Pre-booking Disneyland visits: Why you have to book in advance

Escape’s Doc Holiday, Dilvin Yasa, answers your travel-related questions.

Pre-booking Disneyland visits

How will international travellers be able to visit Disneyland Resort in Anaheim with the new policy of booking daily visits in advance and changes in the FastPass scheme? 

I wish I had good news for you (and everyone else keen to unleash their inner kidults), but unfortunately it seems we’re all going to have to plan our holidays to the United States around our bookings for Disneyland.

See also: Where can I go? Top 10 destinations for Aussies in 2022

Before you go, you must first buy a ticket and make a park reservation for each day you plan  to visit and this can be done up to 120 days or more in advance. Although the website  states reservations are limited and subject to availability, I checked up until March 2022 and there was availability every day between the beginning of January and the end of March. 

Need to change the date of your booking? Reservations can’t be modified, but you can cancel them and book a new one. The rules for Park Hopper tickets are much the same, with guests required to make a reservation for the first park they plan to visit (no need to make reservations for the other provided you enter  the park you’ve reserved tickets for first).

Of course, Disney has also announced that  the popular FastPass system has been replaced by the new Genie+ system, which is US$20 per ticket per day (this is on top of the entry price to the theme park, which starts at US$76 per day). This will help you choose the next available time to arrive at a host of attractions and experiences using the Lightning Lane entrance, but it’s important to note that it won’t give guests  access to every attraction. 

Long story short? We’ll have to plan all future Disneyland Resort visits with both a crystal ball and military precision.

How can I get covid travel insurance on a cruise?

Why is Covid travel insurance not made available for cruise holidays? Surely cruise companies and travel agents should make customers aware of this fact before selling people a holiday? 

You’re absolutely right. While demand for cruising is as high as ever, cruise-related  travel insurance (with Covid cover) is swamp-level murky. 

When it comes to why so many travel insurers are reluctant to cover travellers heading on multinight cruises, two words spring to mind: Ruby Princess. “Health care is expensive aboard cruise ships and the cost to repatriate passengers should the need arise can be eye-watering,” says Natalie Ball of Compare Insurance .. 

Overseas, some cruise lines such as Royal Caribbean have announced a requirement that all unvaccinated guests over the age of 12 sailing from Florida must have travel insurance that covers US$25,000 per person for Covid medical expenses as well as US$50,000 per person for quarantine and evacuation if you test positive for Covid during the sailing. Vaccinated guests are automatically covered.

Where does this leave Australians? Although we still have a long way to go, there are currently two Australian travel insurers leading the pack to provide protection and peace of mind for cruise holidays, explains Ball. “ 1Cover travel insurance and Zoom travel insurance both provide travel insurance with the option to add on cruise cover.” 1Cover’s policy includes medical cover if you’re diagnosed with Covid-19, while Zoom is in the process of adding medical cover for Covid to its policy as I write. 

Remember, too, you can always buy travel insurance policies from other countries. If you’re planning on sailing around the United States, for example, there are plenty of local policies you can buy from here that will cover you for Covid-19. Visit squaremouth.com to compare providers and their policies. 

See also:

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5 emotional stages of travelling overseas again