This August at Walt Disney World Resort will bring a mix of seasonal celebrations, early park closures, and important scheduling changes for guests to keep in mind.
Magic Kingdom will host Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party on seven evenings this month: August 15, 17, 19, 22, 24, 26, and 29. The party begins at 7 p.m. and runs until midnight, with ticketed guests able to enter as early as 4 p.m. For those without party admission, park access ends at 6 p.m., offering the chance to hop to another park for the remainder of the evening.
During the event, the park comes alive with trick-or-treat trails, Mickey’s Boo-To-You Halloween Parade led by the Headless Horseman, and the Hocus Pocus Villain Spelltacular on the Castle Forecourt stage. The evening concludes with Disney’s Not-So-Spooky Spectacular!, combining fireworks and projections at Cinderella Castle. Guests of all ages are welcome to dress in costume, following Disney’s guidelines that prohibit adults from signing autographs or portraying official characters.
On Saturday, August 16, 2025, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close at 6 p.m. instead of its standard 9 p.m. time. This means Fantasmic! will not be performed that evening. Disney has not announced the reason, though such closures often coincide with private events or corporate gatherings.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 5 p.m. on Thursday, August 28, 2025, an hour earlier than its usual summer schedule. Guests visiting that evening will miss the after-dark atmosphere of Pandora—The World of Avatar. As with Hollywood Studios, no official explanation has been shared, though similar events in the past have been linked to special bookings.
Earlier this year, all six Disney parks in Florida—four theme parks and two water parks—were open at the same time for the first time since 2019. That milestone, reached on May 21, will be short-lived as Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park is set to close in the fall for seasonal maintenance. When it does, Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park will be the only water park in operation.
While no full-day closures are planned for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom beyond these select evenings, refurbishments are taking place across the resort. Frontierland in Magic Kingdom, DinoLand U.S.A. in Animal Kingdom, Muppet*Vision 3D in Hollywood Studios, and Spaceship Earth in EPCOT are among the areas currently affected.
For guests visiting during August, arriving early is the best way to maximize park time, especially on early-closure dates. The My Disney Experience app remains a key tool for monitoring schedule updates.
