Disney World Reopening FAQ & Info
Walt Disney World’s theme parks will reopen in July 2020 with new health safety protocol, modified operations, limited capacity, reservations for park entry, and more. A lot of these changes were announced without detail, and have raised more questions than they’ve answered. In this FAQ, we’ll attempt to clarify, share everything you need to know, and speculate on some of the unknowns. (Updated June 15, 2020.)
Let’s start by bringing you up to speed on everything that has happened in the last week. First, Walt Disney World announced that Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom will reopen on July 11, 2020, with Epcot and Hollywood Studios reopening on July 15, 2020. Prior to all of the parks reopening, Disney Vacation Club properties will reopen on June 22, 2020.
Following those bombshells, Walt Disney World Announced All Reservations Will Be Cancelled—Free Dining, Restaurants, FastPass+ & Dining Plan. We’ve also seen Park Hours Cut Significantly for Reopening. Additionally, WDW released “Know Before You Go” Resort & Restaurant Info. These are just a handful of changes—with many more likely to come. Against that backdrop, let’s dig into the Walt Disney World reopening FAQ with answers to some of the most common reader questions. (Fair warning, there’s a lot of “we don’t know” here.)
When will advance reservations for visiting the parks open?
Walt Disney World has not yet announced an official date for this, or any details about how it’ll work. Our expectation is that Disney IT is scrambling to build a system for it, and the website will quietly debut early one morning (like release day for deals) with no official announcement until it’s been live for hours, and some days are potentially already fully booked. (In Disney’s defense, this practice is done to prevent its servers from crashing…and they’re still often overwhelmed.)
We are closely watching this, monitoring the official app and website for the slightest changes and will immediately send our subscribers a heads up when the new theme park reservation system launches. (Sign-up for our free email newsletter here!)
Who will receive priority for booking reservations for park entry?
Initially, guests with existing tickets (including Annual Passholders) who purchased before the reopening date was announced.
Going forward, we suspect on-site resort guests will have an earlier booking window–similar to FastPass+ or Advance Dining Reservations in the past.
What does this mean for Park Hopper tickets?
We don’t know.
Intuitively, an advance reservation system would seem to be incompatible with Park Hopping unless organic demand is regularly capacity for all four parks. The problem with that is Walt Disney World won’t know it’s the case until the parks actually reopen. Our expectation is that Park Hopping will temporarily be halted during the first phase of reopening, and guests who have already purchased Park Hopper tickets will be refunded the difference. However, this is just a guess.
Will the parks have capacity limits?
Significant ones.
Walt Disney World has not released official numbers, but in an interview, CEO Bob Chapek indicated the first phase of reopening would limit attendance to 20-30% of normal capacity. Queues, restaurants, and attractions will also operate at 50% or less of their normal numbers.
Will being a resort guest guarantee access to the parks?
Per Walt Disney World, no.
As a practical reality, we believe it will. Resort guests have never been guaranteed access to the parks, but it’s always been the case that phased closures applied to everyone else before applying to resort guests. Our expectation is that the park reservation system will work similarly, and that Disney’s answer here is a CYA response.
What will that do to crowds?
In theory, they should be lower even with reduced capacity on rides, restaurants, etc. After a brief period of pent-up demand, there’s also the possibility that fewer guests than the capacity limit will want or be able to attend Walt Disney World.
This is something we discuss in part 1 of our Dawn of a Temporary Disney Era.
Will there be soft openings of the parks?
Yes.
Walt Disney World has announced a soft opening period for affinity groups (Annual Passholders, Disney Vacation Club Members, Florida Residents, Club 33, Golden Oak, etc.
How will those work & when will they begin?
We don’t know.
We assume these dates will likewise require advance online registration. Our “wishful thinking” start 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.
When will the clock start ticking again on Annual Pass expiration dates?
We don’t know.
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. This approach makes sense 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 is that Walt Disney World will not restart the clock until after the reservation period has ended. That’d be the legally prudent and guest-friendly course of action, but we truly do not know what Disney will do.
Are ticket refunds being offered?
No, and that’s a pretty firm (and controversial!) no.
Partially used multi-day theme park tickets with usage window impacted by park closure, or date-specific theme park tickets purchased through June 6, 2020 with a valid use period beginning March 12, 2020 or later, will automatically be extended to use any date through September 26, 2021. If you are unable to visit by September 26, 2021, you may apply the value of a wholly unused ticket toward the purchase of a ticket for a future date. Florida Resident Discover Disney Tickets may be used through September 30, 2020.
When will DisneyWorld.com accept new bookings?
We don’t know a specific date, but it’ll be after the new theme park reservation system launches.
Our guess is sooner rather than later. Vacation packages and resort bookings are Walt Disney World’s primary revenue generator, so there’s every incentive to reopen reservations for packages ASAP.
Will guests be required to wear masks?
Yes. Per local public health expert guidance and CDC recommendations, guests are required to wear masks for the safety of other guests and Cast Members. Same goes for Cast Members.
This applies to all guests ages 2 and older. Walt Disney World plans to offer “relaxation zones” where guests will be able to remove their face masks for relief from the summer heat, away from crowds and foot traffic.
What if you have a disability that prevents you from wearing a face covering?
Walt Disney World has not yet addressed this specifically. Disney is likely to allow modified face masks to the extent feasible (think face shields).
However, the ADA requires no “reasonable accommodation” for face masks, as doing so would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others. This comes directly from the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.
When will the mask requirement end?
We don’t know. The ‘safe’ answer is when the CDC and local health agencies lift the requirement or revise it.
The earlier possibility is that the mask requirement is loosened for outdoor and open air spaces at some point, while masks required in queues and all indoor spaces. Either way, our guess is that the mask requirement will remain in place, in some form, through the end of 2020.
Why isn’t Disney letting guests choose whether to wear masks?
Probably due to the latest CDC guidance, which strongly encourages cloth face coverings or masks in public, at events or gatherings. Per the CDC, cloth face coverings are meant to protect other people in case the wearer is unknowingly infected but does not have symptoms.
Cloth face coverings are for the benefit of others, and are mutually beneficial when worn by both parties to an interaction–which means that guests wearing masks help protect Cast Members. Moreover, recent research by the University of Cambridge shows that even homemade masks can prove 90% effective at preventing transmission, and a policy of total face mask adoption can still prevent a second wave.
When will fireworks, parades, and other entertainment return?
We don’t know.
As with the mask requirement, this largely hinges upon CDC and health expert guidance. With that said, these are quintessential components of the Walt Disney World experience for many guests, so even though eliminating entertainment saves money, our suspicion is that Disney will be eager to reinstate this offerings as soon as it’s safe to do so.
What’s the status of meet & greets and character dining?
As we’ve previously reported, character dining has been canceled, as have meet & greets. Modified character experiences, likely in the form of smile & wave shows, will supplant direct character interactions for the time being.
Additionally, Topolino’s Terrace will offer a modified character dining experience–the only one at Walt Disney World.
Will big discounts be offered for the reduced experience and shorter hours?
That remains to be seen.
For more, read our recent Dawn of a Temporary Disney Era – Crowds & Discounts. In short, we strongly believe aggressive deals are on the horizon…but it might take some time.
Which reservations are being cancelled?
All restaurant, FastPass+, Disney Dining Plan, and other experience reservations are in the process of being cancelled.
Existing resort hotel reservations are not being cancelled.
Through when?
For as far out as bookings have been accepted. Since these all have different timeframes (60 days out for FastPass+, 180 days for ADRs, etc.), the end dates vary.
Some Disney Dining Plans have been sold via international sites and group bookings for next year–those are being cancelled through September 2021.
What I haven’t received a cancellation email?
Check your spam folder–you might’ve already received it.
If not, you probably will. Walt Disney World has a huge backlog of cancellations to process, and it takes time to process. It’s also possible your reservations were cancelled and you didn’t receive notification, so check My Disney Experience.
What if my reservations are still in My Disney Experience?
Then they haven’t been cancelled…yet. Again, Walt Disney World has a ton of cancellations to process. Throughout the closure, Disney was cancelling reservations for a week or two at a time, and even that was hit or miss timing-wise. Now, months of cancellations are occurring simultaneously.
There’s also the chance your third party restaurant reservations will not be cancelled.
When will regular hotels reopen?
Previously, Walt Disney World issued a statement that resorts would begin to reopen on July 11, 2020.
That has since been removed from the official site with no word on when hotels will actually reopen. We would expect hotels to begin reopening around or shortly after when DVC resorts open.
Will all hotels operate?
Per CEO Bob Chapek, no. This has not yet been confirmed by Walt Disney World officially, but he’s the boss, so…
Our expectation is that several resorts will not reopen immediately. Likely candidates for extended closures include Coronado Springs & Gran Destino, Animal Kingdom Lodge, Port Orleans, and the All Stars. This is not an official list, nor is it exhaustive. Demand will dictate a lot.
What happens to my reservation if I’m booked at a resort that remains closed?
Walt Disney World’s longstanding policy when moving guests due to overbooking, refurbishments, etc. is to offer a lateral or better option.
This means that you’ll receive a resort of equal or greater value when being relocated. This is what happened when resorts were closed post-9/11, and we’d expect it to again be the case.
Will hotel pools be open?
For the most part.
Not all resort pools will reopen right away. Most notably, Stormalong Bay at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club will not reopen on June 22.
When will Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach?
We don’t know.
Walt Disney World hasn’t released any info about the water parks. Universal reopened Volcano Bay with fewer restrictions than its theme parks, so this could be more a matter of demand and/or staffing than safety. We wouldn’t be surprised to not see Disney’s water parks return until the 2021 season.
Has Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party been cancelled?
Not yet.
Given that the main draws of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party are a parade, fireworks, and stage shows–entertainment Walt Disney World is cancelling during normal hours–we suspect that, at minimum, August and early September party dates will be cancelled. It’s also possible that the event will be heavily modified.
What about other special events?
Other events have been cancelled.
Guests who have purchased tickets for Disney After Hours, Disney Villains After Hours, Disney Early Morning Magic and Disney H2O Glow Nights will be automatically refunded.
When will the Disney Dining Plan return?
We don’t know.
We suspect it’ll be back long before September 2021 (the date through which it’s currently cancelled), and we fully detail why towards the beginning of this Disney Dining Plan Info post.
Lots of “we don’t know” answers here…when will we know?
We don’t know.
Just kidding. Answers should come in three phases. First, when Walt Disney World makes additional announcements about the online reservation system for park entry, etc. Second, when Disney starts accepting new vacation package bookings. Third, when soft opening previews begin and we can see how things work in practice. Finally, a couple of weeks after official reopening happens and we can see how things ‘settle’ into place and actually operate after pent-up demand is exhausted and the system has allowed for test and adjust.
In other words, we should know more between mid-June and late July 2020. If you’re traveling in August 2020 or later, have some patience and let the answers come to you. That’s difficult right now as everyone is craving more certainty and details, but these are unprecedented times, and if you’re wanting to visit a popular theme park in the midst of a pandemic, some degree of flexibility and understanding is going to be necessary.
This should answer most of the questions that readers have been asking about the reopening of Walt Disney World. In some cases, those “answers” are simply our best guesses and speculation, but in a lot of cases that’s the best we can offer. There have been a lot of questions in the last week, so if we didn’t address yours, we apologize. Please post in the comments below and we’ll answer more as they’re asked!
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 any questions we didn’t answer with the above FAQ? Do you agree or disagree with our speculation? Other thoughts or concerns? 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!
Refunds should be given to annual passholders. I am elderly and disabled so am at higher risk for contracting covid-19. I should not be required to take chances with my health. No one should.
Call and keep after them. We are high risk too and asked for a refund also because much of what we paid for in the passes are no longer available. They can’t charge for something they are not giving. They told us “the committee” would review and we should get a refund. We’ll be calling again to find out where it’s at tomorrow since that
was almost 2 weeks ago. Be the squeaky wheel.
What if anything is going on with the refillable mugs?
We are a week away from resorts opening on June 22nd. Dining reservations are required for day guests. Staying at the Boardwalk. I’m assuming I’ll be forced to eat cardboard pizza and cupcakes since I won’t be able to travel to the other resorts?
When will Disney open up dining reservations? This is getting absurd.
There is no restriction on traveling to a resort other than the one you are staying at. A “day guest” is either a local or someone staying off-property who goes to Disney “for the day”.
I just chatted with Disney – they said at this point they are not even sure if one would be able to visit a resort they are not staying at. And that I should check in with the front desk upon check in.
The wording on the alert said a day guest is anyone not staying overnight at that resort.
Right. I read this as them not wanting guests to resort hop so much to help maintain physical distancing, so only those with dining reservations allowed regardless if they are staying at another Disney resort.
A dining reservation is “highly recommended for Guests staying overnight at a Disney Resort hotel”. Recommended, not required. Reservations are required of day guests.
Right but under resorts know before you go
there is this sentence
A confirmed dining reservation if you’re a day Guest (not staying overnight)
To me this means you are not staying overnight at that particular resort.
I am a annual WEEKDAY Disney World pass holder. Last summer, I was not able to use my pass for most of June, July and August. When Disney World re-opens this summer, will I be unable to attend during the 3 summer months or will new rules be in place? If new rules then what will they be? For how long will my current annual pass be extended?
Thank you for your response.
Guy Crader
[email protected]
We were scheduled to take our granddaughter next week but we cancelled everything in mid-March. I have also been laid off due to COVID-19. We have over $1,800 in Disney gift cards that I would really like to sell. They were purchased over a year’s period and I can’t get refunds. Any suggestions? I have already looked at the card sale/trade sites and the fees are unbelievable.
How long are they good for? How much do you want for them?
They do not expire. Break them up in groups to sell. I would be interested in some.
Tom, by way of information, and at least in our case, keeping existing reservations prior to park re-opening required moving our room and they gave no option but to cancel our 6-day park hoppers tickets completely. They would not even allow us to upgrade the existing tickets to APs. We were told if your stay falls when the park is closed, we have to cancel your tickets. I thought this interesting because of prior verbiage that “existing ticket holders” would have an advantage of some kind. Nevertheless we are DVC and went ahead and used the savings to purchase Gold passes on our own. Not sure why they didn’t make us keep the tickets that would’ve had the extended use time limit?
Will they have the food and wine festival this year.
How can they continue to keep our tickets we purchased at full price without any sense of refund when we are losing half the experience of Disney? I see lawsuits coming. I’m all for safety, but to not refund a percentage of tickets purchased before all this happened and completely remove half of what we purchased is just wrong.
I’d suggest checking the terms and conditions you agreed to when you bought the tickets. My suspicion is that WDW’s terms cover their butts in this kind of situation–in the cruise line industry, for comparison, any time you book a cruise you have to agree to terms that state the company doesn’t have to refund you even if the cruise ship never leaves the port and all the entertainment onboard is cancelled. I imagine that’s pretty standard and that they’re not risking legal action with any of this; offering refunds and extensions is more about managing guest experience and avoiding bad word of mouth.
And they’re not forcing you to use your tickets during a time of reduced services. You can cancel your trip and apply the full value of those tickets to a later trip when everything’s back up and running again.
YawningDodo – Not exactly. Cancelling and rebooking (not even available to do for later dates right now unless it’s moving a reservation that you have during the closed period to a later period this year; 2021 bookings not open yet) does not let you move your current tickets to a later date. If you have a package you cancel, you have to rebook with new room and ticket rates for your new dates. So you could essentially end up spending more than your current package cost. Just like if you are currently at a resort that isn’t listed to be open (right now), and you CHOOSE to move to a DVC/Deluxe resort…YOU have to pay the upgraded price difference. If you let Disney move you with no preference, then it’s complimentary.
If Disney isn’t going to allow Park Hopping due to the reservation system, and you had to pay for hopper prices then I don’t think that is something Disney would be okay with doing without some sort of refund. Hence the reason why they gave people with free dining packages the 30% off the room rates (room prices are higher when you book a bounce back or free dining promo). If they would have just cancelled the dining plan and not offered a discount on the room, then guests would have ended up paying a premium rack room rate with no perk/benefit.
If Park Hopping is removed BY Disney, you don’t have the “choice” to use it later or transfer the ticket dates. The right thing to do would be refund the hopper cost difference if people want to downgrade them to single park day tickets (if they can get a reservation). If they’ll refund them (non-package cancellations), and you choose to buy 1 days for a future trip….it’ll be at the new ticket price.
I agree completely! Our favorite things were the character meet and greets and the parades. Now neither is offered. We also enjoyed the special events. One of the things that we most looked forward to was the Flower and Garden event. That lasted a minute or two. Some sort of refund should be offered. The annual passes cost us a lot of money, but we knew we would be receiving a full access. That is no longer the case.
Tom Bricker do you think there’s any chance Disney May drop the mask wearing being compulsory now the WHO has said it’s very rare for a asymptomatic person to pass on the virus?
Surely with this being said that restrictions should be dropped opening up the possibility for character meet and greets and dining!
The WDW FAQ hasn’t been updated since the new info has come from the WHO surely this is something they need to do?
Many people are choosing to cancel their trip due to the enforcement of mask and if Disney were to follow the WHO guidelines mask wouldn’t be needed
And yet the surgeon general JUST said “We now know that this disease has a high degree of asymptomatic spread, which is why we encourage people to wear face coverings.”
I wouldn’t count on any restrictions being lowered at Disney.
The WHO retracted that statement. Also Disney is more likely to follow CDC and state guidelines.
When should I cancel my vac. package for end of Oct. How patient should I be. I am still hoping Disney will just reopen everything. I can’t see spending 3 thousand dollars to fly and stay when nothing fun is there. No parade, trick or treating, dining, character meet and greet. I know this pandemic is hanging on but come on. Most the people in my community don’t even wear masks anymore. How am I suppose to keep a mask on a five year old and expect there to be fun. Disney needs to make more recovered from pandemic decisions.
We certainly appreciate your newsletters and updates.
I apologize if this question is of a repetitive nature but is there any news regarding the Disney run scheduled in November of this year? That is definitely a large crowd event and one that you certainly could not wear a face mask while doing.
Any update regarding this run will be appreciated
You have until 30 days prior to check-in to cancel for a full refund (same date as when your final payment is due). If you really are still hopeful that it might happen, then I would wait until then. If you are flying I would hold off on buying plane tickets until then, unless you can get ones that are refundable or allow changes.
If possible the decision to go to Disney should be wait till next summer or fall. Maybe it will be normal. Disney will be there. Why rush it if you don’t have to.
I like Bricker’s advice in another entry on this blog–basically, if it doesn’t sound fun to you with the restrictions and reductions, or if this is a rare trip for you, this year is just not a good time to go. It sounds like there are some deal breakers for you that may not go away by October. As others have said you have until 30 days before check-in to cancel; I would be sure to also check the terms on your airfare if you’ve already bought it–and read carefully! I got messed up and ended up paying $125 in mile redeposit fees I wasn’t expecting when I had to cancel a June trip to see friends; I thought I’d be okay under United’s COVID-19 waivers but didn’t read closely enough and waited until too close to our travel dates to cancel. So don’t be like me! Read up on the terms and waivers for all your reservations and keep notes on your calendar if you decide to wait until closer to the trip to decide whether you’re still going.
I know it’s hard to hear “wait and see” but I don’t think we’re going to get a lot of new info until the parks reopen. Personally, though, I am working under the assumption that any visit before at least next summer will be a visit with face masks and without parades, shows, or character meets, and with reduced access to dining reservations. And, personally, I’m okay with that and my “wait and see” is waiting to see when resort reservations reopen because I’d like to book an extra trip while crowds are hopefully down this fall–being able to wander a less crowded park and still having access to rides sounds like tons of fun to me. But I don’t have a kid to keep in a mask and I don’t mind the loss of shows and characters, so my desires and dealbreakers are a lot different than yours.
I might be in the minority here, but I wouldn’t want to go to Disney with these changes. I go to Disney to escape reality, not be hit full in the face with it. I don’t see why people would want to go in the heat with a face mask, not have those wonderful dining experiences, not have the full offerings of Disney. Anyone know if the prices are going down because people can’t have access to a lot of things? Most likely the answer is no. I wouldn’t want to go until this whole thing is sorted out.
Any word on how refunds for dining plans are being issued? At the suggestion of many Disney blogs we used Disney gift cards for some of our payments for our September trip. I have a card listed on file, so I’m hoping the refund is issued to that card, but if they issue it to the original payment method, I no longer have those gift cards… I thought about trying to call Disney to ask about it, but I really don’t want to sit on hold for an hour if someone on here knows the answer. Thanks in advance!
Sorry, it looks like my comment showed up as a reply to yours. Not my intention.
Jolene Bowkley – refunds are processed back to the original form of payment. So whatever portion was paid for on your credit card will be returned that way, but the amounts paid with Disney Gift Cards will go back to the Gift Card(s). If you don’t have those physical cards anymore, I think Disney can load new Gift Cards with those amounts (you’d have to call them). Hope this helps you!
We are DVC and AP holders and have had a vacation planned for August for a year. I am reading that the state of Florida is requiring visitors from my state to quarantine for 14 days. Does anyone know what this would mean for our Disney trip?
You have to self-quarantine for 14 days upon your arrival in Florida. If you can’t go and do that before your vacation, then you are just going to be hanging out in your hotel.
Anyone received an email from a travel company like what is being reported on WDWNT about no park hopping?
We have reservations for September at POR Princess Rooms, our room was changed from Garden view to Woods View. All our reservations for dining and the Bibbity Bobbity Boutique were cancelled. As of now we still have our MNSSHP tickets. With having to make reservations every day to enter the parks are there going to be days that you will not be able to go to the parks? If you already purchased parks tickets with your resort reservation will you be refunded the money for days that you can not go to the park? Also since there are so many restrictions what are you going to do on days that you can’t go to the park? Last if you decide to reschedule your vacation to maybe Nov. will you be able to do it? Thank for any info on this.
Can you delay it? It sounds like it’s more trouble than it’s worth right now, and they’re certainly not offering discounted rates even with all the restrictions.
What about one day tickets, we have a trip planned there in July
I would think you unfortunately will end up on the outside looking in. Especially if you are off site
Would we be able take pictures with any Disney characters?
Do you think the all star resorts will be open in September? That’s where we are booked. I wouldn’t mind an upgrade to a nicer resort!
We also booked a resort reservation in the middle of September at Pop Value Resort. We are so keeping or fingers crossed that this resort will be open. Hopefully we can all have a Magical vacation again soon!
Tom, can you offer some more info on AP holders. A bit confused – is Disney refunding AP holders that paid in full for the time closed or for the inability to park hop? There are a lot of perks AP holders are losing. Being from out of state, a lot of preparation goes into planning. Doesn’t make sense to go through all the hassle with no guarantee in the ability to take advantage of your AP that in itself is quite pricey.
You can call the AP phone number and ask to extend your pass if you want. You weren’t paying for the pass while they were closed.. but if you paid in full.. I believe they are extending your pass for the time they were closed.. again call the AP phone number and speak to a rep asap.
I don’t know about WDW, but as Gina alluded to, the them parks I have season passes to are w tended the dates of the passes at least equal to the amount of days the parks have been closed (as well as promising as yet unannounced perks).
Will there be temp screenings in order to enter the park?
More than likely there will be. Universal is doing it and I was just at KSC a few days ago.. they took our temps there too. Not a big deal at all. Even my 6 yr old thought it was fun lol
This is a question… do you know at this point if there will still be a 50th celebration in WDW beginning in Oct 2021??