Phased Re-Opening Questions: How Exactly do Reservations Work Right Now?
With all four theme parks at Walt Disney World in Florida open as of this week, it's been a busy week of Walt Disney World news. So before we get back to the vacation planning advice we love, we want to take a moment to highlight some of the biggest news stories from this week:
First, while Walt Disney World continued with re-opening plans, Hong Kong Disney has closed again due to an increase in cases of COVID-19. Interestingly, they still have fewer new cases than Florida... and not by a little bit. Hong Kong Disney closed on July 15 after reporting 52 new cases. In contrast, Florida reported 15,299 new cases last Sunday. That is not a typo.
One ride that is seeing longer waits and a temporary virtual queue system at Walt Disney World upon re-opening is Splash Mountain. This is because guests are flocking to enjoy the experience before the ride is redesigned as a Princess and the Frog ride. Disney has not yet released a date for that redesign.
And rumor has it that Cast Members received a memo that Primeval Whirl, Stitch's Great Escape, and Rivers of Light are closed permanently.
And now on to our planning advice for today, which centers around the changes that have been made to how you plan your Disney vacation, at least in 2020.
To promote social distancing and reduce crowd sizes to 50%, Walt Disney World has made some changes to the way booking parks, booking dining, and booking rides work. We don't know for how long these changes will be in effect, but we do want to share what we know to be in effect right now.
Park Pass System
In addition to a valid admission ticket to a park, you must now have a reservation to visit a theme park. Guests may only select one park per day through this system making Park Hopper add-ons completely unnecessary for now. Guests may leave and re-enter the same park during the course of the day, but may not visit a second park in the same day.
Park reservations should be made for every day of a multi-day ticket. Everyone in your party needs a valid ticket and park reservation for the same park on the same date. These reservations are subject to availability and are not finalized until Disney confirms the reservation. Therefore, it's recommended Guests make these reservations as soon as they buy tickets.
Right now, only Guests with existing Disney theme park admission tickets or annual passes are able to make Park Pass reservations for 2020. New reservations and ticket purchases are currently on hold for arrivals in 2020, though that should change for later in 2020, starting with allowing guests with Disney Resort reservations for later in 2020 to purchase tickets and make Park Pass reservations. New reservations ARE available for 2021 and Guests will be able to see park pass availability before purchasing tickets to help decide on dates of stays.
The easiest way to make this reservation is by using your My Disney Experience account. First, make sure you link your admission ticket codes and your reservation confirmation to your account. If there are multiple members in your party, make sure everyone has the theme park admission ticket linked. Then, create your party and select a date and park you will visit for each day you have admission tickets.
You can see more details about the Park Pass system on Disney's website, here.
Changes to Advanced Dining Reservations (ADRs)
The window for making dining reservations has gotten shorter. Previously, guests could make advanced dining reservations up to 180 days in advance. That window has been shorted to 60 days in advance for 2020.
Not all restaurants are open so be prepared for potential limited availability. Other than that, the process itself for making ADRs has not changed.
In addition to changes to ADRs, Disney has expanded their Quick Service Restaurants where you can mobile order. This is highly recommended. Not only was it always a convenient way to skip the line and get your food quickly, but now it's basically the Disney equivalent of curbside pickup. Completely contactless, you pay with the card you enter into your MyDisneyExperience app so all you have to do upon arrival is click a button to let them know you're there and wait for notification that your food is ready. Then go to the window to collect it. Easy peasy.
Ride Reservations (aka: FastPass Plus or Virtual Queues)
This may be the most evolving of all the topics we will discuss today. We can only provide what current state today is and that is that FastPass+ reservations are currently suspended. Any existing reservations were cancelled and no new reservations are being made. This is partly because Disney is using the additional space provided by the separate FastPass queue to expand queue space and allow physical distancing. Also because based on what was seen during the first part of phased reopening, a FastPass is probably not going to be necessary for most rides.
Then there is Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. This ride never became available with FastPass and used a Virtual Queue system from the beginning. It will continue to do so. However, Disney will now release virtual queue spots several times during the course of the day at 10 AM, 1 PM, and 4 PM.
There has been talk of Disney using virtual queues for other rides but so far it seems only Splash Mountain is using this system in addition to Rise of the Resistance. What we strongly encourage, though, is that guests load the MyDisneyExperience app onto their smartphones and make sure all ticket and reservation information is entered there. Should Disney suddenly decide to make available same day FastPasses or Virtual Queues, you don't want to be without a way to quickly "hop in line".
So, to summarize:
1. If you don't already have a resort reservation, annual pass, or park tickets for 2020, you likely won't be able to visit this year. Plan for 2021 if you can.
2. You should make a park reservation via My Disney Experience as soon as you have valid park admission linked to your My Disney Experience account.
3. The ADR (Advanced Dining Reservation) window has changed from 180 days to 60 days ahead of your stay.
4. Use mobile ordering at Quick Service locations! It's awesome!
5. No FastPass+ right now. Virtual Queue only available for Rise of the Resistance (officially), though you may find it available for Splash Mountain.
As always, we hope you enjoyed our blog today. We are much happier bringing you news now that the parks are open again and there is news to discuss and advice to give.
How do you feel about the park re-opening? Share your thoughts in the comments or over on our Facebook page. Until next time, we'll see you...
