Walt Disney International has added extra hours to the calendar thru February 2025 at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom, and prolonged hours for the vacation season during the top week between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve. This covers the adjustments plus zig once they zag technique for Magic Kingdom and whether or not to accept as true with standard knowledge at DHS all over those dates.
We’ll get started with the newest free up of recent working schedules. All 4 theme parks have had hours for some other week added to DisneyWorld.com’s park hours, and the present calendar now runs thru February 5, 2025. Listed below are the hours for many newly-added dates all over the iciness:
- Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 9 pm
- EPCOT: 9 am to 9:30 pm
- Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 9 pm
- Animal Kingdom: 8 am to six pm
- Snow fall Seaside: 10 am to five pm
- Disney Springs: 10 am to 11 pm (11:30 pm on Fridays & Saturdays)
As a reminder, Walt Disney International’s customary follow is to free up boilerplate or placeholder hours ahead of extending the ones in response to attendance and lodge occupancy projections. This has been not unusual follow for years, and can proceed for the rest of this yr and most likely in 2025, 2026, and so forth–till the upward push of the machines.
One exception to the park hours above is that Magic Kingdom closes on a number of nights every week at 6 pm to day visitors for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration over the process the following couple weeks. This separately-ticketed match starts at 7 pm and runs till nighttime, and happens more than one nights every week.
The excellent news is that Magic Kingdom will carry the vacation leisure from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration to all visitors beginning December 21, 2024. So in the event you’re visiting that date or later, you’ve got that “loose” choice versus paying for the events, which might be all offered out now, anyway. And in point of fact, it isn’t loose. It’s incorporated with admission, which is dearer the closing two weeks of the yr. To not point out considerably upper lodge prices. Minor main points.
Very similar to Magic Kingdom on MVMCP nights, Hollywood Studios closes at 7 pm on evenings when the Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Celebration is held. That arduous price ticket match happens with some distance much less frequency than Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration.
Along with those newly added hours, Walt Disney International has additionally prolonged park hours during the top week between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve–however no longer all of the method to NYE. Then again, we do have already got the leisure schedules and park last instances (openings usually are prolonged previous) as coated in our Information to New 12 months’s Eve 2025 at Walt Disney International.
Anyway, on with the added hours for December 2024, from provide thru the most recent wave of extensions…
Magic Kingdom
- December 8, 2024: 8 am to six pm (prior to now 9 am to six pm)
- December 9, 2024: 9 am to ten pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 11, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 12, 2024: 8 am to six pm (prior to now 9 am to six pm)
- December 13, 2024: 8 am to six pm (prior to now 9 am to six pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 15, 2024: 8 am to six pm (prior to now 9 am to six pm)
- December 16, 2024: 9 am to ten pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 18, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 20, 2024: 8 am to six pm (prior to now 9 am to six pm)
- December 21, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 23, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 24, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 25, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
Walt Disney International has most effective up to date hours thru December 28, 2024. Any dates past that display boilerplate hours. There shall be extensions for dates from December 29 thru January 4, 2025 within the subsequent wave of updates. Dates beginning January 6, 2025 are much less more likely to see main extensions, however some smaller ones are conceivable.
The opposite factor to which I wish to name your consideration to is December 11, 14 and 18.
All of those are ‘pink flag’ dates to steer clear of all over weeks main as much as Christmas that may another way have most effective average crowds. It’s because every of those are the one day in 4-day stretches when Magic Kingdom does no longer shut early for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration.
Past this, we wish to reiterate once more that nighttime closures must be usual working process for Magic Kingdom all over Celebration Season on dates when the park isn’t last early. Disneyland closes at the hours of darkness nearly each day this vacation season, and Magic Kingdom must fit. The crowds on non-party dates during December are greater than enough to justify 8 am to twelve am hours each unmarried day. No longer doing so is a mixture of cheapness on Walt Disney International’s section, combined with in need of to push other folks in opposition to Lightning Lanes.
On a good be aware, there are the extensions on days of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration, with Magic Kingdom now opening at 8 am on many dates. That is the way it must be all over Celebration Season (and, for my part, maximum days).
As we’ve mentioned numerous instances, Celebration Season working hours motive chaos with crowds, pushing attendance a lot upper at the dates it’s no longer happening and decrease at the dates it is going on. On match nights, Magic Kingdom closes to day visitors at 6 pm. It’s also an increasing number of opening at 8 am. As a result of this, Early Access begins at 7:30 am, which makes this on-site perk a lot more extremely really useful.
Be expecting party-shortened days at Magic Kingdom to have crowd ranges of two/10 to 4/10 as an alternative of one/10. This occurs as a result of crowd ranges as an entire are expanding nearer to Christmas. Which means they’re upper around the board, on each occasion and non-party days. It’s additionally going down as a result of occasion dates are turning into extra common, making them tougher to steer clear of. That implies extra visitors will haven’t any selection however to do Magic Kingdom on occasion days.
Preferably, you’ll have Park Hopper tickets and can be capable of leap to some other park at round 4 pm. Animal Kingdom will all the time be your best choice for lower-crowd evenings all over the vacation season.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- December 11, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (prior to now 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (prior to now 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 18, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (prior to now 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 21, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (prior to now 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (prior to now 9 am to 9 pm)
Only some dates including hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and it’s “most effective” half-hour. It is a larger deal than it could appear as a result of Early Access will as soon as once more formally get started at 8 am on those dates. As all the time, the sooner that Early Access begins, the extra helpful it’s. There’s much less pageant and you’ll get extra finished.
It additionally is helping that these kinds of extensions are Jollywood Nights dates. We’ve had a large number of reader questions on whether or not it’s savvy method to reflect the zig once they zag option to Magic Kingdom all over Celebration Season. Our resolution, as mentioned at period again in Easiest & Worst 2024 Crowd Days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, will not be.
Admittedly, the sooner opening time does solid this into doubt a little bit for on-site visitors. It most likely is determined by whether or not you’re an early chook or evening owl. When you’re the previous, believe taking the sooner headstart. Maximum visitors must take the longer hours and later last, although. After all, strategic Park Hopping is all the time going to be probably the most wonderful manner, in the event you’re in a position to do this.
It additionally is helping that Jollywood Nights has no longer offered out maximum dates (and I strongly suspect it has a considerably decrease attendance cap than MVMCP within the first position), so it’s no longer in point of fact having a pronounced have an effect on on crowd ranges. We think that to proceed to be true nearer to Christmas.
Animal Kingdom
- December 13, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8 am to eight pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 20, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 21, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 22, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 23, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 24, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 25, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8 am to eight pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8 am to eight pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8 am to eight pm (prior to now 8 am to six pm)
As with Magic Kingdom, the 8 am opening time is snatch at Animal Kingdom, and that’s the norm thru December 2024. That’s in point of fact just right information even a baseline standpoint, because it method extensions shall be last at 7 pm or 8 pm–which additionally method middle of the night at DAK all over the vacation season!
Significantly, the baseline 8 am opening additionally method Early Access at 7:30am, which is lovely carefully attended. See Animal Kingdom Park Opening & Early Access Journey Technique (or, “How I Did Each and every Journey at DAK Ahead of 10:30am.”)
On the reverse finish of the day, Animal Kingdom formally closes after sundown for the rest of the yr, in addition to all of Wintry weather 2025. Between the later last and Sunlight Saving Time, you’ll get a pair hours in DAK after darkish–one thing no longer conceivable lots of the yr.
Tree of Existence Wintry weather Awakenings may be again at the agenda (see our Information to Christmas at Animal Kingdom for complete main points). We extremely counsel staying for evenings in DAK to benefit from the Tree of Existence Awakenings, plus Pandora and the remainder of the park after darkish.
Our Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Technique is as soon as once more the best manner for this park. Even on busier dates, Lightning Lane Multi Move is senseless with even a modicum of strategizing. Please don’t be fooled via the “cut price” pricing on LLMP at Animal Kingdom. Take into account, one thing is just a deal in the event you in fact want it–another way, you’re only a hoarder. (Smartly, you’ll’t in point of fact hoard Lightning Lanes in the similar sense…however you get the theory!)
In the end, the newest two waves of park hours extensions don’t seem to be as powerful as I used to be hoping or anticipating to peer. The week ahead of Christmas isn’t as busy as the only between that and New 12 months’s Eve, however the extra modest extensions at DHS and DAK recommend Walt Disney International is projecting most effective average crowds. That’s sudden, as this is able to nonetheless most often be one of the crucial 5 worst weeks of the yr.
Then there’s the week after that. Closing yr used to be utter madness, the busiest stretch at Walt Disney International since (a minimum of) 2019, surpassing even the height of pent-up call for in 2022. And bear in mind, that used to be in what used to be another way a slower yr, as crowds have been already trending down closing yr. This could lead us to imagine that dates between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve (in point of fact thru January 4, 2025 since blockouts lifting and faculty breaks additionally play a task) will all have 10+/10 crowd ranges and wait instances some distance exceeding all different weeks of the yr.
Those park hours extensions don’t essentially mirror that. Don’t get us mistaken, 8 am to 11 pm isn’t unhealthy for Magic Kingdom, but when those crowds are the rest like closing yr, the park must be last at the hours of darkness, if no longer 1 am, each evening that week. (Because it stands, this vacation season most effective were given one nighttime closure, all over Veterans Day weekend.)
Later closures at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or even EPCOT would even be known as for. So both Walt Disney International’s inside forecasts display decrease (moderately talking) attendance or they’re opting towards longer extensions in spite of the heavier crowds. When you’re visiting that week, we’d counsel getting ready for the latter and following our new Most sensible 12 Guidelines for Beating Heavy Crowds at Walt Disney International, however hoping for the previous. It’ll be attention-grabbing to peer the way it performs out.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you bring to mind Walt Disney International’s working hours extensions for mid-to-late December 2024? Disillusioned at no nighttime closures all over the week between Christmas and New 12 months’s Eve? Assume this agenda is cheap? Do you suppose Magic Kingdom must be open later? What has been your revel in with crowds and wait instances? Do you settle or disagree with our evaluate? Any questions we will mean you can resolution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please proportion your ideas under within the feedback!
