Disney Reportedly Ending Park Passes at Disney World, But It's Bad News For Passholders

Comments for Disney Reportedly Ending Park Passes at Disney World, But It’s Bad News For Passholders

Entrance to Walt Disney World, where a Disney World summer is becoming a thing of the past.

Credit: Disney

73 Comments

  1. Charles Pryor

    Do you have an inside scoop on Iger’s thoughts and plans?

    1. JPM

      I don’t mind the reservations that much. It’s the lightning lane system that’s BS.

      1. Mindy

        Agreed. If they got rid of that (at least the cost) and allowed us to hop no matter the time of day, I could deal with the reservation aspect of it.

  2. Christy Miller

    Will removing the reservation park passes bring on heavier crowds at the parks Especially Magic Kingdom? I understand from what I read that the crowds are ludicrous. If it creates more chaotic crowds and longer wait times then I say no!

    1. Steve

      It is about purposely creating crowds. They use this to reduce staffing to a minimum and keep lines long so they can sell line cuts.

      1. Carol D

        I’m done with the parks. I can’t stand in line for hours with a child in tow just to ride 1 ride. As a senior, I decided between the crowds (aka longer lines) & the prices, Disney is not worth it anymore. The magic is gone for me. That makes me so sad, esp. when I now have a 5 yr old grandchild. We used to be Disney fanatics. 🙁

        1. Joe

          As a DVC member who let our AP laps during Covid and then having them stop selling AP’s all together really upsets me. I would like to see AP’s come back for DVC members.

      2. Connie

        I’m glad I’m not the only one who has made this claim. Disney has for a very long time “corralled” people to where they want them, condensing staff and creating demand artificially.

    2. Jo

      The crowds are insane because they are not open to full capacity and have not been since before the lockdown. Chapek has proven people are willing to pay anything they are asked to pay and will continue to go to the parks, so why should any prices be reduced or capacities increased?

  3. Dennis

    The reservation system is no longer necessary; Disney should cancel the annoying and outdated COVID era reservation system.

    1. Vk2469

      Absolutely

  4. Steve

    Passholders get shafted. Again.

    1. Peggy

      Wish they would put them back on sale. I am expecting once the 50 th thing is fine they will calm down. They are marketing that very well. Everyday several times a day on hallmark channel

  5. Peggy

    The parks are always crowded during the holidays even with park pass. So getting ride if park pass makes better sense for ticket holders. If it’s too crowded you can head to a less crowded park that day . I would like the annual pass they won’t sell to DVC members out of state. And as handicap family we had to give ours up during the pandemic

    1. Peggy

      That rid of. Stupid autocorrect

  6. Debra

    The park reservations system completely ruins our vacation. No room for any spontaneity. I say get rid of it. My only concern is we are annual Passholders and DVC members. We’re not local to Florida so going on a whim is not possible for us. Will Passholders with hotel reservations (in a way date based) still be subject to needing reservations.

  7. d

    Didn’t make sense to get the ticket for the park you are going that day, have to down-load the app, make a reservation then walk to the gate you are standing in front of to get in. They wouldn’t sell tickets for that park if they knew it was sold out for the day. And please, get rid of the reservations for pass-holders. It doesn’t make sense anymore. I’ve been a passholder for over 30 years.

  8. Kenneth T. Boyer

    Yes they should be removed.

  9. Beverly

    I like the park pass system. Limits the crowds to a point and that’s a definite plus. Planning isn’t a bad thing

    1. Steve

      That is a literal lie. It has nothing to do with crowds.

  10. Pat Stansell

    Yes by all means. People don’t like having to pick park day. They want to choose on how they feel. Now on to bringing back dining plan, people are waiting.

    1. Kat

      This won’t change anything for people who don’t have a ticket for a specific park on a specific date, if it is true.

    2. Senna

      I don’t understand the love for the dining plan, unless you’re wealthy. We always spent FAR LESS by not doing the dining plan. Saved money every time. Is there something I am missing?

      1. Steve

        The only thing I am missing is why Disney canceled that lucrative scam. Dining plan was always a money pit.

      2. Jo

        For you maybe, but there is no reason to disrespect someone who actually found benefit in the DP.

  11. Sara

    You are so correct. Fast passes worked.

  12. Julie PC

    Back to the good old days wherein park reservations are not needed as long as you have a park ticket & we get free fast passes. So many restrictions nowadays that it’s no longer fun to go to Disney.

  13. Marie

    Revert back to how DW was pre PLANdemic including fastpass and drop all prices. Just those simple moves will make a lot of people happier.

  14. Steve

    I am done with disney parks. It uses to be great to stay at the Swan, catch the boat, or walk over to epcot. Walk around a bit, then catch the monorail over to the MK (road in the front with the driver a couple of times). Park hopping was an important part of our experience. Iger is not going to change anything regarding reservations and the ability to just say “let’s go to Disney” is never coming back. Iger is responsible for the mess that is now an open air mall known as Disney Springs with too much non disney merch.

  15. Stan

    I went 3 times during covid the park pass did nothing to control crowds it was like a normal day at Disney long lines at every ride it was a mob scene I gave up my annual pass not worth the money or wait anymore

  16. Jean

    Making a reservation isn’t a big deal. Making way to big of an issue over nothing

    1. LL

      You are so correct. Reservations don’t take away anyone’s spontaneity. If you want to wait until your visit to WDW to decide which park to visit, do so. If it’s reached capacity you only have yourself to blame. Park pass users have lost nothing. The reservation system allows every visitor to plan their vacation out. I personally like it because I can gauge where the crowd levels will be (and try to avoid them). Also, unless I’ve locked myself into a particular park then I wouldn’t be able to make dining reservations. Those are harder to get now than a ride reservation.
      If Disney hadn’t raised prices at the park as a means of making up for lost revenue with film and streaming media I believe a lot more peeps would be happy the other changes, such as park reservations. There’s no excuse for their inflated ticket prices. A reservation doesn’t hit you in the wallet. Why make such a big deal?

      1. Sarina

        It is a big deal as no one can be spontaneous and say hey let’s go watch fireworks tonight at Disney and head over. Reservations are not always available. You obviously are not a Fl resident or use your pass spontaneously over the years as many Fl residents have in past. Just because it’s not personal or doesn’t affects you doesn’t mean it is that way with everyone. Not everyone sees the world through your looking glass

        1. Senna

          It would be nice though if the APers could take a moment and understand the vacationer. We fly in and drop 15K total for a week in WDW. I’m totally fine with all the preplanning and purchasing extra things to stand in line less. As an AP you can just come back, we can’t.

          1. Steve

            We can just come back when, exactly? When you tourists decide you don’t need to jam up the place? Oh how gracious of you.

          2. Jo

            Wow. Where do you live so we can fly to your hometown, drop $15k and tell you to wait behind us because we spent more money than you?

  17. David Rogers

    Thanks to Covid, the epidemic of control, Disney found a way to cut operating costs by reducing the number of employees, and customers while maintaining profits. They do this by raising prices and selling “line cutting privileges” and causing chaos in the parks. The number of fights amongst patrons is proof of this. I and my wife were annual pass holders for almost 30 years and loved going to the parks. We “cashed in” our passes when the park started with the Covid (control) crap
    Disney is no longer a good place to go, and I doubt it will ever go back to the way it was. Goodbye Disney and hello Universal Studios. We will spend our money where we can enjoy ourselves.

    1. Art

      Are the parks really that crowded or are the attractions being run at a diminished capacity that causes long lines spilling people out into the streets? I only ask because the photos/videos look like heavy attendance levels but pre-Covid parks were only closed 2 or 3 times a day when attendance hit 90,000. It usually got to the 93,000 levels by the time they realized the limit had been hit and the word got back to parking gates to start turning cars around. Is the problem really a maintenance or staffing problem?

    2. COVIDGuy

      My friends who died were killed by COVID, not “control”.

  18. Karin

    As a Florida resident I would like the resident annual. Used to go whenever we felt like it. For 20 years. It was a great value.

  19. Karin

    Resident annual passes are well worth it. We moved to Florida 20 years ago and went to the parks a lot. Now with reservations it’s not spontaneous any more. I don’t want to make an appointment from have fun

  20. Elaine

    I live 35 min from disney world. I have zero problem making a park reservation. Sometimes I do it the same
    day. Holidays I am usually blocked anyway so I don’t care. I go weekly and always get some park to go to. It takes a few seconds and you are done

  21. Sarina

    If passes come to an end for Fl residents they will lose a lot of business. No one can afford Disney prices. We will just move on to bush gardens and universal. It’s sad. Walt would turn over in his grave if he knew what they’ve done to the park. He wanted it to be profitable but a park for families. Now it’s all about the money and if families can’t afford it oh well their bonuses and profit is more important. That’s ok. This is Florida. There’s other places to go more affordable if they take away our passes. Good luck

    1. Gina

      Honestly I don’t think they need the Florida passholders for profit anymore. They could free the space for more profitable guests.

      1. Steve

        What happens when Tue entitled tourists don’t come?

  22. Teressa

    They need to bring back the shows also. Those helped cut down on some of the lines. When I went it was just rides. Crazy long. The magic was not there. You need some other types of entertainment along with the rides. Reservations for dining is insane. Plus I used to love spending the day in one park and easily moving to another for dinner. 😥. Bring back the magic.

    1. DisneyLocal

      You can still go to another park for dinner. Park hopping starts at 2pm each day.

  23. Patty

    It should be like it was years ago, if I want to go to Animal Kingdom during the day and then later go to epcot to explore the countries. I prefer to plan on mood and kids moods as to what park we should visit

  24. Lisa

    YES! Undo everything chapek did that makes time in the parks seem stressful! Disney vacay is supposed to be a form of spontaneous fun, complete escapism. All the rules and nickle and diming chapek implemented have brought a bad MOJO and removed the magic completely. We’re planning a 2023 trip now and are stoked for Iger to restore the fun and morale for us, the customer. Bring back free fast passes, Disney dining plans, dining reservations 90 days in advance for resort guests, 1 hour extra magic hours, NOT 30 minutes, FULL character dining at all the usual places,cut the park pass reservation crap, restore free bus transportation to/from the airport, restore room service at ALL deluxe hotels (we pay enough for it!!), make magic bands free again for resort guests, geez I could go on for days! We’re counting on you Iger!! Glad you’re back!!!

  25. Tricia

    I have been a Passholder for 20years. I go 3-4 times a year. I don’t think the problem is with the Passholder, it’s the local Passholder who were going every weekend and flooding the parks, taking up all the fast passes and working the system. I don’t mind following the rules and paying for the passes if I get my monies worth because I live in Florida and plan to go a few times a year, but I have a life outside of Disney. I wish they would control the adults who are Disney obsessed and bring back the Family atmosphere.

    1. Sara

      Exactly! They should bring back free fast passes but not for annual passholders who can just come back the next week. Just block their pass from getting them.

      1. Steve

        That is already what they did. If you are too stupid to budget for the paid fast passes, that is your problem.

        Tourists.

        1. Cece

          Every post I see from you you’re pissed at out of state guests and pass holders. You do know that’s where Disney dollars come from mostly right? Do you think if only FL residents and passholders went Disney could survive? You live in a tourist state. Get over it.

          1. Steve

            I am tired of the entitled tourists who jam up Tue state and don’t know how to behave, but demand more.

            You are a guest. Behave like one.

  26. Jenn

    With the now park passes and raising prices. Barely having characters meet and greet. The lines are ridiculous 2 hr wait for 3 min ride. No parent swap. Im done with disney

  27. Anthony

    We have been annual pass holders for many years but the restrictive policy’s enacted during COVID IMHO are unnecessary and should be relaxed. The reservations system will block you from going during popular dates because you are forced to plan far in advance or the dates you want will be unavailable thus imposing black out dates on premium Annual passes that do not have black out dates. Also eliminating the trams is just plain cruelty and should be reinstated many AP and others have begun referring to Epcot visits as “Epcot Death March”. Stop creating inconvinces that make zgoing to Disney World not fun anymore!

  28. Debra

    It has become such a chore to go to Disney that we don’t even bother anymore. It’s supposed to be fun and spontaneous. Planning every minute of everyday isn’t fun, it’s stressful. Something so great shouldn’t be so complicated.

  29. Tacocat

    Why is it, Universal Studios and SeaWorld can operate suscessfully without reservations, but Disney can’t?

    1. Steve

      Those two aren’t cutting every penny they can so that creative accounting can shift revenue from the park to The Agenda.

  30. Chuck S

    Disneyland Paris is using this type of park pass. If you have a dated ticket (i.e. with a hotel reservation) you don’t need to pick a park, you’re set. If you have an open ticket/season pass, you need to reserve your park.

    1. Jayne1955

      And it’s an amazing park. I’ve been twice and had a great time both times.

  31. Jayne1955

    Fair compromise. I’m all for it.

    1. Steve

      Because you are a worthless tourist.

  32. L

    As a dvc owner of multiple resorts without a pass it makes it extremely hard to be able to go to our resorts that we paid good money for
    Buying single day passes for a 10 day pass cost more then a pass bring back the pass asap
    not happy dvc owner regarding this

  33. Cooki

    At this point, I’m not sure that Iger and/or Disney could do anything to lure us back to the parks. As another person said; Disney has lost the magic. I don’t want to be tied to my phone for everything. That’s not anywhere near relaxing. If Iger were to revert everything to 2018 practices, we may think about returning, but I don’t see that happening.

  34. Peter Toscano

    I have been going to Disney World and stayed at the Grand Floridan 25 Xmas and New Years in a row .from 1988 when it opened until 2007 when we moved to Celebration .. Was always a annual pass holder the whole time as also my family we have always enjoyed and have enduring memories..
    sadly the place we used to call our home 🏠 away from home is now nothing more than a money 💰 grabbing concern.. No longer have our annual passes even though we live only 5 minutes away from the magic kingdom.. Sad they place is no longer the house that Walt built .. Thankfully we have our memories…

  35. Mike

    Ever since covid hit Disney world has gone downhill it’s a good thing I went and took my son in 2018 we had a great time now the money is not even worth going

  36. Monte

    If we can’t get into Disney at the spur of the moment after dinner then we just to to Universal. Free Valet parking, FREE fast passes. Wake up Bob and look at your competition.

  37. Mikey

    Well if you’ve traveled outside the U.S. there is no pass system especially in Tokyo where there are two parks. Tickets are controlled to capacity at Disneyland Tokyo. There are days where they stop selling tickets because they’ve reached capacity for that day. It makes sense when you think about it. Who would want to walk through an overcrowded park. It takes away from the enjoyment.

  38. Sue

    Park Passes? When are the reservations called Park Passes? Was this term used in this article to make it seem extra complicated?

    1. Local

      Disney calls them Park Passes. That’s the official name for the reservation system.

  39. We have been loyal passholders since 1982. We have not been back since the pandemic hit. Disney you just want to control your loyal people. When this stops and you end the xtra reservations which is impossible to get thru that line. We would go 10- 20 times a year. We are 2 people that no longer go until you end the xtra reservation. When this happen we will re-consider. Please understand what your doing to us here. Let it go!! Just do it !! End this!! Thank you.

  40. Pam

    I have a pass but it looks like it will be taken away. I originally purchased it so I would be able to make a race reservation. Without the pass, I would have to be on line at 12 noon on a Tuesday and many times in less than 10 minute I was bumped and was unable to register.
    I hardly used the pass so Disney made good money on me.
    They recently changed passes and no more early registrations for races, decreased most weekend with a with Monday day off. They had also ended holiday time completely, yet prices did not go down.
    I work so I enjoy the long weekends. Believe me Disney made a lot of money on me.

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