Disney World Extends Park Hours For Spring Break - Inside the Magic

One of the biggest challenges Disney Guests have had to encounter since the parks reopened has been the lack of park hours.

To operate safely and financially efficiently during the ongoing pandemic, Disney World has been running off reduced park hours which, at times, have cut into Guests’ park days not allowing them to get everything done in their day.

That being said, since Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom reopened, Disney World’s park hours for each individual park have been in constant flux. Depending on the time of year, and what is going on at the park during that time, Disney has chosen to either shorten or elongate hours to fit the Guest demand.

Now, as we are approaching an almost sold-out spring break for March at Disney World, it seems that Disney has decided to allow Guests to spend even more time at the theme parks, which is great news for anyone who will be at Disney in the upcoming weeks.

At the beginning of 2021, Disney began to release the park hours for spring break. Originally, here were the hours allotted for Guests to enjoy the Walt Disney World Resort, as previously reported.

• Magic Kingdom Park will be open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 6:00 p.m.
• EPCOT will be open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open every day from 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 7:00 p.m.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 5:00 p.m.

Now, those hours are MUCH different!

• Magic Kingdom Park will be open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 9:00 p.m.
• EPCOT will be open every day from 11:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 11:00 p.m.
• Disney’s Hollywood Studios will be open every day from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 8:00 p.m.
• Disney’s Animal Kingdom will be open every day from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
  • Park Hopper Hours begin at 2:00 p.m. and end at 8:00 p.m.

There are a few hour changes that really stand out here. First, we have to acknowledge that Animal Kingdom will finally be opened past 5:00 p.m.! Disney’s Animal Kingdom has been the earliest park to close, leaving it to be one of the least attended.

Considering many locals and Annual Passholders are currently a large chunk of the Guests at Disney World, many Orlando residents have been snagging Disney Park Passes for the Disney park open the latest. We suspect this is due to the fact that park-goers work during the day until typically, 5:00 p.m., making a 5:00 p.m. closing time nearly impossible to spend an evening at Animal Kingdom. Luckily, now Guests can once again see Pandora lit up in the evening once the sun goes down. (Oh, Pandora, how we have missed your bioluminescent lighting.)

Related: How to Use Disney’s New Capacity Hotline When Park Hopping 

Another shock here is that EPCOT has extended its hours to 11:00 p.m.! This is the latest any Disney World park has been open since the reopening, and considering EPCOT’s International Flower and Garden Festival is underway, now is the perfect time to extend those hours.

Because of this, Spring Break crowds can now eat, drink, and look at the stunning topiaries until late at night. This also makes EPCOT the prime Park Hopping spot, since Guests will have the most time to enjoy the offerings and festivities! 

It seems that these extended hours are currently available until April 4, so if you want to take advantage of them, make sure you get your Disney Park Passes ready since a lot of them are now fully booked for the rest of the month.

Do you want Disney World to keep these long hours of operation? Or are you ok visiting with shorter hours?