Season's Greetings, Laura! Welcome to planDisney!
A last-minute trip to the Walt Disney World Resort is a magical gift to give yourself and your family! There are so many ways to get into the holiday spirit at the theme parks and Resort hotels, I just know your Christmas trip will be oh-so-merry!
Let's take a minute to chat about
Disney Park Pass reservations and how they work with your theme park tickets. When you
purchase tickets, they're valid for any of the four theme parks at Walt Disney World. Then, after
linking the tickets to your My Disney Experience account, your next step is to make a reservation for the specific park you plan to visit on a given day. That's when you might see that certain parks may not have availability for new reservations, particularly during busier times of the year. As long as at least one park has reservations available, you
can buy tickets either online or in person at the ticket booths outside the theme park entrance. However, even if you're able to buy a ticket in person, you won't be able to use it at that park if there are no reservations left for that day.
For example, looking at the
Availability Calendar for Christmas Day, Disney's Animal Kingdom Park and EPCOT are showing reservations available, while the Magic Kingdom Park and Disney's Hollywood Studios are not. If that remains the case, you would be able to buy tickets in person outside the Magic Kingdom Park, but you wouldn't be able to use them to enter the Magic Kingdom without a reservation. I hope this makes sense!
If the Magic Kingdom Park was your Christmas wish, may I suggest EPCOT instead? The
EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays is a wonderful experience, with lots of holiday treats and traditions from all around the world. The soaring Christmas tree in World Showcase Plaza makes a lovely holiday photo backdrop, and there are plenty of shops and attractions to keep you busy! You can also step right out the "back door" of EPCOT through the International Gateway to explore
Disney's BoardWalk and some of the beautiful Resort hotels around Crescent Lake. The gingerbread carousel in the lobby of
Disney's Beach Club Resort is definitely worth seeing!
Laura, I hope this helps you plan a jolly holiday visit to the Walt Disney World Resort. Thank you so much for stopping by to see us, and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a magical New Year!
Keep Disney Dreaming,
Kathy K.