Hi again Kathleen, it's great to have you back here at planDisney!
Sometimes, adjusting to change can be difficult for those who wish things would just remain the way they used to be - and you're absolutely right that back in the day many folks and families would sometimes just show up to theme parks to just
purchase their tickets right before heading in. From the
recent question that you've asked the Panel about theme park admission, it looks like you'd prefer to just wait until you arrive to buy your tickets and you may be happy to hear that there always seems to be a fair share of families still doing this whenever I pass by the ticket windows.
Perhaps some folks don't know that they have a day free to head to a theme park and make their decision to go last minute; maybe they're only visiting spontaneously or don't have access to the internet to purchase their tickets in advance. Luckily, for a lot of guests with date-based tickets like what you're most likely intending to purchase, it's
no longer currently required to make any Theme Park Reservations. (Instead, at the present time this really mostly applies to folks with
Annual Passes, or tickets acquired through conventions, military service, student groups or teams.) Depending on the kind of admission you'll be purchasing it's always best to ask the Cast Member helping you out to confirm whether you'll need to make reservations with it, but from the sounds of your question it doesn't really seem like this will the case for you.
Something that may be very important to take note of is that there are popular times of year like the
Holidays at Walt Disney World Resort when the ticket pricing can be higher while crowd levels surge in the final weeks of December. There's never any guarantee that you'll necessarily be able to purchase tickets on the spot, especially in the very rare event that the theme park has reached capacity and they're unable to sell guests any more tickets.
However if there's anything that we learn with every turn of
Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress, it's that the newest advancements in technology can definitely save time and make the overall experience even smoother. From
MagicBands to
Virtual Queues and the
My Disney Experience App, it's been remarkable to observe first hand how tech-savvy guests can find ways to spend less time waiting in long lines and navigating their days in the most convenient way. If however you don't mind taking your chances or aren't in any particular rush to maximize your day spent in the theme parks, just know that purchasing in person is still very much possible at the current time.
Wishing you all the best in making your way to the parks in this Great, Big, Beautiful Tomorrow!
Prince