Walt Disney World has added more hours to the calendar through February 2025 at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios & Animal Kingdom, and extended hours for the holiday season through the peak week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. This covers the changes plus zig when they zag strategy for Magic Kingdom and whether to trust conventional wisdom at DHS during these dates.
We’ll start with the latest release of new operating schedules. All four theme parks have had hours for another week added to DisneyWorld.com’s park hours, and the current calendar now runs through February 5, 2025. Here are the hours for most newly-added dates during the winter:
- Magic Kingdom: 9 am to 9 pm
- EPCOT: 9 am to 9:30 pm
- Hollywood Studios: 9 am to 9 pm
- Animal Kingdom: 8 am to 6 pm
- Blizzard Beach: 10 am to 5 pm
- Disney Springs: 10 am to 11 pm (11:30 pm on Fridays & Saturdays)
As a reminder, Walt Disney World’s normal practice is to release boilerplate or placeholder hours before extending those based on attendance and hotel occupancy projections. This has been common practice for years, and will continue for the remainder of this year and probably in 2025, 2026, etc–until the rise of the machines.
One exception to the park hours above is that Magic Kingdom closes on several nights per week at 6 pm to day guests for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party over the course of the next couple weeks. This separately-ticketed event begins at 7 pm and runs until midnight, and occurs multiple nights per week.
The good news is that Magic Kingdom will bring the holiday entertainment from Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party to all guests starting December 21, 2024. So if you’re visiting that date or later, you have that “free” option as opposed to paying for the parties, which are all sold out now, anyway. And really, it isn’t free. It’s included with admission, which is more expensive the last two weeks of the year. Not to mention significantly higher hotel costs. Minor details.
Similar to Magic Kingdom on MVMCP nights, Hollywood Studios closes at 7 pm on evenings when the Disney Jollywood Nights Christmas Party is held. That hard ticket event occurs with far less frequency than Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
In addition to these newly added hours, Walt Disney World has also extended park hours through the peak week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve–but not all the way to NYE. However, we do already have the entertainment schedules and park closing times (openings are likely to be extended earlier) as covered in our Guide to New Year’s Eve 2025 at Walt Disney World.
Anyway, on with the added hours for December 2024, from present through the newest wave of extensions…
Magic Kingdom
- December 8, 2024: 8 am to 6 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- December 9, 2024: 9 am to 10 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 11, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 12, 2024: 8 am to 6 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- December 13, 2024: 8 am to 6 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 15, 2024: 8 am to 6 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- December 16, 2024: 9 am to 10 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 18, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 20, 2024: 8 am to 6 pm (previously 9 am to 6 pm)
- December 21, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 23, 2024: 9 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 24, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 25, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8 am to 11 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
Walt Disney World has only updated hours through December 28, 2024. Any dates beyond that show boilerplate hours. There will be extensions for dates from December 29 through January 4, 2025 in the next wave of updates. Dates starting January 6, 2025 are less likely to see major extensions, but some smaller ones are possible.
The other thing to which I want to call your attention to is December 11, 14 and 18.
All of these are ‘red flag’ dates to avoid during weeks leading up to Christmas that will otherwise have only moderate crowds. This is because each of these are the only day in 4-day stretches when Magic Kingdom does not close early for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party.
Beyond this, we want to reiterate yet again that midnight closures should be standard operating procedure for Magic Kingdom during Party Season on dates when the park isn’t closing early. Disneyland closes at midnight almost every day this holiday season, and Magic Kingdom should match. The crowds on non-party dates throughout December are more than sufficient to justify 8 am to 12 am hours every single day. Not doing so is a mix of cheapness on Walt Disney World’s part, mixed with wanting to push people towards Lightning Lanes.
On a positive note, there are the extensions on days of Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, with Magic Kingdom now opening at 8 am on many dates. This is how it should be during Party Season (and, in my opinion, most days).
As we’ve discussed countless times, Party Season operating hours cause chaos with crowds, pushing attendance much higher on the dates it’s not occurring and lower on the dates it is occurring. On event nights, Magic Kingdom closes to day guests at 6 pm. It is also increasingly opening at 8 am. Because of this, Early Entry starts at 7:30 am, which makes this on-site perk much more highly recommended.
Expect party-shortened days at Magic Kingdom to have crowd levels of 2/10 to 4/10 instead of 1/10. This happens because crowd levels as a whole are increasing closer to Christmas. Meaning they’re higher across the board, on both party and non-party days. It’s also happening because party dates are becoming more frequent, making them more difficult to avoid. That means more guests will have no choice but to do Magic Kingdom on party days.
Ideally, you’ll have Park Hopper tickets and will be able to bounce to another park at around 4 pm. Animal Kingdom will always be your best option for lower-crowd evenings during the holiday season.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
- December 11, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (previously 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (previously 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 18, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (previously 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 21, 2024: 8:30 am to 7 pm (previously 9 am to 7 pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8:30 am to 9 pm (previously 9 am to 9 pm)
Only a few dates adding hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and it’s “only” 30 minutes. This is a bigger deal than it might seem because Early Entry will once again officially start at 8 am on these dates. As always, the earlier that Early Entry starts, the more useful it is. There’s less competition and you can get more done.
It also helps that most of these extensions are Jollywood Nights dates. We’ve had a lot of reader questions about whether it’s savvy strategy to replicate the zig when they zag approach to Magic Kingdom during Party Season. Our answer, as discussed at length back in Best & Worst 2024 Crowd Days at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, is probably not.
Admittedly, the earlier opening time does cast this into doubt a bit for on-site guests. It probably depends upon whether you’re an early bird or night owl. If you’re the former, consider taking the earlier headstart. Most guests should take the longer hours and later closing, though. Of course, strategic Park Hopping is always going to be the most advantageous approach, if you’re able to do that.
It also helps that Jollywood Nights has not sold out most dates (and I strongly suspect it has a significantly lower attendance cap than MVMCP in the first place), so it’s not really having a pronounced impact on crowd levels. We expect that to continue to be true closer to Christmas.
Animal Kingdom
- December 13, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 14, 2024: 8 am to 8 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 20, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 21, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 22, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 23, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 24, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 25, 2024: 8 am to 7 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 26, 2024: 8 am to 8 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 27, 2024: 8 am to 8 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
- December 28, 2024: 8 am to 8 pm (previously 8 am to 6 pm)
As with Magic Kingdom, the 8 am opening time is clutch at Animal Kingdom, and that’s the norm through December 2024. That’s really good news even a baseline perspective, as it means extensions will be closing at 7 pm or 8 pm–which also means nighttime at DAK during the holiday season!
Critically, the baseline 8 am opening also means Early Entry at 7:30am, which is pretty sparsely attended. See Animal Kingdom Park Opening & Early Entry Ride Strategy (or, “How I Did Every Ride at DAK Before 10:30am.”)
At the opposite end of the day, Animal Kingdom officially closes after sunset for the remainder of the year, as well as all of Winter 2025. Between the later closing and Daylight Saving Time, you can get a couple hours in DAK after dark–something not possible most of the year.
Tree of Life Winter Awakenings is also back on the schedule (see our Guide to Christmas at Animal Kingdom for full details). We highly recommend staying for evenings in DAK to enjoy the Tree of Life Awakenings, plus Pandora and the rest of the park after dark.
Our Animal Kingdom Afternoon Arrival Strategy is once again the ideal approach for this park. Even on busier dates, Lightning Lane Multi Pass is unnecessary with even a modicum of strategizing. Please don’t be fooled by the “bargain” pricing on LLMP at Animal Kingdom. Remember, something is only a deal if you actually need it–otherwise, you’re just a hoarder. (Well, you can’t really hoard Lightning Lanes in the same sense…but you get the idea!)
Ultimately, the latest two waves of park hours extensions are not as robust as I was hoping or expecting to see. The week before Christmas is never as busy as the one between that and New Year’s Eve, but the more modest extensions at DHS and DAK suggest Walt Disney World is projecting only moderate crowds. That’s surprising, as this would still normally be one of the 5 worst weeks of the year.
Then there’s the week after that. Last year was utter insanity, the busiest stretch at Walt Disney World since (at least) 2019, surpassing even the peak of pent-up demand in 2022. And keep in mind, that was in what was otherwise a slower year, as crowds were already trending down last year. This would lead us to believe that dates between Christmas and New Year’s Eve (really through January 4, 2025 since blockouts lifting and school breaks also play a role) will all have 10+/10 crowd levels and wait times far exceeding all other weeks of the year.
These park hours extensions don’t necessarily reflect that. Don’t get us wrong, 8 am to 11 pm isn’t bad for Magic Kingdom, but if these crowds are anything like last year, the park should be closing at midnight, if not 1 am, every night that week. (As it stands, this holiday season only got one midnight closure, during Veterans Day weekend.)
Later closures at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and even EPCOT would also be called for. So either Walt Disney World’s internal forecasts show lower (relatively speaking) attendance or they’re opting against longer extensions despite the heavier crowds. If you’re visiting that week, we’d recommend preparing for the latter and following our new Top 12 Tips for Beating Heavy Crowds at Walt Disney World, but hoping for the former. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you think of Walt Disney World’s operating hours extensions for mid-to-late December 2024? Disappointed at no midnight closures during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve? Think this schedule is reasonable? Do you think Magic Kingdom should be open later? What has been your experience with crowds and wait times? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
