Being an Annual Passholder Just Got MORE Complicated in Disney World

Disney announced several changes to how we “do” Disney that will go into effect in January 2024.

These changes include the return of all-day park hopping, the return of the Disney Dining Plan, and the removal of park reservations (for date-based tickets). We’ve talked about these A LOT to get us all ready for their arrival. But one thing we haven’t talked much about is how Annual Passholders will be affected by the removal of the park reservations. What will happen when Annual Passholders (who don’t have date-based tickets) want to go to the parks? Let’s find out.

Disney had announced earlier this year their idea of “Good-to-Go” days for Annual Passholders. And now they’ve just released the date that these special days will go into effect. But what do they really mean and how will they affect you, the passholder? We’re here to break it all down for you.

Park Reservations vs. Good-to-Go Days

Disney’s announcement to get rid of park reservations in Disney World only applies to people who have date-based tickets — in other words, tickets you have purchased for a vacation that start on a certain date. Those with annual passes will STILL need a park reservation to enter the parks after January 9th. However, there will be an exception to this rule, which will begin on January 11th.

The Good-to-Go rule allows Annual Passholders to enter any park on select dates WITHOUT a park reservation. This applies to any day Disney has deemed as a Good-to-Go day, which you can see on the Theme Park Reservation calendar, the Annual Passholder admissions calendar, and the Disney World app.

The Good-to-Go dates will be added periodically and could be released days or weeks at a time. Because of this, it’s important to note — Disney has shared that any days you have reservations for that become Good-to-Go Days will have the reservation removed and will not be counted towards the total reservations that you can have at one time.

For example: If Disney turns a day you already have a reservation for into a Good-to-Go day, you would have that reservation removed, still go to any park that day as a Good-to-Go day, AND make another reservation for another day.

It’s important to note that blackout dates will still apply in 2024, so be sure you pay attention to those days. And since the Good-to-Go days can be randomly added, you’ll want to keep checking back for availability.

Remember these new Good-to-Go days start January 11th!

After 2 PM Rule

Ok, so we have the park reservations and Good-to-Go rule figured out, but what is this 2 PM rule? The 2 PM rule just states that you can go to any park any day without a park reservation AFTER 2 PM. The only exception to this rule is Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays.

This is not the same thing as park hopping. For Annual Passholders, you do not need a park reservation after 2 PM and you do not need to go to any specific park first before heading to another one. This rule is already in effect and will continue after January 9th.

Park Hopping

Park Hopping IS changing in 2024, but it’s changing for everyone (who has a park hopper ticket and Annual Passholders). Annual Passholders have no differences or exceptions to the new park hopping rules. Everyone will be able to hop to a new park any time of the day. But there’s a sneaky way this can be beneficial to you on non- Good-to-Go days.

On days when you DO need a park reservation, you could get one for any park and then immediately leave to go to any other park. All you have to do is scan into the park you have a reservation for, and you’re free to go anywhere else (when the new park hopping rules begin on January 9th). Yes, this may be a little annoying, but, hey, it works and sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. (We’ll do ANYTHING to eat some pastries for breakfast in EPCOT!)

Just keep in mind that parks can reach capacity on the busiest days of the year, and you will not be able to park hop if the park is closed because it’s at capacity. So, there’s still a slight chance this trick might not work on a very busy day.

We hope this breakdown helped you understand and prepare for the coming rules in 2024! It may be a little complicated at first, but we’ll all be pros after January 11th.

Until then, keep following All Ears for more Disney news.

How to Make the MOST of Early Theme Park Entry at Magic Kingdom

Are you ready for the new rules coming in 2024? Let us know in the comments!

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