Credit: DisneyWhen Disney launched its brand-new nighttime spectacular Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, the company did what it usually does when it anticipates a big crowd: it added extra rules for Annual Passholders. Specifically, anyone wanting to visit Magic Kingdom—even after 2:00 p.m.—was required to secure a Disney Park Pass reservation.
At first, this kind of made sense. Starlight was a highly anticipated addition to Magic Kingdom entertainment. Debuting a new nighttime parade can easily draw huge crowds and catch Cast Members off guard if they’re not properly staffed. So Disney implemented the Park Pass restriction for Annual Passholders—just to be safe. But here’s the thing: it’s been weeks, and the initial wave of excitement has simmered down. That restriction now feels completely unnecessary.
The Crowds Are No Longer Unmanageable
Let’s be honest: the parade still draws decent crowds—especially for that 9 p.m. performance—but it’s no longer the crush of guests it was during opening weekend. Magic Kingdom can absolutely handle the current turnout without gatekeeping Passholders through an outdated reservation system.
Not only that, but Park Pass reservations haven’t been selling out. In fact, even on the night of the parade’s debut, Disney opened up extra reservations hours before the show started. That should be a pretty big red flag that the restriction isn’t doing anything to control attendance.
You Can Still Park Hop Anyway
Adding to the oddity of this policy: Park Hopping hasn’t been restricted at all. If you started your day at EPCOT or Hollywood Studios, you could just hop to Magic Kingdom in the evening with zero issues. So what exactly is the reservation doing at that point? If crowd control was the goal, this workaround makes the whole thing kind of pointless.
Anyone with even a little experience navigating the parks knows that seasoned Passholders will find ways around arbitrary rules. And this one? It’s easy to work around—without doing anything wrong. It’s just extra hassle that serves no real purpose anymore.
Time to Drop It
Disney’s been gradually loosening the grip on Park Pass reservations, and it’s been refreshing. Passholders can already skip reservations most days and hop into the parks after 2:00 p.m.—except, of course, when the Starlight rule applies to Magic Kingdom.
This one lingering restriction feels like a remnant from a different era. And if the goal was to keep the crowds down for Starlight, that’s already being handled naturally now. There’s no need to block access or force unnecessary planning when the data shows Passholders aren’t flooding the gates anymore.
Let Passholders In—No Reservations Required
It’s worth saying again: no one’s asking for a free-for-all. Passholders already deal with blockout dates and limited availability during peak times. That’s fair. But there’s a big difference between managing holiday crowds and holding onto a rule that was built for a parade’s opening week.
The people most affected by this are Disney’s most loyal visitors—Annual Passholders who just want to pop into Magic Kingdom for a few hours, grab dinner, and catch the parade. That shouldn’t require jumping through hoops anymore.
While We’re at It—Why Is the Reservation System Still a Thing?
The bigger question: if Disney can handle the crowds without Park Passes now, why not get rid of the system altogether? The calendar is wide open most days, and the current system only frustrates people without offering any real benefit to operations.
With blackout dates doing the heavy lifting, the added reservation step just complicates things. It’s not helping Disney manage crowds—it’s creating roadblocks for the people who come back again and again.
So let’s call it: the Starlight parade no longer needs this restriction. And honestly, Disney doesn’t either. If it’s serious about improving the guest experience, this is the kind of easy win that could go a long way.
Passholders have waited long enough. Let them in.