Disney is a vacation where planning in advance is extremely useful. This has never been more true than right now, when restrictions require even more planning. The irony of it is that with the COVID-19 situation, people are more hesitant to plan anything too far out (very understandably!). Maybe you wanted to go to Disney in 2021 but with the circumstances surrounding the theme parks you are now unsure. I’m here to walk you through it.
Remember, I am happy to help you book and plan your trip at no extra cost to you! As a travel agent I can help you find the best prices, apply discounts if they become available, book dining, fastpasses (when they are brought back), and answer any questions you might have. I can help you with Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, or any place you want to travel. And the best part is I get paid by Disney so it doesn’t cost you anything extra! Email me today at [email protected] and we can get started.
Park reservations
Disney has long been known as a place where you need to plan ahead – making restaurant reservations 180 days in advance and fastpasses 60 days ahead of time. But if you chose not to do these things you could still go into the parks and choose what you wanted to do. To accommodate lower capacities and encourage social distancing, Disney will now be requiring you to sign up for a park reservation ahead of time.
Starting on June 24th you will be able to make a booking for 2021 and make park reservations. This means you’ll want to have your tickets for next year already. Since the system is so new there’s no telling what the capacity is or how quickly it will fill up, but the sooner you can do it done the better so you can rest assured you’ll have park entry.
Easy cancellation policy
Disney has a very generous cancellation policy. If you cancel your trip 30 days or more ahead of time you get a full refund on the deposit or any payments you’ve made. So if you’re thinking about visiting but not sure what things will look like or if you’ll feel comfortable. You can also make changes without penalty, so if you book a trip for February but don’t feel comfortable going til October you can switch your dates.
The deposit for packages is only $200, and for room only reservations it’s the cost of 1 night, so you don’t even have to pay the full amount at the time of booking.
This is also why I’m highly recommending everyone try to stay on Disney property and book a Disney resort. If you stay off property you need to do a ticket only purchase, and THOSE are non-refundable. So then you’re stuck between paying the money for the tickets or waiting and chancing the park reservations running out.
Lower prices (and discounts can be applied later)
With Disney it’s almost always the case that the lowest price is the one available the earliest – though discounts may become available later that we can apply to the reservation at that point. Sometimes I have people say to me, “I want to wait to see what discounts come out.” I never recommend this strategy unless you think you wouldn’t go at all without a discount. I wouldn’t wait for two reasons:
- Discounts usually only come out maybe 4-5 months ahead of time. If you’re waiting until 4 months out to book you’ll see a lot less resort availability, and we don’t know what park reservations will look like.
- Discounts are never guaranteed, and lately have been very limited – with limited park and resort capacity Disney may not see the need to offer discounts at all for next year.
I ESPECIALLY don’t recommend waiting for free dining to book your trip. The availability of free dining has been less and less lately, with only a small amount of reservations available at off times – and as of right now Disney is not selling the dining plan. We don’t know when/if that will come back.
Why you shouldn’t wait for a discount!
Safety
The decision to travel right now, or in 2021 at all, is a very personal choice. Disney at least seems to be taking safety very seriously and will have many protocols in place, including requiring masks at all times and social distancing of 6 feet everywhere, including queues. I am hopeful they will enforce and continue these requirements throughout the pandemic.
I am also staying optimistic that we will see a vaccine early in 2021 which will help to end the pandemic and make travel much more possible and comfortable. So especially later in 2021 would be a nice to to plan a Disney trip!
If the idea of wearing a mask is not tolerable to you, then DON’T plan any trips yet until that requirement is lifted.
Cool things happening in 2021
In October Disney World will celebrate its 50th anniversary. I am sure there will be lots of great things planned to celebrate, especially in the second half of the year. We are also set to see a couple of very exciting new attractions opening. Even though these have had construction delayed, I still expect we will see the TRON Lightcycle coaster, Guardians of the Galaxy roller coaster, and Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (originally planned for 2020) next year.
To make sure you get what you want
3 years ago you could wait a lot longer to book a Disney trip and still get what you wanted. These days it is harder, especially with reduced capacity for the time being. You want to make certain to get the resort you want at the time you want it, so booking ahead of time is a smart way to go. Many of the values are selling out even 5-6 months in advance, and if you’re looking to stay in the Epcot area around Food and Wine Festival time (which now spans pretty much all of September, October, and half of November), you need to plan ahead.
If you’re ready to get started I’m here to help! Email me today at [email protected] or fill out the form below and we can plan your magical vacation! You can learn more about my travel agency at Castle Dreams Travel.
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Will you be visiting Disney World in 2021?
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