Today was a HUGE day. On top of the Disney World Resorts re-opening, the Disney Park Pass system went live for the first time.
However, there’s a lot to keep in mind when it comes to the resorts and the new theme park reservation system.
This week, the Disney Park Pass reservations are only opening up to resort guests with tickets (June 22), Annual Passholders (June 26), and regular ticket holders without resort hotel bookings (June 28). While new tickets and passes aren’t being sold, new Disney Resort reservations also aren’t available either (bummer).
Although you may really miss chilling on your balcony at the Contemporary, Disney made these limitations as a way of prioritizing guests who have existing reservations, tickets, and passes since Disney will need to limit access to the parks due to CDC guidelines, and they’re making sure guests with existing reservations get the first crack at the park pass system.
So what if you have a regular Disney World ticket, but no valid resort hotel, and you want to grab your reservations BEFORE the June 28th free-for-all (after all, we’re already starting to see opening days sell out!)? Well, if you get a valid hotel reservation before the 28th, then you’ll be able to book your park passes before they’re open to all ticket-holders.
But the issue is: Disney has halted resort hotel bookings for the time being. HOWEVER, there are several non-Disney-owned hotels that also offer the early park pass booking perk!Â
Here’s what you need to know about booking Disney Park Pass reservations for your whole family!
On top of the Swan and Dolphin Hotels, Shades of Green Resorts, and Four Seasons Orlando Resort, Disney has direct connections to multiple applicable Good Neighbor and surrounding area resorts. Many of them will provide many of the same perks that the Disney Resorts do and give you access to Disney World privileges that on-property resort guests receive.
One of the privileges includes the ability to have primary access to the Disney Park Pass system with an existing hotel reservation. And, some of the resorts are allowing guests to book new stays for the future, so if you already have your tickets but don’t want to wait until the 28th to book your park passes, you might even be able to score Disney Park Pass spots EARLY after making a reservation at one of the hotels in the area. (Thanks to @themeparkmillennial for reminding us of this awesome tip!)
However, keep in mind that it may take up to 72 hours before your resort reservation can be linked into My Disney Experience, so in order to book BEFORE other ticketed guests on the 28th, be sure to book your applicable good neighbor hotel quickly. You’ll need to check with individual resorts to confirm the ability to use Disney Park Pass early before trying to book park reservations with an existing stay or making a new stay.
Some of the Bonnet Creek Resorts and Disney Springs Area Resorts listed here may have availability:
- Hilton
- Waldorf Astoria
- B Resort & Spa
- Best Western (note that this hotel appears to be not accepting new bookings at this time)
- DoubleTree Suites
- Holiday Inn
- Wyndham and Wyndham Garden
Find out what counts as a “Walt Disney World Resort” here!
This can be a BIG DEAL for the guests wanting to visit the parks as soon as possible, especially since Disney hasn’t stated when new reservations will be able to be booked on property. While it may not work for every Good Neighbor and surrounding resort, we definitely recommend looking into the possibility that your existing stay (or maybe even a new one) could be eligible to book Disney Park Pass reservations ASAP.
Here are ALL the re-opening dates for Disney World Resorts!
Disney Park Reopening Details and Info
Click HERE for the All Latest Updates
Click HERE To See FULL LISTS of the Rides, Attractions, Shopping, Entertainment, and Restaurants Opening in Disney World!
TUTORIAL: How To Use Disney World's NEW Park Pass Reservation System
ALL Disney World Reopening Procedures
Disney World Hotel and Ticket Booking Information
We’re Visiting ALL the Reopened Disney World Hotels and Have All the Need-to-Know Details
We’re LIVE in Disney World's Magic Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We’re LIVE in Disney’s Animal Kingdom For the FIRST Time Since the Closures
We Got a FIRST LOOK at Disney World’s New Character Cavalcades and Entertainment!
Everything You NEED To Know About Wearing Masks in Disney World
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When do you plan on taking a vacation in Disney World next? Let us know in the comments below!
I’m an annual passholder with a 6 night reservation at the Doubletree in Disney Springs that has been in place for months. I was still only able to get 3 park reservations, not the length of stay.
Jeff, you might want to try again today or attempt to get ahold of Disney. We think this might be a glitch since it’s happened to a lot of APs.
Now what if you currently have a room only reservation, but no tickets yet? Am I out of luck?
James, if your Resort reservation is for 2020, you’ll have to wait until “later this summer” for ticket sales to resume. If you have a 2021 room-only reservation, you can add tickets starting tomorrow, 6/24. Here’s the page with info!
Thanks for checking on Shades of Green…
Just remember, if you’re only getting the room reservation so you can get the Park Pass early then you will most likely lose that Park Pass if you cancel the room reservation. Like if you want to move to a Disney hotel when those open up again. I”m not 100% sure about that, but it seems like it would keep people from getting reservations just to get Park Passes then canceling those rooms.
So if you are a dvc member with a hotel reservation but no tickets? Aren’t we able to buy tickets on the 24th? I saw this in the video but can’t verify.
Aaryn, if you have a stay planned for 2020, those ticket sales will be available “later this summer” according to Disney. It could be as soon as next week. If you have a stay planned in 2021, you can begin purchasing tickets for those stays on June 24 (that’s today).
Chrystie, we don’t know if this is true, but when guests could book FastPasses, they would lose those if they made them at 60 days out and then cancelled their Resort reservations. So it does seem possible that until we get to the point where anyone can make Park Pass reservations, cancelling a Resort stay could impact Park Pass reservations.
Dfb Sarah, both of your latest news videos say the 24th for dvc members with existing hotel reservations. What I can’t find is a source for this info.
Aaryn, here’s the page with dates for the Disney Park Pass. The only info regarding room-only reservations is that new tickets sales will resume later this summer. No set date has been announced, as far as we know.
If you make a reservation just to get park passes you can only get park passes for the same dates of your room reservation not just any day you want.