Park reservation questions

[BrickForest]

Hi everyone, I'm brand new to the Disboards! I've loved Disney stuff ever since I was a kid, and have only been to Disney World once (around 2011), but it was an amazing experience. From what I understand, a lot has changed since then. My parents and family have never gone before, so I wanted to take them in 2023. I try to read up on everything and learn what I can, but I wanted to ask about park reservations.

With what I've read, you need park reservations now for each day you go, including your normal ticket entry. My main question is: how hard is it to actually get a park reservation, and is it hard to get for groups who are willing to plan stuff out months ahead? I would be taking my family in 2023 if we do go, going to each of the four parks once a day. We aren't interested in park hopping, and we like planning stuff out way ahead of time. How early can you actually reserve a park for your group; like can you do it months in advance when you buy your tickets / hotel in advance? If not, it kind of worries me if you have to wait until you actually go, because I've read articles online of people getting turned away because they have reached full capacity. Since it's taken a long time to save up money for my family go (and my parents have never gone once in their lives), I want to make 100% sure I get to go into each park, if I do all the planning in advance. I know the stories I've read, it seems some of the issue is that certain families change their mind about what park to go to on a given day, and that's where it creates the problem, but we aren't like that, and would just stick to the plan we have.

Thanks for any help!

 

[PalmettoPath]

If you plan far enough ahead, it shouldn't be an issue. It also depends on time of year and whether it's a peak period. I'll give you a current example. We're visiting next week and today we decided to change one park pass (pick AK instead of MK for one day). So I went into MDE and several days next week were yellow instead of green (mean some parks were not available). But that is for next week. We just booked December as well and all parks were green still for week of Dec 18. So if you plan early, you should be okay.

 

[BrickForest]

If you plan far enough ahead, it shouldn't be an issue. It also depends on time of year and whether it's a peak period. I'll give you a current example. We're visiting next week and today we decided to change one park pass (pick AK instead of MK for one day). So I went into MDE and several days next week were yellow instead of green (mean some parks were not available). But that is for next week. We just booked December as well and all parks were green still for week of Dec 18. So if you plan early, you should be okay.

Thank you for the quick and informative reply! That makes sense; so when you purchase your tickets online on the Disney site and set everything up, are you allowed to make those park reservations at that time? Or do you have to wait until it gets closer? (I think the advanced dining reservations only let you do it so many days out).

The time I went back in 2011 was the first week of November (or right after Halloween), and just from my personal experience, I thought the parks were not crowded at all and really nice with beautiful weather. Ideally we were thinking the last week of Febuary after kids go back to school, into the early first week of March. I'm not sure if that's a good time or not, but we are flexible with our jobs and my parents are retired, so we can go at any time. So late Feb into early March, or maybe first week of November / or last week of November after Thanksgiving.

 

[KristaZ]

@BrickForest You can make your park passes as soon as you purchase your tickets. I think right now the calendar is open until something like January 2024.

The last week of February should be a relatively good week. In the Northeast, many schools have the entire week of President's Day off, so it gets super crowded, but the two weeks following that are usually a little slower until spring break officially starts around the 2nd week of March. Not sure when Mardi Gras is next year, but that can also spike crowds and it sometimes falls during that last week of February - so that would be something to watch for in terms of crowds.

 

[1420Elexismc]

I just bought my tickets for next May for my family of 3 and reserved my parks already with the understanding that they might have to change as we get closer We are going as a big group of 13, so we may have to shift things around for the two park days we plan on definitely being together. I just wanted to make sure I had reservations locked in-just in case.

 

[PalmettoPath]

Thank you for the quick and informative reply! That makes sense; so when you purchase your tickets online on the Disney site and set everything up, are you allowed to make those park reservations at that time? Or do you have to wait until it gets closer? (I think the advanced dining reservations only let you do it so many days out).

The time I went back in 2011 was the first week of November (or right after Halloween), and just from my personal experience, I thought the parks were not crowded at all and really nice with beautiful weather. Ideally we were thinking the last week of Febuary after kids go back to school, into the early first week of March. I'm not sure if that's a good time or not, but we are flexible with our jobs and my parents are retired, so we can go at any time. So late Feb into early March, or maybe first week of November / or last week of November after Thanksgiving.

It will actually prompt you to make them

 

[CarolynFH]

Thank you for the quick and informative reply! That makes sense; so when you purchase your tickets online on the Disney site and set everything up, are you allowed to make those park reservations at that time? Or do you have to wait until it gets closer? (I think the advanced dining reservations only let you do it so many days out).

The time I went back in 2011 was the first week of November (or right after Halloween), and just from my personal experience, I thought the parks were not crowded at all and really nice with beautiful weather. Ideally we were thinking the last week of Febuary after kids go back to school, into the early first week of March. I'm not sure if that's a good time or not, but we are flexible with our jobs and my parents are retired, so we can go at any time. So late Feb into early March, or maybe first week of November / or last week of November after Thanksgiving.

In 2023, Mardi Gras is February 21. That means a little uptick in crowds, but not really a lot, especially when compared to Spring Break starting the 2nd week of March. However, the runDisney Princess Half-Marathon is the weekend of February 23-26, and that can make it busy. DH and I prefer the end of January or early in February - after Martin Luther King holiday and before Presidents Day holiday. The weather is usually pleasant but can be unpredictably cold some years.

The first two weeks of November are busy due to the Food & Wine Half-Marathon, Jersey Week, and the Food & Wine Festival winding down. The week after Thanksgiving is probably the better time to go - nice weather, Thanksgiving holiday crowds have gone home, Christmas/New Year's holiday crowds haven't revved up yet.

As others have said, you can make your park reservations as soon as you have tickets, and you can change them around as you get closer, depending on availability, of course.

 

[BrickForest]

@BrickForest You can make your park passes as soon as you purchase your tickets. I think right now the calendar is open until something like January 2024.

The last week of February should be a relatively good week. In the Northeast, many schools have the entire week of President's Day off, so it gets super crowded, but the two weeks following that are usually a little slower until spring break officially starts around the 2nd week of March. Not sure when Mardi Gras is next year, but that can also spike crowds and it sometimes falls during that last week of February - so that would be something to watch for in terms of crowds.

Awesome, thanks for the info on the park reservations and the week to visit! Yeah from what I've been reading, there isn't really a good slow season anymore at Disney World, so I'm just trying to find one of the better times. If we end up going for the week, we aren't going to any parks on the weekends, it was just be a Monday through Friday thing, and we'd be staying at one of the resorts on property.

I just bought my tickets for next May for my family of 3 and reserved my parks already with the understanding that they might have to change as we get closer We are going as a big group of 13, so we may have to shift things around for the two park days we plan on definitely being together. I just wanted to make sure I had reservations locked in-just in case.

Cool, thank you for the tips! I'm sure that will be fun with a large group!

It will actually prompt you to make them

Awesome, ty! Yeah I haven't actually purchased anything yet, I've just been trying to research and seeing what I should know / how much Disney World has changed since I've been, and to make sure my expectations are in check.

In 2023, Mardi Gras is February 21. That means a little uptick in crowds, but not really a lot, especially when compared to Spring Break starting the 2nd week of March. However, the runDisney Princess Half-Marathon is the weekend of February 23-26, and that can make it busy. DH and I prefer the end of January or early in February - after Martin Luther King holiday and before Presidents Day holiday. The weather is usually pleasant but can be unpredictably cold some years.

The first two weeks of November are busy due to the Food & Wine Half-Marathon, Jersey Week, and the Food & Wine Festival winding down. The week after Thanksgiving is probably the better time to go - nice weather, Thanksgiving holiday crowds have gone home, Christmas/New Year's holiday crowds haven't revved up yet.

As others have said, you can make your park reservations as soon as you have tickets, and you can change them around as you get closer, depending on availability, of course.

Thank you for the help! If we ended up going during late February I was thinking we would land in Orlando on the 26th, and stay on Disney property until either that Friday or Saturday. So I was trying to time it to miss the weekends, if that helps with crowds / lines. I never actually went on Saturday or Sunday during my 2011 trip way back when. Thanks for the tip on late January, I was considering that as well. I'm from the north myself, and I am used to the colder climate, but wasn't sure how cold Florida would be late January. I just know when I went the first week of November in 2011, it stayed about 70 every day I was there, which was really warm compared to my state that year. I'll look into that and after Thanksgiving as well, thanks!

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Sorry I wanted to ask one other thing to everyone: Just to be sure, once you do get your park reservations all set on your plan, there isn't any way that they could be canceled out of the blue by Disney right? I just wanted to be sure once you have them, you are all set unless you yourself decide to try for a different park opening and switch stuff.

 

[CarolynFH]

Awesome, thanks for the info on the park reservations and the week to visit! Yeah from what I've been reading, there isn't really a good slow season anymore at Disney World, so I'm just trying to find one of the better times. If we end up going for the week, we aren't going to any parks on the weekends, it was just be a Monday through Friday thing, and we'd be staying at one of the resorts on property.



Cool, thank you for the tips! I'm sure that will be fun with a large group!



Awesome, ty! Yeah I haven't actually purchased anything yet, I've just been trying to research and seeing what I should know / how much Disney World has changed since I've been, and to make sure my expectations are in check.



Thank you for the help! If we ended up going during late February I was thinking we would land in Orlando on the 26th, and stay on Disney property until either that Friday or Saturday. So I was trying to time it to miss the weekends, if that helps with crowds / lines. I never actually went on Saturday or Sunday during my 2011 trip way back when. Thanks for the tip on late January, I was considering that as well. I'm from the north myself, and I am used to the colder climate, but wasn't sure how cold Florida would be late January. I just know when I went the first week of November in 2011, it stayed about 70 every day I was there, which was really warm compared to my state that year. I'll look into that and after Thanksgiving as well, thanks!

-----------------

Sorry I wanted to ask one other thing to everyone: Just to be sure, once you do get your park reservations all set on your plan, there isn't any way that they could be canceled out of the blue by Disney right? I just wanted to be sure once you have them, you are all set unless you yourself decide to try for a different park opening and switch stuff.

No, Disney won’t cancel your park reservations, not intentionally, anyway. I’ve read posts when there were glitches and people could see them in the app but not the website or vice-versa, but I don’t remember any accidental cancellations.

The weather in late November or early December is usually very nice. January and February are usually nice too but cooler. Neither time period is going to have the heat, humidity and every-afternoon thunderstorms of summer, though!

 

[BrickForest]

No, Disney won’t cancel your park reservations, not intentionally, anyway. I’ve read posts when there were glitches and people could see them in the app but not the website or vice-versa, but I don’t remember any accidental cancellations.

The weather in late November or early December is usually very nice. January and February are usually nice too but cooler. Neither time period is going to have the heat, humidity and every-afternoon thunderstorms of summer, though!

Good to know, thank you!