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Annual Passholders (i.e. Walt Disney World Resort enthusiasts who buy Annual Passes and receive special status) or Magic Key Holders (i.e. Disneyland Resort enthusiasts who enjoy a similar special status) have not been especially pleased with the Walt Disney Company lately.
Regular Disney Guests have not been pleased overall, either, but Disney has just announced something that will sweeten the deal for Annual Passholders in particular!
Credit: Disney
According to journalist Scott Gustin, who has shared images from the Walt Disney World Resort website on his Twitter account, “at Walt Disney World, Annual Passholders will be able to visit theme parks after 2 p.m. without needing a park reservation. The only exception is Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom.”
NEW: At Walt Disney World, Annual Passholders will be able to visit theme parks after 2 p.m. without needing a park reservation. The only exception is Saturdays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom. pic.twitter.com/9DsOwLsKKo
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 10, 2023
We can see from the website announcement that, essentially, this news means that Annual Passholders will be able to come to Disney Parks without a Park Pass reservation after 2 p.m. (aside from the restrictions mentioned about Saturdays and Sundays at the Magic Kingdom Park).
Disney explained the change by saying the following on the website: “while the theme park reservation system remains important to manage attendance in our parks, especially on busier days, we realize our Passholders enjoy more spontaneous visits — and this change will make that possible.”
Here's the official update from WDW about "relaxed visits after 2 p.m." pic.twitter.com/uzxsqThFYS
— Scott Gustin (@ScottGustin) January 10, 2023
Annual Passholders do tend to be frequent Disney Park and Disney Resort visitors, so this change in Park Pass reservation policy makes sense. A similar change that increases flexibility for visitors (particularly in regards to Park Hopper restrictions) has also just been announced in relation to Disneyland Resort and outlined on the Disney Parks Blog.
As the blog post put it, these new changes are meant to “Offer Guests More Value and Flexibility.”
Disney has faced a lot of negative feedback from Disney Park and Disney Resort Guests in recent months, and judging by this increase in Annual Passholders’ ability to visit Disney Parks more spontaneously, it seems like the Walt Disney Company is on a mission to get back into Guests’ good graces!
Credit: Yesterland
We already saw one perk announced that was specific to Magic Key Holders at Disneyland Resort yesterday, but apparently, Disney is upping the ante when it comes to increasing priority Guests’ happiness.
Disney Fanatic will continue to share more information about this exciting announcement and Annual Passholders’ response to the change in the future!
Are you a Disney World Annual Passholder or Magic Key Holder? If you are a Disney World Annual Passholder, then will you be taking advantage of this opportunity for “spontaneous visits” to Disney Parks like the Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios?
