Early Entry & Extended Evening Hours Coming to Disney World
Walt Disney World has announced more details about the replacement for Extra Magic Hours, which will be offered both in the morning and evening at every park–Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom–daily. In this post, we share more details. Plus, commentary about the “pay to play” nature of the extended hours, recent rope drops, and what’s still unknown. (Updated July 8, 2021.)
Just in time for the start of the 50th Anniversary celebration, on October 1, Walt Disney World will be rolling out a new early theme park entry benefit for on-site guests (meaning Disney-owned resorts plus some third party ones like Swan & Dolphin, Shades of Green, etc.) giving them the first chance to enjoy select attractions at every theme park, every day. Guests will need a valid ticket or pass and a theme park reservation for the same park on the same date for early theme park entry.
In addition, guests staying at Deluxe or Deluxe Villa Resorts at Walt Disney World will also be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks. Extended evening hours will begin in early October 2021. Further specifics, including dates and parks will be shared at a later time…
For the extended evening hours, guests will also need valid park entry and a reservation for the same park on the same day to experience extended evening hours. Alternatively, guests may Park Hop for extended evening hours so long as they entered their first park where they made their reservation earlier in the day.
During both of these extended park hours options, select attractions, merchandise, and food and beverage locations will be available. Eligible guests will need to bring a MagicBand, Disney MagicMobile pass, or Key to the World card linked to the hotel stay, or another form of Resort ID.
Back at the hotels, the “Caravanning ‘Round The World” RV will continue to roll around during Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. This is a nice touch, and we’re totally on board with the ways Walt Disney World has found to infuse characters into the experience, despite the lack of meet & greets and regular character meals.
During the World’s Most Magical Celebration, characters will be dressed in their EARidescent best and dropping by to visit with guests at Walt Disney World Resort hotels. Sounds nice!
In one final tidbit before we get to the commentary, Walt Disney World gave a non-update update on the Disney Dining Plan: “While we’re not quite ready to share an update on timing, we are planning to bring this guest-favorite option back at a later date. We will also continue to reopen more Resort offerings, including restaurants like ‘Ohana (with the noodles!).”
This is undoubtedly because it’s among the top 2 most asked questions by guests, right after when will FastPass+ return? It should come as absolutely no surprise whatsoever that the Disney Dining Plan will be coming back, and as soon as possible. As we explain in When Will the Disney Dining Plan Return?, it’s a cash cow for Disney that is only temporarily suspended out of necessity. What’s “interesting” is that no such reassurances were given about the fate of FastPass. 😉
As for commentary, my main thought is that this is all super vague. Honestly, this feels more like a “hey, we haven’t forgot about this, it’s still coming! Please keep booking resort stays.” reminder than anything else.
Based on Disney’s verbiage, I’m not even totally confident that morning early theme park entry begins on October 1, 2021. That seems to be the implication, but there’s enough ambiguity and it’s possible they’re simply reiterating that’s when the 50th Anniversary starts. Personally, I think having a little bit of a buffer between launching theme park early entry and the onslaught of the World’s Most Magical Celebration makes sense, but that’s just me.
In addition to whether theme park early entry will start on October 1, there’s the question of duration. In the first reveal of this program, it was stated to be 30 minutes at every park, every day. This “details” post glossed over that important detail. Perhaps it’s an oversight, but in an announcement that’s 75% fluff, it seems like that would’ve merited inclusion as something substantive.
My hope here is that there’s still internal debate over how long early entry should be, and the potential for it to be expanded from 30 minutes to an hour. That seems inconsistent with the direction Walt Disney World is taking things right now, so we can probably file that under naive wishful thinking on my part.
Recently, rope drop has returned to “normal” at all four Walt Disney World theme parks. In the process, it has become something of a de facto early entry, but for everyone who is able to arrive in time for it. (I’m guessing it’s mostly on-site guests given the challenges of driving, parking, and entering on time.)
If our preliminary “restored” rope drop experiences are any indication, early theme park entry will not be particularly valuable. I’m still not totally sure what the deal is, but in our (admittedly limited) visits thus far, it has felt like we would’ve been better off sleeping in, arriving late, and staying late. We plan on making some more visits before jumping to any conclusions, though.
On a random note, I think it’s odd that they’re dropping the Extra Magic Hours moniker. The names for these future offerings are more descriptive than anything, and the lack of capitalization (which was present in the original announcement) suggests these are not even proper names.
I’m guessing no one reading this cares, but it’s fascinating to me. Walt Disney World is usually so good with branding, and Extra Magic Hours is a beloved offering. Tweaking the details while retaining the Extra Magic Hours name would’ve made sense. Dropping the EMH branding and replacing it with a descriptive name is surprising. (I feel the same way about FastPass, which I suspect will return with a different name, too.)
This is probably going to be an unpopular opinion, but I’m fine with extended evening hours being limited to only guests staying in Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resorts. I’m going to assume this includes guests staying in Disney Vacation Club units, as those are technically Deluxe Villas. The positive impact it would have on DVC sales if included and the negative impact if not included makes that a no-brainer.
July 8, 2021 Update: Disney Vacation Club has confirmed exactly this in their latest Membership Magic email: “Members and Guests staying at a Disney Vacation Club Resort or Disney Deluxe Resort hotel will exclusively be able to enjoy extended evening hours on select nights in select theme parks providing more time to enjoy the Magic. Extended evening hours will begin in early October with specific dates and parks to be shared at a later time, so please be sure to check back on DisneyWorld.com for the latest.”
While bookings at most resorts are through the roof right now, numbers at the Deluxes have lagged behind Values and Moderates for years. That will likely be true once again once pent-up demand fizzles and the first few months of the World’s Most Magical Celebration play out.
I’m not convinced that someone otherwise considering Caribbean Beach will upgrade to the Poly now because of this–I think pricing is the core issue there and the return of discounts like Free Dining are more or less necessary to prop up the Deluxes–but it’s worth trying out. Walt Disney World can tweak this down the road or expand eligibility as necessary.
From a practical perspective, limiting the pool of guests eligible for nighttime extended hours is necessary to make it a worthwhile benefit for anyone. Evening Extra Magic Hours were a nightmare in their last few years due to the larger pool of eligible guests.
As a result of Walt Disney World expanding and building new resorts and adding to the list of participating on-site hotels, crowds had become pretty bad. It got to the point that not only did we recommend avoiding Evening EMH, but also the park hosting that hour during the day. As it turns out, people are more likely to be night owls than early risers on vacation!
The core problem here is the gradual reduction of park hours. This was becoming a pronounced issue pre-closure, and we actually had a post in draft form comparing park hours to a decade earlier. In the last couple years, there have been days when the Magic Kingdom was open for 4-5 fewer hours, despite millions more guests per year visiting the park.
This undoubtedly contributed to crowding in more recent years during Evening Extra Magic Hours, and it will likely lead to more frustration about the extended evening hours reserved only for Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resort guests. It was one thing for Walt Disney World to reduce park hours last year post-reopening due to low crowd levels. However, with attendance projections for October and beyond sky-high, regular fall and holiday season hours should be extended significantly.
If regular operating hours were longer and allowed guests to have a satisfying day even without extended hours, I think the perk would be less controversial. In such a scenario, since it will operate on a more sporadic schedule (like EMH), it’ll be easy to plan around.
Early entry, by contrast, will occur daily and off-site guests won’t be able to plan around it. Nevertheless, I see that as less of a source of frustration since it’s shorter, fewer people rope drop, and most of those who are serious about the morning efficiency stay on-site.
As Annual Passholders who make most of our park visits without accompanying hotel stays, neither of these perks bother me. Personally, I think better benefits for on-site guests is fair, and more for the higher resort tiers is likewise reasonable. Don’t be surprised if the eventual replacement for FastPass and the included access it entails for resort guests works the same way. Every on-site guest gets something, but perhaps Deluxes receive more than Values. (Conversely, it’s ridiculous when the Deluxe Resorts have shared bus service.)
I love several of the Value and Moderate Resorts and we stay in them regularly, but Walt Disney World’s approach here strikes me as reasonable. As someone who wants there to be actual on-site advantages, instead of the illusory ones, I’m cautiously optimistic about this news. While some people might lament this as “pay to play” or elitist, my response would be–that’s the nature of on-site perks. It has always been that way, and just like Deluxe Resorts are a luxury some can’t afford, so too is staying on-site in a Value Resort…or even visiting Walt Disney World, period. It’s all relative. Exclusive perks are something everyone wants, until they’re the one being excluded.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of this news of early theme park entry and extended evening hours at Walt Disney World? Excited for these on-site perks? Disappointed the nighttime bonus time will only be for Deluxe and Deluxe Villa Resort guests? Hoping for an announcement on the Disney Dining Plan in the near future? Planning on going to Walt Disney World this summer, or holding off until the start of the 50th Anniversary celebration? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I’m disappointed that none of this will start for my August trip.
With expected high crowds and no FP, extended hours would be a way to help alleviate crowding (spreading out over more hours).
Anyway… I wonder if the re-branding, and maybe even the deluxe restriction, are a result of their contracts with the 3rd party hotels. The 3rd party EMH hotels may have contracts entitling them to participate in any continuing EMH. Re-branding and re-designing the program may be a method of excluding the 3rd party hotels. (This isn’t EMH! It’s got an entirely different name.. it only includes half of all on site guests!)
And I’ve noticed HOW QUIET they have been about FP. Most mentions of it have been removed from the website and app.
If those contracts weren’t terminated last year when Extra Magic Hours were temporarily suspended, I’m not sure rebranding what’s materially more or less the same thing would sidestep any issues. But I have no idea–it’s a plausible explanation.
Any thought or idea on whether the WDW Swan & Dolphin are included on the list of Deluxe level resorts offering the Extra Evening Hours? Or are they considered a Moderate resort by Disney.
Tough to say. My guess is they’ll be excluded because they aren’t Disney-owned, but it depends upon the language of their contract with Disney.
I am beyond disappointed that when I purchase a ticket to a Disney Theme Park, I am going to be treated like a second-class citizen because I am not staying in a Disney hotel. I am just as disappointed at all the defenders, including Tom, of this disgusting practice. I feel like Disney bloggers are compelled to support and defend these practices so that they can stay in Disney’s good graces.
Please do not normalize this behavior. As for Tom Bricker, you used to see how wrong resort fess were. Why can’t you see that this is wrong as well?
“I am beyond disappointed that when I purchase a ticket to a Disney Theme Park, I am going to be treated like a second-class citizen because I am not staying in a Disney hotel.”
As you’re well aware, on-site perks are not even a remotely new thing.
Every high-end hotel in the world has amenities and perks reserved only for their guests. Most are not attached to theme parks, so they’re unrelated to that, but it’s not like this is a novel concept. Trying to equate perks to shady pricing practices is disingenuous.
So as I read the announcement I did not see this verbiage used, DVC Members. I’m wondering by saying guests staying at Deluxe Villa Resorts if that equates to guests paying cash room rates at the DVC resorts. It strikes me odd that they did not specify DVC members in the announcement. Although guests staying at Deluxe Villa Resorts I could or would include DVC members.
As far as this perk being limited to a tier of resorts I’m torn. One I see the need to try and limit the amount of people attending but I also see the hypocrisy in it. They just added inclusivity as the fifth value then they go and exclude people based on the amount of money they’re willing to spend on their room.
That’s a fair point, but I suspect they won’t want to discourage new DVC sales by excluding members.
The real problem is that the general admission hours just aren’t long enough anymore, making the “extra” for the deluxe feel more like the hoi polloi are being kicked out early than something “extra” is being given as a perk to the few.
I really miss the days when rope drop was so early, arrivals were actually spread out, and midnight closings were common during peak times, with emh until 1am. Now, they just charge extra for less than what used to be included.
Totally agree with this. It was one thing last year when attendance was low and it was easy to accomplish everything in (less than) a day. However, the reduced hours have been a problem since even before the closure–and once again now that crowds have picked up.
Given attendance projections for fall, they really need to extend normal hours in addition to this ‘bonus’ time.
While I understand some people will feel excluded, left out, pushed off, etc., you have to remember that this is still a business they are running. They have a lot of high priced rooms to fill and if there are no incentives or the same incentives offered to all the same guests, Disneys occupancy rates will dwindle. The only way that will change is if people do not go because of the fewer offerings. I for one would have a hard time justifying a deluxe resort (only stay in deluxe resorts historically) if there is no magical express, no advanced FP+ booking, no EMH, no free dining offering, etc. when that what’s I am accustomed to getting for the prices I pay. I would stay offsite at the four seasons for less money, in a nicer hotel and get the same (none) offerings.
I agree with @Kathy Schmidt. Even the “value” Disney hotels come with a deluxe price tag compared to similar off site resorts, especially for larger families. It definitely leaves a bad taste in my mouth to think about paying a premium to stay on property and not getting all the perks.
Personally, given that the Deluxes are often twice the price of a Moderate (and not that much nicer aside from the fact that they aren’t set up motel style), I do think that it’s not that horrible to throw this relatively meager bone to people staying at a Deluxe. I mean for one thing, the top resorts at UO are often priced low enough (aka not insanely high, like a Disney Deluxe) that it’s actually a better deal to stay at a resort that has the Express Pass if you were interested in paying for one anyways. The extra value of the extra evening hours is far less than an Express Pass, and given how much they have taken away from the Deluxes over time, this is something they can do to at least justify their high rates.
Way to go Bob Chapeck… let’s have a class war on our hands when there is already so much anger and hostility in the world. Let the rich keep thinking how great are and make the working class people be really pushed off. Fun times ahead at Disney…. Over crowded over priced… the magic is disappearing! I believe Walt would be disappointed!
100% agree with thoughtful commentary in article. Perks and benefits are exactly that. If they were guaranteed services, perhaps they would be called entitlements. Based on people’s attitudes anymore, maybe they should be. Again, 100% agree that extra magic hour at WDW is.. strange. We had only been West Coast d’Land regulars, never experienced EMH at night before. We went on pirates and had several random strangers added to our boat. Different, haha, but ok no biggie. Found that FP wasnt an option after hours. Joined a mob sitting on floor waiting for Philharmagic and then time was up. Add to that every single guest getting in line for same bus to hotel. Well, we were still at WDW and not work, so we weren’t ready to stress. Still, we will be fine passing on it in the future even if it were to remain an entitlement to us poor, budget minded wretches.
I can understand why guests staying at moderate and value resorts might be bummed out by this announcement, but I’m with you – it just feels fair that guests staying at deluxe resorts receive added benefits for the cost (as long as moderate and value guests are still receiving perks than non-Disney resort guests don’t have access to, like the early morning admission). It’s really no different than how Universal Orlando offers its Express Pass included in the price of stay at their deluxe tier resorts. We are staying at the Beach Club this December, and this announcement was the best news I heard all week!
I know that ‘Art of Animation’ is not considered a deluxe resort, but since we are paying over $500 a night that is a deluxe price. My family is very sad that we will be excluded when it’s finally implemented and certainly hope that fastpasses won’t be impacted in the same way.
The initial announcement is light on details–it wouldn’t surprise me if Art of Animation family suites are included. That would make sense.
I understand your viewpoint on the perks for deluxe resorts, but I disagree with it (and yes, I know that Universal does it). I think the perk of a nicer resort should be: a nicer resort. I don’t think it should extend to the parks. (I do agree that transportation to the parks should be under the umbrella of the resort and that Deluxe resorts shouldn’t have often the worst bus service.)
I can understand your perspective and think that’s totally reasonable, too.
Ultimately, the best solution for the problem of overcrowded evening EMH would’ve been to add more nights and/or parks. Failing that, this is a sensible approach that works for both Disney (boosting occupancy rates) and guests who are eligible.
I suspect it’s going to take a drop in occupancy rates at Values and Moderates for Disney to add more perks to those.
I don’t think Walt Disney would be impressed with Disney‘a upcoming elitist approach to park perks such as extended park hours and perhaps fast pass eligibility for deluxe resort guests only. Have visited Disney and stayed at Fort Wilderness Cabins 3 times in the last decade. Was thrilled to be able to enjoy these benefits as a resort guest. Am returning in May 2022 am already feeling some disappointment.
Are the evening hours going to only be 30 minutes too? I feel like you can only get on like one ride with the extra 30 minutes lol. Just curious! If it’s a whole extra hour or even 2 then I’m definitely booking a deluxe resort stay next time. Thanks!
Yeah, let’s make Disney World even more exclusive than it already is. Many folks would love to visit, but are continually priced out with the ever-rising park tickets, hotel costs, etc. Seems there is more elitism than ever before. I expect I’ll be criticized for this opinion; but, as a guest for the last 40 years and a former cast member, I hate seeing the world even more limited than ever before to large numbers of hard-working guests.
Little surprise regarding the Deluxe guests getting an extra “perk.” Universal has been doing that with their free Express Unlimited Passes for their Premier resorts for some time. Also would not be surprising to see something similar happen for FastPass (or whatever form it takes upon its returns), where your additional dollars for a Deluxe resort means more (dare I say, “unlimited”) FastPasses.
Finally, some Deluxe resort perks!!!!
I know you are tired of the DDP questions but with the opening of more restaurants and the fact Disney actually acknowledged it, I’d there any chance they bring this back late-August or Early-September when crowds are lower and they can ease back into this offering? Just like EMH, starting DDP in the middle of the 50th anniversary celebration seems crazy. Wishful thinking maybe but I want to remain optimistic.
I think bringing the DDP back before October makes a lot of sense, but I suspect they won’t have the dining capacity by late August or early September. It’ll be close, so it really comes down to whether Walt Disney World is actively anticipating where they’ll be two months from now and planning accordingly, or taking a wait and see approach.
If it’s the latter, we may not see the Dining Plan until the holiday season. Neither would surprise me. Walt Disney World hasn’t exactly been nimble throughout this reopening process–but they’re starting to improve.
Any word on if this applies to swan reserve? The last I checked, Disney could not confirm if the reserve will have same perks as swan and dolphin.