100+ Park Hours Added to Disney World’s Calendar Through September 2021
Walt Disney World has added new hours for the start of the 50th Anniversary at Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom, extended hours between now and September 2021, and changed fireworks times. In this post, we’ll share the refreshed calendar, new hours for the start of the World’s Most Magical Celebration, plus commentary about the extensions and updated advice on best & worst days of the week.
What a difference a year makes. Last year around this time, the parks had just reopened and were seeing surprisingly low attendance, which was the harbinger of further cutbacks. In early August of last year, Walt Disney World slashed fall hours for September and October. For several consecutive months, not a single park at Walt Disney World was open after sunset. Despite that, you could still easily accomplish everything in a single day due to the lack of crowds and low wait times.
Fast forward almost a full year. Disney Park Pass reservations have been refilled several times in the few weeks, but demand continues to exceed supply. The last few days have been particularly busy, with “feels like” crowds and wait times getting pretty close to normal. Epcot has felt busier than any summer in recent memory. Now, park hours are following suit, with more extensions for August and September 2021…
Here’s the latest update to the Walt Disney World park hours calendar, with changes for the rest of this month plus August through early October 2021.
New Park Hours
We first have new hours for all four of Walt Disney World’s parks. The calendar was previously posted through September 25, 2021—ending just prior to the week before the World’s Most Magical Celebration begins, which is also the start of what’s forecast to be a busy 3-month stretch.
We now have times for the week leading up to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, through and including October 2, 2021. Those hoping that these hours would be longer from the get-go are going to be disappointed, as these new hours reflect the same hours as the weeks before in the fall off-season. Here’s a look:
When looking at these new hours, it’s important to understand that Walt Disney World’s normal practice is releasing boilerplate hours before extending those based on attendance and hotel occupancy projections. This initial release serves as a minimum baseline for what the ultimate hours will end up being, with hours only extended and not reduced.
The good news is that there’s almost no chance these will be the final hours. We won’t say 0% chance, because we’ve learned enough from the last year-plus to never be so bold, but it’s less than 1%. If current trends hold true, October will be one of Walt Disney World’s busiest months ever, and park hours will reflect that. Accordingly, it should be obvious that the final hours for October 2021 will be longer than those during the pre-50th off-season slump in early to mid-September.
New Fireworks Hours
Happily Ever After is currently show at 9:15 pm nightly, which is approximately 45 minutes after the current sunset time. That’s about how long it takes before it’s sufficiently dark as dusk falls. The days continue to get shorter, so Walt Disney World is moving forward fireworks times for both Happily Ever After and Epcot Forever–as is normal this time of year.
Happily Ever After Times:
- July 17 to August 9, 2021: 9:15 pm
- August 10-31, 2021: 8:45 pm
- September 1 & Beyond: TBD
In general, the larger gap between Happily Ever After and Magic Kingdom closing time, the better. The time buffer facilitates a more gradual flow of guests towards the exit–and onto transportation–between the end of fireworks and end of operating hours.
Epcot Forever Times:
- July 17 to August 1, 2021: 10 pm
- August 2-5, 9-12, 16-19, 23-26, 30: 9 pm
- August 6-8, 13-15, 20-22, 27-29: 10 pm
- September 1 & Beyond: TBD
This tracks with extensions to park hours (see below), which will see Epcot closing later Friday through Sunday nights during the 2021 Epcot Food & Wine Festival.
Extended Hours
It’s been a while since Walt Disney World released a big extension of park hours. Previously, there has been a weekend or small scattering of dates getting extensions.
Well, those hoping for a more comprehensive calendar update have gotten their wish this week! Here are the newly-expanded park hours for August and September 2021…
Magic Kingdom (9 am to 10 pm)
- August 1-9, 2021 (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
Epcot (11 am to 10 pm)
- August 1, 6-8, 13-15, 20-22 & 27-29 (previously 11 am to 9 pm)
Animal Kingdom
- July 26-30: Park hours extended to 8 am – 8 pm (previously 8 am to 7 pm)
- August 1-31, 2021: Park hours extended to 8 am – 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- September 1-25, 2021: Park hours extended to 8 am – 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
Hollywood Studios (9 am to 9 pm)
- August 29-31, 2021 (previously 9 am to 8 pm)
- September 1-10, 12-14, 16-25 (previously 9 am to 8 pm)
While we cover all of the changes above, the easiest way to see and visualize what has been extended for your travel dates is via the interactive monthly calendar on DisneyWorld.com.
Now let’s turn to commentary. In our view, the most notable change is at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Last week, hours were extended for the entirety of August, except for August 26 and 29-31. Now, those dates have been extended (minus 8/26, oddly) along with pretty much the entirety of September.
We’re always in favor of longer park hours, but what makes this interesting is that there’s no need to extend the current hours at DHS unless something else changes. Without shows or a nighttime spectacular returning, most guests won’t be able to fill an entire day at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Plus, fewer guests are Park Hopping to DHS since it’s impossible to access Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance that way. None of this is anything new–wait time trends bear this out, and have for the entire year. Point being, Disney is well aware of this dynamic and wouldn’t be “arbitrarily” extending hours at DHS.
It thus stands to reason that more entertainment is likely returning to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in August. Beauty and the Beast: Live on Stage already began casting last month, and it’ll likely be ready to return by next month. That alone would help guests extend their day at DHS.
We’ve also heard a rumor that projection and pyro shows will be brought back in the near future, and extending the hours of Disney’s Hollywood Studios until after sunset is a necessary prerequisite to that happening. I don’t have any insight into which one (or ones) will return, but my guess would be Star Wars: A Galactic Spectacular.
I have not heard anything about Fantasmic in a long time. All signs point to that being nowhere ready to return, with extensive work being done to the amphitheater. October 2021 seems like the absolute best case scenario for Fantasmic, and even that is probably a long shot. It may not return until next year.
All of the other park hours extensions are fairly unremarkable, and seem more driven by demand and attendance levels rather than anything else. Epcot is the best example of this, with that park moving to 10 pm closings Fridays through Sundays in August. This is due to the 2021 Epcot Food & Wine Festival, which is already drawing huge crowds.
Speaking of which, we don’t have any strong day of the week recommendations for 3 of the 4 parks. That’s because Disney Park Pass reservation availability is all over the place due to the refills, and that’s really messing with forecasting. We expect attendance patterns to normalize soon as supply starts exceeding demand, but that has not happened yet. In the near term, luck influences day-to-day wait time anomalies more than anything else (and by luck, we largely mean weather and ride downtime).
Going forward, it is easily foreseeable that Epcot will be the lone exception to this. We know this because the exact same scenario plays out every single year. Feels like crowds spike considerably in Epcot with the start of Food & Wine, which is often not reflected on crowd calendars. This happens because there are many more people in the park, but many are there primarily to eat and drink, not to do attractions. With that in mind, we highly recommend avoiding Epcot on Fridays through Sundays–even with the longer hours.
If you want to be ahead of the curve with your late summer or early fall Walt Disney World planning, also consider avoiding Magic Kingdom on weekends–do it on Wednesday or Thursday. It still makes no difference whatsoever when you do Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is why it remains a good option for Saturday or Sunday if your trip encompasses a weekend. In the near future, we’d expect a return to conventional ‘best day of the week’ wisdom for Walt Disney World. We’ll keep you posted!
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
What are your thoughts about the latest Walt Disney World calendar changes? Happy to see hours extended for August and September 2021? Concerned that this means crowd forecasts will continue to increase? Or that Walt Disney World intends to keep upping the attendance limits? Will you be visiting Walt Disney World for the start of the 50th Anniversary? Does this extended schedule influence your decision to visit or not? Do you agree or disagree with our advice and commentary? 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!
Do you know at what capacity the parks are open now?
@JenK, you are so right! We were there the first 2 weeks in July. Went to HS 3 times and still didn’t make it on every ride. One day only got on 3 rides as ROTR broke down twice when we were in line- about 2-3 hours wasted there. Finally got on the 3rd try of the day. We were in line for rides 30 min before park open and still all rides 60+ wait from the get-go. Our 3 days there were miserable. I can’t believe they are letting more people into this park! It was wall to wall people and I felt so claustrophobic. The only time it was tolerable was 30 min before close, so time to do one ride with under an hour wait.
Has anyone be observing the awful wait times at Hollywood Studios. On 7/19/21 all the major rides had at least 60-120 minute wait. This stinks!!! There are way to many people at this park!!!
Has anyone be observing the awful wait times at Hollywood Studios. On 7/19/21 all the major rides had at least 60-120 minute wait. This stinks!!! There are way to many people at this small park! There is only one live show to watch (Frozen). There is No Indiana, No Ariel, No Belle, No Disney Jr., No Fantasmic. The Star Wars Launch Bay is not open. I will be at the HS soon and I think it is going to be disappointing. When our trip was booked there was reduce capacity…. There still may be some reduced capacity but…. not enough to keep everyone happily entertained. I hope to have a magical time, but it is not looking promising! Who wants to shell out money to ride 2-3 rides. I wish all the parks could be open 8:00am-11:00pm for all!!!
I read where it said that the parks would have extended hours for certain deluxe on premise hotels but not all of them. I am staying at Wilderness Lodge. Has anyone else heard or seen this?
Tom – do you know what time the food booths for the Epcot festival open and close? I’m just curious if they open right at 11am and close at park closing or if they open and close at different times. I’m having a hard time finding an exact answer.
Thanks as always, Tom (and Sarah). Any guesses on EPCOT morning hours returning?
I’m somewhat surprised that hasn’t happened already. Certainly opening Epcot at 10 am (at the latest!) makes more sense than some of the extensions we’ve seen to Animal Kingdom.
Do you think they will come out with more magic band options (solid colors) before Oct 1 visit? Choices are limited.
Thinking the same thing? September the 11th Magic Kingdom closes at 7. I asked a cast member and she couldn’t give me an answer. She did tell me it was edited from 8:30 to 7 p.m. with no note on why. Two hours less that one Saturday, every other Saturday in that month it stays open until 9. Disappointed but will still be there.
Do you have any idea why Magic Kingdom is closing at 7pm on September 11th? We will be flying in for the weekend and were going to go to MK Sunday but found out Boo Bash was that day. We switched to Saturday and then found at it’s closing at 7pm!
Sorry to be the ongoing, whiny voice regarding APs, but as a family that just recently moved to Orlando, we are anxious for their return, and search constantly for any glimmer of possibility. Do you think ongoing extended hours, and eventual supply over demand will equate to AP return sooner than later? Hoping the adding of hours is the trigger of allowing greater crowds and capacity (the only reasonable reason I can think of that they’re holding back on new sales)?
Great!
Been going to Disney World about every 5 – 7 years since it opened in October 1971 when I was a teenager.
Were just there last May with our daughter and her family and had a blast!
Even managed to get on Rise of the Resistance both days at DHS.
I just had to go back end of October for the 50th celebration and already have our Boo Bash tickets.
I feel like a kid again every time we visit.
Thanks for the info and will be watching for more as we get closer to our October.
Even if nighttime events don’t return to Hollywood Studios, keeping it open until 9pm is a smart move because it keeps guests there in ride queues instead of hopping to Epcot or Magic Kingdom for the fireworks and causing an even bigger fireworks crowd.
Thank you for the heads up! We were just planning ADRs for a September trip and had nixed Animal Kingdom with its 6pm (!) closing time. This might change things…
Hours have changed for the fireworks too. Happily ever After will be at 8:45 instead of 9:15. Epcot forever will also change times.
Toni: It might be just in time for hurricanes. Hopefully the Saharan sand will keep hurricanes away for a longer time.
Thanks for the insight! Heading there 2nd week of August was hoping it would be the lull between the summer storm and the anniversary storm.
Looking forward to our trip in November during Thanksgiving week. Glad to see hours increasing. Sad to hear Fantasmic might not be ready till next year. My daughter and I and a big family of her best friend are Disney enthusiasts, coming yearly for over 40 years. I owned timeshare for 25 years but sold it 2 years ago. We are staying at Saratoga, our favorite because it is within walking distance to shopping and restaurants!!! The 50th is a big deal and we can only hope that the hours increasing will support the big crowds. Will cast members be hired back to accommodate the big crowds? Also bus transportation…will that increase?