Jennifer,
Thanks for asking your question to planDisney!
Yes, you should definitely make
Theme Park Reservations, and there is no reason not to do so right away. As for the park hopper, you can hop to another park starting at 2 pm, if that park you want to hop to has availability. Here are some more details.
What is the benefit of making your theme park reservations right away?You lock in a park for each day. If you are doing this far in advance of your trip, that may not seem like it would matter much, as all four parks are likely available at the time of purchase. But as the dates of your trip approach, some of the parks may run out of room. You could get locked out of the park that you wanted to visit that day.
But what if I change my mind on what parks I want to visit on specific days?No problem! You can always change your park plans, assuming that the park you want to switch to has availability. Let me share with you the steps you would follow to make a change.
Step 1: If you are planning to change a reservation to a different park, first confirm that the park you want to switch to has availability. Just check the
Disney Park Pass Availability Calendar for your respective dates.
Step 2: Go to your
My Disney Experience account and select
"My Plans". You can find this at the top right of the Walt Disney World website menu. Find the reservation that you want to change and click on
"View Details". On the next page, you will want to click on
"Cancel This Reservation", selecting all the guests for whom you wish to cancel.
Step 3: Make the updated theme park reservation, as you did before, with your new park selection.
As for the park hopper, as mentioned above, you have to wait until 2 PM to hop to another park. And that park you want to hop to has to have availability. This is not necessarily the same as the availability that you saw on the Park Pass Calendar mentioned earlier, so don't assume a park is blocked off before checking.
How will you know if there is available space?When getting ready for your next park hop, just call
(407) 560-5000. That is the Park Hopping Hotline (or at least that is what I call it!), and it will tell you the status of all the parks, and if the park you want to hop to has space. By the way, I have never had a problem getting in to a second park on my travels. If you were trying to get into the Magic Kingdom on a super busy day, like Christmas Day, you likely would have a problem, but in February you are unlikely to meet too many obstacles.
So feel free to
send me any follow-up questions directly, and I am glad to help further.
Have a Magical Vacation!Doug