Hello there, Jonathan. I always love seeing a fellow North Carolinian pop up here at planDisney.
I went ahead and took a look at the
Walt Disney World availability calendar and I can see where certain parks are full or starting to fill up during your vacation.
Disney's Hollywood Studios is open to Guests at this time, but because of its popularity, seems to be the park reaching its capacity restrictions first. If you weren't able to grab a park pass reservation for Disney's Hollywood Studios for your trip, you can keep checking back. Park availability does change regularly when Guests either change their itineraries or cancel their trips altogether. I've had good luck with snagging something that had previously been unavailable but I was diligent about checking back. I suggest checking the Walt Disney World availability calendar in the early morning hours, around lunchtime and then again before bed. I know it can be tedious to do this, but it has worked for me in the past.
If you aren't able to grab a
park pass reservation for the Walt Disney World Theme Parks you really want to visit on a certain day, park hopping is going to be your best bet. Park hopping is where you can visit multiple Walt Disney World Theme Parks in one day.
Park hopping just recently returned to us, at the start of this year, and I couldn't be happier about it. Park hopping is my favorite way to spend a Disney day.
Park hopping does look a little bit different than it did before. Here's how it is currently working:
- Guests wishing to park hop must have valid theme park admission with the park hopper option
- Guests wishing to park hop must make park pass reservations for an initial theme park each day
- Guests wishing to park hop must scan in and enter the park with the park pass reservations before continuing on to other theme parks that day
- Guests do not need to make additional park pass reservations to park hop, just the initial one each day
- Park hopping hours are from 2:00 p.m. until each park closes in the evening.
So to clarify, you will need park pass reservations for the first Walt Disney World Theme Park you visit each day. After the clock strikes 2:00 p.m. you are able to visit any or all of the other Walt Disney World Theme parks without having to make additional park pass reservations. If additional park pass reservations for Disney's Hollywood Studios do not open up, this is going to be your best bet at enjoying that theme park. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much you will be able to check off of your must-do list from the afternoon until the park closes.
Jonathan, I hope you have a great time visiting Walt Disney World in May. If you have any other questions before your trip, I'd love it if you came back and
asked me. I'm here to help.
Have fun!