Disney’s park pass reservation system was introduced in 2020 to limit the number of guests at the park each day. It is now required to have a park pass reservation to get into the theme parks. Just having a valid park ticket will NOT get you into one of their theme parks.
The Disney Park pass reservation system is not difficult to complete. It is not impossible to get a park pass reservation if you know the steps to take. The difficulty is being denied entrance at the theme parks in Disney World because you didn’t have all of the information you needed!
You WILL be turned away at the theme park entrance without a park pass reservation even if you have a valid ticket. You don’t want this to happen to you. It’s a big waste of money and time.
I am going to give you step by step instructions on the Disney Park pass reservation system. You don’t want to end up wasting your money not being able to have the vacation you planned.
Check the availability of Disney Park Pass Reservations
Before you purchase a Disney theme park ticket, check the park pass reservation system at Disney.go.com for availability on the dates you plan to visit. Go to the website, click on “Parks and Destinations” at the top of the screen and highlight the resort you plan to visit (either Walt Disney World or Disneyland). For this blog I am going to focus on Walt Disney World.
The further away your vacation is scheduled, the less problem you will have with a park pass reservation. It is important that you make a park pass reservation immediately after you purchase your tickets.
Highlight “Walt Disney World” in the drop-down menu from “Parks and Destination” on the webpage. You will be directed to the page specific to Walt Disney World. Click on the “My Disney Experience” link on the right-hand side of the page. You see a second drop down menu, highlight and click “park pass system”.
Scroll down to three light blue circles and choose the first that is titled “check availability”. “Check if your desired date and theme park are available”.
Purchase your tickets after you check Disney’s Park Pass Reservation Calendar
Once you have checked park availablity, you should book your vacation including resort stay and tickets (I can help). You can do so one of two ways.
Contact me to assist you with planning your vacation at no cost to you
You can book your vacation directly on the site.
Please note, planning a Disney World vacation is time consuming and can be overwhelming. I am here at your disposal to assist with my experience, resources and tools to have a successful vacation at no added cost. I also keep track of the discount promotions released by Disney and I can apply them to your reservation even if you are already booked.
Register for a My Disney Experience account
The next step is to register an account on the My Disney Experience page. Follow the above steps to get to the My Disney Experience link on the Disney World page of the site.
Register for a “My Disney Experience” account. Each member of your travel party will need one including children under 17. Adults are able to keep a child’s account within their control, but regardless, they still need their own profile. The profiles are a way of including or excluding members of your travel party on attractions, reservations, lightning lanes, etc.
Connect all the members of your travel party
One of the more important steps is to make sure your entire travel party is linked together under “family and friends”. You will find that link also under the “My Disney Experience” drop-down menu. Send an invitation to all the members to be connected.
Link your Disney reservation to your account
Go to the “My Disney Experience” link on the right-hand side of the Walt Disney World website. Click on “my plans”. The page will open with a highlighted timeline of light blue buttons. One each for, “Resort”, “Tickets”, “Park Passes”, and “Dining”.
Click the blue button for “Resort”. If you only purchased tickets, you would click on “tickets”. Boxes will appear, one of which is the “link your reservation”. You will be asked to enter your confirmation number and last name.
The system will include your travel party from the reservation when you enter you confirmation number. The blue button will turn a darker color after you add a reservation to your plans indicating there is now a reservation attached to you.
photo credit: Disney Destinations
Only one person has to set up the plans on the app. Once you have included all the family and friends, the reservation information will show up on everyone’s account.
Make your Disney Park Pass Reservations
It is now time to make your park pass reservations in the system. Click on the light blue button on the same page labeled “Park Pass”.
Select the dates and parks you wish to visit on those dates.
Select the members of your family and friends who will be joining you in the parks.
Please confirm after all the steps you go through.
Your reservation is confirmed when the blue button turns a darker shade of blue. Your plans will then show up on the page in a chronological timeline for your vacation.
Download the My Disney Experience App.
Then download the “My Disney Experience” App from IOS or the Google Play store on your phone. You will use this app during most of your vacation, especially inside the parks. Find out all you need to know on how to use Disney Genie tool HERE. In addition, get all the steps you need to take to mobile order your food while you are in the Disney parks and at the resorts HERE.
You’ll find a summary of your plans under the hamburger menu on the bottom right side of the home screen in “my plans”.
If you plan to park hop after 2pm, you DON’T need to make a second park reservation. However, you will need to be sure that the park you are hopping to is not at capacity. Honestly, that hasn’t been the case recently, but it is always good to be sure before travelling. You can check with a cast member before hopping to the next park.
Follow my blogs and check my tools page for tips and tricks on how to vacation at the theme parks. Comment below if you have had any good or bad experiences with the park pass reservation system. Comment also if you have any questions.
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About The Writer:
As a person who loves going to Disney, but doesn’t go on a lot of rides, this is a great feature. It streamlines the whole process! Wait times are less, standing around waiting for them to get off the ride is shorter, and we go to many more attractions!
That’s a very good point!