After months of Guests only being allowed to visit one park per day, Park Hopping is returning to the Walt Disney World Resort next year. But how will it really affect how Guests have become accustomed to spending their days at Disney theme parks? Will people take advantage of the modified perk? Is it still worth it after the modifications?
Let’s take a look.
Walt Disney World Modified Park Hopping in 2021
As of January 1, 2021, Park Hopping will be allowed at Disney World again. But Walt Disney World Resort’s modified Park Hopping will still carry its own restrictions. Guests will not be able to enter their second theme park of the day before 2 pm, and the theme parks will still be held to the 35% capacity limit.
Due to the continued limited capacities at each of the four WDW theme parks, Guests will still need to secure a Disney Park Pass reservation for their first park of the day. This means that Guests are not guaranteed a spot in their second park of choice.
For more information on how much a Park Hopper ticket will cost in 2021, click here.
Learn More: Disney Modifies Park Hopping: What We Know for 2021
Benefits of the Park Hopper Coming Back
While Park Hopping will have limitations, like every other aspect of a Disney day currently, there are still some of those old benefits to be experienced. Presumably, this will allow potential Guests the chance to visit their favorite park even if the park pass reservations for that day are taken, as well as allow Guests to choose to eat at more in-park restaurants. For example, you could start your day in Disney’s Hollywood Studios and end your day with a dinner in EPCOT, if capacity allows.
Park Hopping will also allow Guests to extend their days at Walt Disney World, beginning with an 8 am start at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and ending with a 10 pm send-off from EPCOT (which does not open until 11 am most days this season).
What About the Disney Parks Experience Will Change?
Considering the time restraints, we can suspect there will be some experience changes felt by most Walt Disney World Resort visitors. Here are some examples:
- More Disney Park Pass reservations may become completely booked.
- Knowing that there is still a chance to visit your ideal theme park after the Disney Park Passes are booked up, it makes sense that other (perhaps second-choice) Park Passes would be snagged, especially for Annual Passholders. For example, if you want to go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on a January day that is already booked up, you may decide to take advantage of the system and snag a Disney Park Pass for EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, just so you have the chance at getting into DHS by Park Hopping later in the day
- We could finally see a build-up of Guests waiting outside park gates.
- Since its reopening, Walt Disney World has been able to avoid a build-up of Guests at the gates of a park that may be at capacity. However, with Park Passes only necessary for the first park, there is a strong possibility that, later on in the day, Guests may have to stand in line longer to get into their second park of the day, since they will have to wait to enter until capacity allows. We have seen this happen at Downtown Disney, for example.
- Future Park Hoppers should keep in mind, however, that if you do not secure a park pass reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you will not be able to join the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
- Since its reopening, Walt Disney World has been able to avoid a build-up of Guests at the gates of a park that may be at capacity. However, with Park Passes only necessary for the first park, there is a strong possibility that, later on in the day, Guests may have to stand in line longer to get into their second park of the day, since they will have to wait to enter until capacity allows. We have seen this happen at Downtown Disney, for example.
- The majority of Park Hopping may involve Breakfast or Dinner Reservations.
- Whether it is a coveted breakfast at Cinderella’s Royal Table, cocktail hour at Tiffin’s Nomad Lounge, or dinner at Le Cellier, Park Hopping will once again open Guests up to the wonderful world of Disney dining. Considering the hopping limitations and the continued lack of nighttime spectaculars at any theme park, it is likely that reservations at in-park restaurants will be one of — if not the — biggest reasons Disney World Guests decided to Park Hop. It may be likely that those Guests with dining reservations will receive preferred access into the parks, though this is not currently guaranteed.
In the initial announcement, Disney World mentioned that it is very possible that multiple Disney Park Pass reservations will become necessary in order to Park Hop. But as it stands now, that is not the case. We will update our readers if any updates come to light.
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