LAKE BUENA VISTA, Fla. — As part of a continued effort to “improve the guest experience” at its theme parks, Disney World will restore all-day park hopping access early next year.

The 2 p.m. park hopping rule will go away Jan. 9, the resort announced Wednesday, allowing visitors to again “hop” to another park at any time. This will apply to visitors with the park hopper option on their tickets and those with annual passes.

The change takes effect the same day Disney World will no longer require park reservations on date-based tickets.

Park reservations will still be required for passholders on some days. To park hop on those days, passholders will need to first visit whichever park they have a reservation for before going to another—they just won’t have to wait until the afternoon to do so. They will still be able to visit any park without a reservation after 2 p.m., except Magic Kingdom on Saturdays and Sundays—an update that took effect in April. 

The park hopping rule, implemented in 2021 as part of pandemic measures to control crowds, was often criticized by many fans who felt it made park visits more restrictive and less flexible.

Disney also shared Wednesday that the previously-announced “good-to-go days”—select days when passholders can visit the parks without a reservation—will rollout periodically starting in January, although an exact date has not be shared. Those special days will be visible on the reservation calendar.

Since January, Disney has made various tweaks to the park experience following guest feedback, including restoring free self-parking at Disney World hotels and bringing back parking trams at all four parks. The news comes ahead of the official opening of Journey of Water, Inspired by Moana, which is in soft opening mode at EPCOT through Oct. 15, and amid the Disney 100th anniversary celebration at the park. 

“We are constantly adding new, innovative attractions and entertainment to our parks and, with our broad array of pricing options, the value of a theme park visit is reflected in the unique experiences that only Disney can offer,” a Disney World spokesperson said in a statement.

In another move, Disney on Wednesday rolled out new pricing for its annual passes. The Incredi-Pass, the highest tiered pass with no blockout dates, now costs $1,449 (up from $1,399). The Sorcerer Pass went up by $30 to $999, while the Pirate Pass increased by $50 to $799. The Pixie Dust pass, the cheapest option offering park access Monday through Friday only, is now priced at $439, up from $399.

Disney began selling annual passes again in April—the first time since November 2021 when sales were temporarily halted amid high demand and capacity limits.

The resort on Wednesday also raised the rate for standard parking at its parks by $5 from $25 to $30—in line with other area parks such as Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando.

Disney did not make changes to pricing for date-based tickets, which range between $109 and $159 for a one-day ticket.