Walt Disney World isn’t exactly known for pulling the rug out from under its most loyal visitors—but this time, the warning signs were loud and clear. And still, it caught many guests by surprise.
In the lead-up to the debut of Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away, Magic Kingdom’s brand-new nighttime parade, Disney began dropping notices across the My Disney Experience app and official communication channels. The company made one thing crystal clear: Annual Passholders would need park reservations—even after 2 p.m.—to enter Magic Kingdom starting July 20, 2025.
That policy shift might not sound groundbreaking, but it effectively erased one of the biggest perks APs had relied on: the ability to hop into Magic Kingdom after lunch without planning weeks in advance. For years, guests could count on that 2 p.m. entry window. Now? Not so much.
This wasn’t just a one-day fluke either. For three straight days—July 20, 21, and 22—Magic Kingdom was off-limits to APs without a reservation. And it wasn’t just Magic Kingdom. All four Walt Disney World parks hit capacity for Annual Passholders, a rare sight that signaled something bigger: Disney wasn’t bluffing.
Even with weeks of heads-up, many APs showed up expecting business as usual. What they got instead were long faces and apologies from Cast Members. One frustrated guest shared on social media, “We always park hop after 2 p.m.—didn’t know the rule had changed. Got turned away for the first time ever.”
What stings for many is that the restriction only applies to Magic Kingdom. EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom still allow reservation-free entry after 2 p.m., which left a lot of people scratching their heads. That inconsistency fueled even more confusion for Passholders who thought they knew the rules.
And here’s the kicker: don’t expect this to go away anytime soon.
Between the excitement around the Starlight parade and upcoming additions like Villains Land and the Piston Peak-inspired area, Magic Kingdom is only going to get busier. Tightening up the reservation rules now could be Disney’s way of managing crowds before things get even more chaotic.
The lesson? If you’re an Annual Passholder, those spontaneous park-hopping afternoons may be behind you. At least at Magic Kingdom. If you’re hoping to catch the new nighttime parade—or simply enter the park—you’ll need to plan ahead. That means locking in your reservations early, checking the calendar often, and not assuming anything is guaranteed.
Disney didn’t just tweak a rule—they drew a line in the sand. And if you weren’t paying attention, you may have learned the hard way that the magic stops at the gate without that reservation in place.
