Has Disney found a way to eliminate Parks Pass Reservations (sort of)?
Rumor has it, Disney has been working on a change to Parks Pass Reservation that might help eliminate at least some of the frustrations connected to it: merging the system into general hotel and ticket purchases.
The idea is that Disney may choose to ultimately eliminate Parks Pass Reservations by simply limiting ticket sales in the future. The theory is that Disney could simply put an upper limit on how many tickets they sell if guests are willing to attach a date to any ticket purchases.
I will admit skepticism regarding this rumor, however. The reason why is that while Disney can limit attendance at their resorts overall using ticket sales, if the company still wants to keep the resource allocation benefits of the current system, guests will still have to attach their ticket to a specific park on a specific day. This is basically exactly the same scenario as the Parks Pass Reservation system, only with a shift in name. The primary gripe—lack of flexibility--remains an issue.
This rumor is also problematic as it flagrantly says Passholders shouldn’t expect the lifting of Parks Pass Reservation requirements any time soon. The system would remain in place to limit how many Passholders can enter parks on a given day, something Disney has been keen to do for some time as guests traveling from abroad are generally considered bigger spenders than Passholders on an average visit.
That being said, it does seem Disney has really been working on a solution, and we’ll admit, it might be a step in the right direction.
A workable compromise
The smartest move Disney has made recently in regard to Parks Pass Reservations is that they are starting to address guest concerns by actually rolling some restrictions back. Starting April 18th, 2023, Annual Passholders no longer need a reservation to enter a Disney park after 2pm, except for Magic Kingdom on weekends. Disneyland guests have also already seen an expansion to park hopping hours for guests with that option.
This is a welcome shift for Walt Disney World Passholders, and it is the first move towards a workable compromise that might assuage fans somewhat. I do think Disney needs to go further and expand park hopping hours at Walt Disney World (the fact they haven’t remains a point of contention draining Passholder goodwill), but the shift does at least restore a little flexibility.
In conclusion
A fair argument can be made that Disney Parks Pass Reservations are worth keeping around in some form purely to prevent days where the parks become so busy, an enjoyable vacation becomes completely impossible. The system is not without upsides—it’s just that it remains a hassle, and the benefits remain far too heavily in Disney’s favor rather than providing more tangible perks for guests.
The idea of rolling Parks Pass Reservations into general and resort admissions has potential to take some of the sting out of the loss of freedoms incurred at the system’s arrival, but it seems like any adjustments might not make that big of a difference if Disney is deadest on preserving the economic benefits from keeping Parks Pass Reservations.
As for Disney’s shaky relationship with Passholders, giving them access to the parks in the afternoon is a very welcomed step in the right direction… but we’re going to need more. Park hopping is far, far too overdue for an expansion, and Disney can only shuffle the cups so many times before fans get frustrated all over again and decide to just take a break rather than wait for Disney to release their iron hold.
What do you think of Disney’s rumored plan to rework Park Pass Reservations? Should Disney get rid of the controversial Parks Pass system for good? Let us know by voting in our poll or by leaving us a comment below or on Facebook! Thanks for reading!
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