Disney World Cuts Fall Park Hours
Walt Disney World has cut park hours for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Hollywood Studios, with later openings and earlier closings for September & October 2020. In this post, we’ll cover details with commentary on why Disney is reducing hours. (Updated September 8, 2020.)
For both July and August, all Walt Disney World theme parks operated for 10 hours per day. Opening and closing times were staggered, meaning that each opened at a different hour from 8 to 11 am, and each closed at a different hour from 6 to 9 pm. Logistically, this made sense in terms of resources (like buses) and physical distancing (guests returning to hotels at staggered time eased elevator burdens).
This is the second time that Walt Disney World has reduced operating hours for its first few months after reopening. Normally, Walt Disney World extends hours rather than cutting them back. Of course, nothing is normal right now. Given the circumstances and what we’ve observed, it’s not surprising that Walt Disney World is reducing park hours. It is concerning, but we’ll get to that in the commentary…
Here were Walt Disney World’s previous park hours, which are still valid through Labor Day:
- Magic Kingdom — 9 am to 7 pm
- Animal Kingdom — 8 am to 6 pm
- Epcot — 11 am to 9 pm
- Hollywood Studios — 10 am to 8 pm
Here are the reduced hours, beginning September 8, 2020:
- Magic Kingdom — 9 am to 6 pm
- Animal Kingdom — 9 am to 5 pm
- Epcot — 11 am to 7 pm
- Hollywood Studios — 10 am to 7 pm
As you can probably see, Magic Kingdom’s closing time moves forward by one hour, Epcot’s closing time jumps up 2 hours, Animal Kingdom opens an hour later and closes an hour earlier, and Hollywood Studios closes an hour earlier.
None of this is particularly surprising, and these reductions are no doubt made in light of guest attendance patterns. As we’ve observed and shared in our Walt Disney World reopening reports, the parks are least busy their last two hours of operation (plus right at park opening for Animal Kingdom) and guest utilization during those hours is really low.
September 8, 2020 Update: After a busy (but lighter than expected) Labor Day weekend, Walt Disney World’s reduced off-season hours begin today. Originally, this scaled-back schedule was slated to run through Halloween. However, Walt Disney World has since updated its calendar three times, each time extending the hours another week into November 2020.
At present, these cutbacks extend until November 21, 2020. With Thanksgiving, always a popular travel holiday for Walt Disney World, the following week, it’s possible regular hours will be restored the following week. It’s also entirely possible this schedule will continue beyond then, until Christmas.
On a positive note, at least Halloween Begins in Magic Kingdom next week!
As we discussed at length in Will Walt Disney World’s Low Crowds Continue?, September and October are likely to see some of the lowest crowds in Walt Disney World history. The weather is still uncomfortable then, schools are back in session, whatever pent-up demand exists among lower-tier APs will likely be exhausted, and Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Part has been cancelled.
September is always the slowest month of the year at Walt Disney World, and that’s likely to be especially pronounced this year. In fact, September 2020 will likely be the least busy month at Walt Disney World since September 2001, when people feared traveling in the aftermath of 9/11.
October is usually a different story, but so much of that is fueled by special events and school breaks. Those events are not occurring and there are a lot of unknowns about school breaks. Accordingly, October is likely to be a slightly busier version of September–but still not even remotely busy. Likely slower than both July and August.
Pretty much since reopening, we’ve been predicting that this fall would be really slow for Central Florida tourism. The likelihood of things being particularly rough was exacerbated when cases surged and parks cancelled Halloween events. Universal Orlando has also reduced hours, and we remain worried that some non-Disney parks will shift to seasonal operating schedules, potentially closing on weekdays. (It’s unlikely Walt Disney World would do this, as it’d be game over for attracting tourists.)
Consequently, this won’t necessarily have a big impact on your itinerary. (In terms of attractions, perhaps the biggest downside is one less hour for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance to operate.) You should still be able to knock out each park in a single day thanks to the short wait times and low crowds. You’ll just have less flexibility and latitude in your arrival time, and won’t be able to enjoy the ‘late arrival’ strategies we’ve been touting.
From our perspective, the most frustrating aspect of this change is that it means no parks will be open after sunset. September and October are still fairly hot and humid, and all of these parks are open during the “worst” hours of the day from that perspective. These early closures will also push more guests to Disney Springs, which has already seen a surge of crowds in recent weeks due to the shorter park hours. (So much so that we’ve stopped visiting Disney Springs.)
There are obvious negative ramifications for guests (and no corresponding price reduction on tickets!), but reducing park hours is also a risky move for Walt Disney World. Every cut sends a signal to guests with trips booked for this fall and holiday season–or those thinking about booking trips.
In part, Disney is a “victim” of its own success (heavy air quotes), as the feedback loop between its cuts and guest behavior appeared to be broken. Walt Disney World could raise prices, scale back entertainment, and reduce hours, and guests would be unfazed. Attendance would still increase.
It should go without saying, but such a disconnect is not normal. Reductions do not occur in a vacuum—even if that’s what Walt Disney World leadership might like to believe since their product has been so popular during the economic boom of the last decade that they’ve been able to make cuts and increase prices with impunity.
This is a new and totally different landscape, and we hope Walt Disney World leadership understands that. As we enter a recession and the guest experience has been fundamentally altered in so many ways (for the worse), potential guests are going to be much more responsive to negative changes, reductions to the experience, and perceptions of value for money. It is well established that consumers become more price sensitive and less brand loyal during recessions.
It doesn’t require a vivid imagination to envision a hypothetical guest with a trip booked in November and December who has been on the fence about cancelling their vacation. They’ve seen and are apprehensive about all of the temporary new rules, entertainment modifications, already reduced hours, and more. They’ve also been watching closely and are reassured by low crowds, the downward trend of new cases in Florida, safety measures, and the likelihood that Disney would do something for the holidays.
Now comes this reduction of park hours for September and October. While it does not directly impact their vacation, it does send a signal about Walt Disney World’s trajectory–cutting more instead of gradually restoring the normal experience. If we were tourists, I’d be worried about more targeted reductions on the horizon to specific attractions, entertainment, and restaurants. The move also calls into question whether Disney will even do the Cinderella Castle Holiday Dream Lights (if Magic Kingdom isn’t open after sunset, it doesn’t make much sense). Basically, it nudges those on the fence in the direction of “not worth it.”
Ultimately, a couple of hours per day during times when attendance is low might seem minor, but this is a big concern. (And one we also address at length in Why Walt Disney World Needs to Go Big for the 50th Anniversary.) Now is not the time that Walt Disney World can be fixated on the short term, trying to make the current quarter’s numbers look marginally better. In so doing, attendance woes will become a self-fulfilling property when coupled with cuts that are supposedly to help stem the bleeding.
When describing all of this, we’ve eschewed the term “new normal” in favor of “temporary abnormal.” However, the former term is apt for guest demand and attendance trends at Walt Disney World. It’s going to take several years for travel to fully recover–until 2025 if experts are to be believed. Hopefully Disney’s leaders realize this, and understand that the shenanigans they pulled during the strong economy of the last decade are not viable. The “new normal” here is that travel is a buyer’s market, and Disney will need to do more to entice guests to visit.
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
Surprised by the reduced operating hours, or did you expect this? Do you expect Walt Disney World to make additional cuts for specific attractions, entertainment, restaurants, or anything else? Will you be visiting Walt Disney World in September or October? Will shorter hours influence your decision to visit later in 2020 or in early 2021? 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!
I’d venture to say that less than 10 percent of the reason we take (often multiple) trips to WDW every year is because of the rides. Shows and experiences, fireworks, dining, shopping, “atmosphere soaking”, and exploring the resorts make up the other 90%. Also- our overall enjoyment of the parks after sunset basically quadruples. Our current plan is to try for the first week of December and keep our fingers crossed for extended hours. Disney being “open” right now in its apocalyptic state is just so depressing. We’ve visited multiple times per year for the past decade. Perhaps taking a full year off or more makes more sense and we will have a renewed sense of appreciation for WDW visiting in 2021 for the 50th anniversary assuming the pandemic begins to dissipate. Every time we visit I always take time to be especially grateful because you never know when it is the last time or last time for a long time. I’m grateful for our memories and hoping for a pandemic free future. I also hope we can return while my son is still at the “prime age” for it. He’s six now… we’ll blink our eyes and those special years will be gone.
Mitch you have summed it up quite well. We are from Canada and well the border is currently closed due to the numbers in the US. We will not be coming down any time soon (read maybe 2022 or 2023) and we are DVC members as well. Just keep renting out to folks who are able to and want to go.
Our kids are also in that range, 7 and 10. And I am very grateful that we have had opportunities to take them many times already including a super Xmas stay in 2018. But it does make us appreciate it more and will be more sweet when we are able to return one day.
The cuts alone might not be enough to keep us away, but couple them with the pandemic and we just don’t see a trip happening before fall of 2021. The low crowds are so very tempting, but we can’t see us going before then. We’ve talked about the possibility of booking a last minute trip for the day after Christmas if things are looking good by then, but I’m not too hopeful. I figure that with no dining plan and no fastpass, last minute trips would be more manageable again. Guess we’ll have to wait and see.
We are going in September, a re-schedule from last September we had to postpone due to my treatments for aggressive cancer (treatments didn’t work and I’m on daily chemo). We have lost our free dining, been double bumped from our original resort (Boardwalk to Beach Club and now to Riviera resort) but we are determined to go and enjoy every minute of every day we are there! Got all our dining reservations in, luckily none are affected by the new hours and we will just make the best of no crowds (easier for my scooter). Disney here we come!!!
Well you are a glass full kinda person, if there ever was one! I hope you enjoy your trip and wish you all the best for recovery and remission.
We rented DVC points for Boardwalk in December through David’s. So we think we are pretty much locked in, though we do have insurance and could probably still get our money back through that if necessary. But we are not sure we would NOT go even with all the cuts. We are considering that we will fly from Canada with masks and face shields, rent a car and then drive directly into the Disney Bubble. We will likely get Garden Grocery delivery to our one bedroom because we have a full kitchen, and then will have very few restaurant meals. We would also implement Tom and Sarah’s rule of only eating al fresco. We are exploring health insurance policies that cover COVID.
We frankly, need a break and are desperate for escapism. My partner has a cancer that will hopefully be remediated by surgery in early September (his doctors don’t think there will be any need for chemo or radiation), my kid just got diagnosed with ADHD and then there is COVID. But we are still employed and have a lot to appreciate given the circumstances.
Canada’s Chief Medical Officer has recently reported that vaccine or not, the experts are saying that the world can expect to be dealing with COVID for the next two to three years. So we will happily don our masks, wash our hands, social distance, keep our social circle small, and limit our outings but at some point we have to have some escape especially if this does turn out to be years before a return to normal.
But I would not feel this way if it was a once in a lifetime trip to Disney. It’s my partner who became an instant Disney nut during our first trip there and declared that it was going to be a yearly thing….I’m along for the ride. And in the literal sense because it’s the rides that I love the most!
@ Amanda A, I get you want escapism but based on all of the reporting coming from the resort, you will still know you are in a covid situation. Not letting your guard down ever, and with all of the strips knowing what is usually there would not be escapist to me. But I hope it works for your group and you get some enjoyment out of it.
@ Mike, oh yes, we definitely haven’t forgotten we are in a pandemic, and can’t let our guards down at all. We go back and forth all the time about whether to go or not and really I don’t think that we will make a decision until closer to. It really depends on a number of factors. I guess what i mean is that all of the measure in place AT Disney don’t bother us and I’d still feel like we were getting away from it all. I’m okay with all the hand sani, the temp checks, the mask wearing, etc. It just seems as though Disney itself has done a remarkable job of implementing safety measures. It’s all the other stuff we need to be concerned about. For instance, this morning we went back to the decision to postpone till late 2021 because our daughter goes back to school in September and so we would have to pull her from school 14 days before our trip, and self isolate for 14 days after our trip…..we are concerned that this is too much time away from school, even if we were doing all the schoolwork while we were away. The emotional well being of our kid is also pretty important, and we want to get her back to having interactions with other people. Whether schools should be opening at all is a whole other Pandora’s box. Still, it’s nice to think about getting away, even if we don’t end up going this year. And I adore this blog! It’s our panacea and our trusted information site.
I am super bummed about the cut hours (we arrive Sept 10th) but my husband was overjoyed. With 5 small kids, he has historically made the best of me pushing him into the shower at 5:30am on disney trip days so that he could help wash and dress the kids to be at the front of the line for rope drop. To make things worse…I insist on staying until closing. (He’s already got his angel wings from all this.) So when I, sadly, told him the reduced hours today, a slow grin spread across his face and he said “This is going to be the greatest Disney trip of all time.”
My husband got the exact same grin!!!
This is also me! The one with the grin spreading across my face! LOL
Have a trip scheduled for early December and am very concerned about Disney cutting hours and Epcot not being open at night. No parades and no fireworks shows is already a bummer and we don’t need less hours unless Disney drops the prices to make it all worth while. Will decide soon if we will cancel and reschedule for a new date next year. I hope Disney cuts some pricing to make the decision easy.
Lou
We have rescheduled our trip to celebrate retirement 4 times. Not Disney’s fault, of course. We have one for November. We have no expectations and are not getting our hearts set on anything. However, we are sad about the early closing hours. So much of what we enjoyed was the after dark lights and riding during aome rides at night. We will miss the Electrical Water Pageant and Illuminations (whatever it’s called now). We will make the best of it.
Disappointed. They just keep cutting and offering nothing in return. I don’t understand why they think this is good optics for the company- asking people to pay the same price while slashing so many things. Now the hours of operation have been cut even more. Ridiculous to ask people during all of this to pay same prices for half of the experiences.
I totally agree! They should be reducing ticket prices for those who have existing reservations & maybe they won’t consider canceling ! Now we’re not getting everything we used to & shouldn’t be expected to pay full price!!! They need to be offering more perks to attract people!
Like some who have posted here, we are trying to remain positive. We’ve already canceled a trip to North Dakota and a trip to see our parents during this pandemic. So while we know Florida will be hot and humid, we’re used to that living in the Houston area. And while we know the hours will be shorter in the park, our feet may appreciate that. While we know we’re missing out on Disney after sunset, we will enjoy our time together — hubby and I — as we celebrate 32 years of marriage. Resting and unplugging will be rejuvenating. Yes, we know we could have spent less money going somewhere else, but honestly we are spending a lot less on Disney than we initially were supposed to (30% room discount). And this may be the last time we go for a long, long time.
Agreed on the feet part! Last time we were so exhausted at the end of the day that we didn’t have the energy to enjoy all the amenities of our hotel (which was expensive even though it was a moderate resort). I always tell people Disney isn’t really a vacation–it’s an excursion and you should expect to be even more exhausted than during your normal life. This trip we will actually be able to get some R&R with the reduced hours.
We have to agree with all you have written this morning on the shortening of park hours. We have an 8 day trip planned for Labor Day week just when the cuts go into effect. After talking to a customer service manager this morning, we are extremely unhappy and thinking about cancelling due to the fact they are not willing to adjust the price of the tickets we booked a year ago. We have had to swallow a lot of changes from the booking we originally made: no EMH, no PH, change resorts, no Free Dining, shorter park hours, no entertainment or fireworks. They are really sending us a strong message that visitors that come back every year are not very valuable. We have kept coming back despite the price increases for at least 16 visits. Now wondering if paying full price for tickets with far fewer hours in the parks is worth our loyalty.
We are pretty much in a situation you described. We have a post thanksgiving November trip scheduled. It will be two of my three children‘s first time at Disney, and it will take a tremendous change for us to cancel. I’m starting to get nervous if Art of Animation will be open then or not. Like many others have stated, we need a vacation.
If AoA is closed they will move you somewhere even nicer! We’ve been moved four times, but we’re now in a one bedroom villa at Copper Creek with no additional charge from our original, much less expensive resort…as excited as I was to stay at Animal Kingdom Lodge I really can’t complain! Disney also gave us a $100 giftcard in exchange for all the headaches. They’re still trying to take care of guests, so don’t get too bummed about your resort possibly being closed.
Tom:
What happens to ADR’s that are scheduled after their new closing hours? We have a 555p reservation for Tiffins’s at AK. Will it still be honored?
I’m wondering about this too. I have several park closing reservations for restaurants that are now booked.
I’d be willing to go in October even with less entertainment/ hours, but the hotel/ticket prices would have to be better. It’s too expensive for a family of four with flights, food, hotel and tickets when you only get 1/2 of the exoerience
My first ever trip to Disney it poured almost the whole time. Compared to other trips, it definitely wasn’t the most magical. But I still loved it, because it was a whole weekend of family time. The best memories I have from that trip are swimming in the pool at night with my dad and brother and staying up past bed time with my family to watch TV in our hotel room. I barely remember the rides or the parks, except Kali River Rapids where I got soaked twice and was miserable the rest of the day. What I remember most are those times that my family were 100% focused on each other.
If you have a trip planned with your family remember that while the rides and characters are fun for kids, the best time they will have is when they’re just hanging out with you and your family. I totally get that Disney is expensive and you could create those memories somewhere else for less money. But, if you’re locked into your trip due to park tickets or plane tickets (like us) or AP tickets don’t let these cuts determine how much enjoyment you and your family will have.
We’re still going, and I hate to say it but I think we’ll go no matter what. Our October trip is a rescheduled honeymoon. We also both really need a vacation. Or plan is to enjoy the good food, stroll leisurely through what sounds like will be empty parks, take a lot of breaks to stop and drink and enjoy the surroundings of the parks, sleep in (we have a farm so this will be a great luxury!), take some late night dips in the pool, and enjoy staying at the nicest hotel we will probably ever stay in. But most of all we’ll enjoy having a whole week of “us” time after all the stress this year has brought.
That’s awesome! And a great attitude!
I totally agree! It would take a whole lot more of takeaways and restrictions for me not to plan a trip ( just waiting for our DVC membership to close). Disney has my heart. I’ve been with them through previous dark days of the early 90s and I remember how empty the parks were then. I still enjoyed my family time and the accommodations they provided felt like home. The minute we can book, we are going. I miss everything about a Disney vacation especially the stuff money can’t buy.
Yes! This! But I’ll be cancelling my trip and making those memories at Universal for half the price, instead.
I have a 11 day plan scheduled for January at a resort and all parks but I’m on the fence about canceling. I have time but will more than likely cancel in November. Even if they open back up after the elections, the dining plans, all restaurants and activists will be delayed. It just won’t be the same Disney and while I understand it will never be the same experience as before, we pay that high dollar for that experience where everything is taken care of, the freedoms of navigating the parks and The made dash for rides (all rides) Disney is turning into our local theme parks and we don’t go to those for a reason.
I agree with this 100%. Taking away the Magical Express luggage delivery and even resort airline check-in, were huge benefits that I happily paid extra for. Not so magical now. Even the thought of walking through World Showcase without all of the stores/restaurants being open, makes me sad.
I find your points as to the potential myopic view towards how to make the next quarterly earnings report look better particularly poignant. It shouldn’t be surprising, but it is more and more worrisome, and it really shows the flaws of the system that it’s all about quarterly reports, growth, and share prices. Given Disney’s size and stature, it would certainly be more hopeful to see them fully embracing a longer-term plan and eschewing the importance of the current stock prices and earnings reports. If ever there was a time they could say, hey, it looks bad now, but look what’s going on, of course it’s bad, who cares. One would think they could actually build a stronger post-pandemic/post-recession recovery by building towards the future with both the parks themselves and guest satisfaction & loyalty.
Along this front, I apologize for my state (Delaware) – we’re at least partially to blame for this. While I think it’s the overall economic model we’ve embraced over the last 40 years (all about Wall Street), the Delaware corporations law has certainly enabled and helped drive this. It’s all about quarterly growth and stock prices, otherwise the companies get bought out or sued in a shareholder derivative suit. While incorporating fees sustain our state’s budget and this system is integral to the status of our state Bar, it’s still regrettable.
Amen to this. The almighty dollar trumps everything. (See what I did there?)
I agree that cutting evening hours from the parks is very short-sighted. We are contemplating a few days at the parks whenever we move our daughter back to Miami from NC (where she has been living with us during the pandemic, as she’s been furloughed since mid-March), but the evenings are our favorite time to be in the parks, so if there are no evening hours, we probably won’t spend the money. We love Disney and have visited often, but at some point, Disney is going to have to take steps to entice us back. I’d really love to see Epcot open from 4pm to midnight as well – wandering the World Showcase after dark is one the the highlights for us!
We’ve got a trip set for early September. We’re still going. Like Jen, we mentally need this trip. While I’m disappointed that Epcot at night won’t be available to us, I don’t see the change in hours being a huge deal and is understandable. We did have to add an ADR for breakfast at Olivia’s on our DAK day due to the opening time change.
I’m most surprised by the Epcot hours. Even if they wanted to cut hours, it seems to me they should skew Epcot as late as possible during the food and wine festival to make sure they’re catching guests for both lunch and dinner. I’ve seen so many comments on this blog and elsewhere about local
APs heading to Epcot for dinner. The new hours will make that really difficult for people working normal business hours.
I’m still planning to go for Christmas, but I’m in state so that’s easy for me to say. I will start doubting that if they don’t do the castle lights. I’m hoping they’ll switch back to the current hours in November and then add an hour to each park for December. Fingers crossed.
I just booked a Sept trip and still plan on going because I mentally need a break. I am not happy about the reduced hours, especially Epcot. I love Disney at night and this is disappointing. I have a November trip booked that I am canceling if these hours stay this way. Holiday lights are part of the magic and a big part of why I go in Nov.
Completely agree! I’ve also got a trip booked in mid-September and plan to go, even after the change in hours.
I will be surprised if Disney doesn’t make a decent attempt to decorate, extend park hours, etc. for the Christmas season (Nov to early Jan). The weather is better, people have time off work (many colleges and even other schools will be closed between Thanksgiving and January) and guests have tickets that expire I think on Dec. 18. If not, we know things are REALLY bad!
Our twice rescheduled trip is now in May 2021. I’ll be keeping a close eye on things and will reschedule to November 2021 if needed. And if that time period is an issue, then it will get pushed back again. I would cancel, but I’m stuck with third party tickets, so eventually we will need to use them or apply the costs to new tickets. Our travel funds through Southwest are good until 9/2022, so we have some time to use them.
I agree, now is not the time to be making cuts that cause travelers to cancel. I think some people just want to get away right now, but that is not going to last. People will find other places to vacation that is making it worth the time and money.
Had an October vacation scheduled but cancelled this morning. I have been on the fence for the past few months, hoping that Disney would begin to add back – even in a minor way – some of the experiences that had been cut. These additional reductions have been the last straw. While understandable, they nonetheless make a Disney vacation no longer worth the cost. I completely agree with your assessment of the Disney powers-that-he’s disconnect with the mood of the consumer. Please note that I am an avid advocate of the Disney experience, making at least 2 trips a year. I am one of those people who tears up when entering Magic Kingdom and gaze up at the castle. It is truly my favorite place on earth and I have gladly paid more each year for less. I will miss Disney, but even at half the current price there would still be too much missing. Unlike some who simply go for the rides, my magical experience is the complete package. I will miss it.