Walt Disney World Re-Opening Dates Announced

Yes you read that right, “Dates!”

Walt Disney World just briefed the Orange County Taskforce on their Re-Opening Plan.

(UPDATED – 5/29) – Dining, FastPass, Extra Magic Hours Info

HOT NEWS – Disney Has Extended the Expiration Dates for the 2020 Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets.

Disney will be instituting an Advance Reservation System, where you will get a reservation to enter a specific theme park on a specific day.

Parks will be kept to a low level of attendance via this system. Disney will provide details on how this will work later, but suffice to say you might not be able to go to the park of your choice on your desired day or in fact go to a park every day of your vacation!

Disney says:

At this time, we are temporarily pausing new ticket sales and Disney Resort hotel reservations so we can focus on guests with existing tickets and reservations (Disney Vacation Club members can still make new reservations). Existing ticket holders and Annual Passholders will be able to make reservation requests in phases before new tickets are sold; we’ll be reaching out to these guests soon to provide additional details. We will resume new ticket sales and hotel reservations after that period of time. Theme park reservations will be limited due to attendance limitations and will be subject to availability. More details about this new reservation system will be available soon.“

Park Reservations – You will be advised by Disney if you qualify for this first round of park reservations (you already have to have a resort reservation and linked tickets (vouchers)). Then when allowed you will be given the chance to make park reservations for your dates through My Disney Experience. Think of it like making a fastness but for a park vs a ride. (just 1 park per day). You will know right then what park if any you can get in on each day.

The second and continuing round of park reservations will be after they reopen reservations and ticket sales.

During this time masks and temperature checks are a given.

Update 5/29 – Disney has changed their Mask Guidance fro required for 3 and up to now requiring them for 2 and up.

Disney says there will be no “High Touch” experiences or mass gatherings, such as makeovers, parades, fireworks, meet & greets, playgrounds or splash areas.

But here is an interesting development. Disney has created a new job for some cast members, they call these Social Distance Squad Cast Members! These CMs have the task of reminding (nagging) you to social distance and wear masks. But if that’s what we have to put up with to get the parks open so be it…

Prior to the official re-opening dates, Walt Disney World will host a series of Cast Member previews and soft opening days for select audiences to ramp up operations.

These were the big Theme Park takeaways from the briefing. Disney said that the Disney Springs opening has gone well and they were using lessons learned there.

Military Ticket Issues

HOT NEWS – Disney Has Extended the Expiration Dates for the 2020 Disney Armed Forces Salute Tickets.

Still no official word from Disney on what they will do for military families that pre-purchased Disney Armed Forces Salute tickets that they planned to use during the closure period!

After attempts to resolve in other ways, I have written to Disney CEO Bob Iger about the problem and will report if I hear back.

Also, it is not yet know if Disney considers those who have pre-purchased Armed Forces Salute Ticket Exchange Vouchers to be existing ticket holders. One would hope so as you can make fastpasses with them.

Disney World Resorts

There has been no announcement yet when Walt Disney World Resort Hotels will open. But expect it to be a few days prior to the Theme Parks.

Disney has stated (in the quote above) that they have halted taking new reservations for the time being. Expect them to start taking new reservations for July in June and for later in July.

However Disney Vacation Club Resorts will be opening on 22 June to DVC members and their guests.

Dining Changes

Update 5/29 – Disney has made this announcement about dining:

In order to foster physical distancing during this time, upon reopening, our offerings, restaurants and other experiences such as behind-the-scenes tours will be limited in capacity, and other experiences may remain closed. As a result of limited capacity, we have made the difficult decision to cancel all existing dining reservations and experience bookings, including Disney dining plans included in packages. We will reopen dining and experience bookings with more limited numbers closer to when the parks reopen. We will also shift from a 180-day booking window to a 60-day booking window for dining and experience bookings going forward to allow Guests to make their plans closer to their visits.“

• All current Advance Dining Reservations – Cancelled – You must re-book closer to when the parks re-open
• All Dining Plans Cancelled
• 60-Day booking window instead of 180-Days

FastPass+ Changes

Update 5/29 – FastPass+ service will be suspended for the time being as Disney plans to use additional queue space to manage capacity at our attractions and maintain physical distancing. Disney will automatically cancel existing FastPass+ selections and share any future updates on the service at a later date.

Extra Magic Hours Changes

Update 5/29 – Extra Magic Hours will be temporarily suspended after re-opening!

Share your thoughts in the comments below!

Disneyland Re-opening Announcement

• Back to Basics Posts - A great place to start, offering basic topics!
• Disney Veteran & Military Discount Eligibility Guide
• The Military Family’s Walt Disney World Comprehensive Vacation Planning and Preparation Guide 
• Military Disney Tips Disney Packing Checklist 
• Disney Military Tickets – Your Start-to-Finish Guide

• Resorts/Hotel Overview Page
• Dining Overview Page
• Transportation Overview Page
• Technology Overview Page
• Shades of Green, WDW’s Military-Only Resort

The Mouse Experts is a travel booking company specializing in Disney vacations. Military family owned and operated! They know all the ins and outs of Disney military discounts!