November 2010 Theme Park Hours Changes

[kimis]

Goodness how often do hours get changed? Is disney expecting bigger crowds than originally thought? Kinda nervous now....we will be there in 41 days and wondering if it will be too crowded.

 

[ollyg]

In general, the second show will be less busy.

However, the second show has been "sold out" too, on many occasions.
And it has happened in the the "off season" at WDW.

There is simply no way to know that info in advance.
DISNEY does not even know until the actual guests line up and enter the theater.

Click HERE for much more information on Fantasmic! arrival times, venue maps and crowds.

Robo, you are a wealth of knowledge

I was considering cancelling my Fantasmic dinner package and just showing up for the second show, but now I think I am just going to keep it and be on the safe side.

Thanks for all your great insight.

 

[Robo]

1- Goodness how often do hours get changed?

2- Is disney expecting bigger crowds than originally thought?

3- Kinda nervous now....we will be there in 41 days and wondering if it will be too crowded.

1- All the time. Sometimes multiple times per month.

2- The short answer is, "yes."

3- No need to stress over it.
If the crowds came and Disney DIDN'T extend the hours... that would be worse.

 

[RescueRanger]

3- No need to stress over it.
If the crowds came and Disney DIDN'T extend the hours... that would be worse.

ITA! We knew that Thanksgiving Week was going to be busy. The extended hours just give us a little more to work with. It just makes planning ahead a little more essential.

 

[Krazykloud9]

just checked disney website and it says HS 9a-7p on my week but OP says its open til 8??? confused.

http://disneyworld.disney.go.com/ca...ly_endDate=20101123&asmbly_startDate=20101114
we go the 14th of Nov

The Disney site has not been updated yet. Hopefully it gets taken care of in another day or so. The OP hours are from a travel agency

 

[jenseib]

I sure hope they go an hour or 2 later on Dec 13 at MK!

 

[Mindy5767]

Thanks for posting. I checked the calendar on the DIS site and it still shows the original hours.

Actually, now that I looked... the WDW official website does not reflect the changes in the times either.

 

[jenseib]

Thanks for posting. I checked the calendar on the DIS site and it still shows the original hours.

Actually, now that I looked... the WDW official website does not reflect the changes in the times either.

Thats very typical. When I went in 2009, Tour Guide Mikes site had a new revised schedule. EMH's change dates and everything. This was about 4 to 5 weeks prior to my trip. I checked every other calander I could find, and they all had the old schedule. I beleive Robo assured me that Mikes was probably right, and that the other sites were slow to change. I even called Disney and got the old schedule. Finally a second call got me the right schedule, but it took over a week (almost 2) before the Disney website and other sites as well to update with the newest hours. But because I was luckily on top of things and new that MK had change EMH evening hours, I was able to snag a CRT ADR about 2 1/2 weeks before going on our trip.

 

[Albytaps]

With all the reports of crowds, I was thinking it might run through the rest of the year. I'm going Nov. 4th to the 10th. So I guess I have the extra hours to look forward to... hopefully EMH days haven't changed. I wouldn't mind doing MK until 2AM on Saturday night!

 

[He2Mommy]

Does having the Fantasmic package really give you that much of a better seating than general? I purchased the package, but am unsure as to if I really need it or not.

 

[texasteacher35]

Awesome info! Thanks!!

 

[mom2rtk]

Does having the Fantasmic package really give you that much of a better seating than general? I purchased the package, but am unsure as to if I really need it or not.

It's not that it's BETTER seating. It's that it's RESERVED seating. Instead of lining up 2 hours in advance, you can get there 60 minutes in advance. And I believe they are now using the separate entrance again, so you don't have to fight the masses to just get in.

With the reduction in Fantasmic showings, it has become an utter fiasco on some occasions just getting into the show. That's why the dining package has been so popular. It reduces your need to be involved in the fiasco nature of the whole thing.

 

[AuroraMeansDawn]

Monday November 22: Magic Kingdom open from 9am to 12am rather than 9am to 10pm. A second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm parade. Animal Kingdom opens from 8am to 7pm rather than 9am to 7pm.

Just curious, I see that AK is now opening at 8 and it was listed to be an AM EMH park opening at 8 in the previous version. Does this mean EMH moves back to 7A or do we just lose it now? TIA to anyone who knows.

 

[princessmom29]

Just curious, I see that AK is now opening at 8 and it was listed to be an AM EMH park opening at 8 in the previous version. Does this mean EMH moves back to 7A or do we just lose it now? TIA to anyone who knows.

We were there Thanksgiving week last year, and when AK opened at 8 EMH was at 7. I would assume that would be the case here as well.

 

[princessmom29]

Does having the Fantasmic package really give you that much of a better seating than general? I purchased the package, but am unsure as to if I really need it or not.

If you are gonig at a busy time and don't fancy standing in line for 2 hours or more, and the fighting masses of people to get in I would keep it. They are not prime seats, but as a PP said, they are reserved seats with a seperate entrance so that you are not fighting massive crowds to get in. We are doing the package the tuesday before thanksgiving. We plan to enter with the reserved seating, and if there are better seats open that we want to move to, we will. I refuse to stand in line for over 2 hours for the show.

 

[sasquatch]

I was considering a Fantasmic! dinner package for Nov. 7, even if I could get one this last in the game. However, now that they added an 8:00 pm F! on Thursday, November 11, I'm thinking we can make it to HS following our 5:00 PM HDDR reservation.

 

[Paging Mr. Morrow]

is there a place where I can see the show times, such as fantasmic and illuminations, that correspond with the updated park hours?

 

[notfrostyjosh]

http://www.disneytravelagents.com/S.../pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_nov.pdf

 

[jenseib]

http://www.disneytravelagents.com/S.../pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_nov.pdf

If you hear of an updated Dec. one, let us know!

 

[notfrostyjosh]

http://www.disneytravelagents.com/S.../pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_dec.pdf

in the link you can see at the end that there are three letters that indicate the month. you can input the first three letters for other months and see the hours up until may of 2011. september uses "sept" instead of "sep" though I think that's the only month that doesn't use the first three letters.