Disney World’s Park Pass Problems & Fixes
After a rocky start, Walt Disney World’s new theme park reservation system is finally starting to work a bit more consistently. Nevertheless, problems persist with Disney Park Pass. Our How to Guide and We’re In Orbit posts about the system have been inundated with questions and we wanted to take a chance to address some of those here with new tips & tricks for fixing glitches.
The most common Disney Park Pass questions and complaints concern lengthy wait times, which thankfully are mostly a thing of the past (at least online…the phone hold times are still pretty bad). Other issues include meaningless error messages, inaccurate reservation limits, an all-grey availability calendar, ticket priority problems, and park days showing as unavailable that actually aren’t fully booked.
We want to start by apologizing for not being too helpful the last couple of days. Our two troubleshooting posts for Disney Park Pass have amassed 975 comments (and counting), and with our resort stay, it was impossible to keep up. At this point, many/most of those issues have been resolved, so it feels futile to respond now. Instead, we’ll offer fresh advice here for thwarting the remaining glitches…
The first problem is already resolved, and that’s long waits to use the online system, and being greeted by Pepto-Pink Cinderella Castle, Seven Dwarfs, Space Mountain Countdown, Millennium Falcon, or the classic Stitch Ate the Page. Right now, you should not encounter any of these screens–if you do, try private browsing/incognito or the backdoor hack described here.
These errors were almost certainly due to high demand. We’ve seen similar screens on Walt Disney World drop days of the past (except the Pepto-Pink Castle–that’s a 2020 vintage). Accessing DisneyWorld.com in general, even pages having nothing to do with Disney Park Pass, was a herculean task.
If at all possible (and you’re eligible), you’ll want to get your Disney Park Pass reservations booked before June 26. That’s when Annual Passholders without resort reservations can begin making reservations. On June 28, regular guests with tickets but no hotel bookings can use Disney Park Pass.
Both of those ‘drop days’ are liking to see a rehash of the wait time woes and load screen frustrations as demand will once again be higher. It’s entirely possible that demand will be higher on Annual Passholder drop day than it was for resort guests since there are almost certainly more APs than guests with resort bookings.
Aside from wait times, the biggest glitch with Disney Park Pass we heard people encountering was incorrect limits. There are a few different ‘versions’ of this same error. The first was encountered by Annual Passholders with resort reservations. Walt Disney World’s official policy for Annual Passholders limits them to three Park Pass bookings at a time.
This is unless they have a Walt Disney World resort reservation, in which case that allows them to book for the length of their stay(s), maxing out at 14 Disney Park Pass reservations. We feared this might happen. Even before the Park Pass system went live, I said to Sarah, “there’s a decent chance we’ll only be able to book 3 reservations–which park is voted off the island?” Predictably, the AP limit was prioritized over the resort limit for many guests.
Oddly, this did not happen to everyone. We didn’t have this issue, and didn’t even learn about it until later in the evening after returning and checking out some reader comments.
At this point, the inaccurate Annual Passholder priority cap has resolved itself. Well, someone in Disney IT probably fixed it–the system isn’t sentient even if it does have a Skynet vibe. The point is that you don’t have to proactively take any steps for a solution. Log back in and try again if you encountered this problem and simply gave up previously.
The next glitch also relates to prioritization, but this time solely with tickets. If you have multiple tickets attached to your My Disney Experience account–this also includes things like water park tickets, special events, or just a partially-used ticket–one of those “floating” tickets could be causing an issue.
To our knowledge, this is an ongoing problem, but the good news is that you can fix it yourself! In the My Disney Experience app, go to “Tickets & Passes” and look for the non-conforming ticket (the one that doesn’t match your resort reservation). Hit the “Reassign Ticket” button and transfer it to someone else (preferably, another My Disney Experience account you control).
Now, attempt to make your Disney Park Pass reservations. If you no longer have an issue, that was the cause. Once you’ve made all of the reservations, have the person to whom you transferred the non-conforming ticket reassign it back to you.
If you still have tickets to the now-cancelled Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, this is one solution to problems you might’ve been having as a result of those tickets in your account. However, this issue is not being caused exclusively by event tickets. The “floating” ticket priority problem is the most common issue that remains outstanding–it could be the cause of other errors, so you should make sure you address this.
Finally, there are a range of issues pertaining to the Disney Park Pass calendar displaying availability (or not displaying it). If you’re seeing an entirely grey calendar or the message that ‘one or more parks is unavailable’ for dates beyond July, that’s an error.
Start by simply refreshing. If that doesn’t work, try private/incognito browsing. Failing that, use a different browser. We haven’t been able to replicate this issue ourselves, but by most accounts, it’s something that should be resolvable. At this point, only a handful of Disney’s Hollywood Studios dates in mid-July plus one Disney’s Animal Kingdom date, are fully booked. August 2020 and beyond are totally wide open.
However, on the note of Disney’s Hollywood Studios having some early dates that are fully booked, we’ll give you a preview about the topic of our next Disney Parks Pass post: we were wrong about the system not being necessary and parks rarely being fully booked after the first couple of weeks.
There’s no shame in admitting when you’re wrong, and we’d rather get out ahead of this one as it’ll prove useful from a planning perspective. The frustrating thing is that it’s painfully obvious in hindsight, and something we addressed at length on the blog at this same time last year! (The short takeaway from that upcoming post: prioritize your DHS reservations.)
Ultimately, if you’re still having difficulties booking Disney Park Pass reservations, it’s probably time to call Web Support at (407) 939-4357 and get some personalized help. Note that while wait times have dropped, there are still widespread reports of people waiting multiple hours on hold. With it being release day for 2021 Walt Disney World vacation packages, today (June 24, 2020) might not be the best day to call. Tomorrow is probably the better option.
Or, if your Walt Disney World vacation isn’t until September or later and you’re flexible on which days you do each park, you can probably wait a bit longer. Most local Annual Passholders are going to be booking near-term dates (July and August) because of the rolling limit on reservations. Hopefully you don’t have to call–and these tips resolved your issues!
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 had success booking Disney Park Pass reservations? What worked/didn’t work for you? What do you think about the Disney Park Pass reservation system? Still having any troubles? What specific issue are you encountering? Will you be attempting to visit Walt Disney World this summer or fall, or are you waiting until after September 2021 when this (presumably) goes away? Do you agree or disagree with our advice? 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!
I’m frustrated for a different reason. I made the error of booking with a TA for this trip. We now need to cancel the trip & rebook without the TA at a later date. She does not know we plan to rebook for 18 months from now without her.
She’s been telling me for 3 days she can’t get cancel online – says the option to cancel is gone – but the wait times are crazy on the phones & she can’t cancel that way either.
Why would the cancel option be gone?
I am a Agent and there have been a lot of things that have been paused on us but Disney is doing there best to help us. Using a TA is a good thing it avoids you from having to wait 7 plus hours on the phone to get reservations updated and changed. Most agents only make commission and no booking fees so them holding for you means they are doing it because they enjoy doing it but they are not getting paid. I understand your frustrations. I know what a headache it can be when you are not fully getting your answers. Your best bet would be to Cancel and then get a refund as long as you are not out of any windows to do so and as long as you didn’t have airfare included in price. I know the system has not aloud us to do much lately as everything has been paused but Disney has opened a lot today so hopefully your agent will be able to help you get what you need done. Best of wishes to both you and your agent. Hope you soon get your Disney Magical experience.
I tried for two full days and was able to secure park reservations for three out of our ten days. I woke up this morning and the reservations system was was working perfectly and I secured reservations for our remaining days. I can only attribute the problems for the website to a bombardment by users (including myself). I understand to a certain degree but I’ll never understand how a company such as Disney with its vast resources is constantly unable to provide reliable technical systems/support. Oh well, just glad to finally have it done.
I’ve read that the parks already listed as “sold out” for a few days aren’t sold out yet but they are holding spots for AP’s to book on the 26th and then some spots for the next group as well that get to book on the 28th. I guess I’ll find out Friday! I’m just hoping to go to MK on July 12!
When can regular park passes be purchased for a December 2020? I already have a place to stay, just need park passes.
I think tickets will be available to purchase for the remainder of 2020 “sometime later this summer”. As far as I know, WDW has not released that date. Anyone- am I wrong?
From Disney’s Site: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/park-reservations/
If you have a room-only reservation at a Disney Resort or other select hotel for a stay in 2021, please call the Disney Reservation Center or call your travel professional beginning on June 24 to upgrade to a vacation package with tickets–and then make your theme park reservations.
We have a BlueGreen timeshare offsite, for the last week in December. I will be so disappointed if we can’t get park passes because it’s the last time I can all get my family together, for some time.
Thank you for your assistance
Hi Tom,
Maybe someone can answer this question. I am an annual passholder with 3 seperate reservations Dec, Feb, and March. I am able to book park reservations across the December dates without a problem (4 days booked). For our February trip, I could only book 1 day before receiving the reached your limit tag. For the March trip, I immediately received reached your limit. My question is … shouldn’t I be able to book separate trips if I have hotel reservations? As each trip is separate from the next and I have hotel reservations for each, I would guess I could book without the annual pass limitations. Has anyone had success booking multiple trips?
You should be able to book up to 14 Park Pass reservations.
Two options:
1) Cancel all of your Park Pass reservations and start over working backwards from March to December, seeing if that ‘resets’ something and allows you to book. The risk here is potentially not being able to book anything.
2) Call Disney and have them try to fix whatever problem. The risk here is wasted time on the phone.
Personally, I’d choose option #1. YMMV.
I had a similar sounding problem. I have an AP and several trips, some room-only and some packages with tickets. The package ticket stays were the problem – once I booked one day on these it shut me out for any more days. I got through to IT yesterday and this was a well-known glitch to the CM and she had a fix for it. It was nothing I could have done myself. So give IT a call and good luck!! The # is 407-939-7765.
Thanks for the advice Tom,
Here is an update, I tried your option 1 and dropped every reservation and started backwards. It let me book 1 day in March (I wanted two days but already received you’ve reached your limit). I could not book anything in February (again stated you’ve reached your limit). However, December, I was able to re-book my 4 dates. Crazy! I guess I’ll have to try the phone battle. Thanks again for your suggestion.
Stacy,
Thank you,
I will give the phone system a go and, hopefully, get this corrected.
If I have reservations for the campground in Feb. 2021 but not tickets, can I buy tickets now and make my park reservations? I am trying to buy tickets but I cannot figure it out.
Guessing only via the phone number on the site.
From Disney’s webpage: “If you have a room-only reservation at a Disney Resort or other select hotel for a stay in 2021, please call the Disney Reservation Center or call your travel professional beginning on June 24 to upgrade to a vacation package with tickets–and then make your theme park reservations.”
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/en_CA/experience-updates/park-reservations/
Is it possible to book past September of 2021. Trying to find packages but it says there is no availability. Are they sold out or just not posted?
Any info or advice for someone with a DVC resort reservation for september that has not purchased tickets yet? If I am understanding correctly we will be eligible to purchase tickets “at a later date this summer”? Any rumors on when that might be, and if we should be considering moving our stay? Prefer not to as we had to move points forward for this stay.
Sadly, no rumors or any insight into when 2020 tickets will go back on sale. Nothing you can do until then, though.
I have a different but similar issue. We have dated park tickets that we cannot “modify” to our new reservation date. So we can come to the resort, but we can’t use our tickets to get into the park because they are the wrong date, and Disney will not let us change them. I’m going to have to cancel the trip even though we have tickets and a reservation. Been on hold for three days; no one could help.
If there is a 14-day limit for AP’s with hotel reservations, it is not being enforced. I have more than that number reserved presently.
Wow. I don’t have that many nights reserved nor do I know anyone else who does, so I can’t corroborate this–but it sounds like the rare glitch that’s working in your advantage!
I was also able to make way more than 14 days of reservations – I’m thinking it might be limited to 14 days linked to one reservation. I have trips planned for July, August, September, December – 28 days total and got reservations for all of them. This morning booked our dates for February and April as well – adding another 13 days. I now have park passes for 41 days without an issue.
We have a Polynesian Resort reservation for a week starting 10/10 but could not get Park tickets. We are going with our sons family and they have park tickets and just got reservations. Why isn’t Disney addressing our plight and giving us a date to get tickets. I contacted them and told them we do not want to sit at the resort because we can’t get into the parks. Any suggestions besides “just wait”.
Thank you for all the great information!
I’ve got a stay in the DVC wing of the Grand Californian in August. I’ve been trying to link my DVC reservation to “My Disneyland” account in advance of its opening up park reservations. Unfortunately, that’s a 12-digit number, and their system allows for 8-digit codes. Does anyone know how to link DVC stays to Disneyland accounts? I got through to a cast member who promptly told me she didn’t think it was possible and transferred me to a supervisor where I waited on hold for 45 minutes before needing to jump off for a work call. I’ve emailed them, and gotten a “thank you for your patience” reply a couple days later that didn’t answer anything.
I’ve never even tried doing that at Disneyland–sorry!
Thanks for replying, Tom!
What is the deal with DVC reservations? They are leaving us until the 28th? Seems like owners should have been given a little more priority.
If you have tickets or APs, DVC owners with reservations can book Park Pass now.
Hi Tom, just wanted to add for those struggling with the calendar being completely grayed out is to make sure you’ve clicked on resort guest. All other options (AP and theme park guests) stay grayed out bc they aren’t open yet. Hope that helps someone trying to book getting that error.
Thank you. I was sitting around feeling sorry for myself because I could not get past the three day park reservation system even though I have resort reservations and an AP (and that was after watching the castle for three hours and orbiting another 30 minutes). Could not even get on the part on the phone where I was told to wait. Just kept getting a “call back later” message.
Then I saw the title of your e-mail. I read it, went back in and was able to add the other days I needed. Thanks for keeping on top of all this. Any idea when they might extend my AP which is supposed to expire in December?
I also have an AP that was supposed to expire in December – the extension for the days they were closed has already been applied, and I believe the additional month (for those who are taking that option as opposed to getting a refund) should show up in October.
No luck here getting through to IT since Monday! Tried email, tried chat, tried phone. Chat is down, no one seems to be managing email and on the phone “all circuits are busy” is the barrier. Moved our July trip to November, but can’t get through as our tickets aren’t showing up to make park reservations! When I link to the package reservation number, it says I’ve already linked my tickets. AAARRRRGGGGHHHH. So tired – and really, who has all day to keep listening to a busy signal….
Are they only booking up to Sept 2021?
Thanks as always for your incredible guidance. What do you make of the attendance limits they’re using (breaking out slots for resort guests, then APs, etc)? Any way to gauge what this means for actual crowds at the parks?
Any idea if the Good Neighbor hotels will allow park reservations for the duration of the stay? I’ve gotten conflicting info from cast members. I’ve been able to get in with my linked good neighbor reservation and make the 3 for my AP, but not for the duration of my trip.
I have a room at the Dolphin booked and an AP and I was able to book park days for all 7 days of my stay! Good luck!
Thanks for asking this! Are the Disney Springs hotels included as “select other “ hotels!? I am wondering if that is why we are still having the only three days AP glitch. It does seem others are now successful so maybe that is it? We are booked at the Hilton in Disney Springs in November. On the other hand it allowed me to book three days on Monday which was only for resort guests.
Desperately trying to avoid having to call! 🙁
I have reservations with both the Hilton and Holiday Inn at Disney Springs. I was able to make reservations for all dates with my AP. It took until today before it would allow for those dates though, vs. my Disney Resort reservations I was able to get right away.
Thanks for the reply @Krista! I guess I will keep trying for a bit before calling.
following
Think you forgot a link on the “here” in this part:
“try private browsing/incognito or the backdoor hack described here.”