Well hello there, Kerri! We are thrilled to see you back with yet another set of great questions for us here at planDisney!
Yes, you do need to have purchased theme park tickets or Magic Keys in order to make
theme park ticket reservations. Theme park ticket reservations are linked to your ticket ID number or Magic Key pass number, not to a Disney account/person. Currently, there is a pause in regard to Magic Key pass sales.
In my opinion, I think it is worth it for you to wait to see if
Magic Key passes resume sales again soon before you purchase tickets. You still are a year out from your planned trip and currently, you can only book theme park ticket reservations up to 120 days in advance. That gives you quite a few months yet to wait and see when sales for Magic Keys resume. However, depending on the Magic Key pass type that you choose, you are only allowed to hold so many reservations at one time. So this would mean once you arrive and scan into a park for the day you would want to immediately go in and book a reservation for whatever day you need next. This could be a gamble booking as you go.
Five-day tickets are currently the maximum number of days for a multiday ticket. If you end up purchasing tickets you will need to then purchase a couple of sets of multiday tickets to be able to accommodate the number of days you want to visit. You would be able to make theme park ticket reservations 120 days in advance for all of the tickets and have a bit more peace of mind with that.
Kerri, I hope this helps you as you think about what the best option is for you next year. Thanks again for stopping by!
Carrie