A report from Florida Politics outlines a response from Walt Disney World in the Annual Passholder lawsuit that alleges that the Disney Park Pass reservation system is unfair to Annual Passholders. The original lawsuit was filed in October 2022 and has gone through the system to the point where Disney World has now issued a response.

Back in December 2022, the plaintiffs wished to remain anonymous and the case was at risk of being dismissed because the judge determined that the plaintiffs had no legal standing to remain anonymous. Now named, Erica Kelly from Palm Beach and Marilyn Paone from Orange County, said that they couldn’t find park reservations for their top tier Annual Pass despite having paid for a pass that doesn’t have blockout dates.

The Disney Park Pass system was introduced at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic as Disney World looked for a way to tightly control capacity at its theme parks. Passholders were among the guests who would be required to make a complimentary Disney Park Pass reservation to enter the parks – above and beyond purchasing park admission (or an Annual Pass). To the dismay of many guests, the Disney Park Pass reservation system is still around today – long after Disney World abandoned many of its pandemic-era changes.

Now, Disney World has responded in court, noting that “Kelly and Paone omitted from their complaint everything that Walt Disney Parks and Resorts did for annual passholders during the transition to the reservation system — including, most notably, giving every passholder the chance to opt-out and be refunded”. Disney World said that both women opted to keep their Annual Passes.

Disney also said that “changing the terms of their annual passes’ park access due to a pandemic, after expressly reserving the right to do so, is not plausible bad faith, injustice, or an unfair business practice”.

Disney World continues to make adjustments to its Disney Park Pass reservation system, but Disney executives such as Josh D’Amaro seem committed to keeping the system in place as a long-term tool to control park access.

As always, keep checking back with us here at BlogMickey.com as we continue to bring you the latest news, photos, and info from around the Disney Parks!