Walt Disney World Park Hours cut starting September 8 2020

[Touchdown]

SW is what puzzles me. The three newest rides with enormous demand.

But DAK and Epcot get an extra hour. Those are the parks “no one visited” last summer and fall.

Why not pull Epcot back to 9-9? Those 11 am opens need to stop before summer. I miss Epcot less than 90 degrees. The 84-degree air is so pleasant at 9 am in June...

Maybe, just maybe we might be seeing fireworks at Epcot soon, that or maybe a Rat or two...

 

[GoofGoof]

Maybe, just maybe we might be seeing fireworks at Epcot soon, that or maybe a Rat or two...

My completely uneducated guess is both by Memorial Day (maybe a bit pixie dusted too). I don’t really know if the new show will even be ready by then, but if it is I could see a June appearance with July 1st as the fallback. 4th of July is going to be a crazy big celebration this summer.

 

[GimpYancIent]

My completely uneducated guess is both by Memorial Day (maybe a bit pixie dusted too). I don’t really know if the new show will even be ready by then, but if it is I could see a June appearance with July 1st as the fallback. 4th of July is going to be a crazy big celebration this summer.

I will be feeling celebratory when run Disney is back to full live events again. To me that will be the strongest indicator things are back. Healthy, athletic or folks just feeling athletic, motivated, happy and enjoying Disney in a unique way.

 

[GoofGoof]

I will be feeling celebratory when run Disney is back to full live events again. To me that will be the strongest indicator things are back. Healthy, athletic or folks just feeling athletic, motivated, happy and enjoying Disney in a unique way.

I assume that’s the Fall. Not necessarily due to Covid, just the lack of ability or desire to run “on the surface of the Sun” in the hot FL summer months.

 

[Miss Bella]

They can't stack people up at the gates while trying to filter who gets in. That's about the worst thing they could do from a distancing perspective.


Park Pass sort of does the same thing that FP+ did in terms of requiring you to plan ahead, except now you lose the benefit of those reserved ride times. If they're going to have Park Pass, they might as well bring back FP+ too.

They plan on keeping the reservation system through 2022. I would hope the distancing thing goes away, but you never know what they have planned and how this is all going to work out.

The park pass really doesn't do the same thing as fast pass plus. With fast pass plus you were guaranteed three rides with minimal wait and then after that long lines and impossible wait times. With this system you never know.

We went to AK Saturday MLK weekend and waited an hour for FOP we went back on Wednesday and walked on three times. I can tell you from what I've experienced on my two trips wait times are all over the map. You can show up at a ride and it's an hour wait and then 45 minutes later its 20 minutes. It's like working in a hospital during Covid you get surges, it goes away and then it comes back.

 

[Miss Bella]

Smallest park? Less attractions due to all the shows being shut down? That’s all I’ve got...not exactly good answers. It makes no sense to not want to spread SW crowds out.

What shows?

 

[GoofGoof]

What shows?

• Fantasmic
• Indy Stunt Show
• Beauty and the Beast
• Disney Jr
• Jedi training academy
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Little Mermaid (I think that’s closed for good)
• Wonderful World of Animation
• All of the meet and greets too

I think the only show back is the Frozen sing along thing.

 

[CaptainAmerica]

• Fantasmic
• Indy Stunt Show
• Beauty and the Beast
• Disney Jr
• Jedi training academy
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Little Mermaid (I think that’s closed for good)
• Wonderful World of Animation
• All of the meet and greets too

I think the only show back is the Frozen sing along thing.

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is running as well.

 

[Touchdown]

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is running as well.

And Mickey’s Vacation Fun, Muppet Vision 3-D

 

[GoofGoof]

And Mickey’s Vacation Fun, Muppet Vision 3-D

I consider Muppets more of a “ride“ than a show since there are no human actors involved. I think it’s keeping the performers safe as well as guests.

 

[Miss Bella]

• Fantasmic
• Indy Stunt Show
• Beauty and the Beast
• Disney Jr
• Jedi training academy
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Little Mermaid (I think that’s closed for good)
• Wonderful World of Animation
• All of the meet and greets too

I think the only show back is the Frozen sing along thing.

I've only seen the Indy stunt show.

 

[Touchdown]

I consider Muppets more of a “ride“ than a show since there are no human actors involved. I think it’s keeping the performers safe as well as guests.

Lightning has no actors either. Since someone mentioned that abomination I figured I would mention Frankenstein’s monster (Vacation Fun) and the only great show playing in the park (Frozen is fine, but not a must do.)

 

[Miss Bella]

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is running as well.

We saw this on our last trip. My son was a huge lightening fan when he was little. We both commented on how much he would have loved this 10 years ago. He still thought the technology was pretty cool.

 

[Miss Bella]

We went to Universal in August and all the shows were running. Jason Bourne was wearing a mask.

 

[TrainsOfDisney]

I consider Muppets more of a “ride“ than a show since there are no human actors involved. I think it’s keeping the performers safe as well as guests.

Muppets does involve a human actor. (Unless it’s a secret... shhhhh).

 

[Touchdown]

Muppets does involve a human actor. (Unless it’s a secret... shhhhh).

Stop spreading lies!

Sweetums is a monster and a monsters (just like movie stars) are not people.

 

[disneygeek90]

My gut feeling is that if they keep distancing in ride queues and in restaurants (places that are indoor with > 15 mins of exposure to strangers) and if they keep masks then the distancing on ride vehicles can be relaxed. The official guidance references 15 mins of exposure which is longer than almost any Disney ride (queues can be longer than 15 mins but not the actual ride). Airlines made the change to allow customers to sit closer than 6 feet apart as long as they use masks and they are on flights much longer than 15 mins. I’m not saying it happens overnight, but if you double ride capacity on a lot of popular rides plus bring back some people eating shows it’s possible to significantly increase overall park capacity. More capacity means more money coming in which will allow for more extended hours and ultimately the return of more expensive entertainment like night shows and fireworks (which in a month or so after daylight savings time also means more extended hours to get to darkness). It’s a trickle down effect that I think starts with increasing ride capacity.

As someone who has been to the parks dozens of times since the reopen, I’m not looking forward to this anytime soon. The parks already are feeling a bit too crowded covid wise. I don’t think we need to be relaxing masks or distancing until everyone who has wanted a vaccine has it available. We’ve made it this far, we can certainly deal with these restrictions a bit longer. Sure Disney wants the money, but at least they are operating safer as it stands now.

 

[Tuvalu]

• Fantasmic
• Indy Stunt Show
• Beauty and the Beast
• Disney Jr
• Jedi training academy
• Star Wars Launch Bay
• Little Mermaid (I think that’s closed for good)
• Wonderful World of Animation
• All of the meet and greets too

I think the only show back is the Frozen sing along thing.

Lightning McQueen's Racing Academy is running as well.

Disney Jr is open.

 

[legwand77]

Maybe, just maybe we might be seeing fireworks at Epcot soon, that or maybe a Rat or two...

With the progress being made quickly on Harmonious and EPCOT hours already going to 11 in March...

 

[GoofGoof]

With the progress being made quickly on Harmonious and EPCOT hours already going to 11 in March...

Never say never...if I were a betting man I’d take the over on a March debut, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable making a bet either way on any time after Memorial Day. I think it will debut well before October 1 but it‘s too soon to say exactly when.