Extra Park Time Coming to Select Disney Guests

We always recommend checking park hours for the Walt Disney World parks before your trip. Walt Disney World will often adjust hours once they get a better feel for capacity at the Walt Disney World Resorts. If you don’t double-check, you might discover yourself showing up at Magic Kingdom to find it has already been opened for a few hours.

This has happened for those planning to travel at the end of October. We have seen hours extend for both Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, giving guests more time in a theme park as the month wraps up.

Credit: Disney

Magic Kingdom

When planning your days at Magic Kingdom, you can typically assume that this iconic Disney park will open to guests at 9:00 a.m. We were surprised that on select days, the last part of October finds Magic Kingdom with an 8:00 a.m. opening.

On select dates in October, guests can enter the Magic Kingdom at 8:00 a.m., starting the magic early for guests. This means early theme park entry for guests at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel will begin at 7:30 a.m.

As the park will close at 6:00 pm on these days for Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party, having the extra time in the morning will give guests even more time to enjoy Magic Kingdom if they don’t have a ticket to the party that evening.

Credit: Disney

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Disney’s Animal Kingdom is typically the first Disney park to open each morning. This allows guests to see the animals and park come alive as the new day starts. Disney’s Animal Kingdom will open at 8:00 a.m., and like with Magic Kingdom, this moves early entry to 7:30 a.m.

Credit: Disney

Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT

During October, the hours for both Disney’s Hollywood Studios and EPCOT remain consistent. They both show opening times of 9:00 throughout the month with an early entry time of 8:30 a.m.

This change runs through the last week of October, but keep checking the Walt Disney World site for the most up-to-date hours.

Credit: Fab Five

Early Entry

If you haven’t been to Walt Disney World, you might not be aware of early entry. Guests staying at a Walt Disney World Resort hotel and select good neighbor hotels can use early entry. All four Disney parks open thirty minutes early to these guests each morning.

Although thirty minutes might seem like a little bit of time, it is a fantastic way to get ahead of the crowds that build up in the Disney parks throughout the day. If you can see that alarm during your Walt Disney World vacation, the early mornings are a great time to be in the parks.

Use the cooler mornings to get onto top rides before long lines grow. Even though we don’t always enjoy the early alarm during our Disney vacation, we love having low crowds in the parks.

Ensure you check the calendar to know when the parks are opening during your Disney vacation.