Everything Park Reservations - Please Read Post 1

[FSUSammy]

Did you happen to have the reservations made prior to 8/23?
When they made the change to the Park Reservation system on 8/23 it caused all sorts of wonky things to happen to existing park reservations.
Some of them show cancel only, some show modify, some got duplicated, some got separated from the rest of the party.
And to answer the question, no, no one knows why, other than it's Disney IT.

Yes actually they were all done way before then. Typical Disney IT always screwing things up. Makes sense!

 

[rotlex]

So as of this morning I'm happy to report back that my reservations look "normal" again! They were completely out of whack a few weeks ago, after the changes, and I checked today and the park reservations look as they did prior to the mix up. Whew! I was worried that something else would happen and I'd miss it as the trip is not until next July.

 

[vinotinto]

My reservations also changed back to “4 guests” instead of each guest being listed separately with a funky number.

 

[tomirhonda]

Just checking to make sure. My 18 month old granddaughter does NOT need a park reservation, correct ?

 

[scrappinginontario]

Just checking to make sure. My 18 month old granddaughter does NOT need a park reservation, correct ?

No, she does not have a ticket so does not require a park reservation.

 

[godfather927]

Anyone have a rough idea of how often all 4 parks have "sold out" on a given day? I know that MK, and HS, seem to hit the max fairly often, but curious if anyone's ever been locked out of all 4 parks entirely after failing to make a reservation in time or after trying to switch from one park to another.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Anyone have a rough idea of how often all 4 parks have "sold out" on a given day? I know that MK, and HS, seem to hit the max fairly often, but curious if anyone's ever been locked out of all 4 parks entirely after failing to make a reservation in time or after trying to switch from one park to another.

This has happened A LOT during busier times of the year! Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break and more. It's recommended to purchase tickets and make park reservations as early as possible. Purchasing a ticket but failing to make a park reservation will mean not being able to go to a park certain days. Disney will not sell tickets if a day is full and, if you wish to purchase a 7 day ticket but one of those days is already full for all 4 park reservations, they will not sell a 7 day ticket.

Motto: buy early, book early

 

[godfather927]

This has happened A LOT during busier times of the year! Christmas, Thanksgiving, Spring Break and more. It's recommended to purchase tickets and make park reservations as early as possible. Purchasing a ticket but failing to make a park reservation will mean not being able to go to a park certain days. Disney will not sell tickets if a day is full and, if you wish to purchase a 7 day ticket but one of those days is already full for all 4 park reservations, they will not sell a 7 day ticket.

Motto: buy early, book early

I've already booked all 10 of my park days, but was more so questioning on how likely I would be to get locked out if I tried to change plans and switch my reservation for one of the days to a different park, or swap my resort days and park days. This would be for a trip after xmas but during NYE, so still will be one of the busier times of the year. Sounds like I'll just have to play it by ear or deal with a bit of inflexibility should they all sell out closer to our trip.

 

[CarolynFH]

Sounds like I'll just have to play it by ear or deal with a bit of inflexibility should they all sell out closer to our trip.

Exactly. Just keep watching, and try to firm up plans, such as dining ADRs or other plans that affect which park you want/need to be inside of and when, as early as possible so that you can change your park reservations to fit.

 

[godfather927]

Exactly. Just keep watching, and try to firm up plans, such as dining ADRs or other plans that affect which park you want/need to be inside of and when, as early as possible so that you can change your park reservations to fit.

The biggest challenge in our case is that we'll have a 12 day trip, with 2 resort days which we plan on lounging around the pool, going to disney springs, and/or going to a water park. But since two of those activities are better enjoyed on days of warmer weather, that's why I might be looking to do a last-minute switch of plans based on the forecast. But also not willing to take the risk of being locked out of all the parks on a given day, so that's why I was curious how likely that scenario is.

 

[tomirhonda]

No, she does not have a ticket so does not require a park reservation.

Thank you for the quick reply !

 

[CarolynFH]

The biggest challenge in our case is that we'll have a 12 day trip, with 2 resort days which we plan on lounging around the pool, going to disney springs, and/or going to a water park. But since two of those activities are better enjoyed on days of warmer weather, that's why I might be looking to do a last-minute switch of plans based on the forecast. But also not willing to take the risk of being locked out of all the parks on a given day, so that's why I was curious how likely that scenario is.

Ah. Unfortunately, during many of the very busiest times that @scrappinginontario listed above, both park availability and the weather tend to be unpredictable, so flexibility and having alternative options in mind is key.

 

[godfather927]

Ah. Unfortunately, during many of the very busiest times that @scrappinginontario listed above, both park availability and the weather tend to be unpredictable, so flexibility and having alternative options in mind is key.

Yeah, doesn't seem worth the risk if all 4 parks typically sell out during that time of the year. I'll just have to work around it and stick to the original plan. Thanks all for the info.

 

[scrappinginontario]

Yeah, doesn't seem worth the risk if all 4 parks typically sell out during that time of the year. I'll just have to work around it and stick to the original plan. Thanks all for the info.

The other moving part we need to keep in mind is that park reservations in 2020 and 2021 were reduced capacity so less park reservations available. We have no idea how the park reservation buckets may have increased for 2022 so the trend for 2020 and 2021 does not necessarily predict what will happen in 2022.

 

[godfather927]

The other moving part we need to keep in mind is that park reservations in 2020 and 2021 were reduced capacity so less park reservations available. We have no idea how the park reservation buckets may have increased for 2022 so the trend for 2020 and 2021 does not necessarily predict what will happen in 2022.

True, hard to know for sure until about a week or so before the trip. But even then, the forecast can change on a dime so we'll just have to keep an eye on things. I'm just hoping we get at least one day of warm weather somewhere in that span since we already added the water park & sports option to our tickets.

 

[Lisa P.]

The biggest challenge in our case is that we'll have a 12 day trip.... I might be looking to do a last-minute switch of plans based on the forecast. But also not willing to take the risk of being locked out of all the parks on a given day...

Since your 12 day trip will span a period from Christmas week (very busy) into early January (usually much less busy), I'd suggest that you book park pass reservations for all of the earlier, busier days, through New Year's Day. Then, if 1 or 2 of them get unseasonably warm, it's more likely to be an easy switch to move the park reservation to a January date. At least AK tends to be an available same-day option when there aren't peak crowds.

Also, take a look at your park pass reservations online. If you booked them fairly recently, they should all have links next to each one to "modify reservation" and not just links to "cancel". If they don't offer the option to "modify", consider cancelling them now, early enough to get back what you want. Rebook immediately so that you see the "modify" option, available since their IT upgrade. This will make switching dates a quicker, easier process later. HTH.

 

[godfather927]

Since your 12 day trip will span a period from Christmas week (very busy) into early January (usually much less busy), I'd suggest that you book park pass reservations for all of the earlier, busier days, through New Year's Day. Then, if 1 or 2 of them get unseasonably warm, it's more likely to be an easy switch to move the park reservation to a January date. At least AK tends to be an available same-day option when there aren't peak crowds.

Also, take a look at your park pass reservations online. If you booked them fairly recently, they should all have links next to each one to "modify reservation" and not just links to "cancel". If they don't offer the option to "modify", consider cancelling them now, early enough to get back what you want. Rebook immediately so that you see the "modify" option, available since their IT upgrade. This will make switching dates a quicker, easier process later. HTH.

Whoa, when did they add this? Does this mean the modify option now allows a risk-free way to swap my park reservations from one park to another? Or also even to swap dates? If so, this is a huge upgrade from the old system!

 

[scrappinginontario]

Whoa, when did they add this? Does this mean the modify option now allows a risk-free way to swap my park reservations from one park to another? Or also even to swap dates? If so, this is a huge upgrade from the old system!

Yes! This long awaited change was made last month. @Lisa P.'s suggestion is a great one! I didn't realize the modify option was only available to recently booked park reservations. Thanks for letting us know!

 

[Lisa P.]

Yes, as stated by @scrappinginontario, IT just upgraded last month to include the "modify" option. Since then, we noticed that some of our older park pass reservations, booked for late fall 2022, did not show the "modify" links while others did. When I cancelled them and rebooked, the "modify" links appeared next to them. I love the "modify" option. If we begin the "modify" process and discover that our new preferred date/park is not available, we just don't complete the process and retain the original park pass reservation. Very nice.

 

[godfather927]

Yes, as stated by @scrappinginontario, IT just upgraded last month to include the "modify" option. Since then, we noticed that some of our older park pass reservations, booked for late fall 2022, did not show the "modify" links while others did. When I cancelled them and rebooked, the "modify" links appeared next to them. I love the "modify" option. If we begin the "modify" process and discover that our new preferred date/park is not available, we just don't complete the process and retain the original park pass reservation. Very nice.

Oh man, this is desperately what they needed to add for so long! Had no idea this was possible now but I just checked and I do have the option on my reservations, so I just tried it out and it's exactly as you said, super easy way to swap without fear of getting locked out with the previous cancel and rebook method we had to use previously. So helpful, thank you for bringing it to my attention!!