Thoughts on short summer hours.

[MariMama]

OK was just wondering. Star Wars Fireworks and Fantasmic alone are worth it for us, never seen either?

But also why "keep you there" until dark?

Tomorrow DHS is open until midnight, why not just do MK until evening and hop to DHS and do the attractions and shows then, or after an afternoon break?

I don't know why this seems so hard for you to understand. There is nothing at DHS that I want to waste a vacation day to see.

 

[jade1]

I don't know why this seems so hard for you to understand. There is nothing at DHS that I want to waste a vacation day to see.

I got ya. I thought you said nothing to keep you there and made the assumption that you indeed visit DHS (and EPCOT). I didn't realize you only visit MK, my bad.

Although I did kinda cover that:

Those that only do MK and/or do MK every night-that is harder to swallow.

 

[MariMama]

I got ya. I thought you said nothing to keep you there and made the assumption that you indeed visit DHS (and EPCOT). I didn't realize you only visit MK, my bad.

Although I did kinda cover that:

I don't only visit MK. The only park I visit at night is MK, big difference. I visit MK, AK and Epcot. I have visited DHS in the past and been there, done that, no need to return ~ day, night or otherwise.

 

[jade1]

I don't only visit MK. The only park I visit at night is MK, big difference. I visit MK, AK and Epcot. I have visited DHS in the past and been there, done that, no need to return ~ day, night or otherwise.

Covered that as well:

Those that only do MK and/or do MK every night-that is harder to swallow.

 

[DebbieB]

We just got back from a ten night stay and I can tell you that the hours seemed more than adequate for the crowds. I have not seen such low crowds at WDW in the last couple of years- and we have been in September, February, April and July. The last ten days were amazing. It didn't matter that MK closed at 11 because we were able to do everything we wanted in a short period of time. We were able to get 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and even 8th fastpasses- for good rides like Splash Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain, Buzz Lightyear, and Winnie the Pooh.

There were people of course, but there was enough to do that nothing felt really crowded.

I heard 3 or 4 months ago that summer bookings were down. That can explain the shorter hours, it's not necessarily that they are trading MK hours for AK hours. If crowds are lower than expected, I don't think they are obligated to stay open until midnight just because it's summer.

 

[DizDaD7]

I do, since that is the only park that has enough to do.

AK doesn't have enough to keep us entertained for one day, why would I waste time there at night?

I'm assuming this is a JOKE....Right?

 

[MariMama]

I'm assuming this is a JOKE....Right?

No. We do not spend an entire day at AK. We do what we want to and go somewhere else, typically leaving by 2pm.

 

[Princess Jes]

I'm assuming this is a JOKE....Right?

My husband asked if we could skip AK all together this trip.
I compromised with a morning with Tusker house and then a water park and maybe hit it back up at night for jungle book and EE at night.

 

[JimmyV]

I don't understand the incredulity of those who question others who do not see any value in staying late at DHS or AK. it all depends on how you tour. We are RD people, and with the institution of FP+, we find RD to be even more crucial. If we arrive at DHS or AK at RD, use those early hours wisely, use our FPs wisely, and use the hot afternoon hours to see indoor shows, we are easily done with DHS by 7:00 in time for dinner, and with AK by 5:00 in time to return to our resort to shower, change and head to a nice restaurant. Staying any later than that at those parks would result in nothing but repetition. I suppose that is fine for people who want to stay at DHS and ride the Great Movie Ride a second time or see the Muppets for a second time. But we certainly wouldn't be doing anything new at 10:00. Of course, if we arrived at 11:00 a.m., this would be different. But RD arrivals at these parks easily allows us to complete them by dinner time. The same is absolutely not true for Epcot or the MK. So that is why late hours are so much more important there.

 

[bpadair32]

I think it all depends on how you plan to do the parks. Personally I love all of the parks, we never get park hoppers, and they are all full day parks for us. That being said, I refuse to get up and be ready to be there at RD, and I refuse to run around like a fool on my vacation. We get up, get ready, and take our time going through the parks and enjoying ourselves and everything that they have to offer. Therefore, we just look at what the hours are for each park during the time that we are going to be there, and plan based on that. No big deal either way.

 

[DizDaD7]

No. We do not spend an entire day at AK. We do what we want to and go somewhere else, typically leaving by 2pm.

My husband asked if we could skip AK all together this trip.
I compromised with a morning with Tusker house and then a water park and maybe hit it back up at night for jungle book and EE at night.

I do realize that everyone's tastes & likes/dislikes varies, so don't take this personally...It's just a broad statement...AK always seems to get lost in the mix IMHO.. For whatever reasons. For this is the one place that truly has the different experience than all the others. When I talk to people around by me that are new to WDW or some that have been, I'm always curious to see what they liked & didn't at each park..When I inform them of the different things at AK to do & see, they're always like, " When did they put that in, or What time of year do they open that.? Or I didn't see that there?" That's because everyone's always in a rush to hit the main HEADLINERS and then off they go...Between the shows, rides, restaurants, animals, Nature, Hidden paths, and overall experience, I for 1 can't wait till I arrive come November..It's just going to enhance our experience that much more... BTW , For all the people that do leave( Considering it a 1/2 day park) that just means less crowds for us while we're there....

 

[MariMama]

I do realize that everyone's tastes & likes/dislikes varies, so don't take this personally...It's just a broad statement...AK always seems to get lost in the mix IMHO.. For whatever reasons. For this is the one place that truly has the different experience than all the others. When I talk to people around by me that are new to WDW or some that have been, I'm always curious to see what they liked & didn't at each park..When I inform them of the different things at AK to do & see, they're always like, " When did they put that in, or What time of year do they open that.? Or I didn't see that there?" That's because everyone's always in a rush to hit the main HEADLINERS and then off they go...Between the shows, rides, restaurants, animals, Nature, Hidden paths, and overall experience, I for 1 can't wait till I arrive come November..It's just going to enhance our experience that much more... BTW , For all the people that do leave( Considering it a 1/2 day park) that just means less crowds for us while we're there....

The only thing I have not done at AK is Dinosaur and the bird show. I have done all the other shows, all the trails, Rafiki's Planet Watch, DinoLand, Discovery Island, etc, etc, etc. I've been visiting WDW for the last 10 years at least annually, usually twice a year. Don't worry, I've covered 98% of the park and still find it lacking.

 

[hakepb]

It seems the problem with night shows at all parks AND short hours ... Is bus waits

When parks had more staggered shows and closings, bus waits seemed more reasonable when leaving at closing.

 

[jade1]

I don't understand the incredulity of those who question others who do not see any value in staying late at DHS or AK. it all depends on how you tour. We are RD people, and with the institution of FP+, we find RD to be even more crucial. If we arrive at DHS or AK at RD, use those early hours wisely, use our FPs wisely, and use the hot afternoon hours to see indoor shows, we are easily done with DHS by 7:00 in time for dinner, and with AK by 5:00 in time to return to our resort to shower, change and head to a nice restaurant. Staying any later than that at those parks would result in nothing but repetition. I suppose that is fine for people who want to stay at DHS and ride the Great Movie Ride a second time or see the Muppets for a second time. But we certainly wouldn't be doing anything new at 10:00. Of course, if we arrived at 11:00 a.m., this would be different. But RD arrivals at these parks easily allows us to complete them by dinner time. The same is absolutely not true for Epcot or the MK. So that is why late hours are so much more important there.

But your dismissing how others tour as well. Many of us hop. Many of us want to tour AK at night. Many of us enjoy an adult beverage at night. Many of us enjoy more dining options.

You say arriving at 11AM would be different. I agree, but some of us are talking about arriving at 4 or 5PM, the 2nd park of the day. We may have already done exactly what you said-RD at DHS or MK, even EPCOT.

We did the exact same thing in the past. Knocked out AK at RD by early afternoon, then a break, then FP+ at MK. A great day and way to tour.

Fast forward to this summer when its blazing hot in the afternoon, and the break became even more mandatory, as did late nights and RD.

Do the same thing as alway right? We did both. MK was open until 2AM one night-are you suggesting we should have RD MK and stayed until 2AM? We did RD at AK and did the break before MK that night.

Then we simply reversed the plan because we wanted to do AK now that it was open at night.

So now it was RD MK, break and hit AK that night for the 6 or 7 hour tour as usual. Add in some new dining options (a big reason for us) and having drink options for our evening (a bigger reason for us) and add in the night shows it was our best nights of the trip. Just something different if nothing else. We also did AK a 2nd night after we did a RD at DHS.

We also arrived at DHS for an evening. Nobody stopped and thought, hey wait-we could have done this in the am. Maybe, but not see Fantasmic and/or Star Wars Fireworks with drinks in hand.

 

[nkosiek]

I got back at 2am today after 8 days in the world. Hours at MK are definitely shorter and times are changed on things like Wishes. Have been for the past 5 years during July or early August and never have had Wishes start before 10. Happened twice while we were there. First day we didn't realize we missed it and the second it just wasn't as good due to it still being slightly light out at 9pm (just my opinion). Also, only having 1 Fantasmic most nights led to huge crowds and a very unrelaxed atmosphere. Sure, AK is open later, and that's great if you can do it (parent of a toddler, not happening) but even then, there's not tons to do that couldn't be done during the day (tree and show). I agree with others saying this summer is slightly slower than I've seen but not enough to warrant much shorter hours at MK and less entertainment offerings. Also, they need to have the info out and finalized 60 days out with all the damn planning they "recommend" you do.

 

[Davey Jones II]

It seems that guests have failed to adapt to new circumstances. They're so used to early closings at AK that they are sticking to old habits, and leaving AK at about those times. And few seem to be park hopping to that park after 5. It will take a while (and the debuts of ROL and Avatar) to change people's habits.