March hours have changed

[sharkbait-hoohaha]

Just a heads up!
Just noticed on the official site that some of the MK hours for March have changed. Were going 6-11. Looks like they must be expecting large crowds.
Time to change my whole itinerary!

 

[LoveToDisney]

Thanks for letting us know!!

 

[dizprincess717]

I'm happy they're keeping the parks open longer, especially MK! But I'm not happy about the whole larger crowd thing. It's the beginning of March when we're going and we hoped for lighter crowds then what people are going to expect mid and end of March.

 

[sweetpeakaris]

Thanks for the heads up!

 

[MagicKingdom05]

I just realized that Feb 25 and 26 MK is open til 11 pm

 

[Mainebound]

I am not sure how I feel about the longer hours... we have not seen late hours like this the first week of March at MK in 2003 and 2004. The last two years, the hours were 9-7, maybe 8 for a Saturday night Spectro. But 10 and 11pm???? Must be expecting BIG crowds.

 

[ashjohnson80]

I don't want big crowds! I've been the past 2 years in a row at the first week of march of thereabouts and its been very manageable. So does this mean on emh evenings it could stay open as late as 2 am? that is really late...

 

[Partyof12]

How does Disney know how big the crowds will be the beginning of March? We picked March 4-7 because they were moderate days according to Unofficial Guide. If it's that crowded will the touring plans work?

 

[Kelly5538]

Oh no!!!!! Maybe they can tell by the amount of hotel space booked???

 

[cdpa4d]

I think with Easter being a little earlier than usual this year people are off for Spring Break a bit earlier than usual. Disney has been reaching out to vacationers a lot more lately; EMH expansion, MYW, Shuttles from the airport, etc....partly because of the corporate shake-up at the top. The extended hours could just be another way DW is reaching out. I think anytime you go in March anything is possible as far as crowds go. Keep an open mind. Use FP, EMH, go early whenever possible in case crowds are heavy.
ADP

 

[LoveToDisney]

Plus, travel in general and Disney specifically has finally rebounded from 911. We had slow travel in 2003 and 2003 because of 911 and in 2004 we still weren't back to pre-911 levels. I think this year will be back to normal during Spring Break and Easter season with enormous crowds. Plus, you have to realize how many, many thousands of value rooms Disney has added. Since the value resorts opened, we now have a total of 8,640 rooms!! Pop Century alone added over 2,880 rooms and when the second phase is complete, it will add another 2,880 making the total 11,520 value rooms! That's a lot of families that just weren't at Disney before. When you also think about the impact of all the Disney Vacation Villas that have been built, as well, there's so many more rooms that Disney can fill. All they have to do is track the occupancy of their resorts and easily estimate the attendance levels.

 

[Evil Queen]

It's just a thought, but maybe folks who enjoy Disney trying avoid "Cane" season and booking at different times? No, I am not suggesting, but is this a possiblility?

 

[Buzz's_girl]

Wow, I think my heart stopped for a minute there. I will be there 2/25-3/3...they already changed 2/25 and 2/26 so I am expecting larger crowds then, but was hoping by the end of the weekend things would slow down a little...then I saw this thread...I almost had a heart attack....luckily my three March days have not changed...

To be honest, I don't care what the crowds are like, I just want to know what to expect. I have been at both XMAS and the 4th of July, very crowded times, but like most, prefer smaller crowds. If I know I am in for longer waits that's okay, but with 3 little ones I just need to know ahead of time.

 

[ArielDreams]

Does anyone know if the EMH days have changed for March?

I'm not too worried about the crowds since i'm used to going in the summer and on 4th of July.

 

[Mainebound]

Does anyone know if the EMH days have changed for March?

QUOTE]

Yes, there are a few changes.

 

[antkim]

Does anyone know if the EMH days have changed for March?

QUOTE]

Yes, there are a few changes.

What are the changes?

 

[Lucy6]

Yippee! Now they have added Spectro to March 3, now I have more options, thought I was going to try to see it on a Sat night. I can see on the WDW website the changes in park hours, but how do you view the EMH??

 

[swilphil]

If you go to Park Hours at the top of this page, it will give you the EMH hours and the times of the parades and fireworks. The EMH hours are color coded.

 

[Lucy6]

But the change in hours does not appear on this site, only on the WDW site. On the WDW site is where I cannot find EMH schedule.

 

[RescueRanger]

Wow, we are arriving on the 12th. I wonder what is going on that weekend to get the hours changed. Maybe there are some cheerleading or dance competitions that weekend? Does anyone know? We are there through the 20th and it doesn't appear they have changed for the rest of the week. It has to be something going on for the weekend.