Walt Disney World has announced the release of 2026 vacation packages, resort reservations and tickets, including some of the on-site guest perks add-ons available next year. This post offers dates and details about hotels, tickets, and more. Plus, commentary on all of the changes, booking next year’s packages, and more.
In addition to the details of 2026 Walt Disney World vacation packages, the company has made its “pitch” for staying on-site, with a rundown of the guest benefits of on-site hotel stays. This includes an emphasis on transportation, which Walt Disney World pointing to the following offerings & special perks that make Walt Disney World vacations easier:
- Complimentary theme park transportation via monorail, boat, bus, and Disney Skyliner
- Free standard parking at hotels, theme parks, and water parks
- Early access to dining reservations and Lightning Lane for your entire stay, as well as advanced access to purchase tickets to select special events.
- Coming back in summer 2026, Disney Resort hotel guests can get free water park admission on their check-in day (subject to availability). Additional details, including specific dates, will be shared at a later time.
All of these are valid points, and one of the reasons (along with more competitive pricing) why we seldom stay off-site anymore. All of this is explained at length in Walt Disney World’s On-Site Advantage: Perks & Benefits of Staying in WDW Resort Hotels. That also covers the upside of staying on-site at Universal Orlando–a benefit that’s becoming more pronounced with Epic Universe.
Before we delve into the good news, let’s discuss what was not announced here. First up, and this should come as zero surprise to anyone who is paying attention, but Walt Disney World is not bringing back free FastPass. Given how well Lightning Lanes continue to sell, it’s safe to assume pay-to-play line-skipping is here to stay for at least 2026.
It’s probably here to stay forever, but who knows. Walt Disney World is getting more aggressive at pulling “levers” to entice guests to stay on-site, and at some point, there’s going to be internal conversation about bringing back free FastPass if nothing else works. Especially if Epic Universe peels away more guests or the economic environment worsens. It’s already probably the case that many guests are now simply reallocating spending away from table service meals, souvenirs, and other discretionary purchasing to Lightning Lanes, so it’s not as if that’s purely a “free” revenue stream.
Another piece of non-news is that Walt Disney World mentioned nothing about airport transportation. Although Disney has shown zero intention of creating a competitor to Mears Connect or restoring their partnership with that airport shuttle service, this is more of a possibility. That’s something we’ve discussed with the return of Airport Luggage Transfer at the Value Resorts, and we still think this is possible for 2026.
To be clear, possible is not the same as probable. There’s no reason to believe Disney’s Magical Express will return in 2026 and it is not rumored. But Airport Luggage Transfer is a step towards that happening, and trying to keep guests inside the “Disney Bubble” (and not visiting Universal) is the big reason for that. It might simply be premature to make that announcement now.
Speaking of which, nothing was said about Airport Luggage Transfer, which is more surprising. This pilot program has now rolled out to all Value Resorts, and it’s likely that Moderates and Deluxes will follow later this year. Walt Disney World’s silence about this suggests the announcement of that service isn’t quite ready–despite already being in the process of rolling out. If they’re not ready to reveal something that’s now being tested, that would certainly explain why an expanded Mears partnership announcement isn’t quite ready for primetime.
Now, let’s turn to what has been confirmed for 2026. First up, Walt Disney World confirmed in the announcement that Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours will stick around through 2026. It’s our expectation that these are offerings are the permanent replacement for Extra Magic Hours.
These have their own pros & cons, from being only available to on-site guests to requiring people to get up early or stay late. If you’re unfamiliar with the ins and outs of each, learn more in our Guide to Early Entry at Walt Disney World and Guide to Extended Evening Hours at Walt Disney World.
Additionally, we have about a dozen or so “Extra Hours” Photo Reports, with more coming soon for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, EPCOT, and Magic Kingdom–all of which have changed at least slightly in the last few months.
We’ve addressed it elsewhere, but Walt Disney World confirmed that on-site hotel guests arriving in Summer 2026 can enjoy free admission to one of the water parks, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park or Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park, on their check-in day. Room-only reservations, vacation packages and Disney Vacation Club stays on points will all be eligible–but all guests must be on the reservation.
It’ll be interesting to see how that perk works next summer, given that we haven’t even seen how it works this summer. I have my concerns that the water parks are going to be absolutely slammed, as was the case with Blizzard Beach this spring break. My hope is that having both open dilutes demand and crowds. Here’s hoping both stay open late to accommodate guest enthusiasm for this popular perk.
At minimum, this presumably means that both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach water parks will once again operate simultaneously for Summer 2026. But again, we’ve yet to see how the free water park perk works in its first summer season, so we’d be getting ahead of ourselves with more commentary about Summer 2026.
Then there’s the biggest change, which is the Free Dining Plan for Kids All Year in 2026 at Walt Disney World!
Throughout all of 2026, guests staying at one of Walt Disney World’s more than 25 on-site Disney-owned resort hotels will get a FREE Disney Dining Plan for their kids (ages 3 to 9) when purchasing a Disney Dining Plan as part of their package for the other members of their party (ages 10 and up).
The Kids Free Dining Plan at Walt Disney World deal can be combined with other select special offers, meaning you may still be eligible to take advantage of other deals released later for 2026.
This last line is the key to this Kids Free Dining Plan offering. We’re honestly surprised by the lack of buzz from fans about this, and I suspect that’s because people are either missing that line or making assumptions about past ‘Kids Eat Free’ deals, which usually aren’t that great.
We discuss why this is a potentially fantastic offering for eligible guests in our commentary to that post above, but I’ll put a finer point on it here: Free Dining for Kids is perhaps better viewed as an on-site perk than a discount. There are bound to be some exclusions, but it’s basically free Disney Dining Plans for children ages 3-9 with the purchase of Disney Dining Plans for guests 10 and older. From there, you should be able to book room-only and ticket discounts, as available. (It might even be available with DVC stays on points!)
Perhaps the lack buzz is due to all of the unknowns, and in fairness, there are a lot. Or guests assuming that there’s gotta be a “catch,” as there almost always is with Walt Disney World deals. But given this summer’s aggressive ticket and room discounts, I really don’t expect this to be a bait and switch. I think we’re entering a new era of Walt Disney World discounts–and one that brings prices back down to their 2019 levels. (See xxx.) All it took was Universal Orlando opening a blockbuster new theme park and an economic slowdown! 😉
With all of that out of the way, here’s what we know about 2026 Walt Disney World vacation packages and room reservations: bookings will be available for theme park tickets, resort hotel stays, and packages beginning April 22, 2025. Available travel dates at that time will be January through October 2026.
Please note that bookings for November and December 2026 will become available at a later date.
Normal terms and conditions for final payments, cancellations, and change fees will apply for all 2026 Walt Disney World vacation package bookings. Essentially, all of the standard rules apply.
With all of that in mind, you might be wondering whether you should book a 2026 Walt Disney World vacation package bright and early when reservations go live. Is that really necessary given how aggressive Disney has gotten with pulling “levers” to entice demand? Is it better to wait for the full slate of discounts to come out?
Unless you want a very limited room category or specialty suite (e.g. Nantucket or Steeplechase Suite), it’s definitely not necessary to fight the rush and call or book right away. No regular room categories are going to sell out–not even for popular dates–the first few days that reservations are available. You can call or browse the website on May 1, 2025 and should be fine.
With that said, our general perspective is that the best practice is booking early (by “early” we mean the next couple of months, not first thing in the morning on April 22, 2025). Even though Walt Disney World is seeing a slowdown in demand, that slowdown is uneven. Rooms for this summer are still available in abundance, but the same was not true for this past winter.
It’s our understanding that January through mid-March was one of Walt Disney World’s highest occupancy stretches in a long time. Along with that, there are certain dates–Fall Break, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc–that have become very competitive, with resort reservations selling out. Again, not first thing the day they open…but still months in advance.
It’s all upside to booking early. Buying Walt Disney World vacation packages when they go on sale is a way to lock-in current ticket and component pricing as a safeguard against the inevitable price increases. That’s especially true if there’s a certain hotel or room type that’s a must-have for your trip.
Not only that, but you can apply discounts retroactively to reservations. Meaning that if (when) a 30-40% off resort room-only discount is released this fall for travel dates from January through April 2026, you can modify your reservation and have the deal applied to the booking. You just have to pay attention to special offers as they’re released and snag that when it becomes available.
Alternatively, it’s always a good idea to use a travel agent. We recommend requesting a quote from Be Our Guest Vacations, a no-fee Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, before the booking window opens so they can do the work for you. The agents there will book your vacation and help take the stress out of planning.
Their services don’t cost extra, they’ll reserve your room, help you with dining reservations and itineraries, and apply the best discounts to your reservation once they’re released. That’s especially valuable if you’re booking a 2026 Walt Disney World vacation package ASAP, as special offers likely won’t be available for next year’s travel dates until late September or October (and that’ll only be for the beginning of the year–discounts are released on a rolling basis).
Using an Authorized Disney Vacation Planner is the win-win option if you’re overwhelmed by the complexities of Walt Disney World, don’t want to do all of the “homework” yourself, or want someone to monitor your reservation so you save money.
Beyond that, we wouldn’t read anything into what hasn’t been announced yet. The 2026 vacation package release is once again occurring early by historical standards, as if Walt Disney World’s reservations center wanted to drum up business and start accepting new bookings. There’s probably a lot that is not yet set in stone for 2026. (For example, we would expect to hear a formal announcement about Airport Luggage Transfer in the next couple of months.)
Some significant changes will require careful consideration and deliberation by various teams of people. It’s possible that has not happened yet, or there isn’t consensus on timelines or specifics. In any case, there’s a degree to which the release of 2026 Walt Disney World vacation packages are a forward-looking sneak peek of the year to come, and a degree to which they’re a snapshot in time. It’s also possible that Walt Disney World has not yet felt the brunt of Epic Universe or an economic slowdown, and either (or both) will force Disney’s hand to expanding its slate of on-site perks, special offerings, and more.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be booking a 2026 Walt Disney World vacation package when they’re released or shortly thereafter? Notice anything interesting about resort room reservations or packages? Anything surprise you? Happy to have a free day at Blizzard Beach or Typhoon Lagoon, or are you not a water park person? Think Epic Universe and/or the economy will force Walt Disney World’s hand into doing even more? Do you agree or disagree with our assessments here? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!