Hi Bronwen! Welcome back to planDisney! I'm happy to be able to assist you again!
With the Disney Park Pass System being a big part of the planning process now, you'll definitely want to make sure you have a full understanding of how it works before your visit. Currently, you are required to have a
theme park reservation for the first park you plan to visit each day. You can start making your reservations as soon as you have purchased your park tickets. To secure your reservations, log on to your My Disney Experience account and select "Park Reservations" to do so.
If you need to make any changes to your original plans you have until you enter the park on the day of your visit to do so. There is no penalty for making these changes as long as you have not tapped in at the entrance to the park. If you did happen to do so, you will need a park hopper pass to be able to visit another park that day.
Let's say you want to visit
EPCOT but you have a reservation for Disney's Hollywood Studios, you will need to log on to your My Disney Experience account and cancel your current reservation. Then, you will need to make a new reservation for EPCOT. This only takes a matter of moments and can be completed by using the My Disney Experience App on your mobile device. All of this is contingent on current availability at that time. I would highly suggest
checking the park availability calendar before you cancel your original reservation to ensure that EPCOT is available on this day. On a recent visit, my family had a park reservation for the
Magic Kingdom, but the morning of we decided we would rather visit Disney's Animal Kingdom Theme Park. There happened to be availability for that day so we made the change before leaving our resort and headed to Animal Kingdom!
Bronwen, you will be happy to know that many of the magical experiences that make Walt Disney World as special as it is are returning in many forms. Traditional meet and greets have returned to the Resort and you are now able to hug your favorite characters yet again. This has been a long time coming and I know many Guests cannot wait to experience these special moments yet again. Also, the
Festival of Fantasy Parade is now back at the Magic Kingdom Park and is performed each day. I love this parade for countless reasons and is a must-see every trip down!
Have a magical time during your upcoming stay!
Happy planning!
Greg