Major overhaul of Disney Park Pass reservations and Park Hopping coming to Walt Disney World in the new year

Nov 24, 2022 in "MyMagic+"

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Posted: Thursday November 24, 2022 9:38am ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

The hugely unpopular Disney Park Pass reservation system will be undergoing a major overhaul for launch in early 2023 at Walt Disney World.

Many guests will no longer need a Park Pass reservation

Based on significant push-back from guests on the current reservation system, much of the existing Disney Park Pass system will be removed and simplified, providing guests with an experience closer to pre-pandemic conditions.

Park hopping will return for date-based tickets at any time and will no longer be restricted to 2pm. Annual Passholders will still be restricted but will likely be able to park hop earlier than the current 2pm limit.

Date-based Walt Disney World theme park tickets will no longer require a Park Pass reservation, with park entry secured upon purchasing the ticket. Annual Passholders will still need a reservation, at least initially.

Most guests will be able to park hop at anytime

Disney introduced Park Pass as a way to control attendance and labor, and these changes in early 2023 may at first appear to be reducing Disney's operational control. However, the new system will control attendance by limiting ticket sales for a given day rather than selling an unlimited number of tickets and restricting access via a Park Pass.

These changes have been in the works for the last few months, and although the system is nearly ready, we understand it will not debut until early 2023, most likely in January.

Although new CEO Bob Iger did not direct these changes, the timing will undoubtedly help Iger as he begins efforts to restore Disney's reputation among guests and its most loyal fans.

Disney is yet to announce the changes, and as always, information should be treated as speculation until officially confirmed.

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Tuvalu3 days ago

Agree.

Dr.GrantSeeker3 days ago

Definitely agree about onsite APs. But at this point it needs to just be 100% completely dropped for all remaining ticket types that require reservations. There is absolutely no need and I can't imagine that the number of APs going into the parks with reservations on a daily basis is really helping Disney staff accordingly compared to the number of other ticket types going in and out of the parks without reservations.

Tuvalu3 days ago

Those using military or group tickets also have to make park reservations. I am in 100% agreement that APs staying on sight should not need to make park reservations. It annoys me to no end….

Disstevefan13 days ago

Well if they see a large enough drop in per capita spending in the parks, maybe they will drop the PPRs for APs

Vacationeer3 days ago

At absolute minimum, park reservations for APs staying onsite should be removed. After spending crazy money on multi-day tickets the past several years (25 month span - individual cost breakdown over $3.5k for ticket, hopper, share of memory maker), to finally finding a good opportunity to buy APs again, but now getting smacked with being the only group left needing park reservations, when every trip we stay onsite too. There’s gotta be a better way to make it feel less done dirty 😆 I prefer happily parting with money. They used to have much greater finesse in that department.

DCBaker3 days ago

3 more Annual Passholder good-to-go days have been added to the calendar: August 6, 7, 11.

Brian10 days ago

The MEP holders are the ultimate undesirables. They're also included in the GTG days.

Jrb197910 days ago

It's more like we can't fill the parks those days so the unfavorables can come visit

Brian10 days ago

Insert 'requisite rant about reservations and the way it used to be' here.

Fido Chuckwagon10 days ago

Huzzah!

DCBaker10 days ago

Disney has added more Annual Passholder good-to-go days in July and August: July: 22, 27, 31 August: 4

Fido Chuckwagon21 days ago

Incredipass can only hold 5 at a time when staying offsite.

Fido Chuckwagon21 days ago

I say this as someone who travels to WDW during Christmas & Easter: Just scrap park reservations except for Thanksgiving Week, Christmas Week, and Easter Week. They are clearly not needed at any other time now since they're always available and they're just an added annoyance with no benefit to anyone, including Disney at this point. Or, if you **must** use park reservations because you want to have an idea of where your AP's who don't buy LL will be (even though they can easily change their mind at the last minute anyway), then still require park reservations, but just don't cap the number than an AP can make.