Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours will go on hiatus at Magic Kingdom beginning in September 2023. This put up shares dates & particulars, and explains the ‘why’ behind this determination, in addition to technique for making the most of the on-site perk for Walt Disney World company staying at a Deluxe Resorts, DVC Villas, and choose different resorts.
For many who are new to Walt Disney World trip planning, Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours is nighttime counterpart to Early Theme Park Entry. There are a number of variations, most notably that company staying at Worth or Reasonable Resorts usually are not eligible for Prolonged Night Hours. (Some may name these a magical perk of additional hours…or maybe additional magical hours for the sake of brevity? I dunno, simply spitballing higher title concepts.)
Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours has two kinds of resort eligibility, happens two nights per week, is at two parks, and runs for 2 hours (just about the whole lot in regards to the perk happens in twos). It’s normally Monday at EPCOT and Wednesday at Magic Kingdom. See our Technique Information Information for Prolonged Night Hours at Walt Disney World for extra ins and outs of the nighttime Deluxe profit.
Early Entry is obtainable in any respect 4 theme parks each single day, runs for half-hour, and each on-site resort visitor is eligible, together with the third get together on-property resorts. Regardless of the expanded eligibility, Early Entry can also be nice at 3 of the 4 parks. (Extra on the massive exception to that in a bit.)
For the whole lot you should learn about that profit, see our Technique Information for Early Theme Park Entry at Walt Disney World. That features the place Early Entry works finest and worst, rides to prioritize and keep away from, and extra. Now that we’re on top of things on the fundamentals, let’s flip to the newest improvement concerning the ‘additional hours’ at Magic Kingdom.
Turning to this information, Walt Disney World lately introduced the return of Prolonged Night Hours at Hollywood Studios in September and October 2023. On the time, the calendar was not but out there for these dates, so it was potential that ExEH at DHS was along with the perk at Magic Kingdom, not instead of it. That has occurred previously on a few events.
Now that the calendar is out by way of the primary half of October 2023, we all know that the Prolonged Night Hours perk will finish at Magic Kingdom throughout that timeframe. (This has additionally occurred previously on a few events.)
At current, Prolonged Night Hours are supplied at Magic Kingdom on the next dates for the rest of the 12 months:
- August 23, 2023
- August 30, 2023
- September 6, 2023
- September 13, 2023
- September 20, 2023
As of proper now, we all know that Prolonged Night Hours will likely be out there at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on the next dates in Fall 2023:
- September 30, 2023
- October 5, 2023
- October 11, 2023
- October 19, 2023
- October 25, 2023
This schedule for Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios was beforehand introduced.
It’s unknown the place the Wednesday ExEH will happen after October 25, 2023 as a result of the working calendar doesn’t go that far, and Walt Disney World not individually publishes an inventory of Prolonged Night Hours dates and instances.
By way of commentary, our expectation is that the Fall 2023 Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios are occurring as counterprogramming for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration (MNSSHP). Magic Kingdom is a veritable crowd curler coaster this time of 12 months, and shifting ExEH to DHS ought to assist fight crowds and displaced company on account of that.
Already, we’ve seen this play out and it’s solely August. In case you missed it, try final week’s put up in regards to the Third Slowest Day of 2023 at Magic Kingdom. Whereas many individuals on Fb who didn’t learn the put up attributed that solely to scorching climate, the most important trigger was truly shorter hours as a result of MNSSHP.
How are low crowds through the day at Magic Kingdom related to Prolonged Night Hours? As a result of nothing occurs in a vacuum. Vacationers usually are not doing Magic Kingdom on get together days of their regular numbers, that means that they’re disproportionately visiting on non-party days.
To not ‘spoil’ upcoming posts, however on the times round that third slowest day of the 12 months, I additionally skilled an extremely busy Early Entry morning and the worst Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom. I’m inclined to attribute an honest a part of how busy that ExEH was to the climate, however not all of it. Regardless, that is occurring in August throughout what must be the beginning of the low season at Magic Kingdom.
Regardless of the dynamic is now, you could be positive it’ll be amplified in late September and October 2023. Two of the nights that ExEH is shifting to Disney’s Hollywood Studios are occurring across the busy Columbus Day/Indigenous Peoples’ vacation weekend, which has grow to be more and more busy at Walt Disney World. That transfer makes full sense and is undeniably savvy on Disney’s half.
The opposite dates are barely extra random, at instances in September and October after I wouldn’t essentially count on chaotic crowds. With that mentioned, I’d completely count on these dates to be busier than proper now. The gang state of affairs is already ‘unhealthy’ to the extent that it’s in all probability good for Disney to make this variation.
Transferring Prolonged Night Hours to Disney’s Hollywood Studios decreases demand for the perk. That’s as a result of company can expertise nighttime in DHS actually any night time of the week, as an alternative of three nights of the week as is the case at Magic Kingdom through the peak of Celebration Season.
It additionally permits Magic Kingdom to doubtlessly lengthen its closing time till 11 pm, as an alternative of the present 10 pm. Frankly, this could already be occurring on non-party nights–the demand is there. Magic Kingdom must be closing on non-party nights at midnight through the related timeframe in September and October. It’s truthfully absurd that standard pre-pandemic hours nonetheless haven’t returned to Magic Kingdom. However I digress.
To reply the inevitable query, we nonetheless don’t learn about Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom or Disney’s Hollywood Studios in November or December 2023. If the Fall 2023 dates are as a result of displaced crowds throughout Celebration Season, there’s a superb likelihood it’ll occur once more round Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, and the lead-up to Christmas. That will imply a mixture of ExEH at Magic Kingdom and at DHS throughout Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration dates.
If I had been the one making selections, I’d transfer Prolonged Night Hours to DHS for the remainder of 2023. If I had been a visitor impacted by this, somewhat than being upset about not having fun with ExEH at MK, I’d be pleased to see the perk shifted to the park with decrease demand. That’s my perspective as somebody who has watched crowd dynamics throughout Celebration Season for the previous decade, and has already seen a extra exaggerated model of that in 2023. In fact, issues may change because the climate improves…however I actually wouldn’t rely on that.
In the end, we’re large followers of Prolonged Night Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and hope that it’s supplied extra. Whereas we like it being out there at 3 parks, we’d truthfully somewhat do it at DHS than EPCOT. Trip breakdowns and the lengthy distances between points of interest could make EPCOT Prolonged Night Hours much less pleasurable–and fewer productive. With its extra compact format and top-heavy trip roster, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is a lot better suited to host Prolonged Night Hours.
That brings us to our ‘want’ for Prolonged Night Hours going ahead. My hope is that Prolonged Night Hours go on hiatus at Magic Kingdom throughout the remainder of Celebration Season, returning on January 10, 2024. At that time, I’d wish to see Disney’s Hollywood Studios change EPCOT because the Monday ExEH choice.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Will you be making the most of Prolonged Night Theme Park Hours at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in Fall 2023? Disenchanted in regards to the lack of ExEH at Magic Kingdom in late September and October? Hoping Prolonged Night Hours are supplied at MK or DHS for the vacation season? Do you agree or disagree with our evaluation? Any questions we can assist you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!