What Are Blockout Dates at a Theme Park? | Easily Explained

Blockout Dates are mentioned in the ticket's terms of service at almost every theme park in the world.

In this page, we will explain what Blockout Dates mean for theme parks, how they work, and what time of the year they normally occur.

What Are Blockout Dates at a Theme Park?

Blockout dates at a theme park mean that you can visit the park on any date, outside of those blockout dates. This applies to daily admission tickets, Season Passes, and even Annual Passes.

Typically the Standard tickets and least expensive Season & Annual Passes will include blockout dates in their terms of service.

There are more expensive annual passes that you can purchase (or upgrade to), that do not have blockout dates.

Blockout Date Examples

Disney's Blockout Dates will vary depending on which pass you purchase.

If you purchase an Annual Pass such as a Disney Sorcerer Pass, there are multiple blockout dates near the end of the year, around Christmas and New Year.

The dates that you can visit the park are shown with a green dot, while the blocked-out dates are greyed out and crossed out.

Disney's Blockout Dates Work Differently

For Disney parks, blockout dates are a little bit different, as guests have to make a reservation before going to the park.

Rather than not being able to enter the park, pass holders won't even be able to make a park reservation for those blockout dates. 

See the Terms of Your Pass

You'll always want to make sure that you read the terms and conditions of your pass, to ensure that you know if your pass has blockout dates and if so when they are.

If you have questions about the terms, you can always visit or contact Guest Services (or Guest Relations) of that theme park and they will be happy to assist you.

When Do Blockout Dates Usually Occur?

Blockout Dates usually occur on holidays and/or special events where the park will hold its own limited-time events.

Common blockout dates are near holidays including:

• Halloween
• Thanksgiving
• Christmas
• New Year
• Memorial Day
• Labor Day

In fact, Halloween, parks such as Universal Studios will decorate the entire park in a Halloween theme, to get ready for Halloween Horror Nights.

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