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Credit: ITM Kelly C.If you are planning a vacation at Walt Disney World Resort this week and you want to go to Magic Kingdom, we hope you have already made those Park Pass Reservations.
Since the Disney World Parks reopened, Guests have had to not only purchase a Disney ticket to enter a Park, but then have been tasked to log onto their My Disney Experience app and make a Disney Park Pass reservation. Without one, Guests will not be allowed to enter any of the Parks at Disney World. The Park Passes have three options and availabilities, depending on which category you fit into.
Regular ticketed Guests, Resort Guests, and Annual Passholders each have their own allotted availability for each Park. As of tomorrow, Magic Kingdom is “at capacity” in terms of Disney Park Passes through to Saturday, with next Sunday, May 15, being the first day that Magic Kingdom is showing as available again.
However, the good news here is that if you have a Park Hopper ticket, you would still be able to hop over to Magic Kingdom after 2:o0 p.m. after scanning into your reservation Park, so long as Magic Kingdom is not at full Guest capacity. Below is just one screenshot of the Disney Park Pass Calendar, which shows the availability for the Parks at the time of this article’s publishing. Click here to see the most up-to-date availabilities.
Recently, we reported on multiple Guests facing issues regarding the Disney Park Pass reservation system. Gone are the days of purchasing a Disney Park ticket and strolling into the Park of your choice; now, reservations must be made on your My Disney Experience.
Although the Parks are crowded, the Parks are still operating under a reduced capacity. At the moment, Disney will not release what that number is, but it is likely in the higher range as shoulder-to-shoulder crowds are back. Guests must still collect and obtain a Disney Park Pass to enter a theme park, and as we noted, those do not seem to be going anywhere soon, as you can currently make Park Passes through to 2024.
Disney CFO Christine McCarthy participated in a Q&A session at the Morgan Stanley’s 2022 Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. At the conference. McCarthy noted a few things that piqued the interest of many Disney fans. Aside from stating that character meet and greets would be returning soon, which we now know to be April 18, she also stated that Park’s capacity would never return to normal.
Related: Disney Family Left Rejected From Parks After Purchasing Tickets
It seems that Disney is “managing things differently now” as they can track how many Guests are expected to be in each Park which assists with crowd management as well as staffing and demand for each day. It seems Disney is doing so to think of the Guest experience as they do “not want to have the parks bursting at the seams”, and by having reduced capacity, Guests can have a more enjoyable time.
The downfall to this is that before, Guests rarely had to deal with an “at capacity” Park, especially if it was not a holiday, but now, Disney Park Passes are flying off the shelves! We recently reported that during one week in March when many students are out of school, Disney is nearly already at full capacity which eliminates the option to visit pretty quickly.
Now, the conversation is continuing as it seems more Guests are having complications when it comes to booking Disney Park Passes. Over the past few weeks, Disney World has been swarmed with Guests as spring break ensues, and with that demand has come many at-capacity days at Walt Disney World.
Although the Disney World website will prompt Guests to make their Disney Park Pass reservations when staying at Walt Disney World, it will not force you to do so, and it seems that some Guests are realizing what they must do too late, after the Park Passes they desire are gone.
If you are booking a vacation and would like to avoid the stress and hassle of making Disney Park Pass reservations and dining reservations, you can easily do so by booking with a travel agent. Click here to get started today.
At Magic Kingdom there is so much to see and do! Cinderella Castle is decked out for the 50th anniversary and now, Festival of Fantasy and Mickey’s Magical Friendship Faire have returned. You can ride the three big mountains: Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain, or calm things down on Peter Pan’s Flight. Rope drop the Park to get on Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and then enjoy a mid-day snack with some Dole Whip. Be sure to meet Mickey Mouse and enjoy the firework show, Disney Enchantment!
What do you think about the Disney Park Pass Reservation System?
Let the expert team at Academy Travel help you plan your next magical vacation to Walt Disney World Resort’s four theme parks — Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios — and the Disney Springs shopping and dining district!