Answering your questions about Walt Disney World vacation-planning enhancements for 2024
Walt Disney World Resort: Inspired by feedback from Members and guests, a string of recent announcements about 2024 Walt Disney World vacation offerings are creating buzz around the neighborhood, from the return of the Disney dining plans to the removal of reservation requirements for date-based Theme Park tickets. As the buzz has included some questions, the Disney Files staff is here with answers.
Regarding the lifting of the Theme Park reservation requirement for date-based tickets, what’s a “date-based ticket?â€
A “date-based ticket†is the standard ticket option offered to guests – the one that requires you to specify your vacation’s start date when you purchase. Chances are good that, if you aren’t using an annual pass to visit Walt Disney World Theme Parks, you’re using date-based tickets. And since the debut of the Theme Park reservation system in 2020, those tickets have required a two-step process: selecting a vacation start date when purchasing and then making Theme Park reservations for desired visitation
dates. That’s changing, based on your feedback. Starting with Walt Disney World Theme Park visits on Jan. 9, 2024, Theme Park reservations will no longer be required for those date-based tickets. When buying your tickets (they’re available now for 2024), you’ll simply select a start date for Jan. 9, 2024 or later, complete your purchase, and you’re all set! No Theme Park reservation required.
Will Disney Vacation Club Resort stays still include extended access to Walt Disney World Theme Parks?
Yes, Disney Deluxe Resorts and Deluxe Villas (that’s us!) will continue to offer Members and guests extended evening access to Walt Disney World Theme Parks on select dates at select Parks throughout 2024 with valid Theme Park admission and Resort ID. Also note that all categories of Walt Disney World Resort hotels – including Disney Vacation Club Resorts – offer early morning Theme Park access every day across all four Parks.
Will I need to make a Theme Park reservation if I’m using an annual pass?
For non-date-based tickets, including annual passes, theme park reservations are still required for most dates as part of an ongoing effort to manage attendance and deliver the best-possible in-park experience. That said, the recent waves of good news also included the announcement of new “good-to-go days†for Annual Passholders (as well as Cast Members, much to the delight of this magazine’s writers). On those select dates, which will roll out on an ongoing basis, Theme Park reservations will not be required for annual passes (or Cast Members’ Main Entrance Passes). The New Year also will continue the popular “after 2 p.m.†allowance, which invites Annual Passholders to enter Walt Disney World Theme Parks without a Theme Park reservation after 2 p.m. (except for Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom Park). Note that “good-to-go†days may vary by Theme Park, and that pass block-out dates and Theme Park capacity limits will continue to apply as they do today. To confirm which admission types require Theme Park reservations, visit DisneyWorld.com/ThemeParkReservations.
Are Disney Vacation Club Members eligible for the returning dining plans?
Yes. Call Member Services if you’d like to add a dining plan to your Walt Disney World vacation for stays beginning Jan. 9, 2024. For those unfamiliar, Disney dining plans offer the convenience and peace of mind of pre-paying for meals and snacks at participating Walt Disney World locations. Two plan options are available: a Disney Quick Service Dining Plan, which, as its name would imply, includes meals at quick-service restaurants; and the Disney Dining Plan, which includes meals at table-service restaurants.
Members and guests have requested the flexibility to make Walt Disney World Theme Park plans with the Disney Genie+ service and individual Lightning Lane selections before their visit, and as this edition of Disney Files Magazine hits the press, we’re told that efforts to grant that wish are underway. Keep an eye on the Disney Parks Blog (DisneyParksBlog.com) for updates as these enhancements aim to free you from your phones while enjoying your days in the Parks.
