Parks opening later in the morning, will this be the new normal in the future?

[SL6827]

I made a short reservation in early December in case the virus was to get better and we were able to go, and that is a big IF. But what I noticed when I went to make my reservations for park visits was that Epcot and the Studios don't open till 11 a.m. (MK still opened at 9) Now second guessing myself if it would be worth it now.

And will a 11 a.m. opening or maybe a 10 a.m. opening be something Disney will continue after all this is said and done? After the virus is contained? Maybe charge a fee for the hours of 9-11 a.m.?

 

[JM23457]

I hope not. The short hours stink, especially in summer.

 

[SL6827]

I hope not. The short hours stink, especially in summer.

We are rope droppers and this eliminates the advantage of getting up early. I could see them charging for the hours of 8-10 or 9-11 in the mornings in the future. If this has come to my mind, I know it has come into theirs as well.

 

[lanejudy]

Right now the hours are staggered between the parks, with park openings one hour apart and park closings similarly one hour apart. Presumably this is to help with the bus transportation, allowing more buses to run for park opening/closing. Whether that adjusts by winter is anyone's guess, though I suspect it won't change until the social distancing guidelines can be relaxed.

 

[BK2014]

The reality is no one knows the answers to these types of questions. Even if the changes are based on the current Covid 19 situation, they may decide that they want to keep some of the changes even if things return to "normal".

 

[Rockbro]

Eventually, everything will return to normal. When I say "eventually," though, this could take years.

I think in addition to relaxing demand on bus transportation, there are shortened hours to reduce operating expenses, as there are not as many guests in the park.

Though, I could be completely wrong...I'm only the Chief Financial Officer for the Disney Company... oh wait, no I'm not.

 

[Dave006]

But what I noticed when I went to make my reservations for park visits was that Epcot and the Studios don't open till 11 a.m. (MK still opened at 9) Now second guessing myself if it would be worth it now.

The park hours start with the AK at 8, MK at 9, DHS 10 and finally Epcot at 11. This is part of Disney's social distancing plan to not have everyone trying to go to the parks at the same time. It also reduces long queues for buses as they can surge buses for each park opening and closing.

We are rope droppers and this eliminates the advantage of getting up early. I could see them charging for the hours of 8-10 or 9-11 in the mornings in the future. If this has come to my mind, I know it has come into theirs as well.

Disney has already done this in the past with Disney Early Morning Magic - Fantasyland a 75 minute paid ticket event a couple times a week at the MK. It was 7:45 AM - 9 AM. Also they offered Disney Early Morning Magic - Toy Story Land.

MK - Fantasyland
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/early-morning-magic/
HS - Toy Story Land
https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/dining/early-morning-magic-toy-story-land/
They also have the extended hours for on-site guests 1 hour earl or 2 hours after park close on select days but those are currently suspended.

Dave

 

[SL6827]

I am sorry if I have missed this and I am probably asking a repeated question, but why does it state a time of say 8 a.m. to enter a park then when you click on details in your MDE it is at 9 a.m.? What is the deal?

 

[gharter]

Until, they can let more people into the parks, I don't think we will see the hours change much, if at all.

 

[StageTek]

The opening and closing times are subject to change. And MDE doesn't always update correctly.

Also very often they allow people to enter the park one hour before its official opening time.

I've been reading that the gates are opening up before the posted time in order to keep too many people from gathering in a small space.

 

[SL6827]

Ok, I am not gonna sweat it. Odds are not in our favor of going, but I will keep an eye on it and what goes down in the months to come.

 

[Shelby Schroepfer]

I hope it changes before winter! Disney vacas are the ONLY time my family are morning people but also late night people... maybe that's why we need a vacation after our vacation!

 

[cindyfan]

OMG!! I hope not!!!
To not open till 10am is awful! We are early - rope droppers! And 8am is perfect. even 7am would be great.
... and in the summer months... by 10am it is HOT!!

 

[MomOTwins]

Not feasible to have socially distanced bus transportation if they have to send busses to all four parks around the same time. We are normally rope droppers but will try to enjoy the opportunity to mix it up with some morning pool time and big breakfasts on the later start dates.

 

[Jimmy Mouse]

We just got back Monday and I am a HUGE fan of the later opening times. It was relaxing to get up and take our time getting ready and sitting down for a nice breakfast before heading to the parks. WS always opened at 11 so EPCOT opening at 11 just makes more since. If they do keep the later opening times maybe they will bring back the late closings like it used to be. And after our visit, I am a huge fan of no FP+. Not having to be at a certain ride at a certain time was great!

 

[NYDisneyKid]

Shorter hours and lest perks for AP holders (which by the way are not reduced in price) Nice isn't it?

 

[PamNC]

We just got back Monday and I am a HUGE fan of the later opening times. It was relaxing to get up and take our time getting ready and sitting down for a nice breakfast before heading to the parks. WS always opened at 11 so EPCOT opening at 11 just makes more since. If they do keep the later opening times maybe they will bring back the late closings like it used to be. And after our visit, I am a huge fan of no FP+. Not having to be at a certain ride at a certain time was great!

It does sound nice - no FP, no stressing about being there exactly at rope drop. Like old times. I want to go soooo badly - trying to work it out maybe for Sept or Oct. I will miss the fireworks and the shows at AK. I love Lion King and Nemo. the characters - doesn't really bother me since they are still strolling around and on floats intermittently.

 

[TrolleyTrouble2713]

The reality is no one knows the answers to these types of questions. Even if the changes are based on the current Covid 19 situation, they may decide that they want to keep some of the changes even if things return to "normal".

Many of these precautions are going to save them money they won't give up. So I would expect a lot of it to stick around. I have my doubts that we'll even see fireworks come back at all.

Chapek's goal as head of parks was to make a standard ticket worth the absolute bare minimum. If you want to stay in the park at night, pay him 100 dollars. If you want to get in early, 100 dollars. If you want the best spot for the parades, 100 dollars. COVID accelerated his timetable dramatically.

 

[KittyKitty]

And after our visit, I am a huge fan of no FP+. Not having to be at a certain ride at a certain time was great!

Question: Since the last guess of crowd numbers are at 20% in parks right now, would you still feel the same way if the crowds were 5 times higher? (Not being snarky, just wondered if it would be possible)

 

[vinotinto]

We also enjoyed the later opening times. With teens, we have not rope-dropped in years. We only made it to rope drop for DHS and getting a BG. For AK, we arrived around 10:30, for MK, we arrived in the 9:30-10:30 range, and for Epcot, we arrived after noon. We enjoyed not being tied to FP times, but obviously, that only works if capacity continues to be reduced and standby lines are short. We felt that some standby lines were longer than what we were used to experiencing with FP.

The early closings of the parks and no PH are a bit of a bummer right now. It makes it very difficult to take a break and get back to the park. July is hot and breaks are needed And the parks basically close when the temperatures start going down.