Disney World Makes a Big Change to an Unpopular Policy
The Mouse House held on to one covid-era policy that people visiting its theme parks truly hate.
The Mouse House held on to one covid-era policy that people visiting its theme parks truly hate.
After Disney World reopened from its roughly four-month covid closure between March and July 2020, the theme park experience was very different.
The Walt Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report company opened its parks but made a lot of changes to prevent the spread of the virus.
All visitors had their temperature checked as they entered the parks and masks were mandatory. Disney World also kept its lines socially distanced and modified some rides to keep people apart.
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That included adding plexiglass between rows or cars on some rides or even leaving an empty row between passengers. The theme park giant also greatly limited capacity at its four Florida theme parks enable people to spread out.
To manage the limited capacity Disney World added a reservations system. In addition to buying a ticket, visitors also needed to make a reservation for a single park, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Animal Kingdom, or Hollywood Studios.
That system was especially onerous for Disney World annual-pass holders since many people in that group bought passes specifically so they could pop into the parks at a whim.
Disney has decided to keep its park-reservation system, but it is making one key change and others are expected to follow. Matt Stroshane/Walt Disney World Resort via Getty Images
Disney World Makes a Major Reservations Change
Disney World has kept the reservation system, partly because the company has not fully restored its theme parks to their prepandemic capacities, CEO Bob Iger talked about the matter during the company's first-quarter-earnings call.
"Speaking of our parks, we had an outstanding quarter in Q1, while we continued our purposeful efforts to control capacity to preserve guest experience," he said.
"Last month, we also announced some price adjustments in our parks. We're listening to guest feedback, and we are continuously working to improve the quality and value of their experience,"
Changing the reservation system certainly falls into that bucket, and the company is about to make a change that annual-pass holders will be excited about.
"While the theme park reservation system remains important to manage attendance in our parks, especially on busier days, we have heard our passholders tell us they would like to enjoy more spontaneous visits," the company posted on the passholder section of its app.
"Beginning April 18, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will be able to visit the theme parks after 2 p.m. without needing a park reservation, except on Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park."
More Disney World Reservation Changes May Be Coming
Disney World has also simplified its reservation system for date-based single-park tickets. Since those tickets are purchased for a single park on a specific date, they no longer require separate reservations. In addition, Disney may also loosen up its park-hopping rules, according to WDWMagic.com.
"Park hopping will return for date-based tickets at any time and will no longer be restricted to 2 p.m. Annual Passholders will still be restricted but will likely be able to park hop earlier than the current 2 p.m. limit," according to the website.
Disney has not confirmed or commented on whether any other changes to its reservation system would be coming. In addition Disney continues to "pause" the sale of new annual passes with the exception of its lowest-level Florida-resident-only "Pixie Pass," which only allows weekday access and has significant blackout dates.
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