Disney World Park Pass & Resort Reservations Now Available Through January 2022
Earlier this summer, Walt Disney World released vacation packages beginning January 1, 2021 and with checkout dates before September 27, 2021. As of today, resort hotels and Disney Park Pass reservations are available to book through January 14, 2022. In this post, we’ll take a look at some details, price increase analysis, what to expect, and what’s not back…yet.
Before we get started, a couple of reminders about the status quo and changes coming in 2021. First, Walt Disney World will unveil a new offering as part of the My Disney Experience app that will bring features of a MagicBand to your smart phone, building on the app’s existing digital key feature.
With these new features on the way, Walt Disney World will be retiring complimentary MagicBand distribution to hotel guests for new reservations with arrivals beginning January 1, 2021. MagicBands will still be available to purchase at a discount, via the MagicBand Upgrade Program. That was announced back over the summer, but sort of got lost in the shuffle with a sea of other cancellations…
Also in that same sea was the temporary suspension of the Disney Dining Plan, FastPass+, Extra Magic Hours, Park Hopping, a range of experience bookings, and pretty much all entertainment.
We traded all of that for the Disney Park Pass reservation system. In hindsight, that was sort of like trading the Olympic Dream Team for a car with the strong smell body odor deeply embedded in its fabric. Sure, the car still works, but at what cost?!
We’ll circle back to the pressing questions about if/when the Disney Dining Plan, FastPass+, Park Hopping, and more will return.
Let’s start with resort hotels and vacation packages, which can now be booked for check-in dates through December 31, 2021–and checkout dates through January 2022. The following resorts are available to be booked:
- Bay Lake Tower at Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Boulder Ridge Villas at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Copper Creek Villas & Cabins at Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas — Jambo House
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Villas — Kidani Village
- Disney’s Art of Animation Resort
- Disney’s Beach Club Villas
- Disney’s BoardWalk Villas
- Disney’s Caribbean Beach Resort
- Disney’s Contemporary Resort
- Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort
- Disney’s Fort Wilderness Resort & Campground
- Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Old Key West Resort
- Disney’s Polynesian Village Resort (for July 2021 and beyond)
- Disney’s Polynesian Villas & Bungalows
- Disney’s Pop Century Resort
- Disney’s Riviera Resort
- Disney’s Saratoga Springs Resort & Spa
- Disney’s Yacht Club Resort
- The Villas at Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa
This means that the following resorts are not available for booking:
- Disney’s All Star Movies Resort
- Disney’s All Star Music Resort
- Disney’s All Star Sports Resort
- Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge — Jambo House
- Disney’s Beach Club Resort
- Disney’s BoardWalk Inn
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — French Quarter
- Disney’s Port Orleans Resort — Riverside
- Disney’s Wilderness Lodge
Note that it might appear that Animal Kingdom Lodge — Jambo House appears on both lists. However, the first entry is the villas, whereas the second is the regular hotel rooms.
No huge revelations here, as this list simply mirrors what has previously been announced. That only encompasses the properties currently scheduled to open between now and Summer 2021. The remaining resorts will return as demand dictates.
While weekday occupancy has been low since the parks reopened, it’s starting to pick up and we expect that to further accelerate this Christmas season. After that, Spring Break and Easter 2021 will be the next big tests, and we wouldn’t be surprised if a couple more resorts returned then, again for summer, October 2021, and finally for Christmas 2021.
In short, we are not expecting that entire list of resorts to remain closed through January 2022. We wouldn’t be surprised if some of them remain closed until some point in 2022 (prime candidates are one of the All Stars and one or both Port Orleans Resorts). Rather, it’s likely that Walt Disney World simply isn’t offering reservations yet because their status remains uncertain.
One of the things we normally do on resort reservation drop day is some price analysis of rack rates. I’ve only had a chance to take a cursory look at this, but it looks like there are across the board increases.
Take a look at the rate chart at Disney’s Pop Century Resort for November & December 2021:
All of those $175 weekday nights in early November and that bookend Thanksgiving (which falls on November 25, 2021) in mid-November and early-December would be $172 per night this year. That’s a pretty insignificant increase as compared to normal years.
More noteworthy, peak holiday dates go from $306 per night this year to $290 per night next year. You’d still have to be crazy to pay $290 per night for a motel room–even at Pop Century–but it’s good to see a downward trend.
(Correction: when originally published, we erroneously compared standard pool view rooms for November/December 2021 to standard view rooms for November/December 2020, resulting in a larger year over year price increase. The above has been updated to reflect a standard to standard comparison.)
Above is the same thing for Disney’s Coronado Springs Resort.
We thought it would be worth looking at the standard rooms here since there is no “Skyliner premium” to take into account, which could mean less of an increase. That certainly appears to be the case, as those same November and early December dates went from $263 per night this year to $265 per night next year.
As a quick aside since it’s a common question, you can find the rate calendar by searching for availability on DisneyWorld.com, then clicking the “Rate Details” button on the resort/room combination that interests you. (See above.)
From there you’ll see a weekly breakdown. For the calendar view, click “View Rate Calendar.” (See below.) Hope that helps!
We’re hesitant to do a ton more pricing analysis, as a lot of this could end up being rendered meaningless. Very few of you will end up paying rack rate due to inevitable discounts, so the final prices are much more relevant. With so much uncertainty, it’s tough to say what those will end up being.
While our recent “Revenge Travel” in 2021 at Walt Disney World post covers a phenomenon that could cause a spike in guest numbers next year, we think it’s more likely that bookings are depressed for next year.
Accordingly, the true test is going to be in terms of what discounts end up being released. If bookings are down because of the lingering effects of a recession, travel fears, and who knows what else, these rack rates could end up being like Kohl’s sticker prices. That’s to say, totally meaningless, as discounts are so ubiquitous that no one is paying full price.
On the other hand, if Walt Disney World keeps supply low by shuttering resorts for the duration of 2021, pent-up demand leads to even more bookings, or the 50th Anniversary draws even more guests, those rack rates could end up being very meaningful. It’s truly too early to tell. Our guess is that 2021 is going to be a slow year for travel as a whole, but we’ve been wrong before.
Next, let’s quickly touch upon if/when certain ‘temporarily suspended’ offerings will return. Three of these things are inquired about more than anything else right now: Park Hopping, FastPass+, and the Disney Dining Plan.
Many (many) readers of this blog have already indicated that they won’t return to Walt Disney World until some or all of that trio is restored. If we’re hearing that, Disney is certainly hearing it. Some of that sentiment is undoubtedly bluster, but some is also genuine. Between guest demand and the reality that those offerings are profitable for Walt Disney World, we expect all of it to return ASAP–it’s just a question of when that is…
Walt Disney World has already stated that their aim is to restore Park Hopping as soon as possible, and you can purchase it on 2021 tickets. However, that does not mean it’ll return on January 1, 2021. It has sort of been Walt Disney World’s MO throughout this to err on the side of “selling stuff” and offering refunds as necessary.
Our expectation is that Walt Disney World will reintroduce Park Hopping as soon as it finds a way to integrate that into the Disney Park Pass reservation system–the January/February 2021 offseason seem like a solid time to roll this out, test & adjust, and fine tune it. As with all of this, that’s just a guess.
Next up, FastPass+ or virtual queues. Even before the parks reopened, we went on record with the prediction that FastPass+ won’t be back, and instead will be replaced by a different form of virtual queue–likely something like MaxPass that can be given to on-site guests as a perk, along with an upcharge component. This is covered in What Will Replace FastPass+ at Walt Disney World?
I’m less confident in that prediction than I was at the time it was made. Walt Disney World is trying to juggle a lot right now, and investing in new tech infrastructure seems increasingly unlikely. I’d give it a 50/50 shot at this point, with equal likelihood that Disney will just restore FastPass+ once health experts drop or relax physical distancing requirements. Our guess for that is Spring 2021 at the earliest.
Finally, the Disney Dining Plan. As we explain in our When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return? post, we do not expect that offering to be gone forever—or even until September 2021.
Instead, we break down what needs to happen for it to come back, why Walt Disney World wants it back ASAP, and when that’ll probably occur. Our guess for that would also be around Spring 2021.
At the other end of the spectrum, there’s the thing guests would like to go away but Disney would like to keep around. Along with the new dates for booking resort hotels, Walt Disney World has also quietly extended the Disney Park Pass reservation calendar through January 14, 2022. (It previously ended September 26, 2021.)
The park reservations aid Disney with staffing, other resource allocation, and crowd distribution. However, guests do not like having to make these reservations. We break down this tension in When Will the Disney Park Pass Reservation System End?
That’s pretty much all of the commentary we have about Walt Disney World’s release of hotel reservations through January 2022. Normally, our advice is to book Walt Disney World vacation packages when they go on sale to lock-in ticket and component pricing as a safeguard against the inevitable price increases. That’s normally especially true if there’s a certain hotel or room type that’s a must-have for your trip.
If you’re planning on visiting for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary on or around October 1, 2021, that remains our advice. Everyone else can probably wait–unless you’re really excited and just want to lock-in a hotel now so you have something to look forward to. (We cannot blame you there!) As you can see from the previous several paragraphs, there are still a ton of unknowns, fluidity, etc. to the Walt Disney World experience in 2021. A ton is changing on a weekly basis, and it’s truly impossible to say today what things will look like in Fall 2021 and beyond.
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
Have you already booked a Fall or Winter 2021 Walt Disney World vacation package? Planning on visiting for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary on October 1, 2021? Notice anything interesting about hotel room or package prices? Anything surprise you? Thoughts on the restoration of the Disney Dining Plan, FastPass+, Park Hopping, or anything else? Will you be booking soon, or taking a wait and see approach? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
Thanks for the updates Tom!! I am not an avid blog reader except for yours due to us being a Disney household!! We’ve recently started ending our nights with the Happily Ever After firework show that DisneyParks posted on YouTube. Our house is in the wait and see mode as we have late Jan 2021 reservations at Contemporary. Without Park Hopping, EMH, FastPass (or equivalent), and/or Disney Dining Plan we are considering either shortening our trip, cancelling completely, and/or moving offsite. We are hoping 2 or more of those items come back by the time our vacation is planned because seeing multiple wait times over 90minutes in all the parks this morning is a no go for us with a restless 2 year old. Keep the updates coming and hoping Disney becomes more transparent during these challenging times for the sanity of its guests and fans!!
Are Dolphin & Swan taking reservations for Fall 2021?
Thanks for all the updates! We are interested in coming back to WDW but no park hopper and no dining plan is a definite roadblock!
I just spent 2 hrs and 45 mins. on the phone changing our reservations from this Thanksgiving / Christmas to next Thanksgiving / Christmas time period. i had the insurance and because of the 50th anniversary, the prices of our stay went up 15%. a little upsetting but if you really want to go during that time period, you have to pay the piper.
Thank you, Tom, for letting us all know about the dates opening up. Apparently some hotels are already booked up at certain price ranges for certain time periods from people moving their reservations from this year to next.
This almost makes me sad because it now means I can change our trip to next Christmas. 🙁 I’ve been avoiding canceling our Christmas trip because I’m going to try moving it to next Christmas in the hopes that will allow me to keep the trip insurance I bought for this years trip, but couldn’t do that until reservations opened for December 2021. I was told as long as I modify my current reservation instead of canceling and making a new one I should be able to keep my insurance so fingers crossed!! For us we definitely need park hopping and normal night time hours, fast passes, and of course no masks in order to justify going. I get where AP’s like things this way but since we can’t come multiple times a year, we enjoy knowing that we can get on most big rides, and really get the full experience for such a high price. Keep the updates and beautiful photos coming Tom!
Are magic bands useful right now? We have some from our 2017 trip and I’m trying to figure out if it’s worth bringing them and getting two more for my parents. What would you say? Can you still do contactless paying with them if you’re not staying on property?
Any ideas why Animal kingdom villas aren’t showing up as available for booking??
Just booked for 4th week of October 2021. So nice to have Disney to look forward to! 🙂
Tom, omg I must know where that chocolate cake photo was taken. Which restaurant? It looks incredible and I want it so bad! Thank you.
I found it by digging deep in to your site lol, in case anyone wants it: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/steakhouse-55-lounge-review/
Won’t be back until I don’t have to make a park reservation. Takes all the spontaneity out of the trip. We hope to go with extended family and what if the grandparents watch the grandkids so the parents can go to a park at the last minute. You pay a lot of money for the Disney experience. Love it and won’t be back until it is as close to what it used to be as possible.
Best Disney blog, thank you Tom! Any idea if and when discounts for March 2021 will be released? Typically are by now….but I know nothing is typical right now
Just booked Caribbean Beach for Dec 2021!!! We’ve been counting down the days since Nov 2017! Just wondering if and when All Stars will be open. Would much rather stay at Movies with our kids!!
I was looking at upgrading our magic bands but have heard Disney will do away with them in 2021. Do you think they are doing away with bands? If so I see no reason other than collecting to upgrade. Thank you
We just upgraded for our September trip. I hope they don’t do away because I don’t like being on my phone all the time – part of what I like to get away from when I am there. Like paying for stuff with just my wrist.
They just aren’t including the basic ones for free starting in 2021 anymore. They’ll still be available for purchase and use but you’ll have to pay. The “free” option will be using the app through your phone.
Am I the only one having trouble booking? I have 3 dates between Sept 21 and end of the year I wanted to book – Contemporary for the 50th Anniversary, Animal Kingdom Lodge for Fall Break, and Wilderness Lodge for NYE. None of those hotels have any availability (for any category room or villas) for those dates. Am I really that unlucky, and are they really already completely sold out for all those dates the first day reservations open?!?!?
AKL and WL are not available–are you trying the Villas for each?
I just had it on All Hotels, and even the villas were not showing availability – hardly any of the Deluxes were showing – mostly only the Riviera and Yatxh Club (and I’m not interested in those two). Most showed for fall break, but that was it for 50th Anniversary, and very limited on NYE too.
Sorry, I meant More showed on Fall Break (not Most!)
Normally the villas wouldn’t show up this far out for cash reservations. The farthest out I have been able to book is nine months. So I would expect some availability to show up somewhere around that time. I am not sure why they hold back on the villas, since the member inventory and cash inventory are supposed to be separate. It could be that the other resorts are booking up with people who want a villa, but will take anything to get a reservation on the books and change it when availability in the villas opens up.
Thanks! I was actually hoping for main tower with park view, but would take about anything at the Contemp if we had to. I was just surprises it was showing sold out at 11 am the day the resorts opened! Hopefully more something will open later
The villas might not permit booking yet until 11 months out since that is when DVC members can start booking them.
Thanks for the heads up on this! We are a family from Canada who booked our first every Disney World trip for Dec 2020 back in Dec 2019, this morning after a 1.5 hour hold was able to change our hotel to Dec 2021, we are very excited! Had to upgrade from All Star movies to Art of Animation- Little Mermaid but I’m so excited about the themed room even if it costs a bit more than planned! The cast member was super helpful and sweet and then put me through to ticketing, however he insisted he couldn’t change our tickets yet to next Dec, I questioned him a few times and he was insistent he couldn’t. I was in the midst of getting kiddos to school and reluctantly got off the phone, as soon as I could I checked online and it looks like I can book tickets for next December. I’ve been on hold for another 45 min. since then…Just wondering if I’m correct that they should be able to change my tickets or am I wasting my day away on hold? lol
Wondering if discounts are a possibility for a Feb/March 2021 trip? Hoping something is offered to soften the blow of limited magic.
I’m just not clear why anyone would travel to WDW in the middle of a pandemic, and with Disney limiting its product offerings….yet charging full price.
To each his own, I guess
And its crowded. Crazy. They can charge whatever they want and people will come.
By and large, people are *not* traveling to Walt Disney World. The current crowds are being driven by Annual Passholders, Cast Members, and Florida residents. To the extent that there are travelers, it’s disproportionately DVC members…who are confronted with the ‘use it or lose it’ proposition of that.
Hotel occupancy is improving from the abysmal summer levels, but it’s still pretty bad–especially on weekdays. There’s a reason Walt Disney World has already delayed several resort reopenings.
I’d like to see AP’s, too! Moved to the area and it’s really disappointing to not be able to go for a few hours when I have time. Tom, I’m surprised these other must-haves did not make the blog: return of fireworks, castle projections, shows, parades, etc. I find it hard to believe people will plan long, expensive vacations without these extras that made Disney DISNEY! Also, I’m not sure people will be thrilled if Disney doesn’t calm down on masks, especially if our Covid numbers continue to decrease. I know that’s hopeful thinking at this point…but our death rates have certainly been decreasing, thank God. I know there’s a balance, but the new “you will be asked to leave” announcement seems over the top and not very Disney-like.
Fireworks, shows, parades, etc. all fall under “and more.” A lot of people definitely want all of that to return, too! 🙂
For this post, I was more concerned with addressing the components that more closely relate to vacation package bookings.
Our COVID numbers are not continuing to decrease. In fact, they’re starting to increase; there’s a 14% increase over the past seven days.
COVID rates for Florida are averaging about 3,000+ new cases a day. That looks good compared to when the state was at 11K new cases a day, but 3K isn’t a good number. Florida is ranked 4th in states contributing most to coronavirus outbreak. That’s not going to entice those of us in the northeast to risk going there without a mask mandate in place at Disney.
I have a trip scheduled for Spring 2021, but if they loosen the mask requirement, we’ll be canceling.
My point was not to argue what is a non-issue at WDW right now. Just to add to the discussion that some people will choose not to return if they have to pay for an expensive vacation and wear a mask (and yes, I have friends and family in the NE who feel this way). Their perogative. And btw, the Orange County has had a strict mask mandate, but some of us still got the virus, even with everyone around us wearing masks.
I have experienced inconsistences at WDW, just like most other places. There’s a fussy announcement over the intercom at Disney Springs every few minutes, yet people are packed into ride lines because the parks are half closed. We were allowed to eat and drink in the line at Hollywood Studios. And it’s a good thing, because it was very hot, and I got suddently and unsually dizzy. I’m pretty sure nobody thinks tossing my cookies would have been a better option.
Disney trying to shoehorn all those 600$/night “moderate” resorts on normal families. LOL
Allstar resorts were created for the normal family on $99/night or less – of course you had the long bus waits included for free. They want over $200 now when they re-open? LMAO
Remember that Disney spent TONS of $$$ on stock buybacks instead of saving for a rainy day and has laid off THOUSANDS of low wage workers.
Agree. Disney may market a facades of magic and niceness but they are nothing but ruthless when it comes to pricing.
I wonder if the All-Star resorts remain closed because they are pretty crowded and densely packed? The chance of catching COVID-19 is higher?
Tom – Unrelated to the substance of the post: Those photographs – wow! You have such a great eye, and the work you obviously put in to get just the “right” shot is so impressive (I imagine it’s not easy to get the Poly lobby with nobody in it!). I really enjoy your work.
I agree. Tom’s photos are fabulous. I often come here just to look at the photos.
Thank you both for the kind words!
Tom, are dining reservations still at 60 days?