For Those Of You Who Went After Thanksgiving . . .

[Wish Upon A Star]

What time did the parks usually close? Were there any extra magic hours in the evenings at all?

 

[cjsmom5]

The extra magic hours in the evening and morning rotated but they happened the entire time we were there. Didn't really use them except at Epcot one night, though, so can't comment much on them.

Otherwise, at MK there was the special event, Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. When that happened MK closed at 6pm. They are typically on Sundays, Tuesday, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. We found it worth it to buy a ticket and just do MK then since we go right after Christmas. The first three MVMCP were not crowded, at all.

Epcot typically opened at 9am (innovations) and 11am (World showcase). It typically closed at 9:30pm after Illuminations. They did have some early mornings and late evenings for hotel guests but can't remember when they were.

MGM -- Not sure when it opened but seemed to close around 7 or 8pm typically.

AK - Unless it was early entry or late evening it opened at 8am and closed at 5pm.

DTD was open 11am until 11pm. Pleasure Island open until 2am.

Seems like one of the two waterparks were always closed for rennovation -- depending on exactly when you go -- when we go it is typically Blizzard Beach

They might still have the Nov and Dec hours under park hours. You might take a look here or on the Disney site.

 

[LilJennaBell]

Hi! We went the week after thanksgiving, 12/1-12/7 and it was fabulous. There were very little crowds and we took advantage of every nightime EMH. At MGM we took advantage of the second showing of Fantasmic... the park seemed to empty out completly after the first. When the show was over we grabbed our wristbands (right outside of the Fantasmic exit), Fastpassed Tower of Terror and went through Osbourne Specticle of Lights. We took our time coming back, walked through a few stores. Then got right on TofT, the Great Movie ride and then walked right on Rockin Roller Coaster with no wait at all.

AK also was completly empty at night. It stayed open till 8pm on Tuesday, 12/6 I think and we even saw EE testing (the eerie Yeti noise was what first caught our attention---followed by the "roller coaster" noise... which is not something you usually hear in AK). Dinosaur was a walk-on as was It's Tough to be a Bug. There was one late showing of Tarzan (that we missed) and Kilimanjaro and the Tusker House closed at the normal time.

As the previous poster said, MVMCP is a must-do. We were expecting huge crowds but were surprised at the amount of guests leaving the park around 5. You can enter as early as 4 pm and get a wristband to prove you paid for the event. We had no waits at all for Splash and Big Thunder Mt. early on. After the fireworks, however, the lines for Space Mt. and Buzz were much too long to wait for. The hot cocca and cookies make this evening DELICIOUS!! Although make sure to bring a hat, gloves, coat, everything.. we were FREEZING that night. The parks stays open till midnight and the parade is a MUST SEE! We saw the 2nd showing and had a spot in the front row. Make sure to see this on Main Street... it snows!!!