Confirmed: All Magic Kingdom Guests Forced To Exit Park 4.5 Hours Early

Walt Disney World guests should note that if they plan to visit Magic Kingdom at the start of 2024, they will be forced to leave four and a half hours before the traditional park closure. Here’s what we know.

Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Central Florida, attracts millions of guests each year. While that attendance may be on a downward trend currently, millions still pack their bags and head to The Most Magical Place on Earth for a dose of classic Disney magic.

Consisting of four theme parks, two Disney water parks, multiple hotels, and the Disney Springs retail and dining area, Disney World spans thousands and thousands of acres and is considered the crown jewel in the Disney Parks empire.

Sure, there have been criticisms towards The Walt Disney Company of late. From the movie biz to the theme park component to its streaming service Disney+, the House of Mouse is under intense scrutiny. The company is currently navigating legal troubles with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, making the Sunshine State a landscape of political and cultural contention.

Related: Magic Kingdom Area Closes, Completely Unavailable to All Guests

That said, Disney fans from around the world still want to go and experience the likes of Magic Kingdom and EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios and Disney’s Animal Kingdom, and it’s easy to see why. Disney offers an unparalleled theme park experience, and while there have been problems with the introduction of park passes and Disney Genie+, guests are still willing to keep coming back — for the most part…

In terms of the divisive park pass element, guests are currently required to book a theme park reservation in addition to a valid ticket to ensure entry into their chosen park. Then, at 2 p.m., guests can park hop from one to another. On January 9, 2024, the theme park reservation system will be no more, leaving guests to come and go as they please.

However, when a seasonal party is on (think Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party or Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party), parks can close early to normal paying guests in favor of those experiencing a hard-ticketed event. There is no ticket cost reduction for normal paying guests as the park hopping functionality is available (for those with the park hopper ticket, of course).

And just like these early closures for holiday parties, for example, there are other occasional shutdowns that require guests to leave to premises. Earlier this year, it was claimed that Magic Kingdom would be closing early on January 29, 2024. At that time, the park hours had not yet been released, but it can now be seen on the My Disney Experience app that the theme park will shut down to all regular guests at 4:30 p.m. instead of its usual 9 p.m.

This means the Happily Ever After nighttime spectacular will not be available for regular guests, and they should plan accordingly.

Related: Significant Part of EPCOT Urgently Closing Forever in Two Weeks

The four-and-a-half-hour early closure of Magic Kingdom, home to Cinderella Castle, is happening due to a Cast Member celebration evening, where various individuals who work for the House of Mouse at the Walt Disney World theme parks receive milestone gifts and recognition for completing a varied amount of years of service.

There have been other reasons why the parks have forced regular paying guests out of the parks in the past, such as the time Disney star Miley Cyrus (Hannah Montana) had her Sweet 16 at Disneyland Park in California and another where a newlywed couple shut down a Disney park to celebrate their wedding with an after party in Magic Kingdom.

Will you need to change plans for visiting Magic Kingdom in January? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!