During the start of the pandemic, there were many health and safety rules big crowd drawers, like Walt Disney World, had to implement to open their doors again safely. All Disney had to do was think outside the box and implement new rules like park hopping limitations and reservations to keep closer tabs on social distancing. And it worked for what was needed at that time. While much of the country has shown limiting crowds is no longer a top priority for health and safety reasons, people are angry that Disney hasn’t gotten rid of its “unfair” and “obnoxious” park hopping rules. Here’s what’s going on. Orlando theme park reporter Ashley Carter recently took to Twitter to share a request with Walt Disney World, which resulted in a massive response from others who felt similarly. “Disney, please get rid of the 2 pm park hopping rule,” she tweeted, and it went viral fast. According to Disney World, park hopping is an added perk for an additional cost, allowing parkgoers to visit more than one Disney Park on the same day. However, following the pandemic and its increased health and safety rules, some restrictions were placed on park hopping. Now, Guests must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit. They must enter that first park, no matter how late in the day, before they can hop to another park, which can’t be done earlier than 2 pm each day. Now, making a reservation for the second park isn’t necessary if it’s after 2 pm, but Disney notes that rule can change. Park hopping ends at the park’s scheduled close time. That’s what Ashley vented about in her tweet, and she’s far from the only person who hates these continued health and safety measures. “The fact you can’t park hop until 2 pm AND still then have to scan in at your first park before you can hop, is pretty obnoxious,” one person tweeted. “You know what is even MORE awesome? If you want to start the day at whichever theme park, then hop on over to another park at whatever time you wish!” someone else shared. “You know like it was every year before covid? Now THAT would be awesome!!” “The days of the four parks in one day are pretty much over,” another tweeted. “During the pandemic, Disney stumbled upon an opportunity to control how many people can get in and when they’re allowed to go to the next park.” https://twitter.com/DIAC1987/status/1578781420922748930 Guests have said that the park hopping rules do not make any sense anymore and have worsened the park experience. “I feel like my park hopper ticket is worth less,” one person tweeted in response to Ashley’s tweet. “We were able to park hop in the morning and by 2 pm, take a break and go to the pool. I could come back to another park at night and even get on rides. Now it’s an experience of stress-vacationing to make our tickets worth the price.” Another person explained the issue succinctly, “If someone pays extra to add park hopping to their ticket, let them hop parks. It’s pretty simple.” The thread also touched on the reservation system, where parkgoers must confirm which date they’re attending for each park through its online reservation system. This was another health and safety check brought in during the height of the pandemic that has yet to leave, and it’s being blamed for many of the park hopping rules. “While you’re at it, please get rid of the reservation limit or get rid of that system altogether,” someone added to the viral thread. “I’d like to show up whenever I feel like it.” “How about get rid of the whole reservation system period.. bring back old-school Disney,” another disgruntled Disney fan replied. “I miss When I can wake up and boom let’s go to WDW. Definitely going a lot less these days! “My favorite thing about vacation planning for WDW was the ability to make a last-minute decision about which park to go to and just….go,” someone else explained, “no time restrictions or anything. Reservations and times ruin the whole experience.” According to CinemaBlend, Disney has made it pretty clear that they don’t have any plans to get rid of the reservation system soon. And park hopping rules are likely to stay, too.
