Parks reservations system faces annual-pass surge

The reopening of Walt Disney World’s theme parks is about to take another intense turn.

Anxious annual passholders and other ticketholders soon will test the resort’s new Disney Park Pass System for reservations by using a tool on Disneyworld.com.

Starting Friday, June 26, Disney World’s annual passholders will be able to make reservations for specific days to visit Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom theme parks. They won’t be able to get into the parks without those confirmations and their valid passes.

On Sunday, June 28, folks with “regular” tickets can start making reservations.

The park-reservations system is a departure from a longstanding Disney procedure in which valid annual passholders could spontaneously head to the attractions and gain entrance.

People with Disney hotel reservations — including some annual passholders and ticket buyers — began using the system Monday. They can make single-park reservations each day of their stays.

The phased reopening of Walt Disney World includes access to Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom on July 11, followed by Epcot and Disney’s Hollywood Studios theme parks on July 15.

Here are other things to know about the new Disney Park Pass reservation system, related facts and assorted tips:

■ Annual passes and park tickets must be linked with My Disney Experience accounts. This can be done in advance of attempting to secure park dates.

■ Trying to make reservations before the appropriate designed time will not achieve park passes, of course.

■ The system is designed to limit annual passholders to three days of reservations, and it’s just one park per day. Translation: There will be no park hopping in the initial phase of Disney World’s reopening. People holding multiday tickets can reserve one park for each day of the tickets.

■ Users will be able to see onscreen available dates, which could go through Sept. 26, 2021. (Side note: Don’t go trying to make FastPass+ reservations; that system has been suspended

for for the reopening.)

■ You’ll need the confirmation and your pass/ticket to get into the theme park.

■ And you’ll be required to wear a face-covering and have a body temperature below 100.4 degrees. Social distancing will be encouraged, along with frequent hand washing and other healthy behaviors.

■ The system was squirrely on its opening day, so pack your virtual patience. There were reports of extended holding patterns and getting booted from the system. Some workarounds included old faithfuls, such as rebooting, incognito tabs, switching browsers and just starting over.

■ The parks will be at limited capacity, and since the attractions will have been closed for nearly four months, demand is expected to be pent up. The system worked more smoothly after the initial surge. If your plans are flexible, waiting a few hours/days to nail down reservations is an option that can preserve stomach lining.

■ Additional details about the park reservation system and other procedures during the phased reopening of Walt Disney World can be found at Disneyworld.com/updates.