June 2016 MK Park Hours.... 10 pm closing times; Is this pay more get less?

[Stlhawkeye]

Our trip is June 2016. Every previous June trip we have gone on, MK would close at midnight or later. We are super night owls and plan accordingly and love the cooler late nights at MK!. I sent a polite email voicing my concern, as the official calendars still show 10 pm. The response I received was:

"Thank you for your email to the Walt Disney World® Resort. We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback with us.

We are sorry for the disappointments you mentioned in your email. It is our goal to create magical memories and exceed the expectations of our Guests during each and every interaction that you have with us. Please be assured that we have shared your comments with our leadership team, along with the appropriate management, as feedback such as yours is taken very seriously.

At this time, we do not expect to see a change in our Theme Park operating Hours. In order to assure the most timely and up-to-date Theme Park schedule information, while on our website select "Parks & Tickets" from the Home Page, then "More Park Hours." Enter the date you will be visiting. You will be able to see all Theme Park hours, as well as Extra Magic Hours.

Once again, thank you for contacting us. We sincerely hope that we will have an opportunity to entertain you soon.

Sincerely,"

How disappointing
So how many of the 6 remaining non-EMH evenings are they going to sell each week? My guess is all 6. Curses and bleh to them...
I mean really really money grubbing disappointing

-vent concluded-

My hunch is that they will not be extended.

June 3rd had previously been listed as a 12:00 close, and has been moved back to a 10:00 close. We had planned our vacation around staying late that night and had to shift plans.

My assumption is that a party will be added for that night.

Did anybody else have this issue? I know May 27th is a 12:00 close and perhaps I planned wrong originally... But I don't think so.

 

[graciedad]

Yes they do. My hours for my trip next month were extended in each of the last two updates.

Did they change hours for the whole month? Like every night? No. Yes, hours change here and there, but every night of the month? Come on. This is different.

 

[AngiTN]

I don't believe the CM gave you an accurate answer.
And they aren't always updated by now either
I looked back to last year and they updated the hours in May
Looks like lots of times they update about 2 weeks out from the start of the month (not to mention day of extensions are common)
I wouldn't worry until May gets here.

 

[cabanafrau]

Considering the cuts they've just announced for DLR in the same timeframe I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope about a lot of regular operating hour extensions when they can make the books look better by bringing in $150/head for opening those hours and charging extra admission. Shanghai sold out for opening day, but until they see how the reviews and attendance on that park come in, I think 3rd quarter is going to be a squeaker in the U.S. parks.

 

[DVC4US]

My hunch is that they will not be extended.

June 3rd had previously been listed as a 12:00 close, and has been moved back to a 10:00 close. We had planned our vacation around staying late that night and had to shift plans.

My assumption is that a party will be added for that night.

Did anybody else have this issue? I know May 27th is a 12:00 close and perhaps I planned wrong originally... But I don't think so.

Considering the cuts they've just announced for DLR in the same timeframe I wouldn't hold out a lot of hope about a lot of regular operating hour extensions when they can make the books look better by bringing in $150/head for opening those hours and charging extra admission. Shanghai sold out for opening day, but until they see how the reviews and attendance on that park come in, I think 3rd quarter is going to be a squeaker in the U.S. parks.

The problem with these answers - look at the previous months. I did a spot check of hours for April & May and the majority of days in both months the MK closes at 11pm or 12am, while the whole month of June MK closes at 10pm. You can't tell me that April & May are more crowded than June. Also, hours at HS for June show it closing at 8:30pm - it's going to be a little hard to have Star Wars fireworks at 8:30 when the sun sets at 8:20 or so. We were just at HS a little over a week ago and it closed at 9:30pm. I am sure these hours will change once Disney officially announces the start date of SW fireworks and times for ROL at AK, and I truly believe that MK hours will change once they see how these "After Hours" events go over and if they want to add a few in June.

 

[Bullseye]

They never wait this long. The hours for May have been out since December. May has 11pm and midnight hours. But, there is nothing for June, July, or August. I've been waiting for these to change for months and couldn't figure out why they hadn't updated them yet. When the news came out last week that they were offering the late night $150 thing, I knew we were screwed. They aren't even offering 2 hours for MK EMH. Epcot and DHS both have 2 hour EMH, but not MK. It's gonna be disappointing for the regulars that go in the summer.

graciedad I agree, they never wait this long . For eleven years we've be going in early June and they have never waited this long to extend hours. Many planners start their entire planning process based on park hours. I agree they may change hours for some some dates, but not the entire month. This is unusual and a real bummer if they don't extend them. One of the reasons we love going in June is because the parks are open later.

 

[Stlhawkeye]

The problem with these answers - look at the previous months. I did a spot check of hours for April & May and the majority of days in both months the MK closes at 11pm or 12am, while the whole month of June MK closes at 10pm. You can't tell me that April & May are more crowded than June. Also, hours at HS for June show it closing at 8:30pm - it's going to be a little hard to have Star Wars fireworks at 8:30 when the sun sets at 8:20 or so. We were just at HS a little over a week ago and it closed at 9:30pm. I am sure these hours will change once Disney officially announces the start date of SW fireworks and times for ROL at AK, and I truly believe that MK hours will change once they see how these "After Hours" events go over and if they want to add a few in June.

I hope they are extended and I'm sure some will. What really bothered me was removing hours from June 3rd. That one gave me pause. It happened the week before this new evening party was launched.

 

[Timmy Boy]

Disney guest services CM's don't know squat. They have no way of knowing if there are plans to extend hours in June or not. The ONLY job of those answering complaints and questions is to placate guests and make them feel like their complaint was heard.

Thanks. My wife works there. I assure you she knows more than "squat."

 

[DVC4US]

I hope they are extended and I'm sure some will. What really bothered me was removing hours from June 3rd. That one gave me pause. It happened the week before this new evening party was launched.

Not sure about the 3rd since we are going the 10th - 19th and I know those dates haven't changed since I have been looking at them since they came out. Wonder if it was one of those famous glitches?

 

[graciedad]

graciedad I agree, they never wait this long . For eleven years we've be going in early June and they have never waited this long to extend hours. Many planners start their entire planning process based on park hours. I agree they may change hours for some some dates, but not the entire month. This is unusual and a real bummer if they don't extend them. One of the reasons we love going in June is because the parks are open later.

Same with us. We love June for the same reason. In fact, we went this past September to try a different time. I've always heard that it's so less crowded. We didn't feel that it was that much different from our early June trips. But, we HATED leaving the parks so early in September. Now, it looks like that is going to be the same in 60+ days for us in June. We will still have fun, we love it there. But, we won't continue to save every penny we have all year long to make Disney a priority. More money for less product doesn't make sense.

 

[nilla]

"Is this pay more get less?"

No, it's probably more of a matter of "pay even more to get something new".

 

[Bullseye]

The problem with these answers - look at the previous months. I did a spot check of hours for April & May and the majority of days in both months the MK closes at 11pm or 12am, while the whole month of June MK closes at 10pm. You can't tell me that April & May are more crowded than June. Also, hours at HS for June show it closing at 8:30pm - it's going to be a little hard to have Star Wars fireworks at 8:30 when the sun sets at 8:20 or so. We were just at HS a little over a week ago and it closed at 9:30pm. I am sure these hours will change once Disney officially announces the start date of SW fireworks and times for ROL at AK, and I truly believe that MK hours will change once they see how these "After Hours" events go over and if they want to add a few in June.

I have to believe you are right. I honestly can't believe MK would close at 10pm on any night in June. Something else must be coming into play that is delaying the posted change.

 

[disneydeal]

We will be there June 13 thru June 25th. All 10 pm closing YET late May is midnight. We too like to stay till midnight if not 1 or 2 am for the thousands of $$$$ we give them.

When I called a few weeks back they told me the hours might be extended durong June depending on the crowd.. that if they see most people leaving at 9pm then they won't adjust.

 

[bbjunkie]

They add hours all the time right up to the last minute. Last year when we were there in June and they extended their hours at MK while we were on the bus on the way to Magic Kingdom in the morning. The board in the lobby would say midnight, and we'd get to the park and there would be a sandwich board announcing hours until 1:00. Sheesh people, relax. It's March...they will add June hours if the crowds warrant extra hours. The sky is not falling, the world is not ending. Again, a month ago people were freaking out because there were no late hours over Easter break, Wishes wasn't scheduled, and MSEP had been removed. "There are no more fireworks at Disney! I'm never going again! Less for more money!! This place is he££." Well, lo and behold, I'm sure the folks there were watching Wishes along with 50,000 of their closest friends yesterday.

 

[Anal Annie]

As DVC members we usually go 2-3 times a year. Seems like the past couple of years or so they've waited until just before our trips to extend their hours. And they always have. When we went in January I think it was only a week or so out from our dates before they reposted new hours. We even found out that MK extended its hours late the day of one day. Not sure their reasoning behind it all but sure makes for a real headache for planning purposes. I don't get why they want us to plan every minute of every day with ADR's & FP+ but then they don't give us enough information to make solid plans. My FP+ window for our June trip opens up next week - I'm trying to leave 3 evenings open for planning around the new ROL show and nighttime safari but so far they still have the AK park hours as closing at 8:00 pm and we all know they'll have to extend them for these 2 new features. We also usually plan our FP+ for our afternoon / evening park - but again, they screw with us on that too by not posting true park hours until later.

 

[Jfsag123]

I know for a fact they waited until later than this to extend hours for our spring break trip last year. I know because I remember trying to change my fastpasses around after they announced 8am openings and 12pm parade additions for my week. I book FP for my trip in June next week. I fully expect hours to change after I have already made the bookings. Fact of life with Disney trips. It's kind of annoying, but the one good thing is that they never subtract hours, only add. I just view the additional time as a bonus.

 

[ArielSRL]

graciedad I agree, they never wait this long . For eleven years we've be going in early June and they have never waited this long to extend hours. Many planners start their entire planning process based on park hours. I agree they may change hours for some some dates, but not the entire month. This is unusual and a real bummer if they don't extend them. One of the reasons we love going in June is because the parks are open later.

The problem with that logic is that this year they have been waiting longer and longer to extend hours, so its really hard to compare last year to this year. Just ask the March and April folks. I'm fairly certain they didn't extend hours for those months very early in the process either.

 

[ArielSRL]

Not sure about the 3rd since we are going the 10th - 19th and I know those dates haven't changed since I have been looking at them since they came out. Wonder if it was one of those famous glitches?

We are June 4th - June 11th and our hours haven't changed at all, other than AK hours being extended from 5 to 8. I didn't specifically look at June 3rd, but it seems weird to me that just June 3rd would have been extended and then rescinded.

 

[graciedad]

The problem with that logic is that this year they have been waiting longer and longer to extend hours, so its really hard to compare last year to this year. Just ask the March and April folks. I'm fairly certain they didn't extend hours for those months very early in the process either.

The May calendar has had hours past 10 pm since December which is really why I have been worried about June. It just didn't make sense til the after hours $150 ticket became news.

 

[whiporee]

I just feel the need to point this out -- the hours when you bought your ticket are the stated hours the park is open to you. The fact that they have extended those hours in the past does not mean they will/should extend the hours in the future, and if they do so, it is nothing less than a kindness and courtesy to their guests. If you bought tickets for the standard park day of 9-7, and WDW extends it beyond that, you got a bonus. If you bought tickets that showed park hours 9-10, and they reduce the hours, then you have a complaint. But if they are keeping with the posted hours, you should know what they are.

If WDW decides to make EVERY night DAH, as long as they let you know when the park is closing for your regular ticket, they aren't treating you badly and you're not paying more for less. You're getting what you are paying for and nothing more. That may conflict with what you WANT WDW to do, but they aren't playing dirty with you. Businesses change their operating hours when they feel the need to, and if WDW doesn't stay open as late as you want them to, then I'm sure they're sorry but they have both reasons and the right to do so. And if you gotta cancel because of it, you have to do what you have to do.

It seems to me that 95 percent of the complaints on this board are of WDW taking away things they never guaranteed in the first place.