Disney cutting back summer hours?

[CaptainAmerica]

Then why not just post the hours now? Why wait till late June?

I do agree that the timing of their releases is frustrating. I went on two different trips not knowing how to plan my Animal Kingdom days because they didn't have Rivers of Light information available in a timely fashion. Planning your park days, meals, and Fastpasses are all connected. If they want us to plan meals at 180 days, they need to have at least somewhat reliable park hours posted at that point. I'm not especially worried about something moving from 10pm to 11pm, but we need to at least know EMH and parade/fireworks/Fantasmic times.

 

[radiohost]

I do agree that the timing of their releases is frustrating. I went on two different trips not knowing how to plan my Animal Kingdom days because they didn't have Rivers of Light information available in a timely fashion. Planning your park days, meals, and Fastpasses are all connected. If they want us to plan meals at 180 days, they need to have at least somewhat reliable park hours posted at that point. I'm not especially worried about something moving from 10pm to 11pm, but we need to at least know EMH and parade/fireworks/Fantasmic times.

Exactly.

 

[disney4life2008]

To refer to Pandora as "2 rides" is a very shallow way of seeing it, but says a lot about you.

If you measure DAK only in RIDES, and are done once you do all of the RIDES, then of course you have trouble spending lots of time there. You'll be in and out of Pandora in 30 minutes. That's fine, do as you please, but know that there are many who look for the smaller things to do.

Incorrect. Animal kingdom is stunning day and night. However, the sell is 2 rides. I do not think flowers that light up and a floating mountain is enough to argue the reduction of times at magic kingdom.

 

[The real rescueranger]

I don't understand the complaints on WDW park hours. If you don't like them go to Universal their 2 parks close at 10:00 PM in July.

That was very helpful. Thank you for contributing to the discussion.
We all know Disney will increase the hours; however, they make you plan so far in advance, they need to increase their hours earlier so their guests can make more informed decisions.

 

[Jones14]

This is only loosely relevant to the discussion at hand, but does anyone know AK's attraction/total capacity with and without Pandora? I can't imagine that it rivals MK's, but if it does, then I can definitely see why they're pushing so hard to get guests over there instead.

 

[IMFearless]

It could be worse - imagine the uproar if they posted MK open until 2am every night and then cut it back to midnight!

I think having the hours pretty much set by 180 days out makes much sense though, particularly now we have FP+ to think about.

By 60 days out the parades/fireworks/hours are pretty solid except if your dining doesn't correspond you can't always make it work at that point.

I'm currently planning for Sep/Oct. What with the MNSSHP dates/times to think about, the unknown hours for AK, the is / there is there not going to be a nighttime parade in MK by then, Rivers of Light Dining Package not available to reserve, no need to FP+ Splash as it will be closed. It's like studying for a small exam. We have already moved resort from CBR to POR to avoid the likely construction.

 

[ToTBellHop]

That was very helpful. Thank you for contributing to the discussion.
We all know Disney will increase the hours; however, they make you plan so far in advance, they need to increase their hours earlier so their guests can make more informed decisions.

It's absurd. MK will be crowded in July. It always is. Why give ridiculous hours that will never work? MK is 45 years old. Surely they are aware of what hours are required in the summer. Why push people to DAK? What will they do when 40k people show up expecting to ride FoP and NRJ instead of a closed Splash Mountain?

 

[The real rescueranger]

It's absurd. MK will be crowded in July. It always is. Why give ridiculous hours that will never work? MK is 45 years old. Surely they are aware of what hours are required in the summer. Why push people to DAK? What will they do when 40k people show up expecting to ride FoP and NRJ instead of a closed Splash Mountain?

Exactly! Just set the longer hours. Besides, if their attendance slips, do they think shorter hours is the answer? No, that is just going to make more guests angry and their attendance will slip further.

 

[MisterPenguin]

I agree that WDW should do a better job at their medium range calendar. At times, posting times for fireworks for a particular month just two weeks before that month is indicative of some sort of dysfunction.

But... c'mon, folks. WDW has been doing this pretty consistently for the past three years that I've been keeping track. On Reddit, blogs, and forums there is a regular cry of WDW doing away with EMH, or Wishes, or a night time parade, or closing ridiculously early, or doing away with a new show simply because their official calendar doesn't have it scheduled three months from now. Wait six weeks... and behold, it's now on the calendar!

Yeah, that sucks and WDW should do better, but... really shouldn't be a surprise since it happens all the time.

 

[The real rescueranger]

I agree that WDW should do a better job at their medium range calendar. At times, posting times for fireworks for a particular month just two weeks before that month is indicative of some sort of dysfunction.

But... c'mon, folks. WDW has been doing this pretty consistently for the past three years that I've been keeping track. On Reddit, blogs, and forums there is a regular cry of WDW doing away with EMH, or Wishes, or a night time parade, or closing ridiculously early, or doing away with a new show simply because their official calendar doesn't have it scheduled three months from now. Wait six weeks... and behold, it's now on the calendar!

Yeah, that sucks and WDW should do better, but... really shouldn't be a surprise since it happens all the time.

That is true that they have done it that way in the past; however, they created FP+ and they are going to have to change the way they do business. FP+ makes it necessary to know schedules farther out. We didn't ask for their new system, so forgive me if I don' t have any sympathy for Disney's predicament.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

That is true that they have done it that way in the past; however, they created FP+ and they are going to have to change the way they do business. FP+ makes it necessary to know schedules farther out. We didn't ask for their new system, so forgive me if I don' t have any sympathy for Disney's predicament.

Actually, it's not Disney's predicament, but some guests.

 

[The real rescueranger]

Actually, it's not Disney's predicament, but some guests.

You're right, Disney's not worried. After all, they do have a wonderful new land at AK that is opening for the summer. That should be bringing droves of new guests in. I guess that's why they are giving out 30% discounts at the resorts for the summer. You know, to say thank you!

 

[LuvtheGoof]

You're right, Disney's not worried. After all, they do have a wonderful new land at AK that is opening for the summer. That should be bringing droves of new guests in. I guess that's why they are giving out 30% discounts at the resorts for the summer. You know, to say thank you!

I thought we were talking about park hours???? What the heck are you even talking about?????

 

[The real rescueranger]

I thought we were talking about park hours???? What the heck are you even talking about?????

I'll type slow so you can hopefully understand. You said it was not Disney's predicament. I say that it is. It is just one more thing that is effecting the overall experience for the guests in a negative way, and if Disney does not fix it, they will continue to lose guests to other destinations.

 

[LuvtheGoof]

I'll type slow so you can hopefully understand. You said it was not Disney's predicament. I say that it is. It is just one more thing that is effecting the overall experience for the guests in a negative way, and if Disney does not fix it, they will continue to lose guests to other destinations.

Yeah, keep telling yourself that. People are NOT going to go elsewhere because Disney doesn't change their published hours in a timely manner. What the heck are you smoking? People have already stated that Uni is only open until 10pm during the summer and Seaworld is the same. Where exactly do you think they are going to go, just because Disney says now that the park is open until 10, and then changes that to 11 or 12 down the road? So no, it isn't Disney's predicament at all. It's yours. It isn't ours, because we don't ever schedule anything that late.

 

[IMFearless]

I think Fastpass+ is the cause of this, it gives Disney much more accurate data as to how busy the parks are likely to be both in advance and on the day.

They would be silly not to try and use the data to meet expected demand.

I think the most useful guide to hours is what has happened over the two previous years though.

 

[Kman101]

OK, while I agree that 10pm is unusual, I do not see "draconian" as a proper adjective. Oh, and you know darn well that there are very few restaurants that require 180 day ADRs, and even fewer FP+ that have to be made at 60. Myth, myth, myth. The fireworks have always been scheduled at 9pm, even when the park is open until 1am - so what the heck are you even talking about? Oh, and I also thought you were local???

This is very true. You do NOT need to plan that far in advance. They make you think you do (and under that premise I agree they SHOULD have their schedules set). I've gone numerous times and saw open reservations at a lot of restaurants and FP's for most the day of. Exceptions being Frozen and Mine Train but even then it's not impossible, at least for Mine Train.

 

[jakeman]

This is very true. You do NOT need to plan that far in advance. They make you think you do (and under that premise I agree they SHOULD have their schedules set). I've gone numerous times and saw open reservations at a lot of restaurants and FP's for most the day of. Exceptions being Frozen and Mine Train but even then it's not impossible, at least for Mine Train.

Agreed here.

Unless a person abhors the standby line or getting up early, not much planning is required, especially not to the extent that is routinely claimed around here.

With that said, and repeating your point, if WDW is going to allow the booking at 180 days then it's good customer service to have those schedules set.

 

[Kman101]

Looks like the Avatar rides are going to suffer the same as Frozen and Mine Train. The 31st just opened for me as a passholder and nada. This is sort of why I hate that you think you have to plan and I think as a passholder we shouldn't have to wait 30 days. Kind of ridiculous. At least I have a preview day I guess ...

 

[ToTBellHop]

Agreed here.

Unless a person abhors the standby line or getting up early, not much planning is required, especially not to the extent that is routinely claimed around here.

With that said, and repeating your point, if WDW is going to allow the booking at 180 days then it's good customer service to have those schedules set.

The average guest arriving has not ridden Frozen or Avatar or seen Rivers of Light yet. The average guest would like to ride those three rides and see the super soaker with cigarette lighter show. You cannot find FPs for them particularly readily. Therefore, for two of the four parks, one must plan well in advance. Sure, you can move your useless Figment FP around, but not those. So if I need to know when I'm going to two of the parks 60 days out, I really need to know when I'm going to the other two.

Then heaven forbid I want to eat at the more popular restaurants that DO require reservations at least 4 months out--which many guests do. They are the most-popular after all. Sometimes we all become complacent because of how often we go and because we are pros. We know we can obsessively check on MDE to score a FP or ADR we want the moment someone cancels. Most people do not understand the system well enough to do that. Win for us, but Disney created this system and should abide by it. For example, Sci Fi is somewhat hard to get. Certainly last minute. I go there when we want to see the SW fireworks which do not always run nightly. So I book an ADR and cross my fingers that the fireworks will run that night. Maybe I get lucky when they finally update the schedule. If not, I scramble to move things (including my Midway Mania, ToT, and ST FPs) around, checking obsessively til I get what I want. Usually after a week, everything is when I want it. But I get the system and make time to "perfect" my family's vacation.

If they say 6 months, the schedule should be reasonably set by then. Certainly fireworks and refurb schedules.