Park Hopping suspended today (4/4/24) at Magic Kingdom -???

[Tom_E_D]

Park Hopping is not currently available at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, April 4, 2024.

In a notice on My Disney Experience, Disney says, "The Park Hopper option is currently unavailable for this park. Guests with park reservations for this park may still enter.

It is very rare for park hopping to be suspended. The only other time it has occurred was during a brief time on the 50th anniversary.

Source: https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymagicplus/news/04apr2024-park-hoping-suspended-today-at-magic-kingdom.htm

EDIT: it may just be an MDE glitch: see https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/park-hopping-currently-closed-at-magic-kingdom/

EDIT to the EDIT: The wdwinfo.com article has been edited since I first posted the link to it. When I first posted the link, the "Important Update" popup was not referred to, and the message in red was.

 

[kkpsirog163]

Park Hopping is not currently available at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, April 4, 2024.

In a notice on My Disney Experience, Disney says, "The Park Hopper option is currently unavailable for this park. Guests with park reservations for this park may still enter.

It is very rare for park hopping to be suspended. The only other time it has occurred was during a brief time on the 50th anniversary.

Source: https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymagicplus/news/04apr2024-park-hoping-suspended-today-at-magic-kingdom.htm

My wife and I are really nervous about this happening tomorrow. We have park reservations for Animal Kingdom but a fireworks dessert party booked at MK tomorrow night

 

[juxtapose]

Wdwpassport who tracks live crowds has MK at 10 crowds right now, with some crazy wait times, so it's possibly real.

 

[Tom_E_D]

Park Hopping is not currently available at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom, April 4, 2024.

In a notice on My Disney Experience, Disney says, "The Park Hopper option is currently unavailable for this park. Guests with park reservations for this park may still enter.

It is very rare for park hopping to be suspended. The only other time it has occurred was during a brief time on the 50th anniversary.

Source: https://www.wdwmagic.com/other/mymagicplus/news/04apr2024-park-hoping-suspended-today-at-magic-kingdom.htm

EDIT: it may just be an MDE glitch: see https://www.wdwinfo.com/news-stories/park-hopping-currently-closed-at-magic-kingdom/

I called the Park Hopper phone number. 407-560-5000. It says park hopping is suspended for Magic Kingdom.

 

[reddog21]

My wife and I are really nervous about this happening tomorrow. We have park reservations for Animal Kingdom but a fireworks dessert party booked at MK tomorrow night

If you have reservations they will still let you in the park.

 

[kkpsirog163]

If you have reservations they will still let you in the park.

Even with park reservations elsewhere?

 

[elvispursley]

I'd imagine that if you paid for an uncharge event (dessert party), they'd let you in, I can't imagine all the fuss at GS today if someone with a PH paid for multipack G+ and isn't able to use it. Good luck to all those who are visiting this week!

 

[blabbermouth]

OMG, the wait times! 65 minutes for Small World. 30 minutes for People Mover. I feel bad for anyone there today. I didn't think it would be as busy after Easter (not that I know anything about anything!)

 

[brightlined]

Even with park reservations elsewhere?

Yes - dining and activity reservations overrule gate restrictions, including before open and after close.

For example, if you have a 9:30pm reservation for Oga's on a night that DHS closes at 9pm, they'll still let you into the park at 9:15pm. (The same for if you have a reservation at MK for before the park opens.)

 

[reddog21]

Even with park reservations elsewhere?

I'm not exactly sure how it works with park reservations since most people aren't required to have them anymore but if you have dining/dessert party reservations they will let you in the park you just have to show them your reservation. Prior to covid we had dining reservations to Magic Kingdom that reached capacity and there was a seperate line for guests' with reservations. I showed our reservation which I believe was at Liberty Tree tavern and they let us in no issues. I was there about 2hrs prior to our reservation. I'm assuming you can't show up at noon for a 8pm dessert party and get in.

 

[HopperFan]

OMG, the wait times! 65 minutes for Small World. 30 minutes for People Mover. I feel bad for anyone there today. I didn't think it would be as busy after Easter (not that I know anything about anything!)

HUGE spring break week here in Georgia. Spring break is determined by the school year and testing, nothing to do with Easter.

 

[brightlined]

Some questions I've seen online:

If I start my day at MK and go to Epcot during the afternoon, can I get back into the MK that night?
Yes, starting your day at MK (or having a park reservation for MK) gives you full-day access to the park.

I thought WDW got rid of park reservations. What happens with day tickets?
If you start your day at MK with a date-based ticket, you'll have full-day access to the park. The problem will only arise if you start your day at another park.


For the record - this is happening because they loosened park reservations on date-based tickets. If they'd kept reservations as they were, they would have been able to limit how many people started their day at the MK, which would have pushed people to other parks. This is something that will almost certainly happen regularly during busier periods.

 

[lanejudy]

If you have reservations they will still let you in the park.

I'd imagine that if you paid for an uncharge event (dessert party), they'd let you in, I can't imagine all the fuss at GS today if someone with a PH paid for multipack G+ and isn't able to use it. Good luck to all those who are visiting this week!

That means theme park reservations. I don't know that it means dining reservations.

Prior to covid

I honestly don't know if "pre-covid" rules related to park closing carry forward to today's rules. My understanding is that a theme park reservation is the one and only way to guarantee access to a park; ADRs and other reservations do not (is there still a warning when you make an ADR?). If hopping is closed, and a guest was at a different park earlier in the day, they could be out-of-luck. That said, closures typically only occur for a couple of hours -- does anyone know if the MK hopping restriction was lifted at some point this afternoon? I honestly would be surprised if it lasts through dinner until fireworks.

For example, if you have a 9:30pm reservation for Oga's on a night that DHS closes at 9pm, they'll still let you into the park at 9:15pm. (The same for if you have a reservation at MK for before the park opens.)

That is different than a closure due to capacity.

 

[RedHead0186]

That means theme park reservations. I don't know that it means dining reservations.




I honestly don't know if "pre-covid" rules related to park closing carry forward to today's rules. My understanding is that a theme park reservation is the one and only way to guarantee access to a park; ADRs and other reservations do not (is there still a warning when you make an ADR?). If hopping is closed, and a guest was at a different park earlier in the day, they could be out-of-luck. That said, closures typically only occur for a couple of hours -- does anyone know if the MK hopping restriction was lifted at some point this afternoon? I honestly would be surprised if it lasts through dinner until fireworks.



That is different than a closure due to capacity.

This was my understanding/interpretation as well.

 

[Tom_E_D]

. . . That said, closures typically only occur for a couple of hours -- does anyone know if the MK hopping restriction was lifted at some point this afternoon? I honestly would be surprised if it lasts through dinner until fireworks.

I called 407-560-5000 again at 4:54 PM and the message is the same: park hopping to MK is not available.

 

[Tom_E_D]

HUGE spring break week here in Georgia. Spring break is determined by the school year and testing, nothing to do with Easter.

Where I live in Upstate NY, Spring Break is the week after Easter (starts Good Friday) and has been for ages. It used to be statewide, but I understand NYC is now different (late April this year).

EDIT: I understand it is more than just NYC that is now different. I don't know how long ago that all changed. Regardless, some of us still always have the week after Easter.

 

[mrsap]

It was pretty crowded this morning. Felt like a Christmas week day. We received a message in MDE around 1pm saying no more hopping at MK today.

 

[brightlined]

That is different than a closure due to capacity.

This isn't a closure due to capacity. They're still letting people in. If you have a day-ticket (or an MK park reservation) and haven't started your day yet, you can go right now and get into the MK.

This is an access restriction. If you have a dining or activity reservation at a park that's blocking park hopping, you have access to that park. That's the same as if the park isn't open to the public.

 

[lanejudy]

This isn't a closure due to capacity. ...

If you have a dining or activity reservation at a park that's blocking park hopping, you have access to that park.

Where have you seen the bolded? Everything I've seen indicates an ADR does NOT guarantee access if hopping restrictions are in place and one entered another park earlier. It is a capacity issue, that's exactly why hopping has been restricted.

We're kind of in unchartered territory here because post-covid there has only ever been 1 other date when hopping was restricted, and that was only for a few hours. It will be interesting to see if folks who entered a different park earlier today and planned to hop to MK will be allowed entry with an ADR. I certainly hope they can get in, but everything I've seen to this point indicates the ADR will not guarantee access to the park if hopping is restricted.

 

[Rex1993]

Definitely the craziest day I have ever seen at Disney. However this is our first trip to Disneyworld so the frame of reference is the crowds we’ve seen over the past week and that of DLR visits in the past. We left around 2:00 because it was getting hard to move. Cast members are noticeably stressed with the crowd levels.

The thunderstorms yesterday drove everyone out but today the weather couldn’t be more perfect.