Disneyland closing at 11pm on Saturday March 15th. Why?

[JamesAA]

I am SUPER bummed. My family and I area planning a trip to Dland the weekend of March 15th. I noticed on their webpage that the park is closing at 11pm...on a Saturday night! So weird. They are almost always open til 12am unless there's a movie premier, but then they close much earlier, like 6pm. So why 11pm? Does anyone know? They are open til 12am both the day before and day after ironically. Even a midnight closure is such a buzz kill for me, but it's far far better than 11pm. I liked when they stayed open til 1am back in the day. Sigh

 

[Girimama33]

Actually, an 11PM closure on a Saturday night is not as uncommon as you think.

 

[JamesAA]

Actually, an 11PM closure on a Saturday night is not as uncommon as you think.

But isn't it odd that they are open til 12 the night before (Friday), and the night after (Sunday)? Why close earlier on a Saturday night?

 

[Girimama33]

But isn't it odd that they are open til 12 the night before (Friday), and the night after (Sunday)? Why close earlier on a Saturday night?

No. The hours are actually increased to 10pm during the weekdays (excluding Friday) prior, so the fact that Saturday was shortened an hour doesn't surprise me. At least you have till Midnight on Fri and Sun, since they can typically be reduced to 11PM as well when the weekday hours are increased.

 

[FreshBakedDisney]

My understanding is that we'll see more of this in the future. Disney is trimming hours here and there due to the success of DCA. They're not as compelled I guess to maximize park hour I guess.

 

[TheChapman6]

My understanding is that we'll see more of this in the future. Disney is trimming hours here and there due to the success of DCA. They're not as compelled I guess to maximize park hour I guess.

I don't think it's about dca at all. I think it has more to do with time year and how much money they project to make. I'm not sure how much money is made at the churro stand selling 50 churros at 4.00 a pop (or are they 3.75) in am hour but I'm guessing disney is in the green. The people selling corn dogs at the cart with a 20 minute wait. I'm sure they aren't even making a dollar for each one served at 8 dollars KWIM? If disney is open its making money trust me.

 

[IrishTink]

FYI: There's a huge conference going on that weekend and the parks are going to be really busy in the early afternoon/evening once the seminars get over.

 

[JamesAA]

FYI: There's a huge conference going on that weekend and the parks are going to be really busy in the early afternoon/evening once the seminars get over.

What kind of conference? And doesn't the park usually stay open late during busy times, such as spring break, summer, etc? If anything I would have thought this conference would be more reason to keep Disneyland open til midnight.

 

[Disney Dreams]

I am SUPER bummed. My family and I area planning a trip to Dland the weekend of March 15th. I noticed on their webpage that the park is closing at 11pm...on a Saturday night! So weird. They are almost always open til 12am unless there's a movie premier, but then they close much earlier, like 6pm. So why 11pm? Does anyone know? They are open til 12am both the day before and day after ironically. Even a midnight closure is such a buzz kill for me, but it's far far better than 11pm. I liked when they stayed open til 1am back in the day. Sigh

But isn't it odd that they are open til 12 the night before (Friday), and the night after (Sunday)? Why close earlier on a Saturday night?

It's not weird or odd at all. If you pull up the schedule for last year on that exact same weekend, you will discover the exact same hours, with Saturday closing earlier than Friday as well.

My understanding is that we'll see more of this in the future. Disney is trimming hours here and there due to the success of DCA. They're not as compelled I guess to maximize park hour I guess.

They didnt trim at all. It's the exact same as last year.

For the OP, remember though, you can stretch those hours a bit. Hop in a line right before park closing and you can ride. Also, shops on Mian Street stay open for an hour after the Park closes.

- Dreams

 

[JamesAA]

I just wonder what their logic is in having it open til 12 the day before and day after, especially given the fact that the day after is a Sunday. So strange.

Is it possible they will change the closing time to midnight as we get closer to March 15th or at this point is it probably set in stone (since we are only 6 weeks away)?

P.S. Good point about stretching your time out. We learned that a few years ago. Get in a long ride (like Pirates) 1 minute before closing time and hang around Main Street after.

 

[alex881]

Is there early entry to DL in Saturday that results in the park being "open" the same number of hours?

Or

Is there early entry to DL in Sunday meaning they need the extra hour to clean up and get ready over night?

Just two random guesses though I can't imagine they wouldn't make money during that hour on a Saturday in March.

 

[junmatno]

Wow, way too much time to contemplate one hour...yes they have EE on Saturdays, DL is Tuesday Thursday Saturday.

And this hashtag definitely belongs in this thread....#firstworldproblems