park hours from the 70's and 80's

[SCOTTNJ]

Does anyone remember the park hours from the 70's and 80's

My father said that when we were there in July 1976, Magic Kingdom was open till 2am. Was it really open that late or is he wrong...

He said that when we went to EPCOT in Summer of 1982, that park was open till 11pm.

Can anyone help out on this.

Sorry if this is is the wrong forum but I figured you guys would know.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

Somebody give hope a nudge...

 

[wdw4us2]

Summer hours in the mid 1970's for the MK were 8 am - 1 am , believe it or not.

 

[hopemax]

I don't have hard confirmation of the hours that far back. I've got some DL hours from that time period but not WDW.

However, in general during the 70's, 80's during Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving and Summer the park was open until between midnight-2AM. Off season, MK was open until 7.

The 1982 Birnbaum's guide doesn't specifically list hours but it says thing like "When the park is open until midnight the MSEP will be performed at 9 and 11:30 , and "When the park is open until midnight transportation runs until 2AM."

If anyone has questions about hours from 1992 or later, I can help on those:

http://www.geocities.com/hopemax.geo/wdwhours/wdwhours.htm

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Hello!! One of my favorite subjects!! (Gee I say that a lot lately!)

PARK HOURS:

When the place opened, the first summer of 1972 saw the park close at midnight, Main Street (ALL OF MAIN STREET) was opened until 1:00 am.

In the mid 70s, and I really don’t remember precisely, but it very well could have been 76 (I was there that year) due to tremendous crowds (the MK was closed due to attendance several times over my seven day visit) the "Walt" philosophy type managers keep the park open until 1:00, Main Street was opened until 2:00. At 8:00 the next morning, with everything as pristine as opening day they opened the gates again!! Now that was MAGIC!!!!

The only other tidbit I can offer is that "summer" constituted a bit more back then than it does today. Right after Memorial Day it started and it didn't end until near labor day. In 1987 my brother and I (with wives and our very small children) went to Disney. We decided, for the first time in our lives to try non-summer hours. We spent 10 days. Five before Memorial Day and five after. The five days previous the MK closed at seven!! On Memorial Day and the five days after the MK closed at midnight, two parades and fireworks!! And most important!! The night didn't end on an Event!!! So the crowd was allowed to trickle out!!

Ahhhhh! The good old days of NOT feeling like cattle when you leave the park!!! I didn’t know it at the time but that was real MAGIC!!!!!

 

[LaGaviota]

I don't know about Disney World, but in 1979, I do know that DisneyLand stayed open until at least 1am.

There's something about being 5 years old, realizing that you are allowed to stay up till 1am and that you're in DisneyLand at 1am - that memory has been forever burned into my brain ever since.

 

[Tekneek]

Originally posted by wdw4us2
Summer hours in the mid 1970's for the MK were 8 am - 1 pm , believe it or not.

A total of 5 hours a day? Or did you mean 1 AM?

 

[Tekneek]

Originally posted by DVC-Landbaron
Ahhhhh! The good old days of NOT feeling like cattle when you leave the park!!! I didn’t know it at the time but that was real MAGIC!!!!!

And you probably never thought, "One day they will ask people to pay extra to stay in this late, with a reduced selection of attractions..."

Things really do seem to get worse over time.

 

[DVC-Landbaron]

Things really do seem to get worse over time.

Not according to Mr. Kidds, Scoop, D.R. and Crusader!! Things are better than ever!!! Just look at all the snow globes you can buy*!!!













* Thanks to AV for the reference. This one may rival the car pools!!

 

[All Aboard]

Epcot did stay open until 11 during its first summer. Beyond that, I am not sure. I have access to the electronic archive of the newspaper for which I work. An early news story indicated the operating hours.

 

[Walt's Frozen Head]

Thanks to AV for the reference. This one may rival the car pools!!

May I simply say that I suspect one day AV will wish he'd never mentioned the damn snow-globes in the first place...

 

[grinningghost]

According to a not-so-nice CM that called me the other day in response to an e-mail I sent: "I've been here since 1985, and the Magic Kingdom has always been a day park when school is in session".

An exact quote.

 

[Lesley]

And here we have "not so nice" and "CM" in the same sentence....

So, another note to WDW management?

 

[grinningghost]

Originally posted by Lesley
And here we have "not so nice" and "CM" in the same sentence....

So, another note to WDW management?

I'd send them one, but I'd be afraid I'd get the same CM calling me back again. In fact, everytime I've e-mailed WDW, she's been the one to call. She must handle calls in my region or something.

 

[DisneyKidds]

Not according to Mr. Kidds, Scoop, D.R. and Crusader!! Things are better than ever!!!

Yes, folks, it is confirmed. Every point of every discussion we've had with Baron over the past couple of years has been a complete and total waste of time. How unfortunate. At least it reinforces that I shouldn't waste any more of mine.............................Off to polish my snow globes now.......................

As for an OT comment..........Even though the last year of The Golden Age of Disney World According to Gar...............er............Baron (did someone say cheesy Wheel 'o Fortune Before & After) was 1983, those midnight hours stuck around for a heck of a lot longer. Some of Hope's info confirming midnight hours thru at least '97 jive with my recollections based on experience......although that experience really doesn't have much perspective.................so you might as well not bother listening to anything I say .

 

[Mikelly1221]

I hardly post here (love to lurk though!) and I've been watching all the different threads about park hours. Here's what I know, as a former summertime CM and WDW vet since birth (70's). And I can only say definitively about MK-other parks, I can't comment on.

During the summers, MK was completely open until Midnight-1am every night. When MSEP started in the mid-70's, it ran every night (not sure if 2 times or only once). Fireworks every night. Summertime nights were magic! Very, VERY uncrowded! Here's the kicker: during the rest of the year, there were no fireworks, no nighttime parades, and the park closed at 7pm. Might have been some holiday exceptions, but there were no off season fireworks or nighttime parades.

Summer of 1990 (and several summers after) there were two MSEP parades, one at 9pm, one at 11pm, and fireworks were at 10pm. 11pm parade very much not crowded. Park closed at midnight.

Here's the question I've wondered: Now that people are used to nighttime parades and fireworks year-round, would they be willing to go back to long evenings in the summertime but 7pm closings at other times?

 

[EUROPA]

Originally posted by Mikelly1221
Here's the question I've wondered: Now that people are used to nighttime parades and fireworks year-round, would they be willing to go back to long evenings in the summertime but 7pm closings at other times?

I don't understand.... right now we don't have long evenings in the summer and we have 7pm closings at other times. If they added more hours to the summer that would only mean they would take more away in the offseason (current Disney Thinking) so that would put us closing down MK at what 5?

 

[Mikelly1221]

I guess what I'm asking is this: hypothetically, would guests rather...

A) Midnight-1am closings (no extra costs ala E-nights) from Memorial Day to Labor Day, complete with 2 Spectros and fireworks nightly, and 7pm closings the rest of the year, with no nighttime entertainment the rest of the year, OR

B) Nighttime entertainment throughout the year (not every night) with earlier closings throughout the year (7-9pm). Some E-nights available.

Generally...
Choice A reflects MK hours from the mid 1970's-mid/late 1990's. Choice B reflects MK hours from the mid/late 1990's-today.

Personally, I'd choose A, but maybe I'm being too nostalgic.

 

[grinningghost]

I think it all comes down to one thing - not everyone lives near WDW or has the time and money to visit frequently. For someone who has to pay the long buck and make the long trek to go, it's only fair that the nighttime entertainment is available at least once during their trip, so axing all fireworks and Spectro during the off-season is really wrong. If a choice needs to be made, then shorter hours all year would be best. Spectro and FITS should be offered at least twice weekly during the off-season.

E-nights are another story altogether. I enjoyed the one E-night I attended. It was the best money I spent on that trip. However, according to the not-so-nice CM, E-nights aren't offered as frequently anymore because "they aren't being attended". Another exact quote.

 

[DC7800]

Originally posted by Mikelly1221
would guests rather...
A) Midnight-1am closings (no extra costs ala E-nights) from Memorial Day to Labor Day, complete with 2 Spectros and fireworks nightly, and 7pm closings the rest of the year, with no nighttime entertainment the rest of the year, OR
B) Nighttime entertainment throughout the year (not every night) with earlier closings throughout the year (7-9pm). Some E-nights available

Neither, I need to vote an option C. Nighttime entertainment (Spectromagic, Illuminations, Famtasmic, etc.) not offered at all except in summer? You have got to be kidding! Not everyone wants to vacation in summer, and why should "off-season" visitors recieve a "cheapened" experience? Sounds like a seasonal park, doesn't it? I know we compare WDW to Six Flags and all, but this is too much.

Midnight hours, for the Magic Kingdom anyway, make sense in the summer and other busy periods - and so it should be. But during most (or all) of the year, the parks should do better than 5-7 p.m., complete with nightly parades and fireworks. Epcot is pretty much established as 9 p.m. year-round. I can live with that (though summer might be extended a bit), but shutting AK at 5 p.m. or the Studios before a nightly Fantasmic isn't acceptable.

Option C? How about 7-9 p.m. closings in the off-season with the nighttime ewntertainment. Closing times can vary somewhat, but each park needs some after-dark hours year-round. Hours are extended during busy periods. Hmm, should be about like things were done back in the 80's...