It’s been so long. Walt Disney World and Disneyland closed their doors in March of 2020 and while Disney World reopened in July, long before many other theme parks, when it did, it was a very different place. While some Disney World pandemic changes were actually awesome, a lot made things more difficult. Over the last three and a half years things have slowly gotten back to normal. Most of the big pandemic modifications were fixed months if not years ago, but a couple have lingered on. Today, two of those big changes finally ended as reservations are (mostly) gone, and park-hopping freedom has returned to Walt Disney World.
When the Disney World parks first reopened, moving between parks on the same day wasn’t allowed at all. Guests had to make a reservation for a particular park and stay there. When it was brought back, it was given a limit, guests could only park hop after a certain time. Starting today, however, the total freedom to move between all four Walt Disney World parks whenever you want has returned. Assuming you pay for the park hopping option or have an annual pass.
Limited Park Hopping Was Not Popular With Disney World Guests
The park hopping limitations, which Disney World fans hated, were largely a function of the other big change to the Disney World status quo brought by the pandemic, the reservation system, which required guests to book a starting park before visiting. Those have also largely gone away. Standard single-day and multi-day ticket holders no longer need to book reservations to enter Disney World. Some group tickets and special ticket deals will still require reservations.
One significant group that is still required to make reservations is Annual Pass holders. However, they have had the freedom to enter the parks without reservations in the afternoon for several months, and beginning later this month Disney World will offer “Good To Go Days” which are individual days where APs can enter the parks without reservations. This is likely part of a test to see how APs impact crowds, which one expects will lead to the total end of reservations.
I’m not even that big a fan of park hopping at Disney World. It takes so long to get from one park to another in many cases, there’s never a bus when you need one, that I feel like you lose too much of your day moving between parks. But it’s still wonderful that these changes are finally gone.
Disneyland Resort Is Still Waiting For Reservation and Park Hopping Changes
This makes me all the more frustrated that we’re still waiting for any significant change at Disneyland Resort. Reservations are still required of all guests, and park hopping is still limited, which is all the more frustrating because the two Disneyland Resort parks are yards away from each other.
Of course, the ease of park hopping at Disneyland, and the fact there is probably less of it at Disney World is probably the reason changes have been made in this way. Once park hopping restrictions are lifted at Disneyland people will be jumping between parks early and often, and Disneyland isn’t ready for that yet, if they ever will be again.
Even with this big change, not everything caused by the global pandemic has come back to normal. Several Disney World locations are closed and have been since March 2020. Still, today things will feel just that little bit more like they used to.
