Can I say again how much I HATE park reservations!

[heynowirv]

I miss the old days of no park reservations, paper fast passes, no Genie+, restaurants you could actually get into, full size Mickey Premium bars, and beer that doesn't require financing

I miss the days when alcohol was only served at Epcot.

 

[greeneyedchick]

Yes, there is a number you can call, or ask a CM. I believe it will also show on MDE. So far, it hasn’t happened but a few times at MK and I wasn’t there at any of those times.

The chances of all 4 parks at capacity is slim. But this has always been a term of park hopping even before park reservations. If a park closed for capacity, you were out of luck.

However, "capacity" used to mean the number of people allowed into the park as dictated by the fire department. When I used to work there over 20 years ago, the only place that usually hit that capacity was Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve and 4th of July. Now capacity seems to be something different. As AP holders, it's wrong to redefine it after purchase.

 

[Sandisw]

However, "capacity" used to mean the number of people allowed into the park as dictated by the fire department. When I used to work there over 20 years ago, the only place that usually hit that capacity was Magic Kingdom on New Year's Eve and 4th of July. Now capacity seems to be something different. As AP holders, it's wrong to redefine it after purchase.

Except they updated the terms and conditions of the AP's when they went back on sale last year in September to define it to mean that something different. So, anyone buying one today understands that "capacity" is defined by WDW as the park reservations system and whatever other metrics they put on it.

Same with daily tickets....you buy now with that understanding, including for park hopping. It has always been that way. The only difference, as you say, is that they had a much more general metric.

 

[Sandisw]

I have never park hopped in all our trips. It is almost $300 to add the hopper to our 4 day tickets. No way.

OMG...that is amazing. We always had to have them, even for our family of 5, because we never did the same park in the morning as we did at night....afternoons were almost always at the resort since we had to go in the summer when I was teaching.

 

[kes601]

Can anyone verify that you can change park reservations on app? I know you used to be able to but I've read recently that is now not an option and must be done on website. Anyone do it recently? And maybe I should have asked front desk at RIV to change my reservation before we headed over to HS? It's all becoming just too complicated.

If it is an AP reservation (not linked to a resort) then you can "modify" and change to any other available park. If a theme park ticket / resort guest / AP reservation linked to a resort stay then you have to cancel and hope you can book another park. There is an availability calendar you can check that will tell you if the park you want is available prior to cancelling what you have.

On a side note, when we were there in late June we noticed the night before there was typically no available the next day. When we would wake up at our usual 5:30a time there would still be no availability shown, but by 6:45a we could typically switch to whatever park we wanted.

ETA: The park reservations cannot be modified straight in the app. You can cancel, but you can't book a new one in the app. It will redirect you to a web browser.

 

[CalOilerGurl]

I am ALWAYS up for some Park Reservation bashing. One of the WORST policies to impact guest experience. Hopefully once they are able to get staffing back up closer to 2019 levels, this can go away forever.

 

[bbangel]

Between the date based tickets and the park reservation system it is easier fo rme to spend my hard earned vacation dollars elsewhere. I'm a planner and it is still more planning than I want to do while trying to have a vacation. Want to come for 2 weeks with a 6 day ticket spread out over that time? - can't do that anymore. Want to decide what park to go to based on how you feel in the morning, which bus comes first or the weather of the day? - can't do that anymore. I'm just glad there is still a market to rent out my points and may have to consider selling. There are aspects of a Disney vacation I miss but not enough to deal with the reservation/ticket situations right now.

 

[MillauFr]

I have never park hopped in all our trips. It is almost $300 to add the hopper to our 4 day tickets. No way.

I'll do it in Disneyland but too much of a hassle in Florida

 

[LPnerd]

I had a park reservation for Epcot and tried to get into MK around 5. I was told that they wouldn’t make an exception so I took the monorail, stepping inside Epcot, and returned to MK. It wasn’t that big a deal. Of course, Park Reservations are only advantageous to Disney.

just came back . The park reservations would be helpful if they were still using them to keep parks safe and not so packed. They are NOT. OMG, we looked at the ap for epcot rides and there was not one wait time under an hour, LOL> in this heat and humidity.? Nope. We just had a staycation at our resort, we live here so I knew it would be bad, ( covid rates are NUTS in fl. right now, so stay safe.) and we took bus to magic kingdom with masks, got off and onto monorail to one of the resorts to watch fireworks, had a snack, took mono to bus, and bus back to resort. it was great.

 

[New Mouse]

Disney Parks' data gathering and parsing was world class long before park reservations ever became a thing. Despite the hell given to 'Disney IT' (myself included at times) for their forward facing systems (not maintained domestically for the most part, BTW), the backend stuff is renowned in the IT world for being some of the best designs and working systems in the world, despite what some here may choose to believe.

All of that to say this. Disney does NOT need the park reservation system to gauge staffing needs in the parks. I'm not really sure I remember if that angle originated on the boards, or as a 'by the way' comment from some Disney propaganda along the way, but it is nowhere near essential or necessary to predictive park staffing.

Disney Parks' data parsing can tell you when a purple polka-dotted magic band is going to go thru the 2nd turnstile at Epcot International Gateway after 11:07 within seconds. They know exactly how many people they need for the Magic Carpets of Aladdin at 3:04pm as well. And at 8:00am also. It's that good. I'm not exaggerating. Please consider stopping the pass we are giving them on the necessity of 'park reservations' for staffing predictions. It is totally and utterly ridiculous.

I think you are mixing up IT with data analysts. 2 completely different groups. Disney IT are well below average across the board.

 

[New Mouse]

Yes, there is a number you can call, or ask a CM. I believe it will also show on MDE. So far, it hasn’t happened but a few times at MK and I wasn’t there at any of those times.

The chances of all 4 parks at capacity is slim. But this has always been a term of park hopping even before park reservations. If a park closed for capacity, you were out of luck.

The difference being that they are now intentionally lowering that capacity to drive traffic vs previously it was a firm #.

 

[WilsonFlyer]

I think you are mixing up IT with data analysts. 2 completely different groups. Disney IT are well below average across the board.

No. I'm not. But you are certainly entitled to your opinion.

 

[bsmcneil]

Not embrace, more like grow tired of being mad about it, accepting that it's not going anywhere. Like boiling a frog, over time it starts to seem normal. It's already happening with Genie+. People are getting used to the idea of it. Companies rely on that particular aspect of human nature.

Not embrace but rather complace (as in complacency) ...

 

[Sandisw]

The difference being that they are now intentionally lowering that capacity to drive traffic vs previously it was a firm #.

And I am okay with that. I like knowing that they are attempting to balance crowds…regardless of motivation

We found crowds last week very manageable

 

[Nursemanit]

I can see some capacity management benefits but

1. Weather in Florida is a huge factor in what park I go to - not going to AK in heavy rain.
2. It really limits my transportation options - I would usually go from Epcot resort, through Epcot ( maybe chocolate croissant in France) then get on the monorail for my MK day. I really don't like the bus.

At least in an Epcot resort, it is a quick walk to "tag in" in the morning if I am having a resort day and want to park hop in the PM.

 

[New Mouse]

And I am okay with that. I like knowing that they are attempting to balance crowds…regardless of motivation

We found crowds last week very manageable

Sure as a one off data point. Most people are finding the crowds miserable.

 

[Sandisw]

Sure as a one off data point. Most people are finding the crowds miserable.

What can I say, we found it pretty decent for summer... seemed better than last year when we were there the same week Now we didn't hit AK, but did the rest and my party used GP+ and were able to ride all the rides they wanted the entire time (did 5 or 6 each day using that, and the rest we did SB...never waited more than 30 minutes)..though they skipped GOTG,

They worked it out so it simply worked well for them...the rides I did with them were ones that I could do stand by as I didn't buy GP+...

As I said, I personally like the system that is in place....

 

[DL1WDW2]

Slowly learning to accept all of this but will never like it.

 

[aztraveler]

Agree the reservation requirement is a pain - especially with weather issues. We usually are not at WDW during really busy times so we seem to make it work. I, also, agree with others that the dining reservation system and Genie+ are totally miserable systems. Obtaining dining reservations seems to be a real battle. We always enjoyed mornings at a park, then a break, and then back. We can't seem to make that work with Genie. The LL surcharges are crazy considering the price of admission today. Bring back the letter tickets of decades ago if they want to stratify the attraction prices. We actually still have some of the letter passes that we are keeping as mementos.

 

[pregnantw4thprincess]

I have never park hopped in all our trips. It is almost $300 to add the hopper to our 4 day tickets. No way.

We are all so different - I wouldn’t purchase tickets without a hopper! I would not want to be stuck in a crowded park looking at walk on wait times in another one. Time is money, especially on vacation (IMHO)