Nov. & Dec. Hours Changed-MK opens: 8AM, Daily-Starting TODAY

[nats311]

If this indicates higher crowds than previously anticipated, will Josh adjust his crowd predictions. I think it helps knowing what to expect. If it's going to be a 8's and 9's when we were expecting 4's and 5's, it would be a lot better to know ahead of time and adjust expectations accordingly.

He made some updates to his December calendar in the past couple days for these changes and also for the change in the Christmas parade taping.

 

[nats311]

In other news, this is no longer starting December 13. HT to Josh at EasyWDW - 8 am openings for MK will start this Friday and go through Jan 2. This change basically adds in 11/30-12/12 to the dates with the earlier openings already announced.

Doesn't appear to be reflected in FP+ yet though.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

In other news, this is no longer starting December 13. HT to Josh at EasyWDW - 8 am openings for MK will start this Friday and go through Jan 2. This change basically adds in 11/30-12/12 to the dates with the earlier openings already announced. Doesn't appear to be reflected in FP+ yet though.

Hoping I'm allowed to "express extreme disappointment" in this. We arrive the 11th to our resort around 8pm, which is our son's bedtime. And we all know a kid just arriving to WDW on a surprise trip will go straight to bed, right? The single most important part of our Touring Plan has been RD. To effectively accomplish this, I will now have to wake that toddler by 6:15am latest in order to feed him, dress him and get to the bus stop in order to arrive at the gates by 7:15. This is also our Party Day, so we'll be in the park till midnight. At this point I'd like to cancel our park ticket that day and do a resort day, but it's our first day! Also this is an abbreviated trip, so we don't have the luxury of a resort day and we have all our FPs and ADRs set for MK. Simply stated, this stinks

 

[MommyMK]

Hoping I'm allowed to "express extreme disappointment" in this. We arrive the 11th to our resort around 8pm, which is our son's bedtime. And we all know a kid just arriving to WDW on a surprise trip will go straight to bed, right? The single most important part of our Touring Plan has been RD. To effectively accomplish this, I will now have to wake that toddler by 6:15am latest in order to feed him, dress him and get to the bus stop in order to arrive at the gates by 7:15. This is also our Party Day, so we'll be in the park till midnight. At this point I'd like to cancel our park ticket that day and do a resort day, but it's our first day! Also this is an abbreviated trip, so we don't have the luxury of a resort day and we have all our FPs and ADRs set for MK. Simply stated, this stinks

Honestly your plan sounds like a recipe for disaster. You are planning on being in the MK all day? I hope you are taking a nap break in the middle somewhere.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

Honestly your plan sounds like a recipe for disaster. You are planning on being in the MK all day? I hope you are taking a nap break in the middle somewhere.

Yup, total disaster. We weren't planning on a resort break, just a stroller nap. Now we probably will need a resort break which means not only am I now having to cancel my 8:05 CRT, but also my lunch BOG FP, which was to serve as our large meal before the party. So by adding that extra hour, our family will end up with 3 less MK hours that day. So frustrated.

 

[kerplop]

While I like the fact that I'm getting two more days with an extra hour at MK, I don't like that my touring plan is shot now and I have to fight with FP+. I can't get any of them for early enough on the 30th, so I'm feeling like we're just going to end up riding Space 5 times in a row until our plan catches up with us

 

[Suvadoo]

Yup, total disaster. We weren't planning on a resort break, just a stroller nap. Now we probably will need a resort break which means not only am I now having to cancel my 8:05 CRT, but also my lunch BOG FP, which was to serve as our large meal before the party. So by adding that extra hour, our family will end up with 3 less MK hours that day. So frustrated.

I'm sorry your day is messed up, but I know you'll have a great time anyway. What resort are you staying at? Maybe you could stay at MK until after your BOG and then head back to your resort for a break. Just a suggestion, but I know it's tough having to readjust the things you had so carefully planned.

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

I'm sorry your day is messed up, but I know you'll have a great time anyway. What resort are you staying at? Maybe you could stay at MK until after your BOG and then head back to your resort for a break. Just a suggestion, but I know it's tough having to readjust the things you had so carefully planned.

Thanks. We're staying at POFQ. Thinking the FP is too late for us to return to the hotel, but will immediately start stalking a dinner ADR there.

 

[breakin2]

i find it hard to believe that people are complaining that Disney is giving their customers more time to be in the parks. Crazy.

 

[georgina]

Yup, total disaster. We weren't planning on a resort break, just a stroller nap. Now we probably will need a resort break which means not only am I now having to cancel my 8:05 CRT, but also my lunch BOG FP, which was to serve as our large meal before the party. So by adding that extra hour, our family will end up with 3 less MK hours that day. So frustrated.

I understand being upset about changes, but it sounds like you were planning to be at MK for an 8:05 breakfast anyway, so why not just keep your plans as they are? You will miss out on park touring the first hour, but nothing else should be affected.

 

[xjay]

I booked our December trip in July, so I was unable to take advantage of the 180 days. These past couple of months I've been obsessively searching for a prepark ADR in MK. Why? To get some nice photos of the castle and to get an early start on our day. Last week when they changed the hours for 12/13 and on, I thought "Ok. As long as they didn't change the hours for 12/12, we can still do prepark for that day if I can find one." Finally, after months of searching, I get one last night for CP at 8:30am on Dec 12! I check the park hours that night to make sure that it's still going to be a prepark opening ADR and the hours were still showing MK opening at 9am. Then I find out today that all of the hours have changed to an 8am opening? Yes, I'm very upset. I've spent countless hours constantly checking on my app and the website for this ADR only to have it be useless the next day is very upsetting . And the fact that I had to cancel our other ADR at 9:20am to get the 8:30am one just puts the salt on the wound..

 

[PEC]

I kind of wonder what numbers Disney are looking at to go to a "holiday" schedule for such a long time? Thanksgiving Week? Got it. Christmas? Believe it or not just by looking how the weekends fall before Christmas I could see the 13 December start. But the two weeks in early December? Are free Dining Plans having that big of an impact? IF so I did not see the out of ordinary data from previous free Dining Plans. It will be interesting to see wait times during this period to see if they really are increasing that much.
Now for the individuals that this had a negative impact on your plan I am sorry.
For the individuals that are glad they get an extra hour in the park I am happy for you

 

[Suvadoo]

I understand being upset about changes, but it sounds like you were planning to be at MK for an 8:05 breakfast anyway, so why not just keep your plans as they are? You will miss out on park touring the first hour, but nothing else should be affected.

If the park opens at 8am, this is when guests will be able to experience the most amount of attractions with the shortest waits. If Buszz sticks to the orginal plan, as you suggest, more time will be spent in lines after breakfast is finished. Before disney extended their hours, Buzz was able to eat breakfast before rope drop which was a win win. Now, it's not.

 

[Airship Ariadne]

Any hope that the early mornings will be extended to the other parks so we can enjoy an extra hour each day of our trip? Not sure if the holiday hours have been resort wide before...would be fantastic if they did.

 

[abyrd86]

My family doesn't do ADR's so this extra hour is good for us!

 

[nats311]

If the park opens at 8am, this is when guests will be able to experience the most amount of attractions with the shortest waits. If Buszz sticks to the orginal plan, as you suggest, more time will be spent in lines after breakfast is finished. Before disney extended their hours, Buzz was able to eat breakfast before rope drop which was a win win. Now, it's not.

As I'm still trying to understand all of this angst - here's my question - will the 9-10 hour now be so much more crowded? Will people who were planning to sleep in and arrive at 10 now change that and arrive at 9?

My gut feeling is no. Our wake up times depend very much on what we did the day before and how long we plan on staying at the park that day.

To those canceling ADR's because their plan counts on rope drop - I am not expert, but I think that is probably a little over the top. I don't think the crowds you will experience from 9-10 now will be significantly different than the crowds you would have experienced before.

 

[Suvadoo]

As I'm still trying to understand all of this angst - here's my question - will the 9-10 hour now be so much more crowded? Will people who were planning to sleep in and arrive at 10 now change that and arrive at 9?

My gut feeling is no. Our wake up times depend very much on what we did the day before and how long we plan on staying at the park that day.

To those canceling ADR's because their plan counts on rope drop - I am not expert, but I think that is probably a little over the top. I don't think the crowds you will experience from 9-10 now will be significantly different than the crowds you would have experienced before.

Yes, the 9-10 hour
could be much more crowded. IME this has in fact been the case. The first hour is a lot less crowded.

 

[TISHLOVESDISNEY]

Yes, the 9-10 hour
could be much more crowded. IME this has in fact been the case. The first hour is a lot less crowded.

I asked Josh over at EasyWDW and he felt the crowds will still not build until 10ish.
Guess I'll find out next Sunday

 

[DVCkidsMOM]

As I'm still trying to understand all of this angst - here's my question - will the 9-10 hour now be so much more crowded? Will people who were planning to sleep in and arrive at 10 now change that and arrive at 9?

My gut feeling is no. Our wake up times depend very much on what we did the day before and how long we plan on staying at the park that day.

To those canceling ADR's because their plan counts on rope drop - I am not expert, but I think that is probably a little over the top. I don't think the crowds you will experience from 9-10 now will be significantly different than the crowds you would have experienced before.

My angst is that I spend so much time researching to maximize what my family wants from it's WDW trip (which may not be what you want) and if being there as soon as the park opened was key to maximizing our fun, then changing park opening changes the value of my family's vacation. So it's a change in value for $ and time spent, which can be incredibly frustrating.
If someone was going to sleep 'til 10 they will probably sleep 'til 10. Our experience, however, has been that very many people try to be up for RD regardless of time but a large percentage just don't get out the door early enough; thus, first hour is important regardless of the timing of that first hour. We are still hoping, though, that the sleep 'til 10 folks are a significant part of December touring.
Sometimes the time in the park is >> than the special ADR and sometimes the ADR is most important. I think the problem comes from both being about equally important and going from "having it all" to having to choose when that choice is not easy and when you, as a parent, thought you had planned the ultimate trip for your family.
So we are going to enjoy our first Christmas at WDW and have done some minor shifting of plans only. But I have (1) teenagers who are better able to cope with touring hours, endurance, and rolling with the changes; (2) the luxury of having been so many times that we don't worry about missing something this trip; (3) no early breakfast ADRs; and (4) we knew this was more a holiday trip than a WDW trip, so holiday atmosphere is where we are expecting our value this trip. All I have to decide is how early am I willing to get up for less crowded parks, but others have a tougher choice.
I think the typical family going to WDW in December is trying to plan the ultimate WDW trip for the kids while enjoying the holiday atmosphere - again, "having it all," which looked possible with "originally published" park hours and had been easy in recent previous years. I've been there, done that, and (absolutely ) bought the T-shirt. I know Disney needs to spread out the (higher than ever) crowds, so they specifically can't let anyone "have it all" when it needs to be spread around; but it's hard to accept, when you had it all scheduled perfectly for your family, that now you must choose to give something up because of a change that was out of your control. Sympathies and to all who are trying to make tough choices to maximize their family fun with the changes.

 

[nats311]

My experience is that no matter what level of planning you do in life, you must always be prepared for changes.

That said, I understand frustrations. I am thankful for the additional hour. I plan ahead to a certain extent, but my family is very much a go with the flow family. When we have tried to plan things out in detail like you are saying, we inevitably fail - lines are longer, the crowds are heavier, someone has to go to the bathroom, there's a neat side performer along the way. So when we tried a touring plan one day we went last time, we were off schedule within 60 minutes of arriving at the park! I remember being frustrated with that for a while, but then I just stuck the plan in my back pocket and we just went with the flow, opening our eyes to the wonderful things around us, and we had a blast!!!

The thing that stood in the way of it being a perfect vacation wasn't the change to the plans - it was how I reacted to it initially.