June hours are short!

[Dalpal]

I was looking at the hours for today and MK is going to be open until midnight!
I am going in June and they are not open any later then 10pm.
I dont understand this.
June is the middle of peak season and the hours are less.
I know this is easter week, but you would think that June would have at least the same hours. NOT LESS!
And no E-night!

Sorry I just had to vent!

 

[tcfdick]

I went in July last year and before I went the hours were short too, with no E-Ride nights listed. After I arrived, the times changed to later and there were several E-Ride nights when I was there. Don't give up hope, things really do change with WDW (each day sometimes)!

 

[zurgswife]

Actually June is the middle of Regular season....

here is a list of the seasons..

Value Season: January 1 - February 11; July 5 - September 29; October 31 - December 19
Regular Season: April 18 - July 4; September 30 - October 30
Peak Season: February 12 - April 17
Holiday Season: December 20 - 31

and even though March falls in Peak Seasons the hours are usually shorter then they are in June....We usually go the beginning of March and the parks close about 7pm...

 

[paras4ri]

Originally posted by tcfdick
I went in July last year and before I went the hours were short too, with no E-Ride nights listed. After I arrived, the times changed to later and there were several E-Ride nights when I was there. Don't give up hope, things really do change with WDW (each day sometimes)!

We'll be there in July.....hope that happens again!

 

[disneydentist]

June hours for the MK are actually improved from recent years. Last year they weren't open as late in June when we were there. They incredible hours right now are do the incredible crowds. I'll take shorter hours with lower crowds anytime.

 

[McCall]

Yup the close at midnight most nights times are long gone. cost to much to stay open, and we all know Eisner would rather spend the money on his bonuses then pesky things like keeping the parks open.

 

[Poohbear123]

It depends on HOW busy they are that day. Sometimes the schedule says open till 10:00pm and when I arrive there, the Schedule at the park itself says 11:00pm! Hope they are open late on June 12-13!

 

[AZKathy]

Those are great hours compared to what they have been in the past few years. I remember when they closed MK at 7 pm. Yep! 7pm last summer; I just looked at my old calendar and some nights 7 pm! <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/10/10_1_131.gif' border=0></a>Enjoy your stay this year!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Tippythepooh]

When do they update the hour changes for June?

 

[DVC Jen]

We always go in June and was pleasantly surprised with the hours this year. Last June the MK closed at 7 on a FRIDAY NIGHT..now there was an e-ride night that Friday..but still.

 

[cindyfan]

Actually, they are almost exactly the same as they were in June of 2002!
We are going this June 4 - 14th. And we went in 2002 at the same time. So I pulled up our schedule.....and...
almost exactly the same!
This year......
MGM is open later a few nights with more showings of Fantasmic
Spectro is showing only 2 nights per week (in 2002 it was shown 5 nights the same week). But Spectro is not our favorite parade.
AK and Epcot have the exact same hours.

But in 2002 they did end up keeping MK open a bit later than scheduled a few nights. Don't remember any E-nights that year though.

 

[puffkin]

I wouldn't be surprised if the hours change several times before June. We have gone in June or July the past few years and the hours always changed at least 2-3 times before we arrived. Typically they lengthen the hours, not shorten them. So, I would use what is posted now as the minimum operating hours. (BTW, the hours are a little better than when we were there in June).

 

[HaleyB]

Shorter hours mean they are expecting lower crowds, but I had the exact opposite reaction when I saw the hours... They look long to me, which equals bigger crowds.

 

[cindyfan]

Shorter hours mean they are expecting lower crowds

Do NOT use the shorter hours to gauge whether the crowds will be lighter.
We have been to WDW the first week of June in '98 '00 '02 and now in '04. And we did not see any difference in crowds between those 3 years.
We did however see the hours decrease!
In '98 MK and MGM were open later every night. And AK was open earlier every morning.....there were days we could get in at 7:30 (scheduled opening was 8am, but they always let people in earlier.

But the crowds seemed the same to us.

 

[Momto8]

I remember in '98 MK was open till midnight every night when we were there in June and Epcot, I think, was 11:00. I think MGM was 10:00 or 11:00 and AK was 8:00pm.

 

[Mike]

Originally posted by cindyfan
Do NOT use the shorter hours to gauge whether the crowds will be lighter.
We have been to WDW the first week of June in '98 '00 '02 and now in '04. And we did not see any difference in crowds between those 3 years.
We did however see the hours decrease!
In '98 MK and MGM were open later every night. And AK was open earlier every morning.....there were days we could get in at 7:30 (scheduled opening was 8am, but they always let people in earlier.

But the crowds seemed the same to us.

If the crowds seemed the same to you but the hours were different, then it sounds like WDW made the correct decision about the reduced hours. They use the hours to level-load the crowds. If there were shorter hours but the crowds seemed the same, then attendance was lower but there were less hours available to tour the parks and the crowds were more concentrated. If there were longer hours but the crowds seemed the same, then there was higher attendance but they were more evenly distributed across the longer hours of operation.

 

[cindyfan]

If there were shorter hours but the crowds seemed the same, then attendance was lower but there were less hours available to tour the parks and the crowds were more concentrated

No....that is not what I meant.
The crowds as a whole were the same......same amount of people at the resorts, on the buses, etc.
Actually.....it was more crowded at events such as the parades and fireworks!!
since there were fewer showings...more people attending the events scheduled.

When the hours were longer, it was A LOT easier to find a spot to see the parades, etc. lines were managable......not like in '02 when hours were cut......lines just would get extreme.

so.....do I think WDW made the right decision to cut hours??...no, I don't think so.

 

[Mike]

Originally posted by cindyfan

The crowds as a whole were the same......same amount of people at the resorts, on the buses, etc.

Hi Cindyfan,
Not to turn this into a debate but your observation is somewhat subjective. I think if you were to ask anybody in the travel industry they would tell you that travel was off in 2000 due to the economy and off even more dramatically post 9/11. I am sure WDW had actual data to backup their decision. And yes, there was also motivation for cost-cutting but due to the drop in attendance (ie revenues). The attendance levels in 98 were not matched in 2000 or 2002.
I know nobody likes to see the shorter hours and, unless they are accompanied by lower admission prices, I don't blame them. But I still think it was the right business decision to make based on the attendance and what was transpiring in the travel industry as a whole.

Mike

 

[motaei]

Does anyone understand why the hours are so wishy washy? I mean, I can go the web site of any other large amusement park (say US) & look up the hours for the entire season!! Why do they only post three months out....and then go and change them 2 or 3 times before the actual day? I just don't get it.

 

[raidermatt]

Hours decreased steadily beginning around 1997. This despite the fact that attendance was increasing until late in 2000.

When the recession and 9/11 hit, Disney merely accelerated the cuts.

They seem to have largely leveled off of late. (Though attendance is supposedly increasing again)