Hello, Christina. Welcome to planDisney!
Planning a visit to the Walt Disney World Resort includes a lot of hard decisions. Which Disney Resorts Collection hotel to pick? Should I book a Character breakfast at The Crystal Palace, Chef Mickey’s, or both? How many days do I want to enjoy the Theme Parks? Do I want to be able to hop from one park to another within the same day? Luckily for you, there are no wrong choices, and it sounds like you are already on the right track with your visit to The Most Magical Place On Earth!
There have been some changes to the Theme Park Reservation process over the year, mainly date-based tickets not needing Theme Park Reservations. Date-based tickets would be those you purchase and, in the process, select a start date that coincides with your arrival at your Disney Resorts Collection hotel or the first day you plan on visiting the parks. For example, if you bought a 4-Day Theme Park Ticket with the Park Hopper Option, you would not require a park reservation, and you would have seven days from the start date you chose to visit the parks four times. The date range is given so you don’t have to use your tickets on consecutive days, a convenient benefit if you want to recharge at your pool one day or ride out bad weather.
Some of the ticket types that would require reservations include:
- Student group tickets
- Sport and Convention tickets
- Disney Military Salute Ticket
- Annual Pass
If your ticket with the Park Hopper Option falls into one of the above categories, you should head to the main Walt Disney World site, log into your MyDisney account, hover over MyDisneyExperience in the top right corner, and select “Theme Park Reservations.” On the following page, there will be a blue box, “Make or Modify Theme Park Reservations,” which you will click to follow the steps on the following page. Easy as pie!
I hope this helps answer your question, Christina. If you have any follow-up questions or would like more tips and recommendations for your upcoming stay, let me know! I love sharing my Disney World knowledge with Guests like you so you can have an incredible visit!
Cheers,
Brent