Walt Disney World Resort may still have plenty of magic, but it doesn’t look quite the same as it did in the early months of 2020 before the ongoing pandemic ravaged theme parks — and nearly all other industries — around the world.

In addition to mandatory face masks, social distancing protocols, and no traditional character meet-and-greets, Disney World Guests can no longer go Park Hopping (meaning, they cannot visit multiple parks in a single day with a Park Hopper ticket or Annual Pass). No more four-parks-one-day challenges for the time being.

It also means some frustration for Guests who liked to spend the day in one park but have dinner in another. As Disney World fans begin to plan upcoming trips in 2021 and beyond, one question looms large: When will Disney Park Hopper tickets be returning?

Here’s what we know so far.

The Disney Park Pass system is in place through January 2022.

Disney has confirmed that they will be using the Disney Park Pass reservation system into January 2022. It is important to note that Walt Disney Company officials have not confirmed if the system will be used past that date. But for trips booked from now through all of 2021, Guests need to make theme park reservations in advance of their arrival.

At this time, Park Pass is used to ensure that Disney World Guests are able to secure entry to just one theme park — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom — per day.

It is possible that Disney will somehow adjust this system to bring the Park Hopper ticket option back before the Disney Park Pass requirement goes away or becomes a permanent fixture for Disney Guests.

At this time, we do not know if reservations will become part of the Disney World experience long-term or not. But it appears as though Disney is prepared to have it in place for the time being.

Disney has stated Park Hopper tickets will return.

If you are worried that Park Pass automatically means no park hopping, don’t fret. Disney already has a plan in-place.

Upon confirming the suspension of Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus tickets earlier this year, Walt Disney World released this statement:

Please note, park reservations are limited in number and subject to availability. Availability can change until the reservation is finalized. At this time, guests will be able to select one park per day; visiting more than one park per day will be temporarily unavailable upon the reopening of the theme parks due to attendance limitations.

Guests with existing tickets that include the Park Hopper Option or Park Hopper Plus Option have options available to them for ticket modifications and cancellations, and can visit DisneyWorld.com/Updates for more information.

We hope to bring back the ability to visit more than one park per day soon and will continue to offer these add-ons for 2021 ticket purchases.

Park Hopping may return as early as March 7, 2021.

Currently, the Walt Disney World Resort website states that the “Water Park and Sports option will be available for travel beginning on March 7, 2021.”

This Disney ticket upgrade allows Guests to:

Visit one theme park per day, plus enjoy a certain number of visits to a water park or other Walt Disney World fun. A 1-day ticket allows one visit, a 3-day ticket allows 3 visits and a 4-day ticket allows 4 visits. For each visit, you can choose one of the following:

• Disney’s Blizzard Beach water park

• Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon water park

• NBA Experience

• ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex

• Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course

• Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course – FootGolf 

• Disney’s Fantasia Gardens Miniature Golf Course

• Disney’s Winter Summerland Miniature Golf Course

The Park Hopper Plus ticket upgrade option also indicates it will “be available for travel beginning on March 7, 2021.”

This ticket option allows Guests to:

It is important to note that we already know one of Disney World’s two water parks — Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon — will be reopening in March 2021. Since both the Water and Sports option and the Park Hopper Plus option allow Guests to visit water parks, that may be why March 7, 2021 is listed as their availability date.

The standard Park Hopper ticket does not list March 7, 2021 as the date on which it will return. At this time, Disney has not made an official announcement (as they normally do via Disney Parks Blog or the Experience Updates page of the WDW website) regarding an exact water park reopening date or availability Park Hopper tickets.

So, what does all this mean?

While planning an upcoming vacation and inquiring about ticket options, we spoke with a Disney World Guest Services representative who indicated that Disney Parks officials anticipate that park hopping may return in 2021 — again, though, no exact date has been confirmed —  so these tickets are still available for purchase for arrivals next year.

This means a Guest can either buy a Park Hopper or Park Hopper Plus ticket and be required to downgrade to a standard ticket if Park Hopper tickets have not returned by the Guest’s vacation date. Alternatively, a Guest can purchase standard tickets and opt to upgrade in the event that Park Hopper and Park Hopper Plus ticket have returned.

The latter option is likely easiest in most cases, especially since not all Disney vacationers will want to upgrade to be able to visit multiple parks per day. It also allows Guests the assurance that they will not have to adjust their tickets or inquire with Disney directly, should park hopping not return by the date of their vacation.

Remember, Disney still hasn’t announced exactly when park hopping will be allowed again or when Disney World Park Hopper tickets will return — though many signs point to next year. Note that as soon as we have more news from Disney regarding park hopping, we will update our website.

Sign up for Inside the Magic’s newsletter so you’ll be the first to know when Park Hopping is back! 

Let the Authorized Disney Vacation Planners at Academy Travel help you plan every magical detail of your next Walt Disney World Resort trip. From choosing a Disney Resort Hotel to navigating the Park Pass and dining reservation systems, they are here to take the stress out of vacation planning at no extra charge!

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