Reservation system and closing due to capacity?

[gatorfreud]

Hello: We will be there over Christmas and probably won't want to spend the entire day in the parks - leave to eat or rest or whatever... I know in the past sometimes on busy days like Christmas, you couldn't get back in after leaving since the park might close due to capacity... do you think (or know?) if that will still be an issue with the reservation system? Thanks for any insight! -- Kim

 

[Wesley815]

Honestly no one knows as this is the first holiday season with reservation system in place. Hopefully Disney doesn't "overbook" the park beyond capacity, which is what I assumed reservation system was in place for anyways. Their website wording really keeps things in Disney's favor, they can do whatever they want, anytime they want;

Website general reservation quote:
"Disney reserves the right to reschedule or cancel theme park reservations at any time without liability. A theme park reservation does not guarantee park admission or access to any experience, attraction, offering or dining location."

Park hopper quote:
"Please note that the ability to visit the other park will be subject to that park’s capacity limitations."

 

[gelatoni fan]

When Magic Kingdom "closed" at WDW due to capacity restrictions earlier this year, people with Magic Kingdom reservations could get in but people who had reserved other parks were not allowed to park hop into Magic Kingdom. Historically, Disneyland is more likely to reach capacity than California Adventure so if you are afraid of this happening, make your reservation for Disneyland.

In previous years, the first level of capacity restriction was re-entry only. That means that if you were in that specific park earlier in the day, you were allowed back in but if you had not scanned into the park yet, you were not allowed in. In the most extreme cases, they do "one out, one in" where people are only allowed into the park when someone leaves. This rarely lasts more than a few hours and I don't know of a time in recent years when both parks hit "one out, one in".

I don't think it's likely for either park to hit capacity given the extreme measures Disney has taken to limit Magic Keys but if you are afraid of it happening, get a Disneyland reservation and scan into both parks ASAP if you have park hopping.