When Disney World reopened in July 2020 after a brief closure during the pandemic, the Central Florida resort was equipped with a long list of procedures aimed at managing and monitoring crowds for health and safety purposes. It was restarted. Most things, like temperature checks at the front gate and 6-foot distancing signs in boarding lines, were abolished long ago. However, since the park reopened, a few have remained to this day.
Starting January 9, 2024, Disney World began some major changes. Most guests no longer need a theme park reservation to enter the park, and guests with Park Hopper tickets no longer have to wait until 2pm to visit a second park.
RELATED: 13 new rides, attractions and experiences coming to Disney World in 2024
Disney went back to its old ways and gave guests more freedom and flexibility. These are two things everyone wants more of during the holidays.
I visited the park the first day these changes went into effect to see if Disney World really felt like the “good old days.” Here I will explain my experience and what you should know before your next visit.
Big changes at Disney World
Theme park reservations have ended
For most Disney World guests, theme park reservations are officially a thing of the past.
If you have a date-based ticket, you don’t need to select the parks you want to visit in advance. Although you’ll still need to buy the ticket for the trip itself, you won’t have to take the extra step of making a reservation at one of Disney’s four his theme parks every day of your visit, which was required until Jan. 8. 2024.
Related: Is the Disney Visa Credit Card worth it?
The main exception to this rule is Disney World Annual Passholders. Annual passholders will still need to make theme park reservations on most days, but Disney will introduce “Good to Go” days on select days starting January 11, 2024.
daily newsletter
Get rewarded in your inbox with the TPG Daily newsletter
Join over 700,000 readers and get breaking news, in-depth guides, and exclusive deals from TPG experts.
On this day, Annual Passholders can enter any of Disney’s four theme parks without a reservation. If you have an annual pass, you can use the park without a reservation after 2:00 p.m. even on days when reservations are required (excluding Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays).
Theme park reservations are still available for certain promotional ticket types.
Lifting restrictions on park hopping
If you have a ticket with the Park Hopper option or are an Annual Passholder, you won’t have to wait until 2pm to visit your second (or third, or fourth) park. Before the change, you had to wait until 2pm to go to a park other than the theme park you booked for that day. Now you can visit additional parks at any time throughout the day.
Related: New Disney World discounts
This increases the value of your Park Hopper ticket as you can spend more time visiting additional parks instead of staying at one park until 2pm. If you’re only staying at Disney for a short period of time and want to visit up to four parks in one day, it’s now much easier.
Disney Dining Plan is back
On January 9th, the Disney Dining Plan was reintroduced. This popular pre-pandemic perk essentially lets you prepay for a certain number of meals and snacks during your stay, giving your trip the feel of an all-inclusive vacation. Some packages even include a “free” dining plan, so that can be a popular option as well.
TPG has a complete guide to help you decide if the Disney Dining Plan is worth your trip, in case it sounds like an option you’re interested in.
How these changes have improved your visit
Less pressure, more flexibility
Before leaving for the airport on the morning of January 9th, I wanted to start my day at Magic Kingdom. But I had lunch reservations at Hollywood Studios for 11am, so I knew it would be over by the time I arrived in Orlando and dropped off my bags at the hotel.
So instead, I went straight to Hollywood Studios. I knew that if I didn’t want to go, I wouldn’t be able to stay there until 2pm.
After lunch I decided to meet some friends at Animal Kingdom and was able to go right there.
Having already visited two parks by around noon, we thought we might be able to visit all four in one day, but a late afternoon storm foiled our plans. Once the rain stopped, we arrived at Epcot just in time for the new nighttime spectacle, Luminous.
Simply put, my day felt more relaxed. Since we didn’t have to plan the whole day in advance, we could go wherever our little hearts wanted.
less waiting time
Back when park-hopping restrictions were in place, there were many times when I felt “stuck” in the first park and waited until 2pm to visit another. If you especially like rope drops, you’ll get a lot done in the first few hours after the park opens and be ready to move on to something new. Now you can do that.
I loved knowing that I could go to another park as soon as I was ready instead of looking at the clock (something Cinderella should have done more carefully).
On the second day of my visit, I plan to wake up and try to make a virtual line reservation for Magic Kingdom’s Tron Lightcycle Run, but I’d like to spend the rest of the day at Epcot and Hollywood Studios. If you can secure a spot in the early morning line, you can ride your favorite coaster and head to another park in no time. If not, you can skip Magic Kingdom if you wish.
achieved further results
It felt like we saw and did so much in one day thanks to the aforementioned flexibility and low wait times. Before this change was made, he would usually choose one park in the morning and evening, or he would only visit one park per day. My day felt more fulfilling because of my newfound freedom.
It wasn’t so much about how many times I rode the vehicle, it was more about feeling like I could do exactly what I wanted when I wanted, rather than having to play by certain rules that felt arbitrary at this point. .
We rode twice at Hollywood Studios and twice at Anmar Kingdom, took a break from the storm, had a long dinner at Disney Springs, and finished the night at Epcot. It was fulfilling and above all, it was fun.
Tips for visiting Disney World in 2024
Changes to how you use Genie+
Usage methods may change due to changes in theme park reservations or park hopping. Genie+ is a paid line reduction service.
If you have a ticket with the Park Hopper option, you can now use Genie+ to reserve the Lightning Lane attraction at any park, at any time. If you are reserving Lightning Lane at multiple parks, please allow enough time to travel between parks. Disney World is about the size of San Francisco, so it can take a while to get between certain park combos.
If you have any issues or questions about Genie+, you can reach out to a Cast Member for assistance. Look for the blue “Guest Experience” umbrella to find a Cast Member to assist you.
All other rules regarding how often you can book using Genie+ still apply.
I still want to make plans
I always recommend going to Disney World with a rough plan that includes a small list of things to do rather than a minute-by-minute itinerary, and this still applies. Even though you have more flexibility, if you don’t have a plan in place, you can end up wandering around aimlessly and doing nothing.
It’s a good idea to have an idea of which parks you want to go to each day and a list of things to do, but remember that you can always change those plans if you don’t want to. I feel that.
Take advantage of early entry and extended evening hours.
Although you have more freedom in your day, Disney is still large and often crowded.
Even if you’re staying at an on-site hotel at Disney World, you’ll want to take advantage of early entry to the theme parks if possible. This allows him to start 30 minutes earlier than other guests and allows him to hit one or two headliner attractions before it gets crowded. This is especially helpful if he starts his day at the park with the earliest opening hours (usually an animal park). Kingdom or Magic Kingdom) and move to another park when it opens.
Pro tip: To maximize your early admission to famous attractions, arrive at the park and line up at least 30 minutes before early admission actually begins to get to the front of the line.
Even if you’re not an early riser, guests at Disney’s Deluxe Resorts like Disney’s Beach Club Resort and Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa can enjoy exclusive extra evening hours at certain parks on certain nights. can. Here are some of our favorite hotels across all tiers of Disney World.
The complete schedule can be found at Disney daily calendar.
Pro Tip: Renting Disney Vacation Club Points lets you stay at deluxe resorts at affordable resort prices.
don’t try too hard
This is the advice I would give to anyone who asks, regardless of Disney’s rules at the time. It may be easy to try everything when you’re at Disney World, but it’s also literally impossible. Disney World is huge. There are so many attractions to ride, so many characters to ride, so many shows to see, so many restaurants to eat at that it’s impossible to accomplish in one visit.
Even though you can now visit more parks in less time, you still can’t visit them all. Instead, make a list of what’s most important to you at each park before you visit. Once you have achieved these, you can use your free time however you like.
conclusion
Visiting Disney World always brings me joy, but during this trip I felt that joy for the first time in a while. Because there’s less to plan. And Disney may not be done yet.
Along with other recent changes, this makes it clear that Disney wants the same thing we all want…to make vacations feel more like carefree vacations. . And for the first time in a while, it feels like Disney World is returning to the good old days.
Related books: