Disney World Annual Passholder Reservation Limits & Preview Days
Walt Disney World has released new updates for Annual Passholders regarding the reopening of the theme parks, and info about upcoming policies, including the advance online reservation system and AP previews. In this post, we’ll share details of the announcement and offer additional commentary. (Updated June 16, 2020.)
Here’s the message from Walt Disney World, via the Annual Passes: Know Before You Go page:
Our Annual Passholders are some of our most loyal and valued Guests. We truly can’t wait to welcome you back–and we will do it with great thought. With that in mind, when the parks reopen, park capacity will be significantly limited–and may continue to be for a period of time, based on guidance from health experts to promote physical distancing.
We understand how much excitement, thought and time goes into planning your Disney visits and realize some new changes may be disappointing. For example, during this unprecedented time, an annual pass will not guarantee park entry and Annual Passholders will be required to make an advance reservation to enter a park.
Here are the noteworthy policies:
- During the limited capacity period, it may be difficult for Annual Passholders to get park reservations to visit on certain dates. To help manage capacity, total reservation days held at one time will be limited. More details will be shared in the coming weeks.
- Some pass benefits and features will not be available during periods of limited capacity. Also, park experiences and offerings will be modified and subject to limited availability or even closure.
- Annual passes are subject to blockout dates. Guests should ensure their pass type is valid for park entry prior to making a park reservation.
As Walt Disney World prepares for the reopening of Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, they’re planning a special preview opportunity for Annual Passholders. Details about this will be shared soon.
If you have any questions, please contact V.I.PASSHOLDER Support at (407) 939-7277. Options to manage your Walt Disney World Annual Pass continue to be available during the closure period.
Not a ton of new information here, but there are takeaways we can glean from this. First, Annual Passholders will be limited in the number of reservations simultaneously held. Meaning that, like FastPass+ reservations in the past, you can’t hold an infinite number of simultaneous bookings.
This makes sense, and seems fair on its face. The question will be how this will work in tandem with on-site resort reservations. Our assumption is that, like in the past with FastPass+, Annual Passholders with on-site reservations won’t face these same limitations.
This is just a guess, but we anticipate guests staying on-site will always be given strong preferential treatment in making reservations to visit the parks.
Just as Walt Disney World prioritizes on-site guests during current phased closings (which occur from time to time between Christmas and New Year’s Eve), we’d expect the same going forward with WDW hotel guests and the park reservations. It seems unlikely that Disney will leave its on-site guests who have spent thousands of dollars on a vacation package without an option to enter the parks.
With that said, we also do not anticipate demand for park entry reservations exceeding supply after the first few days, or perhaps weeks. Even with a fraction of the normal park capacity, we’d be shocked if Walt Disney World is running out of registration availability on a regular basis.
Look no further than the chorus of cancellation comments, and then consider the current state of the economy, unemployment, travel restrictions, and more–all of which will further depress organic demand. Again, this is just speculation on our part, though. We’ve been wrong plenty of times in the past.
Walt Disney World also confirms that there will be Annual Passholder previews of the parks, but doesn’t set specific dates or a means of attending. This is not new, as a soft opening period for affinity groups (APs, Disney Vacation Club, Florida Residents, Club 33, Golden Oak, etc.) was previously mentioned.
We assume these dates will likewise require advance online registration, but we’re very curious as to when these will begin. Our “wishful thinking” date would be June 22, as that would give DVC members with resort reservations a chance to use the parks during their stay. However, that’s a very long soft opening period, and might be a bit far-fetched. We shall see.
June 16, 2020 Update: Annual Pass expiration dates are starting to be extended by 117 days in the My Disney Experience app, which means that the new dates are being based upon the reopening date of July 11, 2020. While Disney has not expressly addressed when the clock starts ticking again on Annual Passes, it would sure seem like that’s the date based upon the reopening date of Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom.
It’s worth noting that Shanghai Disneyland is not restarting the clock during its Advanced Reservation Period, which means any dates an AP visits during that period are essentially a bonus. Hong Kong Disneyland is starting the clock during the registration period, but they are adding a bonus 30 days and it’ll likely be very easy for HKDL Annual Passholders to book every day they want to visit as that park is not particularly popular.
Both the Shanghai and Hong Kong approaches make sense and seem fair given that registration is required and access is not guaranteed, nor is it unlimited or available per the original terms of the purchase.
The new policies are arguably a unilateral contract modification that goes beyond what’s contemplated by any reasonable change of terms provision or disclaimer. Accordingly, our expectation was that Walt Disney World would not restart the clock until after the reservation period has ended.
That’d be the legally prudent and guest-friendly course of action, but that does not appear to be what Walt Disney World is going to do. Of course, when this all started Disney also didn’t plan on offering refunds or pausing monthly payments. That changed pretty quickly thanks to significant guest backlash, the threat of lawsuits, and unfavorable media coverage. Perhaps Disney will change course here if there’s uproar or the possibility of litigation.
Ultimately, not a ton of new information today for Walt Disney World Annual Passholders, but with a lot of people anxiously awaiting each tidbit of news from Disney, we thought this was worth sharing. Again, we’ll stress patience with all of this. I know we sound like a broken record at this point, but it’s worth reiterating and is for your own sanity.
Walt Disney World is figuring this out on the fly (several details have already changed multiple times in under 24 hours since last night’s big cancellation announcement) and is doing so with a limited staff while many people are still on furlough. The info is going to be released in a slow trickle, and specific details are going to change and evolve with circumstances. If you don’t urgently need an answer, just relax, sit back, and wait for the info to come to you–potentially with changes as subsequent updates are made. This can be a frustrating process, but this is an unprecedented time and Walt Disney World is in uncharted waters.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Are you an Annual Passholder? Think these policies seem fair? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World during the AP preview reopening period? Do you expect reservations to visit the parks being competitive or easy to score? A variety of viewpoints are welcomed here, but we will not tolerate insults, arguing, or politically-charged comments. Additionally, please do not debate the efficacy of health safety policies—all such comments (for, against, otherwise) will be deleted. Those arguments are played out and isn’t the appropriate forum for that. (Saying you will or will not visit in light of certain measures is fine.)
Our Florida Resident Platinum Plus AP s expired in the first week of May 2020. Under normal circumstances, we would have had thirty days from expiration date to renew our annual passes with a 15% discount. Since we had been in the parks well over ten days during the year, we did not expect to get any refund for the time that the parks were closed till our expiration dates. I just read about Disney refunding the March 2020 payments made by FL AP s on the monthly payment plan. We were one of those pass holders. No refunds have been received as of yet. However, my wife and I are senior citizens and basically have been cast as characters in the new COVID-19 soap opera. Unfortunately, not the “Young & the Restless, but the new one called the” Elderly & the Vulnerable.” I called the Disney AP helpline and explained to a CM that CDC, the WHO, the state of Florida, the Dr. Fauci fan club etc, were all recommending that people of our age should stay on lock down till there is a vaccine or a therapeutic cure. Therefore, it would make no sense for us to renew our passes in this scenario. But we didn’t want to lose our fifteen percent renewal discount when we did renew our passes. The CM acknowledged our predicament and gave me a special code enabling us to renew when it was deemed safe by the State and Local authorities to return to the parks. She said there was no expiration date for this renewal discount code. I believe Disney went above and beyond for us senior AP passholders. From the reports we are getting in the media, it may be at least six months or more before the parks and the crowds are deemed safe for us. If we do get refunds for March and April 2020, so much the better. I just thought I would let any other senior AP s that read Tom & Sarah’s great blog about Disney’s more than fair policy.
We just got our refunds for March a few minutes ago. We were not charged in April. Glad to hear that Disney offered the discount extension for you. I expect Disney will have other solutions in place that are more than fair for Passholders. It will be sad to not see the usual seniors in the parks. Here’s hoping you get to return soon
Robert,
I am also skeptical about the info I received this morning from a CM. I know that they sometimes give out conflicting info. Keeping that in mind, I’ve scheduled my trip at the beginning of august during my definite 30 or so days extension. And will wait like everyone else for the final verdict on AP extensions.
@Christi and @Robert–Just double checked the website. Yes. You get your pass extended for the number of days the park was closed. Or , if you already paid in full, you get a partial refund. In this case the CM was correct! It’s fair and might help with getting people back in the parks this next year.
Also. Has nothing to do with expiration date. My February 2021 pass should now expire some time in June 2021! Sweet.
They need to NOT restart the clock on APs until after they are beyond the reservations-required period. Otherwise, that is tantamount to an extended forced blackout because we cannot use the passes according to the scheduled days of access we purchased. I’m a “Gold” passholder with only 4 blackout weeks (2 near Christmas, 2 near Easter). But if I cannot attend in July, August, September, etc., on days that I want to go– but CANNOT get one of the limited reservation spots– then I am effectively blacked out contrary to the terms of my Gold AP. The only amicable way to handle that is to NOT restart the AP clock until they open the parks without attendance restrictions and advanced-reservation requirements.
I am an Annual Passholder and did not receive any information via e-mail or otherwise. Thanks to Tom and this newsletter, I am on hold now to see why we did not receive personal notification. I am keeping up via other news and especially this site to keep informed. I echo many of the others concerns previously posted, especially if staying on property. Limited to perhaps a few days of our stay to actual get in a park seems, well…odd. I plan to bring the adult family and feel quite concerned that the dates we register entrance on a ticket may not be honored, so what happens to that dated ticket? We, as AP’s won’t have this struggle, but single day to day ticket holders in our party will. Time will tell. I wish to know if any others who are AP’s, if they did not get personal notification via e-mail also. Checked spam, not there either. Thanks.
We got the email at 4:38 a.m. (Eastern), only a few hours ago. Maybe yours is still in queue to be mailed. You can also check what email is on file at the MDE website, instead of suffering on hold.
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/plan/
I am an AP and did not get any email notification either. I also called and they had no reason for me not getting the email. I would love to hear if you get any answers!
Thank you to all who replied. I was on hold roughly an hour +. The CM was very pleasant and put me on hold another 23 minutes to research. Her answer was that “maybe” because” I purchased the AP passes, they listed me as the primary guest. In My Disney Experience my husband is the manager of that account. Despite my husband linking me as a passholder in My Disney Experience, apparently because I purchased the passes I become a primary on that AP account. She said they are not synced (Annual Passholder and My Disney Experience). Strangely, all information is exactly equal. Perhaps this year when I purchased the rules changed and I should have purchased separately? Who knows, as we haven’t been able to go yet and have rescheduled for a fourth time due to COVID. However, for three years we have always renewed online and I was the purchase credit card for both passes each year and never had this issue. That being said she could be wrong and “maybe” have yet to receive the e-mail… I am not sure that helps those who asked me to keep them posted but calling right now is truly not a good use of time. Thank you once again Tom and Sarah for being right there, upfront, helpful and most up-to-date. So…appreciate you. If not for this site I would have never known in a timely manner. As a side note, every past reservation and every FP etc we have had no issues on the Annual Pass this year despite not being able to go yet. Thus, the explanation although plausible, doesn’t make a make sense to me.
I haven’t seen this reported anywhere yet, but current ticket holder (not annual passholders) with expiring tickets just got the expiration date extended from December 15, 2020, to September 26, 2021.
Hi, everyone! I spoke to a CM this morning about AP, we are out-of-Towners with a Platinum Plus pass that was set to expire on April 13,2020. Having already gotten my money’s worth from them, I thought about taking the refund since we weren’t planning another trip before expiring anyway. However, I was told this morning, that our passes would be extended for the total amount of time the parks were closed. So, if they start the clock July 11 or July 15, we will get an additional 18 weeks use on our passes! Yay! Planning a couple more trips now. First one Aug 2-7,2020 , can’t wait to go for reduced capacity!!!
Christi, are you sure about that 18 week extension? (also, based on a closure that began March 14th, and runs through July 15th, you’re actually looking at about 17.5 weeks). Because that would mean that EVERYONE who had a pass expire at any time during the closure would also get 18 weeks added on. I think what’s going to happen is once the parks re-open, you’re going to get extended for 30 days, or the time lost from March 14th to your original expiration date of April 13th. You might want to double check.
Also, I have a Premiere Pass that opens that expires July 18th. So what would that mean for me? Are you going to basically get 14 weeks for free just because your pass expired earlier? Like I said, double check.
Christi — that is not correct. The extension “for the entire time the parks are closed” means that the annual pass will be extended past its expiration date by that amount. So yours will get extended by 17-18 weeks after April 13, giving you about a month after reopen to use your passes.
I got the email. Basically you have to have a reservation to get into a park even if you are a Annual Passholder and you may not be able to get in when you want. So it really it really equates to unforced blackout dates even for Platinum or Platinum Plus Passholders. Basically it does not pay to be a Passholder under these conditions because you not longer have the flexibility or ability to go when you want unless you can score a reservation. There are reports that Disney compensated Shanghai Annual Passholders with daily extensions to their pass end dates to cover when they were denied entrance to the park when all reservations were booked. It will be interesting to see what Disney will do for Annual Passholders in the United States. But in know way should anyone have to continue to pay the same price for Annual Passes with reduced access.
@Tony, agreed about forced blackouts. I mentioned in another post that the only way I see this resolved amicably for AP holders, is to NOT restart the clock on APs until the advanced-reservation restrictions are lifted and we can attend the park at-will. My “Gold” level AP blacks out for 2 weeks near Christmas and another 2 weeks around Easter, but is valid for all other times. If I couldn’t attend in July/Aug/Sept– months that I am PAYING for access– just because I couldn’t score advanced reservations, that’s tantamount to blackouts which are not part of the Gold AP agreement. I hope Disney “does right” by their loyal AP holders, and keeps the clock suspended while these tight access restrictions are in place.
Unless out of town guests staying on property or in the environs of Disney are guaranteed park entrance, the innkeepers will be out of business. Who wants to pay airfare and the cost of rooms if all that will be guaranteed to the visitor will be the opportunity to visit gift shops? And as another commentor mentioned how will Disney compensate people holding unrestricted annual passes for this new system, which effectively introduces random block out dates to anyone who holds an unrestricted pass?
This is an unworkable system!
Exactly. I have three Platinum Plus Annual Passes that gives me and my family unrestricted access to the parks, water parks, and to some golf. So the question is do we still pay for the same price with reduced access and ability to attend, and really no matter what the level of passholder is? Something is not right.
Yes this is a huge problem! We are out of state (west coast) bought platinum plus passes last November with plans to go three times -November, April and October. April was canceled and now I’m not sure what to do about October. We booked Pop century and thought that maybe by being on site would grant us access to the parks but being passholders we will only be allowed a few (number still unknown) park reservations at once if you can get it. I won’t go I don’t have access to the parks every day I stay. Also my nephew is coming and we purchased a 7 day park hopper plus and they don’t seem to be offering partial refunds for those tickets which are more expensive than a single park per day ticket and now aren’t useable (no hopping and no water parks) – I hope they make this right…
Ditto. My primary concern is when the AP clock starts ticking again. I understand the phased reopening and am willing to play along, but DON’T start the clock on my AP during a time I can’t attend when I want to. Annual Passes are too expensive to charge us for days we are potentially blacked out (beyond the blackout dates we know in advance before buying). That would be a really nasty trick on loyal AP holders. I’d already paid for renewal on our 3 passes just before COVID hit, so I’m really concerned that I may have renewed passes that will burn away $$ with unexpected un-usable days.
If you havent used your passes after renewing them, you can get a full refund on each pass. That’s what I did.
I renew through AAA at a discount, and enter the voucher numbers into the MDE website. Those are non-refundable. Never thought I’d ever have to care about it, since I’ve been a loyal attendee since the summer of 1972. Aside from the discount, one of the great things about buying vouchers is I can buy more than one year at a time, before the rate increases, which locks in the lower rate for a longer time. The vouchers I entered into the system this year are good through Dec 21, 2030, so there’s no risk of them expiring before I use them.
Do you think that Disney will put out more Annual Passholder room discounts soon?
Tom, thank you for your diligent, comprehensive and insightful updates-as you always do! We are DVC/ AP holders with a scheduled trip July 10-18. We still plan to go and are very curious to see how this trip will compare to my typical planned trips in the past. We are embracing a “go with the flow” approach and are thankful that the parks will be open (albeit limited) at all. The fact is, we will get to ride some rides and have an experience to remember. We went to WDW in October 2001 and we still talk about that trip and different it was. I am fine with all the precautions we will need to take and recognize that with the anticipated limited crowds, we should be able to do what is our favorite part of going – riding rides without standing in long lineS (uh, yes please!). I am anxious to see how the reservation system will work. It got really real when my FPs and Villian’s party reservations disappeared today. Good news – I wasn’t freaked out because my all things Disney expert (you) had prepared me in advance. Even my 9 yr old knows how much to trust your blog. She will ask: what is Tom saying? 🙂
I have weekday passes – so June and July are always blocked out for me anyway. I can wait a while longer before resuming my weekly Disney trips (I am a patient soul)
But I do feel for those trying to plan/reschedule their vacations
We’re locals and there’s no way we would subject ourselves to this kind of heat while wearing masks. We went for a walk today and we’re both covered in sweat after just 10 minutes. And it’s getting more humid and sweaty by the day.
We get it, you don’t want to wear a mask. You (or someone with the same alias, at least) have posted this multiple times in multiple threads. Give it a rest. Masks are a requirement. It’s for the safety of other people From asymptomatic carriers. Nobody likes wearing a mask. This too shall pass, but in the meantime your incessant comments bemoaning having to wear a mask aren’t helping.
I don’t think the clock should begin ticking on our passes until we feel safe in returning,.. why would that be a financial loss for Disney?
Agreed. We called both Disney and Universal to request a cancellation of our annual passes since we’re on flex pay and have no desire to go there since the atmosphere and requirements have changed so drastically. No one should expect any mercy from either company because Universal actually hung up on us when we called and Disney flat out said no. They don’t care about your circumstances or your finances, they just want your $$$.
“Until we feel safe” would be incredibly too objective for anyone to think as a realistic option. Disney isn’t going to work with each individual AP holder to determine when they feel comfortable starting the clock again. It’s an unreasonable request. What Shanghai is doing seems more than fair.
Erin, you might mean ‘subjective’? and Yes it is subjective but objective in that the clock begins when you next go through the gate. Doesn’t require working with individuals at all. If you had 6 months remaining on your pass when they closed the parks, then once you go through the gates your remaining 6 months begin counting down. Seems simple to me,..
We don’t have Florida passes but have Disneyland flexpasses. Obviously not a lot of information available currently about Disneyland reopening but curious about how they’ll handle flexpasses (which would sort of require a double reservation at this point…)
Fear of being unable to visit is a good way to try and generate on site hotel stays from out of town passholders – I assume that’s the strategy. Park hopping remains an unanswered question though – I don’t recall the last time I remained in the same park.
Disney can expect some pretty fierce competition from local hotels though, I expect. I got an email from two places I stay at occasionally announcing waived resort fees as part of their grand reopening – I briefly had to check that hell hadn’t frozen over 😉
Tom, thanks for keeping us informed and with insight into all the announcements and plans. It aids me in helping my clients to make the best decisions for their upcoming trips! Disappointed and some a little more than frustrated…we all have to make the best of tough situation!
Tom – Funny you mentioned the potential soft opening for DVC members starting June 22nd. I actually already thought that may be the case.
I think although the soft opening would extend for weeks, it would still give Disney an extensive amount of time to see how everything works and evaluate overall guest satisfaction. I’m checking in at Boardwalk on June 22nd….we shall see.
A longer soft opening would also help reduce pent up demand among DVC members and APs thus allowing more out of town guests into the parks on the 11th.
First off, I love your blog and appreciate all your updates during this crazy time, Tom! I’m a FL resident and AP just so you know where my perspective is coming from. I just spoke to a CM and he had said that they still do not know how the reservation system will affect APs (namely if the clock will “start ticking” for them). He did, however, bring up a good point that I thought was worth sharing: regardless of if those days will count toward the APs, APs (mainly those that live in the state) and other Florida residents with pre-existing tickets/reservations will make up the majority of the people who visit the park during the limited capacity reservation period because airlines are still working at limited capacity and that people from “hot spot states” are supposed to be self-quarantining for 14 days when they come into Florida. Obviously this is not a guarantee of anything, but it’s just an interesting point I hadn’t considered. In the end, I think all we can do is wait for more updates and hope that things run smoothly.
The quarantine order expires on July 7, so it won’t be a factor by the time the parks are open.
My daughter flew in today. She lives in North Jersey, flew in from Philadelphia. Absolutely NOTHING was said to her about self-quarantine and she heard nothing while either airport. She is here for a family issue and we have no plans to leave our house so it wouldn’t have mattered. But again, nothing at all was said at any point in her travels. I will say that her flight was practically empty, which made her feel better about the flight. But I wouldn’t count on the self quarantine order. Regardless of when it expires, it is already not being enforced.
I’d hope they continue to extend the AP date, but it not it’s not the end of the world. I fully understand that this situation sucks for everybody.
We bought AP’s last August with the expectation of using them August and this June (and we ended up doing a Christmas trip as well). I’d get ~25% of my price back and have sacrificed ~45% of the days I was going to spend int he park (June trip was longer than the other two). It’s not completely equitable, but in light of people losing their jobs (and the amount of money wiped out in my retirement savings) I’m not going to quibble over 20% of an AP.
20% of the APS for my husband and I equals $400 which is no small sum. I am not at all happy about being forced to resume our flex payments when there’s no way we’d go there in masks.
I agree that it’s not a small chunk of change (we’re a family of 3, 20% = $551 at the prices we paid). But compared to my cousin who’s a hairdresser and had to closer her salon for 2 months? Or the lost income for the furloughed cast members? It could be a lot worse. So while I wouldn’t be happy losing the money, I’ll count myself lucky that I still have a job.
I talked to AP customer service today, and as you mention, they have no official answer, but the gentleman said “Do remember that everything at Disneyworld or Disneyland is subject to change, just like we cancel the fireworks for rain.” I hope he is mistaken.
IDK, my family has Platinum Plus passes and if we can’t actually get what we paid for, that’s going to suck. I understand the health concerns, but if I have to have a hotel reservation to get a reservation to visit, I am unlikely to renew.
I sure hope you’re right about onsite guests with annual passes. We aren’t locals and have reservations in August. Only reason we bought annual passes was to barely squeeze 3 trips in. Our annual passes function more like 3 10 day tickets for us. Won’t be worth it if we can only get into the parks a couple times on an 11 night stay. And now we can’t buy a standard ticket instead. I’ve rolled with all the other changes they have made but they better give reservation priority to onsite guests or they risk alienating the tourist segment.
If they restrict reservations to hotel guests, then they will alienate the FL residents. We were there 3-4 times a month and had at least one sit down meal each time. Over the course of a year, we easily spend more than a family from out of town who stays for a week.
This is the problem my family has…My AP expired 2 weeks ago and my husband and daughter’s expires next week. We are still keeping our reservation June 30-July 5. If there are soft openings I am afraid we can’t get in bc we will not be current AP. I’ve called numerous times and no one can help me.
Sorry, I didn’t mean this as a reply directly to your post. Hit the wrong botton. Definitely
not trying to start some sort of locals versus tourists argument. We’re all Disney fans. That being said, Disney World is one big over priced hotel operation. Its not sustainable without onsite guests. The guests won’t come unless they know they can get into a park. They may not get their first choice each day, but there should be slots for them that are not concurrently capped. Without that assurance, how many will make the trip? Hopefully this is all moot and all the parks don’t routinely hit capacity anyway.
Mine ran out May 1. I said screw it and renewed online even though I thought they might offer a carrot for renewals. We shall see! Scheduled for Labor Day weekend…