Extended Evening Theme Park Hours - Time Change?

[ashaway12]

Good afternoon, I searched through the forum and could not find any post that addresses this but if there is one out there already I apologize for the duplication. We are heading to Disneyworld in mid-April and the plan was to do one day at Magic Kingdom when they are doing EETPH. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge so we are eligible for it. Currently the hours say 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, but when you look at the next two EETPH days here in March they have pushed it out to 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM with the park staying open for all until 11:00 PM. Is the expectation that they will continue to do this through April? Selfishly I was hoping to do this with my 8 year old daughter, she could probably hang in there for a 9:00 PM start but 11:00 PM would probably be too late.

 

[kilik64]

Good afternoon, I searched through the forum and could not find any post that addresses this but if there is one out there already I apologize for the duplication. We are heading to Disneyworld in mid-April and the plan was to do one day at Magic Kingdom when they are doing EETPH. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge so we are eligible for it. Currently the hours say 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, but when you look at the next two EETPH days here in March they have pushed it out to 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM with the park staying open for all until 11:00 PM. Is the expectation that they will continue to do this through April? Selfishly I was hoping to do this with my 8 year old daughter, she could probably hang in there for a 9:00 PM start but 11:00 PM would probably be too late.

Only Disney knows for sure, but they have been posting updated times for the parks every Friday for two weeks out. So worst case scenario you should know about two weeks ahead of your trip what the actual park hours and extra night hours are.

Example, tomorrow you should see update to the week of 3/20 if they are changing them to match the prior two weeks which are the 9am-11pm

 

[soniam]

They might be doing it for Spring Break. With Easter being very late this year, schools that usually do Spring Break then may be doing it early. Also, a lot of schools already do Spring Break during the 2nd or 3rd week of March. like Orlando (I think) and Texas. It can be very busy. They may extend it for April around Easter but maybe not until then.

 

[abtahime]

Good afternoon, I searched through the forum and could not find any post that addresses this but if there is one out there already I apologize for the duplication. We are heading to Disneyworld in mid-April and the plan was to do one day at Magic Kingdom when they are doing EETPH. We are staying at the Wilderness Lodge so we are eligible for it. Currently the hours say 9:00 PM to 11:00 PM, but when you look at the next two EETPH days here in March they have pushed it out to 11:00 PM to 1:00 AM with the park staying open for all until 11:00 PM. Is the expectation that they will continue to do this through April? Selfishly I was hoping to do this with my 8 year old daughter, she could probably hang in there for a 9:00 PM start but 11:00 PM would probably be too late.

Yea 11-1 seems really unusable for the majority of families which is who Mk seems to cater to the most. Maybe some teens and young adults would use it?? We chose a monorail resort a while back when the posted extended evening hours were more usable for our family but then Disney did this. It would have been so much more preferable for them to add an extra hour in the morning that was usable than this. Complete waste of a “perk”

 

[Delirium]

We went to Disney virtually every year when our kids were between 5-10 years of age, and they loved the late nights. Don't assume that they will be too tired to enjoy. Have a frank conversation with them up front that this will be a great time to get in a lot of rides with little or no wait and give them an opportunity to rest/nap beforehand.

Often times, at Disney, it's not the time of day that wears children out. They can do early mornings and late nights if you prep them for it in advance. What wears them out is the sun/heat in the middle of the day. That's also when the crowds are most miserable.

 

[Kingoglow]

11-1 seems really unusable for the majority of families which is who Mk seems to cater to the most.

There is a whole lot of personal opinion in that sentence. MK caters to everyone, as it was designed to do. Perhaps there is a small, tiny minority of families bringing children, that wont remember the trip anyway, that the late night hours don't cater to.

 

[sponica]

There is a whole lot of personal opinion in that sentence. MK caters to everyone, as it was designed to do. Perhaps there is a small, tiny minority of families bringing children, that wont remember the trip anyway, that the late night hours don't cater to.

I can put the kids in the stroller in their PJs and just RS with my husband, granted I wasn't thinking and had him schedule tee times for the mornings after the extended hours.

 

[kilik64]

Times for march 20th week have updated, mk closing at 10pm monday, 11pm rest of the week.

The extended evening hours has not updated yet but that wed should be 11-1am now.

 

[Delirium]

Disney can add as much time as they want in the morning, but my family will choose the evening extra hours every single time. It's not just about shorter ride lines. The parks themselves are absolutely beautiful at night.

 

[Disturbia]

It will happen most likely; and it already has through end of April

https://www.disboards.com/threads/updated-park-hours-and-new-adrs.3831833/page-15#post-63849802

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/guest-services/extended-evening/

 

[TheSouthernBelle]

Disney can add as much time as they want in the morning, but my family will choose the evening extra hours every single time. It's not just about shorter ride lines. The parks themselves are absolutely beautiful at night.

YES! The early mornings are special too but so many more people choose early AM now than they used to that empty morning parks are a rarity now. And 30 min early opening isn't much of a head start, unlike the EMM we used to have.