Everything Park Reservations - Please Read Post 1

[lanejudy]

Oh wow...sorry if this has already been asked but if we are staying off site when can we reserve a park?

Theme park reservations are currently available through 12/2022 for anyone with a valid ticket.

 

[JEAhrtWDW]

I would recommend asking this question on the Tickets thread. The one thing I did notice about your question is that all dates are green for APs. My understanding is that if you purchase a 2-day ticket, you would be pulling from the 'Theme Park Tickets' bucket so your availability is different than the AP availability.

Thanks! Here's what I did - I purchased a 1 day ticket for 5/30 and made myself a new profile with just my first and last name - it will not be tied to my AP profile. I was then able to book Epcot for that day and use my AP Profile to book HS for 5/4 then I did the same (purchased another 1 day ticket) for 6/1, used that to book Epcot and then was able to use my AP Profile to book MK for 6/5.

We are going to MK on 5/31 - IF park passes are available for APs at Epcot for 6/1, I'll use my AP and then be able to use the value of the 1 day ticket for a future trip

 

[JEAhrtWDW]

If you buy a regular ticket you should be able to book park reservations for that ticket in addition to 3 for the AP; if the system is being finicky it may require a call.

@scrappinginontario is correct that you will need to pay attention to what bucket has availability for which park each day and plan your ticket dates by that. Two 1-day tickets is nearly the same price as a 2-day, so that is an option.

Also I noticed you mentioned the rest of your party has 6-day tickets but you

Yes - I was able to get the park reservations figured out - thanks! The day we arrive I'll be spending the day checking into the house, getting groceries and whatever else needs to get done

 

[olive]

We (family of 4) have reservations for 9 park days right now, with 3 days reserved at Hollywood Studios. If we manage to ride Rise of the Resistance earlier in our trip, we would likely want to swap out one of the DHS days for Animal Kingdom or Epcot. (And I imagine another family would be happy to pick up our DHS reservations - it seems like that is the most in demand park right now.)

I know we can change park reservations if they seem to be available online or through the app, but has anyone done this at guest services instead? I am a little nervous about the idea of dropping our reservations and then trying to pick up 4 reservations at another park. Even if AK or Epcot shows availability, I know it *could* change quickly. Will guest services handle this for you? If no, we will just keep all of our DHS days and hop to AK or Epcot in the afternoon. I'm sure the kids would be okay with another chance at RotR and Slinky Dog. We haven't been to Disney in almost 6 years so a lot of DHS is completely new to them.

Thanks!

 

[scrappinginontario]

We (family of 4) have reservations for 9 park days right now, with 3 days reserved at Hollywood Studios. If we manage to ride Rise of the Resistance earlier in our trip, we would likely want to swap out one of the DHS days for Animal Kingdom or Epcot. (And I imagine another family would be happy to pick up our DHS reservations - it seems like that is the most in demand park right now.)

I know we can change park reservations if they seem to be available online or through the app, but has anyone done this at guest services instead? I am a little nervous about the idea of dropping our reservations and then trying to pick up 4 reservations at another park. Even if AK or Epcot shows availability, I know it *could* change quickly. Will guest services handle this for you? If no, we will just keep all of our DHS days and hop to AK or Epcot in the afternoon. I'm sure the kids would be okay with another chance at RotR and Slinky Dog. We haven't been to Disney in almost 6 years so a lot of DHS is completely new to them.

Thanks!

Guest Services may handle this for you but only if there is availability at the park you wish to go to. It's similar to calling in to change your reservations. It's the 'safer' way for sure as you are not dropping one to pick up another but I'm not sure if anyone has tried doing it at guest services prior to entering the park for the day.

Hopefully someone can help. You may also wish to ask on the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread if anyone successfully had park reservations changed at guest services.

 

[olive]

Guest Services may handle this for you but only if there is availability at the park you wish to go to. It's similar to calling in to change your reservations. It's the 'safer' way for sure as you are not dropping one to pick up another but I'm not sure if anyone has tried doing it at guest services prior to entering the park for the day.

Hopefully someone can help. You may also wish to ask on the 'Here Now and Just Back' thread if anyone successfully had park reservations changed at guest services.

That is what I was thinking - that it might be "safer" if I can have them do it for me. And hopefully in person at guest services will be quicker than over the phone. If folks on this thread don't have experience trying this way I will check on the Here Now thread. Thanks!

 

[scrappinginontario]

That is what I was thinking - that it might be "safer" if I can have them do it for me. And hopefully in person at guest services will be quicker than over the phone. If folks on this thread don't have experience trying this way I will check on the Here Now thread. Thanks!

The 'Here Now and Just Back' thread has people who are or recently were at WDW. This thread is mainly visited by people who are planning their trip for the future. Are you there now? If so, you may try at guest services any day, you don't need to wait until the day of.

If you are still home and the parks you wish to visit are showing availability now, if it were me I would try to do the swap now, either by dropping and then picking up or, if I didn't feel comfortable waiting by calling guest services. There is no guarantee that as the date gets closer that there will still be availability.

 

[olive]

The 'Here Now and Just Back' thread has people who are or recently were at WDW. This thread is mainly visited by people who are planning their trip for the future. Are you there now? If so, you may try at guest services any day, you don't need to wait until the day of.

If you are still home and the parks you wish to visit are showing availability now, if it were me I would try to do the swap now, either by dropping and then picking up or, if I didn't feel comfortable waiting by calling guest services. There is no guarantee that as the date gets closer that there will still be availability.

We are not there now. We would only drop one of the DHS days if, while we are there, we are successful riding RotR on one of our other DHS days. It wouldn't make sense to drop it before the trip in this case. Just interested in whether others have done the switch in person at guest services while in the parks.

 

[BK2014]

How do I transfer my park reservations from one resort package to another? I have a 5 day package for a stay at Pop Century with 5 day ticket. When we booked that reservation we were able to get the park reservations for each day. We now see that there is availability for those same 5 days at Coronado Springs, and want to change resorts. If I book the package at Coronado Springs with the 5 day park tickets, how do I transfer my park reservations? I do not want to cancel the Pop reservation if I am going to lose the park reservations. Does this require calling? Thanks!

 

[DonaldDuck21]

I am an Annual Passholder and will be staying off property in May. I know I can only have three reservations booked at a time. If I have Mon - Wed booked, when can I book Thursday? is it available to book first thing Monday morning?

 

[lanejudy]

If I book the package at Coronado Springs with the 5 day park tickets, how do I transfer my park reservations?

The park reservations will remain as long as you have valid tickets. You can change the resort without problem. If you can swing a new deposit, just book the new reservation first and then cancel POP. Or you may be able to change it within MDE - if not, call.

 

[lanejudy]

I am an Annual Passholder and will be staying off property in May. I know I can only have three reservations booked at a time. If I have Mon - Wed booked, when can I book Thursday? is it available to book first thing Monday morning?

I believe you can book Thurs. after the last park closes for the night on Mon.

 

[D-Trick]

Hey all! Apologies if this is the wrong location for this post. I didn't see a ticketing forum but admins feel free to move wherever you feel this is best suited.
_____

My wife and I both have non-expiration hopper tickets connected to each of our MDE accounts. Because of this, we were able to make park reservations on a day that we planned on attending.

Fast forward to the day before our reservation, and we decide that we don't want to park hop. We no longer want to use our hoppers for a 1 park day, so we pay a visit to the ticketing center at Disney Springs.

We tell the CM that we want to purchase (2) 1 day, 1 park tickets to use with our existing reservation the next day. She says "no problem!" however the process took a while and the CM was on the phone for some time.

Here's what's confusing to me:
She moved our non-expiration tickets out of our MDE accounts, and moved them to two created dummy 2nd accounts called "(my name) Non-Expire" and "(wife's name) Non-Expire." I still see the ticket(s) in my list of tickets and passes, but only because she set me to manage the plans of my new (my name) Non-Expire account.
When I view my Family and Friends List, I see both the "Non-Expire" accounts.

Does this sound like it's normal procedure? I assumed that I could just purchase a 1 day ticket, and then have them set the priority so that it uses the 1 day ticket first before the hopper. This makes me think that the system is bit more complex then I thought, and the non-expiration tickets needed to be moved out because the reservation was specifically locked to them.

Thoughts? TIA.

Note: I did email WDW ticketing but have not yet heard back.

 

[Robo]

-She moved our non-expiration tickets out of our MDE accounts, and moved them to two created dummy 2nd accounts called "(my name) Non-Expire" and "(wife's name) Non-Expire." I still see the ticket(s) in my list of tickets and passes, but only because she set me to manage the plans of my new (my name) Non-Expire account.
When I view my Family and Friends List, I see both the "Non-Expire" accounts.
1. Does this sound like it's normal procedure?
2. I assumed that I could just purchase a 1 day ticket, and then have them set the priority so that it uses the 1 day ticket first before the hopper.
3. This makes me think that the system is bit more complex then I thought, and
4. the non-expiration tickets needed to be moved out because the reservation was specifically locked to them.
5. Note: I did email WDW ticketing but have not yet heard back.

1. Yes. It's a "normal" option.
2. That's also a "normal" option.
3. The system is ridiculously complicated, but that's another story.
4. No, that's not the case.
5. Don't worry about it. You're all set.
Have fun!

 

[Cloudless Nights]

Sorry, read through the thread and have a couple questions. Trying to possibly book a last minute trip at the end of June, but right now Epcot is the only park available for each of the days (I do not have an AP, but my traveling companions do). I know to look constantly for cancellations, but what do you think the chances of WDW releasing more reservations for the end of June at this point is?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Sorry, read through the thread and have a couple questions. Trying to possibly book a last minute trip at the end of June, but right now Epcot is the only park available for each of the days (I do not have an AP, but my traveling companions do). I know to look constantly for cancellations, but what do you think the chances of WDW releasing more reservations for the end of June at this point is?

Hard to say. It is possible that more reservations could become available, either because of cancellations or increased capacity. But how likely? No one knows.

 

[Cloudless Nights]

Hard to say. It is possible that more reservations could become available, either because of cancellations or increased capacity. But how likely? No one knows.

Thanks. And if my AP-holding companions tried to book for me under their availability, I'm guessing it would flag that I don't have an AP?

 

[Peter Johnson]

We have a trip scheduled in October. DW's AP is still valid then, but my AP expires a week before we go. Because of that, I can't schedule park days for myself. Since I can't renew my AP until 60 days before it expires (I think that's the limit), is there any way I can schedule park days for myself before then?

 

[ENJDisneyFan]

Thanks. And if my AP-holding companions tried to book for me under their availability, I'm guessing it would flag that I don't have an AP?

Correct.

 

[Craig Larson]

I made my reservations a month ago with my hotel+ticket package. If I switch to a resort only stay and purchase tickets separately (may be able to get a decent discount going this way), will I have to redo my reservations? I would book my resort and link the tickets before cancelling the original reservation.

I'm assuming since I will be in the same "bucket" of park pass reservations I should be all set, just don't want to miss anything.