Drastic July/Holiday Operating Cutbacks

[WDW1974]

OK, I mentioned this in another thread a few weeks ago that either got moved, closed or hidden in Mom's closet. Rather than open a new thread at the time I thought I'd wait and see if anything changed.

But thus far it appears as if July hours are showing drastic cutbacks from prior years, even over the Fourth holiday.

As of now, MK is open only 9-11 on 7/4 with the special holiday pyro at 9 and ONE Spectro at 10:30. I am reasonably confident that they'll push this to midnight since I can't recall MK ever closing earlier on the USA's B-Day.

As mentioned in other threads they won't be showing the holiday show on the 3rd as has been the case previous years. Many nights have MK closing at 10 (much like in 2002) and there are NO midnight or later closes.

EPCOT is untouched from recent years (although they once and for many years had extended summer hours every night -- 11 and midnight closes) with an extra hour on the Fourth.

TPFKaTD-MGMS is seemingly hit the hardest. They have numerous 7 p.m. closes, which are unprecedented in July. They have Fantasmic playing only 3-4 nights per week. They will offer NO pyro on July 4th and a 9 p.m. close (albeit with EMH for resort guests)

DAK is pretty much a 9-7 enterprise. ... Water parks have no night hours at all.

I guess TDO figures all the guests will head over to PI to cel ... uhm ... nevermind.

Doesn't seem like much to celebrate and is an Orlando phenom as DL isn't cutting back its summer schedule (it's actually offering new entertainment as well).

You'd think if things were so tough I'd be able to get a room at DAK Lodge for less than $184 plus tax ... or at least I would.

 

[EmperorMilenko]

I remember being a kid and being in the parks till atleast midnight over the summer. I can't imagine MK closing at 11 on the 4th. And what events has DL added? They need the publicity at DL with half of DCA being closed till god knows when. Hope hourse are good for my early Oct. trip

 

[TP2000]

Doesn't seem like much to celebrate and is an Orlando phenom as DL isn't cutting back its summer schedule (it's actually offering new entertainment as well).

It is odd. Disneyland is open 8AM to 12 Midnight seven days per week this summer, all summer long. With 7AM openings for Disneyland Hotel guests for Magic Mornings, and Main Street USA staying open an extra hour until 1AM "for your shopping convenience" every night.

Things just don't add up between California and Florida this summer.

 

[TP2000]

I remember being a kid and being in the parks till atleast midnight over the summer. I can't imagine MK closing at 11 on the 4th. And what events has DL added? They need the publicity at DL with half of DCA being closed till god knows when. Hope hourse are good for my early Oct. trip

That's a bit extreme. :lol:

Currently there is one attraction closed at DCA, Golden Dreams, a rather boring movie closed permanently last year that no one cared for much to begin with. On July 27th a second attraction closes, the Orange Stinger swing ride. The corn dog shack and souvenir stand closed this week near the Little Mermaid construction. Otherwise all DCA construction is happening without any attraction or major facility closures this year.

There's a heck of a lot of construction going on and lots of walls up, but only one real attraction will be closed this summer. The vast majority of the park is open and fully functional. The new stuff being built is behind construction walls.

Disneyland is doing a Summer Nightastic! promotion this year. They redid Fantasmic! with new and/or improved stuff, redid the Electrical Parade with new floats and LED technology, created a new fireworks show called "Magical" with confetti and Dumbo flying around the Castle, and added a nightly concert/dance party at Tomorrowland Terrace. It's a classic Date Nite at Disneyland type promotion that bundles a bunch of new/improved entertainment offerings together and it's aimed primarily at the 20 million people who live between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

 

[WDW1974]

I remember being a kid and being in the parks till atleast midnight over the summer. I can't imagine MK closing at 11 on the 4th. And what events has DL added? They need the publicity at DL with half of DCA being closed till god knows when. Hope hourse are good for my early Oct. trip

DL has a new fireworks show called 'Magical' (what else?) that will see Dumbo soar over the castle as well as a retooled Fantasmic and enhanced live entertainment thru the park. DCA has added new floats and returned others to the MSEP, added new lighting and will be using a new score of the famous Baroque Hoedown theme (borrowed from TDL).

I don't think DL needs any publicity at all. ... And half of DCA isn't closed. The lagoon is undergoing major work ... and Golden Dreams has played for the last time ... but everthing else is open attraction-wise, although the Orange Stinger will be going down in July for its extreme makeover. But, again, most of the park will be operating just fine. And PP is looking better than ever.

EDIT: why did I know TP was gonna beat me to it?!

 

[EmperorMilenko]

That's a bit extreme. :lol:

Currently there is one attraction closed at DCA, Golden Dreams, a rather boring movie closed permanently last year that no one cared for much to begin with. On July 27th a second attraction closes, the Orange Stinger swing ride. The corn dog shack and souvenir stand closed this week near the Little Mermaid construction. Otherwise all DCA construction is happening without any attraction or major facility closures this year.

There's a heck of a lot of construction going on and lots of walls up, but only one real attraction will be closed this summer. The vast majority of the park is open and fully functional. The new stuff being built is behind construction walls.

Disneyland is doing a Summer Nightastic! promotion this year. They redid Fantasmic! with new and/or improved stuff, redid the Electrical Parade with new floats and LED technology, created a new fireworks show called "Magical" with confetti and Dumbo flying around the Castle, and added a nightly concert/dance party at Tomorrowland Terrace. It's a classic Date Nite at Disneyland type promotion that bundles a bunch of new/improved entertainment offerings together and it's aimed primarily at the 20 million people who live between Santa Barbara and San Diego.

Thank you for setting the DCA straight for me:wave: My sister is a liar and overly exagerated to me then. And I would like to see that Dumbo around the castle. I havent been to DL since 2005 and it seems like it would be a good time to be there this year.

 

[WDW1974]

It is odd. Disneyland is open 8AM to 12 Midnight seven days per week this summer, all summer long. With 7AM openings for Disneyland Hotel guests for Magic Mornings, and Main Street USA staying open an extra hour until 1AM "for your shopping convenience" every night.

Things just don't add up between California and Florida this summer.

They never do. Lucky for me, I'll be at both DL and WDW this summer.

The bottom line is simply TDO knows it can get away with certain cutbacks. So many even in the fan community have no idea of a time when WDW had only 2 or 3 parks and they all were open late into the night for all guests regardless of whether they were staying at a WDW resort.

Do I expect Disney may add hours back some? Sure. TDO pulled the same crap over Spring Break. But I also think they won't be adding nearly as much and since so much as been taken away already ... well, it will never equal out.

I guess I can make do with hanging out in EPCOT until midnight if I stay onsite (or just stay in the park anyway) and happen to be there on Tuesdays and Thursdays. ... But it sure isn't the same.

 

[Thelazer]

Simply put.. happy talk, puppy dogs and sunshine... As long as we slap the Disney name on it, everyone will love it.

Yes the attendance is done, yes spending is down.. but it's not nearly as bad as most would believe. They have beaten there internal projections for attendance and revenue. This is simply a cost cutting measure, using the economy as an excuse.

 

[Cap10_Mickey]

Plus, remember, we have been seeing on this very site, announcements that hours are being added back as the actual day approach (Better grasp on actual attendance, maybe?). IMHO, this is about scheduling - avoiding costly overages. The one good thing is that they can add CMs and hours relatively easily - versus ticking them off by telling them they'll have work and then later telling them, nah never mind, no pay for you today!

 

[wdwmagic]

As mentioned in other threads they won't be showing the holiday show on the 3rd as has been the case previous years. Many nights have MK closing at 10 (much like in 2002) and there are NO midnight or later closes.


TPFKaTD-MGMS is seemingly hit the hardest. They have numerous 7 p.m. closes, which are unprecedented in July. They have Fantasmic playing only 3-4 nights per week. They will offer NO pyro on July 4th and a 9 p.m. close (albeit with EMH for resort guests)

Currently the MK is set to show the July 4 pyro on the 3rd as normal. The Studios also have their show lined up for the 4th as normal.

The above two changes havn't yet made it to the calendars, but I'm assured that as this point they are both online to go as normal.

 

[WDWFigment]

We travel during the same week each August, and the closing hours for the MK this year are 2-3 hours earlier each evening than they were for the same period last year.

I realize profits are down, but given that attendance is not proportionally down (due to the promotions or for whatever reason), it doesn't make sense to cut the park hours to such a degree to compensate for those lost profits. What's the result? A crowded park with dissatisfied customers who couldn't experience as much as normal/expected. That must be great for repeat business. But then again, this is from the management team whose foresight is shallow, to say the least.

 

[WDW Monorail]

Currently the MK is set to show the July 4 pyro on the 3rd as normal. The Studios also have their show lined up for the 4th as normal.

The above two changes havn't yet made it to the calendars, but I'm assured that as this point they are both online to go as normal.

Yes, 'tis the same as far as I know.

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Studios is getting it's show back, but I'm sure that's been mentioned by now.

As for the hours? I think they are bound to be pushed back. It's JULY 4TH. :lol: I'm betting for phased closings again.:shrug:

 

[hardcard]

OK, I mentioned this in another thread a few weeks ago that either got moved, closed or hidden in Mom's closet. Rather than open a new thread at the time I thought I'd wait and see if anything changed.

But thus far it appears as if July hours are showing drastic cutbacks from prior years, even over the Fourth holiday.

As of now, MK is open only 9-11 on 7/4 with the special holiday pyro at 9 and ONE Spectro at 10:30. I am reasonably confident that they'll push this to midnight since I can't recall MK ever closing earlier on the USA's B-Day.

As mentioned in other threads they won't be showing the holiday show on the 3rd as has been the case previous years. Many nights have MK closing at 10 (much like in 2002) and there are NO midnight or later closes.

EPCOT is untouched from recent years (although they once and for many years had extended summer hours every night -- 11 and midnight closes) with an extra hour on the Fourth.

TPFKaTD-MGMS is seemingly hit the hardest. They have numerous 7 p.m. closes, which are unprecedented in July. They have Fantasmic playing only 3-4 nights per week. They will offer NO pyro on July 4th and a 9 p.m. close (albeit with EMH for resort guests)

DAK is pretty much a 9-7 enterprise. ... Water parks have no night hours at all.

I guess TDO figures all the guests will head over to PI to cel ... uhm ... nevermind.

Doesn't seem like much to celebrate and is an Orlando phenom as DL isn't cutting back its summer schedule (it's actually offering new entertainment as well).

You'd think if things were so tough I'd be able to get a room at DAK Lodge for less than $184 plus tax ... or at least I would.

The only location 'hard hit' here seems to be studios.... I think your post is a little over-the-top... with park capacity lower, why SHOULD they waste money staying open later?

I ran out to MK on Memorial day expecting hellish crowds, and it was basically empty... The rides were all walk ons... everything....

 

[ToTBellHop]

I realize hours are cut quite a bit, but I was concerned about the June hours until a couple weeks ago when they extended most of them--two 11 pm and two 12 am closures (not taking EMH into account) at the MK when I'm there, and pretty much every evening when Fantasmic! is shown since March has been expanded to offer two showings. So, are there cutbacks? Definitely. But they seem to be using a system now where they post a VERY conservative schedule 3 months out and then tack on hours later. I don't necessarily approve of this system since it makes it hard to plan (and evening EMHs at DHS have become largely useless to me since they don't show Fantasmic! on those evenings), but we just have to work with it. I would guess the Summer hours for DHS will end up looking like they have been modified to be the week of June 7-13 recently--9-10 pm on Fantasmic! nights w/ F! at 9 pm and 10:30 pm and 9 am to 9 pm the rest of the time. Given that profits are, in fact, down (thought not by as much as expected), I don't think that is particularly unreasonable.

And I think it's time to stop using Epcot's hours to fuel the "Disney is gearing up for the Summer from Hell" argument. It's been 9 am to 9 pm for a LONG time now. I don't see it so much as a cutback anymore as maintaining the status-quo.

 

[jt04]

I don't think you can compare park hours from when there were two theme parks to an era when there are 4 theme parks and two water parks. It's a totally different place with the guest population distributed in a radically different way. And resorts that have more diversions than ever.

Move along, nothing to see here.:shrug:

 

[71jason]

One more thing on attendance (or anticipated attendance)...WDW has started promoting discounted admission for family members on birthdays in addition to the free ticket promotion. The radio ad didn't have a lot of details, but clearly driven at getting the locals to come out this Summer.

 

[TubaGeek]

TPFKaTD-MGMS is seemingly hit the hardest.

I've been meaning to do this for a while, but your condensing of "The Park Formerly Known as The Disney-MGM Studios" finally pushed me over the edge. Check out my new signature!

I can't get it to work!
It's SUPPOSED to be...
"Proud Member of the AAAAA-
American Association Against Acronym Abuse"

 

[MousDad]

Post early closures, extend the hours later...

Open refurbed attractions, finish the refurb later...

Cover our _____ now, satisfy the customer later...

 

[EPCOT Explorer]

Post early closures, extend the hours later...

Open refurbed attractions, finish the refurb later...

Cover our _____ now, satisfy the customer later...

You must work for TDO. :lol: