Do parks ever extend hours at the last minute?

[twinmamaplusone]

We are planning a quick 4 day trip in September so I'm trying to cram every bit of magic into that time with lots of planning and I'm sad that the parks don't seem to have any very late nights scheduled so far. We last went in June and I thought I remembered that they made an announcement the day we were on our way to MK that they would remain open until midnight on a night that they were scheduled to close earlier? Could I be remembering incorrectly- we were there longer for that trip so I wasn't paying as close attention to the park hours ahead of time?

Thanks!

 

[shyjade]

Yes they do but it's based on anticipated crowd levels, so I wouldn't expect it to happen in September. The plus side is the crowds are low in September so you can do more in a shorter period of time.

 

[shocker]

I have been in the park with announcements of staying open later, but I want to say it was 10-12 years ago. Hasn't happened to me recently.

I will add that it had to be low season, because back then that is the only time we went. But, maybe it turned out not to be quite as low as they originally anticipated.

 

[Raenstoirm]

Yes they do and depending on when in Sept it is very likely they will extend the hours. We always go the last week of Sept for our anniversary (Sept 25) and they have extended the hours every year. They tend to redo the calendar in August or so with the new hours. Only once have they extended the hours the day of though. They have extended AK hours a few times the day of during our normal week however.

 

[twinmamaplusone]

That's exactly when we're going- 9/25! I'm glad that the crowds will be more manageable, but last time we went and decided at the last minute to take advantage of those extra nighttime hours, it was one of my favorite parts of that trip: the crowds were low and we stayed and saw the kiss goodnight. It was something that my kids still talk about!

 

[Dreamport]

When we went at the end of last February, they announced in the mid-afternoon while at the park that Magic Kingdom would be open for an extra hour that night. I guess it could happen!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

When we went at the end of last February, they announced in the mid-afternoon while at the park that Magic Kingdom would be open for an extra hour that night. I guess it could happen!

we just got back from our May trip and while in MK they announced it would be open an extra hour. We go frequently in September and I've never heard that announcement before - but it could happen...

 

[Oodalally13]

Soooo looking at the park times for my trip in late June, it says MK is open until 1 am every night. There is one morning when MK has the 8-9 am EMH, but none of the late night ones. Are there any chances that in the coming weeks they will instantaneously decide to do 1-3 am EMH or stay open later than 1 am?

I am curious because I was thinking we could hop over to MK after our days at other parks if it IS open late. I've never been to the parks this late before. I dont want to leave HS after Fantasmic or Epcot after Illuminations and say, "Hey MK closes at 1am, lets hop over there" Only for it to take too long on the transportation system and wind up getting to the park as it closes and then just going back to the resort.

Does that make any sense???

 

[gratefulfred]

September 2012 was there on a night where mk had evening emh and was supposed to close at 12 they changed it to 1 am.

 

[pigletto]

We've heard announcements in the MK that parks would be open 2 hours later. This was maybe 2 years ago in February. It was the end of our trip but the start of Presidents Day/Mardi Gras crowds showing up so the crowds got heavy.

 

[Sandy Fisher]

When we were there the first week of this month, Animal Kingdom had 3 early entry days. There were two on the schedule we had, but they added Sunday for some reason that week. We were planning to go to AK Sunday and found out they were opening early and changed our plans.
It was on the time listings at the resort (Caribbean Beach) when we went for breakfast, but hadn't been on anything else we had.......
Sort of hard to plan.
On that same note, I stopped at the information desk going into Magic Kingdom one day and asked about the Move it Shake it parade and he said they'd only "cancel" it due to inclement weather, but when he checked his schedule (a paper he was holding) it had been moved to an evening time. Sort of hard to plan, as I said!!

 

[Dallas_Lady]

We are planning a quick 4 day trip in September so I'm trying to cram every bit of magic into that time with lots of planning and I'm sad that the parks don't seem to have any very late nights scheduled so far. We last went in June and I thought I remembered that they made an announcement the day we were on our way to MK that they would remain open until midnight on a night that they were scheduled to close earlier? Could I be remembering incorrectly- we were there longer for that trip so I wasn't paying as close attention to the park hours ahead of time?

Thanks!

They do, but if it happens it means that the park is more crowded than they anticipated and people need more time to stand in line. And even with a slight extension, don't expect September MK hours to ever be as long a June with the exception of Labor Day weekend.

 

[Rgonzalez79]

Yes! We just got back and on the 16th Magic Kingdom stayed open until midnight when it was originally scheduled to close at 11 pm. It was AWESOME!

 

[Good Morning Dewdrop]

Yes! We just got back and on the 16th Magic Kingdom stayed open until midnight when it was originally scheduled to close at 11 pm. It was AWESOME!

LOL that was the day we were there and heard the announcement!

 

[redheadx3]

We went in mid Sept. 2012. The day we went to HS, at some point during the day they extended hours. I figured this when I passed Fantasmic and they had a surprise second show. I stopped and asked the CM standing there and he said that they had extended hours and added the second show because attendance was up. We changed plans and went to the 2nd show and it was only half full.
That was my 1st time going in Sept. and it was more crowded than I had thought it was going to be. The crowds are increasing. It was quite crowded when I went in 1st week in Dec. 2013, much more so than my Dec. 2010 trip.

 

[kathyk671]

I have been in MK when they made an announcement in the evening that hours were being extended that night by an hour or two. It seems like it is a last-minute, crowd response thing, so I can't imagine how you could plan for it. You'd have to kind of luck into it.

Can't remember hours going longer anywhere else. Especially Epcot, as the hours there are 9a-9p every day of the year.

In any case, Sept. is a great time to go, crowd-wise. It's still pretty much summer here, though, so be prepared if you haven't been here at that time of year before. We don't really see much of fall until November at least.