Unavailable ticket dates, limited park reservations and more: Why you should book your Disney World holiday trip ASAP
It's common knowledge that planning a vacation to Walt Disney World can be a complicated matter. Unfortunately for people looking to visit in the near future, things are getting even trickier as Disney seems to be tightening up booking availability.
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Multiple changes have recently dropped at Walt Disney World, starting with the suspension of sales for most of Disney's annual passes, including the Pirate Pass, Sorcerer Pass and Incredi-pass, as shown in the screenshot from the Disney website below.
When Disney first introduced the new passes, it noted that it could suspend or pause the sale of passes in an effort to control attendance. It's currently unclear when the passes will be available again, but it's safe to assume it will likely be after the busy holiday season and into the new year.
To make matters more complicated for guests planning a Disney World vacation, select dates for single-park and Park Hopper tickets are currently unavailable for a handful of dates near the holidays. Those dates, a spokesperson for Walt Disney World confirmed to TPG, have been unavailable for a while now despite internet speculation that these changes occurred overnight.
Related: Tips for visiting Disney World at Christmas
A statement on the Walt Disney World website said, "As always, we remain very focused on providing a great Guest experience. As we continue to manage attendance using our theme park reservation system, certain tickets may be unavailable for purchase on select future dates, including upcoming holiday periods, based on reservation availability."
At the time of writing, it appears that single-park tickets and Park Hopper tickets are unavailable for purchase for the following dates:
- Nov. 22
- Nov. 23
- Nov. 26
- Dec. 20
- Dec. 28
- Dec. 29
- Dec. 30
The calendar below reflects the current booking options available through the Disney World website.
Luckily for most people, the dates that are currently blocked off are mostly very busy days centered around the holidays, so chances are people planning to visit during these times already had their tickets reserved.
On the dates marked "unavailable," no tickets can be purchased for any of the four Walt Disney World parks. It's important to note, however, that on days with ticket availability, not all four of the parks themselves may be available as individual park reservations may have hit capacity.
As the screenshot shows below, on Dec. 19 — a day that is currently available to book tickets — both Disney's Hollywood Studios and Magic Kingdom are unavailable for park pass reservations, though Epcot and Disney's Animal Kingdom are available. Note that for most of the days around and on Christmas, Magic Kingdom is not available at all.
The holiday season is one of the most magical times of the year to visit Walt Disney World, but it's also the most complicated time to book and one of the busiest times of the year in the actual parks. If you're looking to visit any park at Walt Disney World between now and the holidays, it's probably best to make your reservations ASAP (and choose potential backup dates in case the ones you want are unavailable).
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It's hard to find a card that competes with the mile-long list of benefits that come with the Amex Business Platinum. While it's certainly not the card for the average consumer, a business owner with tons of expenses -- especially related to travel -- will find this card incredibly valuable. This card is similar to the consumer version that Amex offers, but with more business-oriented perks around statement credits and earning rates that are a better fit for business owners.Pros
- An up to $100 credit for Global Entry or TSA PreCheck application fee every four to five years
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- Gold status at Marriott and Hilton hotels (enrollment required)
- Access to the Fine Hotels & Resorts program and Hotel Collection
- Extended warranty protection
- International Airline Program and Cruise Privileges Program
Cons
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- Difficulty meeting $15,000 welcome offer for smaller businesses
- Limited high-bonus categories outside of travel
- The Points Guy Exclusive Offer: Earn 150,000 Membership Rewards® points after you spend $15,000 on eligible purchases with the Business Platinum Card® within the first 3 months of Card Membership.
- Get 5X Membership Rewards® points on flights and prepaid hotels on amextravel.com, and 1X points for each dollar you spend on eligible purchases.
- Earn 1.5X points (that’s an extra half point per dollar) on eligible purchases at US construction material & hardware suppliers, electronic goods retailers and software & cloud system providers, and shipping providers, as well as on purchases of $5,000 or more everywhere else, on up to $2 million of these purchases per calendar year.
- Unlock over $1,000 in annual statement credits on a curation of business purchases, including select purchases made with Dell Technologies, Indeed, Adobe, and U.S. wireless service providers.
- $200 Airline Fee Credit: Get up to $200 in statement credits per calendar year for checked baggage fees, lounge day passes, and more at one selected airline.
- $189 CLEAR® Credit: Use your Card and get up to $189 back per year on your CLEAR® membership. CLEAR® is available at more than 50 U.S. airports and stadiums.
- The American Express Global Lounge Collection® can provide an escape at the airport. With more than 1,400 airport lounges across 140 countries and counting, you have more lounge location options than any other credit card on the market as of 9/2021.
- $695 Annual Fee.
- Terms Apply.