Park Hours - grrr!

[koquinn]

When did they start posting park hours 180d out instead of farther? How the heck am I supposed to book my ADRs if I dunno what days which parks are open when!??! Argh. Will they be adding it day by day? I have to book ADRs Mon and right now there are 5d on the calendar I'm missing hours for. Annoying!

 

[kaytieeldr]

Month at a time. It's almost April, so your dates should all be available shortly. Been 180 or fewer days for years.

 

[LilyWDW]

When did they start posting park hours 180d out instead of farther? How the heck am I supposed to book my ADRs if I dunno what days which parks are open when!??! Argh. Will they be adding it day by day? I have to book ADRs Mon and right now there are 5d on the calendar I'm missing hours for. Annoying!

What are your dates? All of October hours have been released. My ADR day is the 18th of April for example for a trip starting October 15.

 

[MrDanielOwens]

Disney, like another business plans far in advance before public releases, don't remember where I got this, but I hope it's close. I used it for our ADRs.

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_September.pdf

 

[Maggie'sMom]

It's been this way for a number of years. While it's not a perfect system, I've found that the prior year's hours, including the EMH schedule, is a good guide. I believe Josh has that on easywdw.com. There can definitely be differences so you don't want to completely rely on it, but it's always given me a good starting point and then I only needed minor tweaks when the actual hours come out.

 

[siskaren]

If you're looking for October, they're available:

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_October.pdf

 

[leebee]

If you're looking for October, they're available:

http://media.disneywebcontent.com/StaticFiles/ParkHours/WDWTravelAgent_October.pdf

So these are reliable park hours, and I can schedule my ADRs around them with some level of confidence? So many changes in just a year and a half, I am not sure how to plan anymore.

 

[purple figment]

So these are reliable park hours, and I can schedule my ADRs around them with some level of confidence? So many changes in just a year and a half, I am not sure how to plan anymore.

Yes. This is the Travel Agents' calendar and while no calendar is 100% reliable because Disney will continue to change the hours, this one is one of the best. Also, any changes Disney makes will show up quickly. We've used it for planning all our trips and haven't had any problems using it.

To see another month, replace October with a different month.

 

[siskaren]

This is the calendar that Josh at easywdw.com uses, and he posts updates as soon as he gets them. Also, I assume that since you've been on the boards since 1999 that you know who Robo is, and this is the calendar he recommends.

 

[KNovacovschi]

So these are reliable park hours, and I can schedule my ADRs around them with some level of confidence? So many changes in just a year and a half, I am not sure how to plan anymore.

I would say yes. When the hours for the end of Sept beginning of Oct were released on Disney website I had put them side by side to compare and they were exact. As previously stated the hours can and will be changed closer to the dates however it is usually for the better. Good luck with your planning.

 

[koquinn]

Thanks all. I didn't get my email notifications so I didn't realize anyone had replied! I just looked at Disney's main page and it looks like they're adding the hours a day at a time. Frustrating! It definitely wasn't that way when we went a year ago. I'm a compulsive planner - I've always had the hours on my spreadsheet before I do our ADRs!! I'll check out some of the links you guys shared and see what we can do. Thanks!

 

[shyjade]

So these are reliable park hours, and I can schedule my ADRs around them with some level of confidence? So many changes in just a year and a half, I am not sure how to plan anymore.

Last year as it got closer to our trip, park hours were extended (at least at AK & MK) for the 3rd week in October, so just be aware it could happen. While it may not sound like a problem for planning, the MK hours being extended to 2am sure changed things up for us and I had to redo several days of planning and FP+ scheduling. Not complaining, just giving you a heads up that park hours DO sometimes change, especially when occupancy levels are higher than originally expected.

 

[LilyWDW]

Last year as it got closer to our trip, park hours were extended (at least at AK & MK) for the 3rd week in October, so just be aware it could happen. While it may not sound like a problem for planning, the MK hours being extended to 2am sure changed things up for us and I had to redo several days of planning and FP+ scheduling. Not complaining, just giving you a heads up that park hours DO sometimes change, especially when occupancy levels are higher than originally expected.

Yes. I would just about guarantee that there will be changes to park hours as your trip gets closer. The last time I went in October, we had park changes the week OF our trip. Rarely do the hours get shortened (though it can happen if someone rents out a park or for a special event that wasn't finalized by the time they have to release the hours). Like SUPER rarely. However, it is pretty much guaranteed hours will be extended at some point.

 

[mm1971]

So these are reliable park hours, and I can schedule my ADRs around them with some level of confidence? So many changes in just a year and a half, I am not sure how to plan anymore.

Yes, the scheduled hours are actually minimums from our experience. They will add hours sometimes as you get closer to your dates, but have never seen them cut.

 

[buzzgirls&dad]

This will be our 5th trip in Oct. and the hours have been extended every year. Usually in Sept. As another poster stated these are minimums. I find the days with MNSSHP have extended hours in other parks and the MK gets really extended on days without MNSSHP.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

This will be our 5th trip in Oct. and the hours have been extended every year. Usually in Sept. As another poster stated these are minimums. I find the days with MNSSHP have extended hours in other parks and the MK gets really extended on days without MNSSHP.

ITA. I think the Epcot hours are usually the ones that see the least changes, but you can rely on AK having a later close on most days, and DHS's operating hours will run later as well, with many nights getting two Fantasmics instead of one. MK will definitely be extended at night on non-party days, and some party days will see 8 a.m. openings.