A screenshot of the email that I received yesterday Yesterday I received an email from Disney Destinations that really made me happy. It was a reminder that I have a Disney Park Pass reservation for today. It stated:
Hello, Paula!
This is just a little reminder that you have a Walt Disney World Theme Park reservation for tomorrow and we can’t wait to see you!
Please read on for more details.
It then listed the park and the date for the reservation. Below that was reminder of what to do if I needed to change my plans. That was followed by a quick reminder of the health and safety procedures, with a link to the latest updates.
There is a reason why this email made me happy. I remembered my reservation, but I know that other people might not have remembered theirs. It can be hard to get a reservation last minute if you’re an Annual Passholder. It’s worse than that, right now it’s hard to get a reservation for the end of the month if you’re a Passholder! I booked my September 2 reservation for Disney’s Hollywood Studios back on July 13. It’s easy to forget about something that was booked that far in advance, especially if you’re local. An email reminder could be the push that someone needs to cancel, so the spot can open for someone else.
There is currently no type of penalty if you fail to show up for your Disney Park Pass reservation. That said, something could change in the future. I’ve heard a totally unfounded rumor that Disney might decide to put a temporary freeze on your ability to make reservations if you miss one without canceling. Again, that is just a very vague rumor that probably is not true, but some type of action is a possibility. You used to be able to make dining reservations without a credit card to hold your spot. So many people just failed to show up that Disney will now charge you if you don’t show up and don’t cancel. For the most part, that took care of the problem.
Plans change, things happen, and people forget. I understand. That is why sending out emails like the one I received is a good idea. Sometimes a gentle reminder is all that it takes for someone to take action. I am also sure that there will be people who forgot and are happy to realize that they get to spend a day at Walt Disney World. As for the reminder that I received, today my daughter and I are having a great time at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I’d like to thank whoever gave up the spots a few days ago. It wasn’t shown on the Availability Calendar for Annual Passholder, but then it suddenly appeared. That’s why canceling reservations that aren’t going to be used is so important. It will allow someone else to experience some magic.