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Disney World Has Finally Updated the Park Pass Reservation System for the Better

Disney World Park Pass
Credit: Disney

The Walt Disney World Park Pass reservation system is a pandemic-era change that, so far, seems to be sticking around for good.

While Disney CEO Bob Chapek has regularly praised the system for its ability to give Disney the data needed to manage crowds, the majority of Guests miss the “old days” when visiting a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort could be more spontaneous.

With the system here to stay, we can at least share some helpful improvements that Disney made to the Park Pass reservation system that are effective beginning today, August 23, 2022.

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Credit: Disney

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One of the biggest changes that will surely help Guests with planning their Walt Disney World vacations is the new ability to modify reservations on Disney’s official website. Prior to this change, Guests needed to go through the motions of canceling their reservations only to then make new ones at a different Park or on a different date, but now Guests can simply make changes to existing plans right on Disney’s website.

This is exciting news for Guests in the middle of planning their trip, but there is one change we were hoping to see that Disney has not made. Ideally, reservations would be available to make and modify in the My Disney Experience app, but even with the latest updates, this process is limited to Disney’s website.

Characters / Cinderella Castle - 50th Anniversary

Credit: Disney

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Another change that will help Guests visiting the Parks with a group is that the number of Guests one can book a reservation for has been increased to 30 (up from 12).

Similarly, all reservations are now tied to specific tickets and not the Guests themselves. This change may not seem that important, but when you consider Annual Passholders with blackout dates who may have also purchased a one-day Park ticket or Guests who received some tickets through a group trip but purchased their own additional tickets, having the reservation linked to the ticket vs. the person can be a gamechanger.

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Credit: Disney

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Lastly, prior to the latest update, Guests could only send their reservation details to the person whose My Disney Experience account was used to make reservations for the whole group, but now with the latest update, any email can be added.

Unfortunately, no changes have been made to the Park Hopping process at Walt Disney World , which has been another source of frustration for Guests who miss the spontaneity of the pre-reservation days. At present, Guests who plan to Park Hop can still only move over to another Disney World Park after 2:00 p.m. (assuming they have valid theme park admission with Park Hopper tickets and that there is availability to enter the next Park.)

The Park Pass reservation system may still feel like a needlessly complicated obstacle in the way of a Walt Disney World vacation for some, but thankfully some of these improvements should help relieve a little bit of the stress that comes with planning a trip to Disney Parks and Resorts.

We will continue to monitor any changes to the Disney Park Pass reservation system and will be back here with updates as we have them here on DisneyTips.

About Brittany DiCologero

Brittany is a New England-based writer focused on the history of the Walt Disney World Resort. She is the author of "Red, White, and Disney: The Myths and Reality of American History at the Walt Disney World Resort," and "Brittany Earns Her Ears."