Elderly Couple Denied Entry At Disney Park

An elderly couple was tragically denied entry at a Disney park. Now, Disney can prohibit access to just about anyone they want, for reasons such as violation of Disney Parks’ dress code, trying to carry restricted items into the Park, or engaging in prohibited activities.

And since the COVID-19 pandemic, Disney parks have put some strong measures in place to ensure the safety of all guests, including social distancing, the use of face masks, and requiring park reservations to enter the park.

Elderly couple not allowed entry at Disney Park because they didn’t have a reservation

Just a few days ago, Twitter user Hastin (@hastin) shared that he witnessed an elderly, 70-year-old couple get turned away from a Disney park because they didn’t have a reservation, all after spending money on the tickets themselves to be able to get in. “Absolutely amazing to see a 70 year old couple get turned away the gate because they had bought *tickets* but did not a reservation for today. #Disneyland” Hastin writes.

However, some people challenged Hastin’s original post, with one person chiming in, “It’s not hard to make a reservation. They plaster it all over the website when you buy tickets. Old folks like to complain about kids today not being able to read. I am fine holding them to the same standard.”

While there were plenty of people chiming in about how “easy” it is to make a park reservation, several people stood up for the elderly couple, saying that they had problems with reserving a spot. “For everyone saying it’s easy to make reservations, it’s not. I’m tech savvy and it still takes the system like 4 tries to figure out if I’m an AP or resort guest to make a reservation for WDW,” one person writes.

Walt Disney World, just one of the many global Disney parks, reopened in July 2020, just a few months after the whole world was placed on lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, a few years later, COVID restrictions are still in place, but park-goers are still able to ride rides, meet their favorite characters, and dine in at one of the many restaurants available in the parks.

According to UndercoverTourist.com, “Guests with passes or tickets that include the Park Hopper option must make a Disney Park Pass reservation for the first park they plan to visit and enter that first park prior to visiting another.” They add, “Additionally, there are specific Park Hopper hours — Park Hopper hours begin at 2 p.m. each day and end at the park’s scheduled close time, and entry is still subject to capacity limits (though to date, capacity limits have only interfered with guests’ ability to hop once).” So, it looks like they’re taking the reservation and entries very seriously, which explains why even a 70-year-old couple had to, unfortunately, be turned away.

Disney has yet to respond to the situation, but for right now, booking a reservation—regardless of whether you have tickets—is a requirement due to COVID-19 restrictions. How do you feel about this particular situation? Should this elderly couple have been allowed in the park, even without a reservation?