200+ Park Hours Added to Disney World’s Calendar Through Christmas 2020
Walt Disney World has added new hours through December 26, 2020 for Magic Kingdom, Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, and Hollywood Studios, while also extending hours for nearly every date between the end of October and mid-December 2020–including big increases for Thanksgiving. In this post, we’ll share the updated calendar, new hours for Christmas week, plus commentary on best & worst days of the week for each park.
Let’s begin with a brief recap of Walt Disney World’s roller coaster approach to hours, first cutting, then restoring, and now expanding them. This saga began with Walt Disney World cutting fall hours through Halloween. That was an unpopular decision among fans, but has largely been undone on weekends thanks to extensions that have already occurred the last few weeks. Unfortunately, those are still the current hours for Mondays through Thursdays.
A few weeks after that, Walt Disney World Announced Christmas Entertainment that required nighttime operating hours. In the ensuing weeks, the calendar has been adjusted accordingly with each new release of park hours in November and December 2020. Notably, EPCOT’s hours shifted to 12 pm until 8 pm and Magic Kingdom expanded its hours to 9 am until 7 pm.
That coupled with week by week extensions to Walt Disney World’s park hours has resulted in a more sensible calendar in light of guest behavior and visitation patterns. Here’s the latest update…
New Park Hours
We first have new hours for all four of Walt Disney World’s parks. The calendar was previously posted through December 19, 2020—ending just prior to the week before Christmas, which is typically the start of the busiest two-week stretch of the year at Walt Disney World.
We now have times for Christmas week, through and including December 26, 2020. Those hoping that these hours would be longer from the get-go are going to be disappointed, as these new hours reflect the same shift at EPCOT and extension at Magic Kingdom that were made for November through mid-December.
When looking at these new hours, it’s important to understand that Walt Disney World has returned to its normal practice of 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 pretty much every date prior to Christmas week has seen a variety of extensions (see below). Given those expanded hours plus the fact that the week of December 19-26, 2020 will be far busier than anything before it, the new hours are pretty much worthless. It’s obvious the final hours won’t look anything like the above calendar–at least for 3 of the 4 parks…
Extended Hours
On each of the last several Friday calendar updates, Walt Disney World has extended park hours for a weekend or two in the immediate future while releasing one week’s worth of new boilerplate hours. This has been pretty consistent for the last month or so, but makes vacation planning a tad difficult because it’s on such short notice.
Well, those hoping for a more comprehensive calendar update with extensions for more distant dates has gotten their wish this week! Here are the newly-expanded park hours…
Magic Kingdom (9 am to 8 pm)
- October 30, 2020
- November 1, 2020
- November 6-21, 2020
- November 29, 2020 to December 19, 2020
Magic Kingdom (9 am to 9 pm)
- October 31, 2020
- November 22-28, 2020
Some pretty solid extensions here, especially for those highly desirable weekdays in early December.
This has us curious–and maybe we’ll do the math if we’re bored–does Magic Kingdom have more regular operating hours in November 2020 than it did last year? While the increased hours are still reduced as compared to a normal day, the calendar in November is typically dominated by Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which means 6 pm closing times.
Those events can be avoided, but it’s not always easy. Consequently, non-party days are usually significantly busier (especially Saturdays) to the point that we’ve recommended readers visit Magic Kingdom on the 6 pm closing days for the light crowds (and Park Hop…remember that?!). Without question, this year’s 9 am to 8 pm weekdays will be better than those 6 pm closing days. It’s the small victories.
Epcot (11 am to 8 pm)
- November 2-5, 2020
Epcot (11 am to 9 pm)
- October 30, 2020
- November 1, 2020
- November 6-21, 2020
- November 29, 2020
- December 4-6, 2020
- December 11-19, 2020
Epcot (11 am to 10 pm)
- October 31, 2020
- November 22-28, 2020
Epcot (12 pm to 9 pm)
- November 30 to December 3, 2020
- December 7-10, 2020
- December 14-17, 2020
Sorry that this isn’t organized the most intuitive way. I started my chart with Magic Kingdom before seeing the extent of the changes at EPCOT, and was “in too deep” when I realized this probably was not the best way to display the new hours. The easiest way to survey what has been extended for your travel dates is using the interactive monthly calendar on DisneyWorld.com.
As big fans of evenings at EPCOT, we love to see these extensions. The only downside is that this is going to attract more of the “after work” local audience on the weekdays, likely leading to crowd increases those afternoons. As much as we’ve enjoyed low-crowd weekdays at EPCOT, we’re honestly fine with this. The more things get back to normal at Walt Disney World, the better.
Animal Kingdom (8 am to 6 pm)
- October 30 to November 1, 2020 (park opens at 7 am on Halloween)
- November 6-8, 2020
- November 13-15, 2020
- November 20-21, 2020
- November 29, 2020
- December 4-6, 2020
- December 11-13, 2020
- December 18-19, 2020
Animal Kingdom (8 am to 8 pm)
- November 22-28, 2020
Nothing really noteworthy about these extensions at Animal Kingdom. The first set of dates follows the established pattern and the second range is Thanksgiving week. Even with the increased crowds, we’re looking forward to those 8 pm closings.
I am a tad surprised by that 7 am park opening time on Halloween, but there must be some justification for it in terms of attendance projections. We’ve just found that very few guests will get up that early to visit the parks–no matter how busy things are predicted to be later in the day.
There are no changes for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, which is both interesting and concerning. In our recent Disney’s Hollywood Studios Crowd Report: Morning Highs & Evening Lows, we showcase the troubles with this park. Even though many headliners get very long lines early in the day, DHS is still not a full day park right now.
However, our proposed “solution” to this is not maintaining the shorter hours–it’s bringing back stage shows and other entertainment. That would give guests a way to round out their day, keep them in the park longer, and also provide justification for longer hours–which in turn would give more people a chance to ride Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance.
The lack of extensions at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is concerning because it suggests that there are no plans to bring back additional stage shows for the rest of 2020. Of course, hours are always subject to change so it’s possible circumstances could evolve and DHS could receive its expanded hours at a later date. Hopefully that’s the case…but this doesn’t have us too optimistic.
Finally, we’ll rehash our best and worst days to visit each of the Walt Disney World theme parks. Note that there’s a ton of fluidity to things right now–if you’re planning for November or December, you’ll want to keep an eye on our Walt Disney World Park Reports, which we’ve been trying to do every week.
With that said, our top recommendation is still to avoid Walt Disney World on the weekends. That’s unlikely to change outside of holiday weeks. The extended weekend hours are attractive, but the cost is elevated crowds as compared to weekdays in 3 of the parks. Wait times are ~40% higher on weekends, so the increase in operating hours by 10-20% doesn’t offset that. Simply put, you can get more done in less time on weekdays.
If your visit encompasses a weekend, do Disney’s Hollywood Studios at least one of those days. Since DHS is hitting capacity or coming close to it on weekdays as well as weekends, there is almost no difference in crowds there among the days of the week.
To be clear, that means it feels equally busy at Disney’s Hollywood Studios every day instead of just weekends being crowded like the other parks. Be aware that it has become increasingly difficult to score a spot in the virtual queue for Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. We’d peg the odds at under 50%, so you might want to pencil in two days for DHS if that’s a must-do, changing your second Disney Park Pass reservation if you’re successful the first day.
EPCOT is the worst pick on weekends for the exact opposite reason. Our recent EPCOT Photo Report: Stay Away on Weekends flew under the radar, but that should be essential reading. It’s arguably the most important piece of advice for families visiting in the next few months (perhaps beyond).
Mondays through Wednesdays are all equally good for EPCOT. We’ve noticed a slight uptick in crowds on Thursdays, and a more significant one on Fridays. Still, not nearly as bad as Saturday or Sunday.
As for the your other weekend choice, it’s sort of a toss-up between Magic Kingdom and Animal Kingdom. We recently did the former on a Friday, and covered it in our Magic Kingdom Weekend Report: Beating Heavier Crowds & Higher Waits. That was a solid experience, with the best part being covered in Our Enjoyable Evening in Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom is a good pick Monday through Thursday, with Wednesday being the best day of the week there from an objective perspective. (It’s not markedly better.) From a subjective perspective, we do like those longer hours on Fridays.
Likewise, Animal Kingdom is attractive on weekends thanks to the 8 am opening time. Most locals—the primary demographic on weekends—are not going to get up that early, so you can still accomplish an efficient itinerary solely by virtue of arriving early—or even staying late.
We just did Animal Kingdom today–both a Friday and a holiday weekend–and had a great experience. Monday through Thursday definitely have lower crowds, but those 2 extra hours offer tremendous upside.
Ultimately, Walt Disney World crowds are still entirely manageable if you properly strategize no matter which day of the week you visit. Midday wait times have been bad and lines are lengthy, but it’s possible to beat the crowds. Visiting exclusively on weekdays will be the best low crowds experience, even if it means shorter hours. How you order the parks Mondays through Thursdays matters less, but we’d recommend doing Magic Kingdom on Wednesday or Thursday and EPCOT earlier in the week, but that’s really it.
If you’re visiting Walt Disney World for a long weekend, do Magic Kingdom on Friday, Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Saturday, Animal Kingdom on Sunday, and EPCOT on Monday. In testing a variety of approaches, that’s the one with which we’ve been the happiest. (Swapping MK and DAK can also work.) The longer hours arguably are worth the higher crowd levels, especially if you value sunset and dusk in the parks. Keep in mind, that’s our advice right now. Things keep changing, and so too could day of week strategy.
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 November through mid-December 2020? Concerned that this means crowd forecasts are continuing to increase? Will you be visiting Walt Disney World for the holiday seasons? Does this modified 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!
Hello, we only have time for one day at DW. I’m traveling with two teenagers. Which park would be the most entertaining for teens?
Thank you!!
Depends what kind of stuff they are into. But If you’re looking for thrill rides / rollercoasters, go to Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
I’d like to imagine that my very tersely worded email to Guest Relations might have had an effect.
On a recent stay, we found that the evenings were just absolute chaos at WDW. With parks closed at 5, 6, or 7 and transportation stopped running an hour or so later – and long waits to get on – it was impossible to go anywhere or do anything in the evenings. The one evening we tried Disney Springs, a Wednesday, we waited almost an hour for a bus from the resort. Then DS was packed. Normally we could walk up to most table services restaurants, but not this night. We ended up waiting in line for almost an hour to get our sandwiches at the Earl. Then it would have been another 30 – 45 minute wait to get inside World of Disney to shop. We gave up, then waited another 30 minutes for a bus back to the resort.
Other evenings of our stay we found we could not access the pool because it was at capacity. Even the “quiet pools” were closed off. Getting food from the quick service took over an hour, even with mobile ordering. No tables were available to sit at, inside or out. The pool bar line was 30 deep. We ended up spending most evenings sitting in our room, eating lukewarm burgers, watching resort TV.
It was not a very magical thing.
Hi Tom! Love your blog! We are at Hollywood Studios today (actually taking a resort break right now). We’ve been here many times, but we’ve never seen it this crowded! Our party of 4 could not score boarding passes for Rise at 10:00 or 2:00. Not even close! Super disappointed. The wait times are off the charts and accurate. I have a hard time believing that capacity is really reduced.
Have you heard anything about a dining plan or partial dining plan coming. By that I mean like a snack plan or any other kind of plan. I keep hoping.
Thanks again for all your insights. I can not tell you how helpful your blog is not just in the main content but also in the comment section from both the readers and your responses.
Scratching head about ADR’s. We’re coming in December and I’m trying to get ADR’s. I’ve looked at calendars the last several weeks to get a sense of availability.
I was up at 2:30 am for the 3 am release and am amazed at how few scattered choices there are. In fact, it doesn’t look a whole lot different than other times of day I’ve checked. I have yet … ever … to see a Yak & Yeti reservation.
Ideas? Are ADR’s getting filled by those staying at Disney Resorts before released to the rest of us?
Don’t know if this helps but I just picked up an 11:30am res at Yak for Dec 12th and there were others available from 1:30 on.
We are staying at a Disney resort. I’m sending this Sat 10/10 at 1:45pm.
My wife and I are going Dec. 9 through Monday the 14th. We can’t get an evening ADR for any night at any restaurant in MK. Was hoping to get one at close or close to it at Liberty Tree Tavern. We booked it for lunch, but we hope we can pick one up later. Doesn’t look like dinner is available at any MK restaurant from Dec 1 through the 14th. I know with COVID there is reduced capacity at restaurants and we are ok (and appreciate that) we just can’t believe there isn’t a single one at any restaurant in MK on any day during our trip.
I’m in the same boat. If park hours were extended, then why haven’t restaurants at these parks opened times for ADRs? I’ve never experienced such trouble getting ADRs. We have lunch at the parks (Liberty Tree, 50s Prime Time, Tony’s Town Square, Tiffins, Le Cellier) but dinners are the elusive reservation. I’ve never not been able to get Yak and Yeti, either. So frustrating!
The thing about entertainment is that Disney is subject to Equity’s rules for returning. Equity just announced yesterday that Broadway will need to stay closed until the end of May. I cannot imagine Equity would give the green light for Disney to open and not New York. Personally, I do not think we will see shows coming (at least the ones with union performers) until after Broadway re-opens. Equity takes the health and safety of their members VERY seriously.
The Actors’ Equity Association and Disney reached an agreement back in August. Thus far, the only thing to come of that has been the return of the Frozen Sing-Along.
As a member I can tell you that exceptions are made all the time for other areas of the country. I believe that Disney has already reached an agreement with the union unfortunately I don’t know the details of what’s holding things up.
All I can say is they better have reached an agreement, and they better bring other shows back SOON!!! HS is ridiculously crowded because of the closed shows, shops and restaurants, so health and safety being of importance is just an illusion. Personally, I don’t care. I’m over it. But I’d Disney is going to pack people in for rides, they may as well open everything, bring back fast passes and keep their cast members!!!
Hi Tom, if you have to schedule 4 days in the parks for either Sat – Tues Dec 5-8 or Mon – Thur Dec 14 – 17, which would you recommend. I know you’ve been recommending weekdays over weekends in general, just wondering if 14-17 is too close to Christmas. I appreciate all the tips, humor, and gorgeous pictures!
At this point, I’d choose Mon — Thur/Dec 14 — 17.
Hi Tom,
I don’t see AK hours for Dec 1-3rd. Listed. Sorry if Im just missing it… Do they fall into that 8-6 PM group?
I would check on the Disney website. He didn’t post the times for nov 12 at animal kingdom and I went to go check and they didn’t change. Still closing at 5pm 🙁
He only listed the times that have changed. If the dates aren’t on the list, the hours are still what has been posted for several weeks.
Thanks. I now see that if they aren’t listed they haven’t changed.
Hi Tom,
I have a rescheduled trip coming up 11-14-20 with my daughters 13 and 7. We love meet and greets and fireworks. I’m questioning rescheduling yet again for March 2021. What’s your recommendation? Thanks in advanced!
Will the fire works come back? Restrictions are lifted in FL, hours go beyond evening.
Thanks for the reports and suggestions! For my December trip I’ve been debating about swapping my Saturday Magic Kingdom park pass with my Thursday at Hollywood Studios. Your observations tip the scale even more.
My ADR timetable opened yesterday and I wasn’t able to get an Oga’s Cantina for Thursday but tried for Saturday on a whim that worked out. Afterwards I debated on canceling since it didn’t line up with my park passes but decided to give it a day before I decided. Then I woke up and read your suggestions on park days and it seems to make sense even without the new experience of Oga’s which I really got to offset our potential disappointment of not getting a spot in the virtual que coupled with the lack of stage shows.
It’s definitely going to be a different experience for us this year but I’m looking forward to our trip and the more leisurely approach we intend on taking.
Thanks again!
You’re welcome–glad we could help tip the scales! 🙂
To me, this doesn’t forbode longer hours for Christmas week and New Years. What do you think, Tom?
It’s hard to say this early, but this update has me pretty optimistic. Those are pretty significant extensions for Thanksgiving, and Christmas/NYE are normally busier.
It’s possible that Thanksgiving crowds won’t end up justifying those long hours, but I doubt that.
This is awesome as far as more park time, but really sucks when we have ADRs built around the previously posted hours. I had booked all my ADRs at the 180 days, then lost them. Then at the 60 days got most back, now our whole plan is turned upside down again. Very happy for increased park hours, just frustrated I’m back at the drawing board.
Yeah, that definitely makes it tough.
One thing we’d recommend with regard to ADRs is booking your most important one for lunch. Nothing is going to change about the middle of the day, so that’ll make it sting less if you have to cancel/change dinner plans. (This probably doesn’t help you a ton, but for anyone else reading…)
I can relate since I did the same. I love Disney at night especially for the holidays so I am really happy about these hours I just need to revisit my ADRs. I made a lot of late night dining at Disney Springs since we are staying at Saratoga from Nov 25-Dec 3 (thanks again Tom I followed your guidance from your review of this resort made made requests accordingly). Maybe we’ll do lunches instead and hit the parks at night and dine on holiday snacks and desserts.
With the extended hours at night at MK and Epcot, could park hopping be coming back in the near future?
Park Hopping is definitely going to return at some point, but I personally don’t expect it until 2021.
I just hope it is sooner rather than later. Us Californians are planning trips to WDW like never before. We now can fly thousands of miles to WDW without a mandatory quarantine when we return, but can’t drive a couple hours to enjoy Disneyland. Makes no sense! We are looking at Tokyo as well as soon as Japan opens up! Any indication when that will be?
Planning our trip for 14-19 December. My proposed schedule is”
Monday, 12/14- Arrival/Resort Day
Tuesday, 12/15- MK
Wednesday, 12/16- HS
Thursday, 12/17- EC
Friday, 12/18- AK
Based on what you’re seeing and the new park hours update, would you recommend shifting this plan at all? I’d love to hear your suggestions.
Also, I saw your story on CNN. When I saw the headline, I thought, “I wonder which of the 50 Disney bloggers that I read did this?” I was absolutely unsurprised when I saw it was you guys. As a former CM and Florida native, I cannot express to you how great I think it was that you did something so tangible and practical to help the CM community. Bravo, guys.
A lot could still change between now and December, but I think that plan is pretty good.
Thanks for the kind words–we’re just happy to be able to give back to the community in some small way! 🙂
I didn’t see the CNN story you refer to, but I’d love to. Can someone please provide a link? I’m not finding anything with my searches. Thanks!
Corene-
Here you go!
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/10/04/us/disney-bloggers-food-bank-fundraiser-trnd/index.html
What a great story! Thanks, Tom and Sarah, for setting up the donations. Wow! Not only am I thankful for your blog, I am10x thankful for your hearts and for helping those impacted. Many thanks!
Tom,
Excellent reports! We live on the West Coast and your blogs/reports are invaluable to our upcoming trip. Truly the best advice I’ve uncovered thus far. Now that hours are extended, two things on my mind:
1) With small children, we were looking forward to early park closings. Do you believe the longer hours bode better for people who “rope drop” and ride midday, because it stretches crowds for later hours?
2) Is WDW increasing capacity these days because of extra hours? Is capacity more for a 9a-9p day than a 9a-7p day? I’d have to think so.
Thank you again! Much appreciated, please continue to keep the updates coming.
Yes to both questions.
Have a fun trip!
Hi Tom, there are two Christmas tours on the December calendar. Have you done either? Do you think they may add back other holiday extras? Trying not to get our hopes up but…… hope for the best, be ready for the worst.
Thank you for all of your wonderful reports! We don’t live close to either Disneyland or WDW so we must live vicariously through your blog
I highly doubt those tours will be back this year. With that said, we’ve done a variation of the Yuletide Fantasy tour–it’s fantastic!
Thanks, Tom! Seems like this plays well for low crowds the first week (weekdays) of November. Do you agree?
Hi Tom ,
Great insight! Your opinion please about our upcoming Thanksgiving week trip….We have 2 young kids, plan to arrive at each park before opening and leave by early evening. I
Thinking 3-4 days at MK due to heavy non-hight requirement rides. Here’s our proposed schedule:
Friday 11/20: Epcot or MK
Saturday 11/21: MK (Cinderella Castle dinner reservations)
Sunday 11/22: HS (Sold Out)
Monday 11/23: AK
Tuesday 11/24: MK or Epcot
Wednesday 11/25: MK
Thanksgiving 11/26: MK (sold out)
Any insight would be appreciated. Thank you!
-Andrew
Low as compared to the rest of the holiday season, yes.
However, given how crowds have increased each month since reopening, I’d still expect higher attendance levels than what we’re currently seeing.
Is there information online about which rides are closed? A friend is there now and mentioned many rides are closed.
Here’s the refurbishment calendar: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/disney-world-refurbishments/