Yesterday Walt Disney World dropped a pretty big bombshell when it announced that starting in 2024, standard dated tickets will no longer be subject to the hated reservation system. Along with that news came some additional announcements including the return of the popular Disney Dining Plan, and changes to Genie+, that sound like they will return the system to something similar to what FastPass+ used to be. These are all welcome changes, but since they are all exclusive to Orlando, one has to wonder what’s happing on the other coast at Disneyland Resort.
Disneyland Resort has had the same reservation system in place since it reopened following the global pandemic and it makes even less sense there than it does in Orlando. At this point, no announcement has been made regarding changes there, but it serums like it’s only a matter of time before it does. For fans that have struggled with the parks since they reopened, this is all very good news.
Walt Disney World Will Be (Almost) Back To Its Pre-Pandemic Ways In 2024, And That’s A Good Thing
When Walt Disney World reopened in the summer of 2020 it did so without a lot of the things that guests expect. There were no parades, no fireworks, and no chances to get pictures with Mickey Mouse. Slowly but surely each of these things has been added back to the park, but there have remained a couple of things missing and of course, the one big addition, that has kept the parks from feeling as fun as they used to.
All theme parks included some form of reservation system early, as they were required to limit capacity during the global pandemic. However, every other park eventually abolished the system. Disney World and Disneyland have kept the reservation system intact, which a lot of guests really hate. It's even led to separate lawsuits at Disney World and Disneyland. We were told that the system helped with crowd management, but it also limited park hopping. As far as we know that is one thing that isn't going away.
In addition to the end of reservations, 2024 will also see the return of the Disney Dining Plan. The option lets guests pay a flat fee before their Disney World vacation which gave them access to a set number of table service or quick-service food options. It was a great way to take care of the issue of food ahead of time and not have to worry about money.
One of the other big changes that is coming, that we don’t have a lot of detail on yet, are some planned changes to Genie+. In the Disney World announcement, it’s mentioned the resort is working on ways to plan their Genie+ and Lightning Lane selections prior to their visit. This is how FastPass+ used to work prior to the pandemic, with guests being given a certain number of selections they could make prior to arrival. So it sounds like ultimately the only thing hanging around will be the extra cost of Genie+.
All in all, it’s wonderful to see all these changes that will actually bring Disney World almost entirely back in line with the way things used to be. While not everything about the old systems was perfect, a lot of it is preferable to what we’re dealing with now.
When Disneyland Resort Might Announce An End To Reservations
But the question still remains, what’s happening at Disneyland? No end to the reservation system was announced for that resort yesterday, but there may be a very simple reason for that, which may indicate we could get a similar announcement from them in about three months' time.
Walt Disney World is currently selling tickets for dates through the end of 2023, so tickets for early 2024 are going to be going on sale very soon. It was specifically mentioned in the Disney World announcement those sales would be happening soon, and that’s why we were being told about the changes now. But Disneyland Resort doesn’t sell tickets that far in advance. If you want to buy tickets for that park now you can only buy for dates through early September.
Since Disneyland tickets are only sold about four months out, that means tickets for early January 2024 will likely be put on sale in early September. So if Disneyland is planning to make the same change at the same time, we may hear about it in late August or early September.
Of course, because Disneyland doesn’t sell tickets so far out, it could also make this change a lot sooner if it chooses to do so. It could make the announcement tomorrow and have the change go into effect for a date in September when tickets are not currently on sale. With the news that the reservation system is ending at Disney World, however, it seems likely Disneyland will be making this change. It’s just a question of when.
