Waking up at 6 AM or earlier to go to a Disney World park is no easy feat. Especially when you stay at the park until it closes, which can be anywhere from 8 PM to 12 AM or later. This puts a serious strain on the guests, which is why Disney is requiring physical examinations to visit their parks as we reported here. But if you thought a 20-hour day was a lot at Disney, you’re in for a treat. With the announcement of new park hours at Disney World, Magic Kingdom will be open 24/7 this summer.
Disney in the past has offered a 24-hour day experience at Magic Kingdom. The park opened from 6 AM one day until 6 AM the next day. This was an awesome offering but only happened one day a year. However, with this new change, Disney World will be open all day long, every day this summer. This is huge news and a lot to dive into.
Will Magic Kingdom Close This Summer?
Magic Kingdom will not close this summer, not even for a minute. That’s right, the park will be open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, all summer long! This is truly revolutionary and has Disney fans stoked. This means no matter the time of day, you can find yourself riding on rides inside the Magic Kingdom. Want a Dole Whip in Adventureland at 3 in the morning? Cue Patrick saying “Oh boy! 3 AM!” Now you can. We also expect the new Waffle House inside Magic Kingdom to be open 24/7 hours like other Waffle Houses across the US.
However, there are restrictions. Not all restaurants and rides will be open all day long and never close. Some of the less popular rides like the Peoplemover will close for a few hours overnight. This is to help with staffing. Disney will prioritize placing cast members at the more popular rides like Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train for example. This allows them to stay operational all day and night. But it’s worth noting that occasionally even the most popular rides will shut down for a few hours. This will be part of Disney’s mandatory safety checks, which are typically done when the park is closed.
These new summer hours, where Magic Kingdom is open 24/7, begin June 1st and run through September 1st. Essentially this experience will last 3 months during the summer. These are the busiest 3 months of the year, which makes the most business sense for Disney. It’s possible Disney extends the 24/7 hours around Christmas as well, which is when there are peak Disney crowd levels.
Why is Disney World Never Closing This Summer?
Disney is staying open 24/7 this summer to increase revenue. Money drives decisions for Disney, which makes sense, they are a business. However, staying open 24/7 has cost implications. Disney needs more cast members, it increases their electric bill (just don’t blow a fuse John), and there are other expenses too. But, according to an internal source, the additional revenue from staying open far outweighs the cost, making this a good business decision.
From a park ticket standpoint, a new day starts at midnight. For example, if you enter the park at 10 AM on a Thursday and hang out until 1 AM on Friday. That counts as one park day. However, if you go back to the park at 1 PM on Thursday, you will need to use another one-day park ticket. The hack is, if you stay in the park for three days straight, it will only be considered a one-day park ticket for you since you never left and re-entered. But good luck surviving three days straight inside Magic Kingdom without leaving.
It’s certainly possible Disney loses some money from guests milking the new park ticket policy. This allows guests to squeeze more hours out of the park and stay there longer. However, that isn’t much of a concern for Disney. Very few people will be spending multiple days inside the Magic Kingdom without leaving. Plus, if they are, they are likely buying food and drinks, so Disney still wins.
Do you think you could stay in Magic Kingdom for 24 hours or longer? What do you think of these new Disney summer hours? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
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