Disney World extends park hours just in time for the 50th anniversary celebration kickoff

We are 3 weeks away from the official start date of Disney World’s 50th anniversary celebration.

That’s right, fellow fans! October 1 is just 3 short weeks from today, and the excitement keeps building.

Apparently, Disney knows that, and ahead of the World’s Most Magical Celebration, Disney World has extended operating hours for three of the parks–Magic Kingdom, EPCOT and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. No word yet on any change of operating hours for Disney’s Hollywood Studios.

Magic Kingdom

The change in hours begins Wednesday, September 29 at Magic Kingdom. However, hours are not extended on September 30 for the park, but hours are extended again on Friday, October 1, and Saturday, October 2.

They are as follows:

• September 29: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Previous hours were 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
• October 1: 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Previous hours were 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
• October 2: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Previous hours were 9:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

EPCOT

The extension of hours at EPCOT doesn’t begin until Friday, October 1. The extended hours are as follows:

• October 1: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Previous hours were 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)
• October 2: 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. (Previous hours were 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.)

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Like EPCOT, the park’s operating hours are not extended until October 1 at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. They are as follows:

• October 1: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Previous hours were 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)
• October 2: 8:00 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. (Previous hours were 8:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.)

As hours change, or if Disney’s Hollywood Studios is added to the list of parks with extended operating hours, we will update this post to reflect that.

Disney World officially kicks off the anniversary celebration on October 1, but the party doesn’t stop there–it goes on until the first part of 2023! That’s right; the celebration at Disney World is 50 years in the making and 18 months long!

If you can’t be there next month, don’t worry! There’s still a whole lot of celebrating to do–all the way until the end of March, 2023.