Hello, Joann. Thanks for visiting us here at planDisney with your question. Your trip to Walt Disney World is quickly approaching, I bet you are getting so excited!
I went ahead and took a look at the
Walt Disney World availability calendar for your arrival date and beyond and I can see where the Walt Disney World Theme Parks are starting to fill up. I have a couple of suggestions for you. The first would be to just keep checking the availability calendar. I know it sounds tedious, but spots do open up. As itineraries change or people cancel their vacations all together, the calendar also changes. I've had good luck grabbing park pass reservations for a previously unavailable park with constantly checking back. I like to check early in the morning, around lunchtime and then again late at night. Now, of course, this isn't a surefire way to secure a reservation for your friend. The other suggestion I have is for your friend (or all of you in your party) to upgrade their ticket to include the park hopper option.
Park hopping is when you can visit multiple Walt Disney World Theme Parks in one day. Currently, park hopping does look a little bit different than it did before.
To park hop currently:
- Guests must have valid standard theme park admission with the park hopper option
- Guests must make a park pass reservation for the first theme park they wish to visit each day
- Guests must scan in and enter the theme park with the park pass reservation before continuing on to other parks
- Park hopping hours are now from 2:00 p.m. until park closing each day
- You do not need to make additional park pass reservation to park hop - just that initial one each day
This is a great option where your friend could meet up with you around 2:00 p.m. at the theme park you'll be visiting for the day. You'll just need to go ahead and make them a park pass reservation for a theme park that still has availability and then they'll have to go to that theme park first before continuing on to where you'll be. It's a few extra steps for them to join you for the afternoon and evening but that might be the only way you will be able to spend some time together at the Walt Disney World Theme Parks.
If none of those options will work out for you all, the good news is there is still plenty of things to do that don't require park pass reservations. You could go play
putt-putt at either of the courses on Walt Disney World Property, you could visit
Disney's BoardWalk and stroll around the lake or my personal favorite thing to do is visit Disney Springs.
Disney Springs is the shopping, dining and entertainment hub at Walt Disney World. In fact, most evenings you can find me down there enjoying a bite to eat and listening to live music. It's so much fun. I know it might not be what you guys had originally had in mind but there are plenty of ways to have a great day together.
Joann, if I can help you with anything else before your vacation please feel free to come back and
ask me. I'm happy to help. Have fun!