Operating hours of several Epcot attractions and shops to be reduced from Feb 2016

[Rider]

Here a little slice, there a little cut,

3% for sleeping with the window shut...

Do you hear the fan boys sing?
Singing a song of angry men?
It is the music of a people
Who will not be guests again!
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!

 

[cjrciadtster]

Shocking not to have Mouse Gear opening at 9am. Could you imagine WOD or Emporium opening 1 hour after everything around it opens daily!?

 

[Goofyernmost]

No company, no matter what it's size, will close things that are active, in an income sense, to cut costs. It sounds selective and probably based on whether it is worth keeping the lights on in order to actually run at a loss during a period of time when it is a ghost town. In other words, how many people is this actually going to affect. Even the hated accountants would tell you that you don't shut things down that are providing revenue instead of just costs. Epcot used to shut stuff down at 7pm all the time in Future World. Why? Because after 7 PM everyone was either having dinner or jockeying for a place to see Illuminations or both. This is nothing new and I will bet that when the summer comes and the crowds are bigger, they will be back to the hours that they have been open recently.

 

[muteki]

I think they were kept open late because of Soarin being down but normally they closed at 7.

Yeah I remember LwtL as of last October closing at 7 before. Soarin still going to be closed for several more months though.
The whole Future World closes at 7 thing is so annoying.

 

[Goofyernmost]

Shocking not to have Mouse Gear opening at 9am. Could you imagine WOD or Emporium opening 1 hour after everything around it opens daily!?

Yup, how many people make the first thing they head for when entering the park be a store where they can buy overpriced merchandise. Whether or not it is open doesn't mean that it is being utilized when competing with guests heading for rides and shows. With the start of the tiered system of fastpass and now the closure of Soarin, it must be like a wind storm of people sprinting to Test Track. Probably had to keep it close to prevent the wind from blowing everything off the shelves as they passed by.

 

[FigmentForver96]

Who the hell thinks this is ok???!! This is nuts! I mean my God are they that broke they can't keep a gift shop open an extra hour??!

 

[Figment82]

Honestly, very few people will enter Mouse Gear in the first couple of hours. Mostly those who forgot something essential (sunscreen, autograph book, etc.) or if a special item has been released, but you wouldn't see it pick up until around lunch time. And although the store won't open with the park, there are still many CM working at that time (and have already been there for several hours). The vast majority of early arriving guests are running to the attractions or character meals.

It doesn't sound like its closing any earlier than normal though. If I recall correctly, the official word is already "park close" but the store stays open far longer than that. Unless they're doing an absolute hard close every night, which sounds like madness, I only see this as a reduction of the least busy hour of operation. I don't believe it's as huge a deal as people are making it out to be - at least, for now. Who knows what the future will bring.

 

[marni1971]

Epcot used to shut stuff down at 7pm all the time in Future World.

EPCOT Center also used to keep everything open in Futureworld until 10pm. When it was fully open until that time every night during the summer months.

Just to balance things out.

 

[FigmentForver96]

EPCOT Center also used to keep everything open in Futureworld until 10pm. When it was fully open until that time every night during the summer months.

Just to balance things out.

Cheaper to close stuff early though. Save more money and nobody will care

 

[aladdin2007]

Honestly, very few people will enter Mouse Gear in the first couple of hours. Mostly those who forgot something essential (sunscreen, autograph book, etc.) or if a special item has been released, but you wouldn't see it pick up until around lunch time. And although the store won't open with the park, there are still many CM working at that time (and have already been there for several hours). The vast majority of early arriving guests are running to the attractions or character meals.

It doesn't sound like its closing any earlier than normal though. If I recall correctly, the official word is already "park close" but the store stays open far longer than that. Unless they're doing an absolute hard close every night, which sounds like madness, I only see this as a reduction of the least busy hour of operation. I don't believe it's as huge a deal as people are making it out to be - at least, for now. Who knows what the future will bring.

True maybe not, but its kind of the principle of the matter. Its a rip off to paying guests, for the prices they are charging and then things aren't even open...its bad enough that WS doesnt even open till 11. Can't tell you how many people I have seen trying to go in shop doors such as UK etc and then everything is locked up. Disney keeps whining about money yet attendance is through the roof but the parks are being treated like they are dying.

 

[prberk]

At one point didn't they close at 7?

I honestly didn't realize they were closing at 9pm. They're not attractions I ride frequently, but when I was there early December last year, I seem to remember Imagination being closed at 7pm. Must have been a recent decision to keep them open later, just for them to change their mind.

I thought this was the case as well?

EPCOT Center also used to keep everything open in Futureworld until 10pm. When it was fully open until that time every night during the summer months.

Just to balance things out.

True maybe not, but its kind of the principle of the matter. Its a rip off to paying guests, for the prices they are charging and then things aren't even open...its bad enough that WS doesnt even open till 11. Can't tell you how many people I have seen trying to go in shop doors such as UK etc and then everything is locked up. Disney keeps whining about money yet attendance is through the roof but the parks are being treated like they are dying.

Martin and Aladdin kind of beat me to the punch. But I have a simple, straightforward thing to say:

Several years ago, when a Walt Disney World theme park was open, it was open.

This 7 p.m. close crap was relatively new. Not to mention the shops being open when you get there. It used to be open daily for well past dark, usually 10 p.m. I loved Future World with the lights on

(Yes, there were exceptions, but they were few and far between, and they were usually related to daylight or some other special accommodation for an attraction -- like the Mike Fink Keel Boats closing at dusk because of their theming -- but most everything else was rocking and rolling until at least 9 and usually 10 or later p.m.)

And don't forget the wonderful $50 up-charge they billed you for the privilege of leaving the MK in the afternoon to spend the evening at EPCOT, after your hour for transportation. Just in time for Future World to close.

When I paid $50 to spend the evening at EPCOT, I expect it to be open the posted hours, like it used to be. Silly me.

 

[Witchy Chick]

All this while Soarin' is closed too.

Soarin' and Circle of Life.

So the only attraction in The Land that is currently operational is Living with the Land.........closing at 7PM. Might as well just not run it at all, and close The Land altogether.

I'm so glad I'm trying to keep expenses down for this April trip. As irritating as this is, it would be way more irritating while staying in a Deluxe resort.

 

[Rider]

It seems they realized with Soarin closed no one is in that side of Future World after dark.

 

[Rider]

Soarin isn't gone that long. It's not like they can build a new attraction before June.

 

[JohnD]

Soarin' and Circle of Life.

So the only attraction in The Land that is currently operational is Living with the Land.........closing at 7PM. Might as well just not run it at all, and close The Land altogether.

I'm so glad I'm trying to keep expenses down for this April trip. As irritating as this is, it would be way more irritating while staying in a Deluxe resort.

That's the point. Visits to the entire pavilion are way down right now because of Soarin' being closed. They're using the time to refurb Circle of Life. Ordinarily, in the evenings people would go back for Soarin' and get LwtL in while there. Just a hunch but I don't think they're seeing a whole lot of people returning to the pavilion in the evening right now. It's also a slow season. I wouldn't see this early closure as permanent. When the refurb of Soarin' opens back up, hours will most likely get reextended for LwtL also.

 

[Haymarket2008]

They may as well just close Imagination: I think they may need to phone the Dreamfinder to save the day.

 

[Biff215]

Wasn't it after 9/11 that WS started opening two hours late and FW closing two hours early? We can probably agree that it made sense back then when tourism was majorly down and the parks weren't all that busy. As others have pointed out, this makes little sense with attractions being refurbished. The only reason I find acceptable for closing an attraction early is safety due to darkness. Otherwise it should all be open when the park is, regardless of how many people are utilizing it, especially when Disney is reporting record profits and the parks are jam-packed. Very disappointing.

 

[MrHappy]

That's the point. Visits to the entire pavilion are way down right now because of Soarin' being closed. They're using the time to refurb Circle of Life. Ordinarily, in the evenings people would go back for Soarin' and get LwtL in while there. Just a hunch but I don't think they're seeing a whole lot of people returning to the pavilion in the evening right now. It's also a slow season. I wouldn't see this early closure as permanent. When the refurb of Soarin' opens back up, hours will most likely get reextended for LwtL also.

I agree with JohnD and a few other similar posts where I give Diz the benefit of the doubt on this. Sure it's infuriating, we are paying a ton, keep this stuff open. At the same time, I'm sure they ran numbers, looked at attendance and made the decision. Maybe guests will be sure to get on these rides earlier now in this condensed time frame, and now it won't give the ride the appearance of a depressing ghost town when the relatively few guests that do ride are spread out so thinly throughout the long day.

 

[Chicagoshannon2]

I

Wasn't it after 9/11 that WS started opening two hours late and FW closing two hours early? We can probably agree that it made sense back then when tourism was majorly down and the parks weren't all that busy. As others have pointed out, this makes little sense with attractions being refurbished. The only reason I find acceptable for closing an attraction early is safety due to darkness. Otherwise it should all be open when the park is, regardless of how many people are utilizing it, especially when Disney is reporting record profits and the parks are jam-packed. Very disappointing.

I don't think so. I remember the late opening back when I was a teen, in the '90s.

 

[Biff215]

I agree with JohnD and a few other similar posts where I give Diz the benefit of the doubt on this. Sure it's infuriating, we are paying a ton, keep this stuff open. At the same time, I'm sure they ran numbers, looked at attendance and made the decision. Maybe guests will be sure to get on these rides earlier now in this condensed time frame, and now it won't give the ride the appearance of a depressing ghost town when the relatively few guests that do ride are spread out so thinly throughout the long day.

I usually give them the benefit of the doubt as well, but when Steve is telling us this is just the beginning, that's when it starts to feel wrong. Let's see what follows this and then we can make a better determination of what is going on here.