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There’s a lot of Disney news coming out this morning, and the Disney Parks Blog released new information on the fate of park hopping. Read on for all the details.
The Disney Parks Blog announced today that among the many changes for 2020, park hopping will not be available for the rest of the year.
The post clarified what had long been suspected, that the need to make a park reservation ahead of time would limit guests to one theme park per day for the foreseeable future.
They also reassured guests that this is a feature that they are eager to bring back as soon as possible, and that ticket packages for 2021 will have park hopper tickets as an option when those packages become available to book later this summer.
The post gave instructions for guests currently holding park hopper tickets:
“Guests with existing tickets that include the Park Hopper Option or Park Hopper Plus Option have options available to them for ticket modifications and cancellations, and can visit DisneyWorld.com/Updates for more information”
Disney Parks Blog
However, I went to the embedded link and there was no new information at this time to be found regarding park hopper tickets.
I’m not a fan of waiting on the phone, so I always recommend to readers that they email Disney and wait for a response for any non urgent inquiries.
If I currently held a park hopper or park hopper plus ticket, I would send an email to guest.services@disneyworld.com and ask how I can get compensation for the difference.
As a passholder, part of the reason I purchased annual passes for our family is the ability to go from park to park. There is no information on how this is being handled at this time, other than the information that for the time being NO guests will be allowed to park hop.
We reported the other day that guests with annual passes have seen their expiration dates updated in My Disney Experience to reflect the closure period. We will report on any other passholder news as it becomes available.
For more information on the new reservation system that was just released head HERE.
My family pretty much always hops parks after our midday break. Will you miss this feature as much as we will? Let us know in the comments on Facebook and in our Facebook group.
-Rebecca W Davis
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Valerie
Friday 19th of June 2020
I did read on the new reservation site not only it is requesting what day, which park, but also HOURS! Are we not going to be allots be in the park all day? And can we come back in if we leave for a break?
Rebecca Davis
Friday 19th of June 2020
Hi Valerie! Thanks for reading. I saw that too... I’m concerned as we normally take a mid day break for ADA reasons (autism and MS). I’m planning to follow up on that and we are booking time for our writers trip on Monday morning so we will know more about what it looks like at that time.
I wonder if due to the more condensed park operating hours they just aren’t allowing reentry? Bc when I think about it, we usually go like 10am- 1pm, head back to the resort to swim and nap/rest... then go back out around dinner time. But if the parks are closing at 6 or 7 like the site has them listed... I guess maybe we won’t take a break mid day? Ugh.. so confusing.
Marc
Friday 19th of June 2020
We have 14 days hopper tickets with water parks included (from Disney Ireland). Not sure if they have announced opening dates for the water parks yet. If they are open in late September, do you think we would have to choose between a water park or a "real" park for a day? Just don't see the water parks as full day parks but still would love to visit, since they are included.
In case the water parks are not open then, I wonder if we will get a refund for those and the not available hopper option.
Rebecca Davis
Friday 19th of June 2020
Hey Marc! I’m curious about the water parks myself... my son is a little fish and likes to do all the slides...
All we know is that they said they aren’t opening their water parks for the time being so they can focus on their theme parks.
I would doubt one would need a special reservation for the water parks in September, if they are indeed open.. Disney’s water park’s are not terribly busy for the most part.
For my money? I’d ask for a refund on the park hopper plus part of your tickets and use the cash to go to universal’s volcano bay. It is open and it’s approximately 300 times better than Disney’s parks!
I wrote about it here: https://www.kennythepirate.com/2019/10/13/everything-you-need-to-know-about-universals-volcano-bay/
Erica Gregoire
Friday 19th of June 2020
I am a little freaked out. I already have a DVC rental paid for, for Feb 2021. My tickets will need to be purchased sperate. Could I get blocked from getting park reservations?
Rebecca Davis
Friday 19th of June 2020
Hi Erica, thanks for reading. There is so much info coming at us today! However they did officially announce that they will be opening up ticket sales for 2021 later this summer, so you should be good!! Hope it all works out for you.
Sandra Nethercott
Friday 19th of June 2020
Thanks for your response. We have a 7 day onsite Pop Century hotel booking for November. Me and Hubby have APs and our friends have a 7 day Hopper Pass. I know the hopper part is not available for the rest of 2020. Hard to know what things will be like by November. Just trying to understand if we did come if we would be able to go into a Park every day of our stay and would that be all day or limited amount of hours. So hard to predict that far ahead. Will have to see how things playout come July.
Rebecca Davis
Friday 19th of June 2020
Yep! We will see. It just so happened that our writers meet up is scheduled for July 13-15 so a few of us (and Kenny who is local) will be meeting up and writing about our experiences. Hopefully that will provide some clarity for others with later bookings.
If it’s anything like Universal, it will be very busy for a week or two and then just absolutely dead from then on. But you should be able to book for all 3 of you at the same time (2 APs and one 7 day ticket) for the 7 days you want to visit.
Sandra Nethercott
Friday 19th of June 2020
Want to understand something. If I am coming to WDW from Canada for a week, am I able to go into a park everyday with a reservation or will I be limited to the amount of days I can enter despite having an AP or a 7 day pass?
Rebecca Davis
Friday 19th of June 2020
Hi Sandra! Thanks for reading. While they have not gotten into those specifics yet, generally guests with an annual pass have been limited to 7 days of fast pass reservations UNLESS they have resort reservations.
If the new park reservation system follows the same rules, you should be able to book days for length of stay if you’re staying on site.
I’m also assuming that guests with a 7 day ticket will be able to book park days for as many days they have tickets for, but they would be held to booking those days on the same schedule of first, guests with onsite resort reservations, then APs, then all guests.
So I can envision a scenario where you have a 7 day ticket but only 3 nights on site... let’s say you’re at universal the other days. You’d be allowed to book all 7 days, but you may have to wait a few days to book your off site time.