On Monday, Disney Parks launched a brand new way to experience the Walt Disney World Resort – the Disney Park Pass system. This process will allow Disney Parks to manage attendance during the parks’ phased reopening period – and for the foreseeable future. During this time, all Guests with valid admission will be required to make a reservation in advance for each park entry, using this new online tool. If you have a trip to Walt Disney World planned for this year or much of next, you’ll want to know how this process works.
So to make park reservations for your trip, you will first need to log in to your My Disney Experience account on the DisneyWorld.com website, with your Disney resort reservation and tickets linked to your account. (If you don’t have an account, you’ll need to set one up.) Note that both your resort reservation AND park tickets must be linked. If you have a Walt Disney World vacation package that includes both hotel and tickets, both will show up when you link your reservation number.
Keep in mind that you will need to make a separate reservation for each date you plan to visit, even with a multi-day ticket. Note also that reservations are limited in capacity, subject to availability and are not guaranteed until confirmed, so it is important to make these reservations as soon as you book your vacation!
Once everything is linked, you’re ready to get started! First visit the Disney Park Pass Reservations page, and click on Make a Disney Park Pass Reservation. When you begin to make a reservation, you’ll be prompted to create your party from your Family & Friends list. Simply select the family and friends from your reservation, then select ‘Continue‘. (Note that if you’re traveling with another family, you’ll need to ‘Add a Guest‘ to include them.
Next you’ll select the date and the theme park that you’d like to visit. To do this:
- Select a Date: View a calendar and choose one of the available dates for your visit. (Note that you’ll want to select ‘Resort Guest‘ or ‘Ticket Holder‘ above the calendar in order to select dates, so be sure to select the correct option otherwise the calendar will be greyed out and you won’t be able to move forward.)
- Select a Theme Park: Park hours will be displayed for your convenience.
- Select a Time: This is the time that you can visit the park. You will only have one choice so click it to move on.
After selecting your date, park and time, you’ll then be ready to finalize your park reservation for that date. Carefully review that everything is how you want it and if you need to make any changes, select ‘Back‘ to revise your selections. To then confirm your park reservation, you’ll need to agree to the Terms & Conditions, including the COVID-19 liability waiver. Be sure to review them carefully to make sure you understand what to expect. Then, select ‘Confirm‘ to complete your park reservation.
And that’s it! If you want to make another park reservation, then select ‘Make Another Reservation‘ to continue planning. Remember that if you have a multi-day ticket, you will be required to make a park reservation for each date of your visit. Each park reservation will appear in the My Plans section of your online account and My Disney Experience app.
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What if you change your mind and want to make changes to your park reservations later? You can just cancel the one(s) you have and then start the process again to select new park day(s).
Now a few additional things you’ll want to keep in mind. First, this is a brand new system, and as would be expected, there have been glitches – and there will probably continue to be for a while. So be patient, and if you can’t get it to work, try again later. Second, at this time, this can only be done on the website and NOT the app. And speaking of the website, as Disney’s sites are often a little “glitchy”, one recommendation I always make is to use the Chrome browser in “Incognito” mode, as that typically yields the best results.
Want to know more about what to expect? This video will answer a few additional questions you may have.
Now – breathe. It will all work out and while it’s certainly a different way to experience the Disney parks, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to be less magical! In fact, I think a bonus will definitely be the lower crowds and shorter/no lines!
Lastly – planning Disney vacations has become increasingly complex and can very easily become overwhelming, even for Disney veterans. Having the help and guidance of a travel professional can make it easier. If having someone to assist you along the way sounds like a good idea, just let me know!
Happy travels!
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