Multiple Disney Park Rules Now Imposed, Paying Families Rejected

Walt Disney World and Disneyland are beginning to implement a lot of older rules that were not as big of an issue in the past. Now, however, they are causing guests to be turned away from the doors of the park, even if they spent money on their park ticket. While this can be highly devastating to fans, we will take a look at two of the main reasons that guests are being refused entry into the Disney parks.

Deciding to visit Walt Disney World is a big deal for many guests. If you are traveling with a family, a Disney World vacation is not a low-costing trip. Not only do you have to worry about flights into Orlando International Airport, but you also have to pay for the entire vacation.

Disney Vacation Tragedy

At Disney World, there are three hotel tiers to choose from: value resorts, moderate resorts, and deluxe resorts. A value resort such as Disney’s All-Star Music Resort is one that will likely run guests around $150 per night. In the moderate category, Disney’s Port Orleans Riverside Resort may cost a little closer to $300 per night. For guests who like to stay deluxe, Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort costs around $900 per night. However, there are times when resorts like Disney’s Beach Club Resort can sell for $600 per night.

Overall, the prices are costly.

Then, of course, you will want to visit Magic Kingdom to ride the Haunted Mansion, Space Mountain, see Cinderella Castle, battle pirates on Pirates of the Caribbean, before hitting up a churro stand to wait in line for Jungle Cruise. At EPCOT, you will want to eat all around the World Showcase, meet Anna and Elsa, explore Soarin’ and ride Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

Once you’re at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, visiting Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge is a must before riding Slinky Dog Dash. Then, you will want to drop into the fifth dimension on Tower of Terror, before watching Fantasmic at night.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a ton to offer, from Kilimanjaro Safaris to Pandora — World of Avatar!

For most guests, visiting all four theme marks is mandatory. With regular park tickets costing up to $180 per person, without the Park Hopper add on, this part of the trip will instantly run a family thousands of dollars. On top of that, guests may choose to purchase Disney Genie+ on the My Disney Experience app to skip the line on certain attractions at an additional cost.

In Disneyland, things are relatively the same. There are three hotels to choose from: Disney’s Grand Californian Resort, Disneyland Hotel, and Disney’s Paradise Pier (soon to be Pixar Place). These hotels are not on the “value” side of cost, but range from moderate to deluxe. There are many other hotels in the area however, that run for much less and are directly across the street from the parks.

Park tickets for Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure are also costly, with tickets here having just received a price increase, as well as Disney Genie+.

So, one would likely not want to pay all of this money, only to be turned away at the gates.

What has been the cause of so many guests not being allowed in you ask? Let’s take a look at the first one.

Disney Park Pass Reservations

When both Disney World and Disneyland Resort reopened from the pandemic, there were a few changes made. One of these changes involved Disney Park Passes and the hated reservation system.

For decades, Disney guests were used to buying their park ticket and entering the park of their choice; they were never told “no”, and there was never a second step. After the pandemic, Disney decided to lower capacity, and with that came a new step that was unfamiliar to all.

Guests now had to log into the My Disney Experience app or the Disneyland app, link their tickets, and pick what park they wanted to visit that day. For months, capacity was so low at the parks that Park Passes were disappearing weeks before the date. So, a family could have bought their park ticket, but if they forgot to make a reservation, which many did, they were turned away from the park.

As one can imagine, this ruined a lot of Disney vacations.

Recently, we shared the story of how one Disneyland trip “blew up in the [guests] faces”, due to this unknown rule. 

The family took to the internet to share their story: 

“So I have been to WDW a bunch of times but I’d never been to Disneyland. I was with my folks and was very much excited for it. However, the trip kind of blew up in our faces. So our first noob mistake was that we had no inkling of the rsrv*t**n system so we almost did not get in. Keep in mind, I had not been to a Disney park since 2013. Fortunately they were able to accommodate us. But after the train, Great Moments with Mr. Lincoln and Jungle Cruise, it kinda blew up in our face. We severely underestimated the crowd sizes and our tolerance for them. Everything just felt claustrophobic as all get out. Wait times were ridiculous. Indiana Jones broke down both times we tried to get on (we were eventually successful) as did Rise of the Resistance. By 8 pm, we had been to maybe seven attractions in total. So by Peter Pan’s Flight, we were tired and cranky so we decided to just take the L and call it quits. Didn’t even get to Toontown. What I was convinced was going to be an awesome day just went South.”

This is one of many instances that we have seen guests turned away from Disneyland.

Another married couple recently shared their story as well, due to the husband making the wrong reservation; once he went to change it, he could not as both parks were full. This meant that the wife had to go to Disney California Adventure alone, while the husband went to Disneyland Park to stare at Sleeping Beauty Castle alone.

The two were then able to meet back up after 11:00 a.m. when park hopping is allowed to commence in Disneyland.

At Disney World, the park hopping rule begins at 2:00 p.m. this has been another cause of guest rejection at the gate, with some guests potentially finishing their day at Animal Kingdom by noon and looking to enter the Magic Kingdom at 1:00 p.m. Luckily, the rule will be removed in 2024. But, with the busiest time of year fast approaching, it is likely going to cause issues in the plans of many.

While Disney World’s Park Pass Reservation system has a lot more availability than it once had, just this week, we saw Disney’s Hollywood Studios at capacity. So, if a guest was unaware of the rule because they were used to visiting Disney prior to the pandemic, they would not be allowed inside. The rule will no longer be applicable as of January 9, 2024.

Disney Vlogger Behavior

Lately, we have also seen a lot more bad behavior in the theme parks. Guests have been getting trespassed and banned for their poor behavior towards employees and guests, while a lot of folks have been breaking the rules for “content”.

Disney has become a popular spot for content creators, which isn’t too surprising; there is so much to film and share. However, the content space in the Disney bubble has now become so saturated with so many creators doing the same thing that some have been looking for ways to stand out, and for that, comes controversy.

One popular way that creators have found to get an audience is to break the dress code at Disney World. The Disney website notes that this means “Proper attire, including shoes and shirts, must be worn at all times. The parks are a casual, family-oriented environment. Ensuring that the parks are family-friendly is an important part of the Disney experience.”

So, outfits that are deemed too revealing, have negative or vulgar text or designs or are overall inappropriate are not allowed in. In the past, if someone showed up to Magic Kingdom in a shirt that was not allowed in, Disney understood that the guest did not know and allowed them to pick a shirt from their store, without having to pay for it.

Once one guest filmed this happening, it went viral, and now, so many creators approach the park with questionable clothing to test Disney and see if they get caught. Now, they are not only not given a free shirt, but they cannot even enter the park and buy one. They must go back to their hotel and come back with proper attire. 

Most recently, we saw a man jump into the World Showcase Lagoon at EPCOT for a bet. The video went viral on TikTok, and now, the gondolas by the Italy pavilion are gone. 

At Disneyland, we have seen YouTubers not only sneak into the theme parks but attempt to stay overnight. Once caught, they are banned for life. 

As this behavior increases, Disney has had to enforce their rules more strongly.

Now, when going through security, content creators with higher-quality equipment may be denied entry. 

Filming Equipment Causing Guest Rejection

The realm of Disney vlogging and influencer content has flourished in the wake of the pandemic, witnessing a surge of diverse YouTubers, live-streamers, TikTokers, and Instagram influencers who have discovered innovative ways to showcase Disney theme parks online.

Some content creators specialize in offering historical insights, while others focus on sharing culinary experiences. Some diligently track updates and changes within the parks, and some simply document their daily lives in close proximity to Disney. For those who don’t have the privilege of living near a Disney park, watching a Disney vlog that showcases the new rooms at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort and Spa serves as an invaluable resource to help them decide if this is the ideal hotel for their upcoming trip.

These videos serve as a wellspring of information and, for many, a means of alleviating their longing for the enchanting world of Disney when they can’t be in the most magical place on earth.

But, although many creators film, Disney does have a rule that prohibits it.

Their website states, “Photography, videotaping or recording of any kind, or otherwise engaging in any activity, for unapproved commercial purposes,” as an unapproved activity. In addition, the site notes that both “Selfie sticks, hand-held extension poles for cameras or mobile devices, flags and banners are not allowed in any theme park or water park,” and “Tripods or monopod stands that cannot fit inside a standard backpack or that extend over 6’ (182 cm) are not allowed in theme parks, water parks, Disney Springs, or ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex,” are not allowed in the theme parks.

In the past, we have seen Disney be very lenient with this rule, but now, as content creators continue to show a negative display of the company, Disney has cracked down on the rule much more.

Most recently, we shared that a Disney podcast YouTube channel who tried to enter the Magic Kingdom with a microphone in their bag was turned away. Although they had a ticket, they were told that they had to put the microphone away, and that they could not even enter the park to use a locker to do this.

Knowing this, and seeing this happen to more and more content creators, it appears that equipment can also have guests rejected from the parks.

In the end, breaking any of Disney’s rules will have you either removed from the park, or denied entry, but it appears that these two have been the more “unknown” of those rules.

Have you ever been denied entry to Disney or removed from the parks? What happened?