Why January 9th Is Important at Disney World – All the Big Changes Starting That Day
Walt Disney World has been steadily approaching full “normalcy” as many Disney fans have called it as they walk back pandemic-era policies that often limited the flexibility of guest theme park experiences. In 2020, Walt Disney World introduced a park reservation system that required guests to make advance reservations for each individual theme park they visited. Park hopping, the ability to go to two parks within one day at Walt Disney World, was also limited as part of these policy changes. All of these changes allowed Walt Disney World to reopen its theme parks safely during the COVID-19 pandemic and assist with proper planning for staffing and park capacity.
It has now been three years since COVID-19 changed our world and Walt Disney World has begun making large changes to these policies in a return to normalcy that many theme park guests have been long waiting to see. This includes the removal of the park pass reservations system for ticketed guests, full-day park hopping access, and the return of the popular Disney World dining plan!
Let's talk through all these important changes and how they are going to improve the guest experience at Walt Disney World.
Why Is January 9th Important for Walt Disney World?
Disney has announced three changes that go into effect all on the same day of January 9, 2024. These changes are all efforts to increase flexibility for guests and make park planning easier! These three changes include:
- Disney Dining Plan Returns
- All Day Park Hopping Returns
- No More Theme Park Reservations for Ticketed Guests
All of these changes begin January 9th, 2024 which is why this is such a big day for Walt Disney World!
The change that still doesn't have a date? The promised change to add advanced Genie Plus reservations is still not dated and will not start in January as it has not yet been announced.
No More Disney World Reservation System 
Starting January 9th, 2024 guests will no longer need to make advance reservations for theme parks. This will eliminate the requirement for guests to have both a theme park ticket AND a park pass reservation. Starting on this date, guests will only need a theme park ticket.
This is huge for allowing flexibility for guests on Walt Disney World vacations. Now you do not need to decide in advance which park you are spending each day at (although you still may want to think about this to plan!) and can be spontaneous in your vacation experience. I am thrilled to see this requirement lifted as I often make spontaneous plan changes on our trips and not having to worry about reservation availability for certain theme parks is huge.
This applies to guests with Walt Disney World tickets, Walt Disney World Annual Passholders will still need to make park reservations.
What About Annual Passholder Reservations?
Walt Disney World Annual Passholders are still required to make park pass reservations. In fact, the Annual Passholder tier system is designed around how many restrictions are available per pass type.
Disney has heard the pleas from passholders for more flexibility though and in mid-January, they are planning on introducing “Good-to-Go Days” for APs. These will be days that Annual Passholders can visit without a theme park reservation so they can enjoy spontaneous park visits. These days will likely correlate with non-peak travel days at Walt Disney World so that is something to keep in mind. But it is a nice change to bring some flexibility to Annual Passholders along with ticketed guests.
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All Day Park Hopping Returning to Disney World
Another great part of this announcement is the return of all Disney World day park hopping starting January 9, 2024. Prior to this date, park hopping (the term used to describe when guests visit two different theme parks in one day) has been restricted to 2 PM or later. This means that currently, guests can only visit a second theme park after 2 PM. Considering the higher cost of a park hopping ticket, this increases the value of those tickets to be able to park hop at any time.
This means if you rope drop Magic Kingdom to ride TRON and want to head over to EPCOT for lunch, you can do that at whatever time you want! This is huge in terms of guest flexibility and we cannot wait to see all-day park hopping return. This change applies to all guests including Annual Passholders. The return of all-day park hopping with no theme park reservations required is going to make planning a Walt Disney World trip far more spontaneous and easier for many guests to navigate. One of the most common critiques we hear about planning a Disney trip is how “complicated” it is, that removes part of that complication to make planning easier for guests.
Return of the Disney World Dining Plan
Aside from increased flexibility with the removal of park hopping restrictions and the reservations system, the Walt Disney World dining plan returns on January 9, 2024, for Disney Resort hotels at Walt Disney World. The two dining plans that will return are the Disney Quick Service Dining Plan and the Disney Dining Plan. These dining plans are returning at a slightly higher cost than what they were in 2019 but that is to be expected as the cost of food and other goods have increased since then.
The Walt Disney World dining plans offer potential for guests to save money at Walt Disney World which is good news in light of some of the price increases we've seen for food items in the parks! With the cost of food going up, these dining plans become even more attractive to guests looking to maximize their savings on a Walt Disney World vacation.
Aside from the positive changes coming to Walt Disney World in 2024, we've already seen a slew of great discounts offered for next year including a discount for the returning dining plans!
Plan Your Walt Disney World Vacation
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