capacity? Not yet, though I think that’s coming soon.
Disney is now sweeping the system of cancelled package reservations.
If you had made a Walt Disney World vacation package and then later cancelled it, your theme park reservations remained in the system unless you manually went in and removed them.
Disney’s reservation system wasn’t yet smart enough to automatically cancel the park reservations along with the package cancellation.
Defunct park reservations were clogging up the system and making the parks appear to be sold out when they actually had availability.
Starting today, Disney will sweep the Park Pass system of all theme park reservations that are attached to cancelled package reservations.
Of course, if you hold tickets without a hotel reservation or have an annual pass, your park reservation will not be cancelled. The sweep only looks for park reservations that are attached to cancelled packages.
If you modify your package dates, Disney will give you 48 hours to change your Park Pass reservations to your new dates. After 24 hours, your park passes will automatically go back into inventory starting at midnight.
Disney World Park Reservation Tip
So we know that midnight is when Disney performs the sweep. If you need a park reservation and can’t get one, check early in the morning to see if any availability has been placed back into inventory. This would be your best chance of finding what you need.
There’s a lot to know about traveling to Walt Disney World these days. This is a great time to book with someone who can help you navigate all the changes and updates.
To get started, click the button below!
For over 12 years Darren Wittko has been helping people save money at Walt Disney World as both, a travel writer and a travel advisor with Magical Vacations Travel. He’s featured in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World as a Best of the Best Disney Travel Agent. Darren resides in Celebration, FL.
Recent Updates
Theme Park Reservations Becoming Limited
Walt Disney World Theme Parks are now reaching capacity.
To help manage attendance after reopening, all guests now have to make a reservation to visit one of the four Walt Disney World Theme Parks. Now more than ever, it’s critically important that you check the availability calendar prior to booking anything that is non-refundable, as the system is beginning to show signs of reaching capacity. One important note, you must use the Walt Disney World website, Park Pass is not available on the My Disney Experience mobile app.
Until now, theme park availability for Disney World hotel guests and day guests hasn’t been an issue. Annual Passholders are having a different experience (but that’s another article).
And for the first time [in forever] I’m now starting to see Park Pass availability reach capacity even for hotel guests and day guests. This is consistent with new bookings on the rise and more people keeping their fall reservations. It appears the tide is turning!
Here’s a look at theme park availability as of today, September 19, 2020. Yellow indicates that some parks have reached capacity. On the live website, you can click on a date to see which parks are still available.
October 2020 availability as of September 19, 2020
November 2020 availability as of September 19, 2020
Annual Pass availability for October 2020, as of September 19, 2020
A strange thing happened after Labor Day: there are noticeably more people in the parks, at a time when crowd levels typically drop off significantly. Wait times for attractions are longer too. 80 minutes for Test Track and 60 minutes for Peter Pan’s Flight are typical now. I think we’re ready to have FastPass again. Restaurants are busier and it’s more difficult to get a last-minute reservation. It seems more and more people are venturing out now.
There are numerous offers available for fall travel to Walt Disney World in 2020. Check them out on the Offers Page
For over 12 years Darren Wittko has been helping people save money at Walt Disney World as both, a travel writer and a travel advisor with Magical Vacations Travel. He’s featured in the Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World as a Best of the Best Disney Travel Agent. Darren resides in Celebration, FL.
More Updates
Many consider Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort the best hotel at Disney World. Here’s why.