The current calendar I know a lot of people are going to hate what I am about to say. Honestly, I am not thrilled with it either. Here I go:
The Disney Park Pass Reservation system is not going away.
The current Availability Calendar goes until January 18, 2024. That doesn’t mean that we won’t need Park Pass Reservations on January 19, 2024. It just means that you can’t yet book past that date. You can’t buy tickets that far out either.
I miss the spontaneity that we enjoyed before the COVID-19 closure. I liked being able to wake up and head to Disney’s Hollywood Studios at a moment’s notice. It made sense to have reservations after things opened back up, because keeping the crowds down was a top priority. SeaWorld and Busch Gardens also used reservations when they reopened, but the system was dropped a few months later. Universal Orlando Resort never had a reservation system, they just turned people away if they reached capacity.
While unconfirmed, I have heard that Disney was looking to put a reservation system in place long before the COVID closure. The pandemic just gave them a convenient excuse to do it. Whether or not that’s true, I have no idea, but it makes sense to me.
Disney Park Pass reservations are supposed to help with crowd control. I suppose that they do somewhat, even though the parks are crowded these days. Park Pass helps to spread out that crowd. If you can’t get a reservation in one park, you can try for another.
There is a rumor floating around that people will eventually need a reservation for the second park in order to Park Hop. There is no basis for this rumor, and I personally do not believe that it’s true. (I’ve been wrong before.) Don’t believe it until you hear it from Disney. Don’t even believe Cast Members that you strike up a conversation with, they sometimes hear rumors as well and think that they’re true. If this change is going to be made, it will be on the Walt Disney World website and I will add a link to the confirmation.
Like it or hate it, we’re stuck with Disney Park Pass. At least the system is easy to use. Just remember to cancel a reservation if you aren’t going to use it. Parks do reach capacity, and someone else will be thrilled to get a spot!