Hi there, Michael. As a fellow Alabamian who loves visiting the Walt Disney World Resort, I'm so happy to hear that your family is planning a return visit this summer! It's always good to go "home," right?
Because it may be different than when you last visited, acquainting yourself with the
updated policies and procedures is a great idea and will help you know what to expect during your visit. I hope I can help further by addressing some of the specific questions and concerns you noted.
I am happy to report that the
Park Hopper Option is indeed available, though there are some new guidelines for taking advantage of this opportunity. In order to hop from one park to another, guests must have valid theme park admission as well as a park reservation. When both of those criteria have been met, guests can first visit the theme park where their reservation is scheduled and then hop to a second park after 2 PM on the same day. Admission to the second park is dependent upon park capacity. Real time push notifications are sent via the My Disney Experience app when the Park Hopper Option is unavailable at one of the theme parks so be sure you keep an eye on that should you choose to park hop.
Guaranteed admission to the theme parks is not available without a reservation. There is a process for obtaining a
theme park reservation so you'll want to read up on that prior to purchasing your tickets. This
availability calendar will help you as you consider the dates for your trip.
Lastly, yes, many of the
resort pools are currently open and accepting guests who wish to splish splash the day away. Keep in mind that all of the pools that are open are operating with reduced capacity and in the event that any given pool reaches capacity, guests will be directed to a leisure pool. The best opportunity to enjoy a feature pool at your resort is to visit early in the morning.
I hope I've helped answer your questions, Michael. While your trip may be different than previous visits, just think of how iconic all those masked photos will be when this pandemic is behind us. I'm wishing you a ton of new magical memories. Be sure to visit us at planDisney again if we can be of further assistance.