Credit: Brittany DiCologero, Inside the MagicDisney World fans hoping for long summer nights in the parks are about to be disappointed — again. This month, not one, but two parks are shutting their gates significantly earlier than expected, and while Disney hasn’t officially explained the decisions, the evidence points strongly toward private events taking over.
On Thursday, August 28, 2025, Disney’s Animal Kingdom will close at 5:00 PM, a full hour earlier than its already-short summer operating schedule of 8:00 AM to 6:00 PM. This abrupt change means guests will lose the final hour of their day — and potentially their only chance to see the park’s most stunning feature, Pandora – The World of Avatar, lit up after dark.
Only days before that, on Saturday, August 16, 2025, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will also cut its day short, closing at 6:00 PM. The early closure not only forces thousands of guests to clear out hours before sunset, but it also wipes Fantasmic! — one of Disney’s most popular nighttime spectaculars — off the schedule entirely that night.
Disney has not formally announced any special events for either date, but such closures are almost always tied to private park buyouts — high-dollar, invitation-only events booked by corporations or organizations. These buyouts can cost millions, giving event organizers exclusive access to the park after regular guests are ushered out.
Animal Kingdom’s Early Nights — A Long-Running Frustration
Longtime Walt Disney World visitors can remember when nights in the parks stretched into the early hours of the morning. Magic Kingdom was known for midnight or even 2:00 AM closings during busy seasons, EPCOT welcomed guests well past dark, and yes, even Animal Kingdom stayed open until 10 or 11 PM on certain nights.
Those evenings offered a completely different atmosphere — cooler temperatures, shorter lines, and in the case of Animal Kingdom, the breathtaking glow of Pandora at night. Back in the pre-2020 era, you could end your day with a ride on Expedition Everest under the stars or stroll through Harambe Village as lanterns lit the pathways.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, however, Disney has largely refused to bring back those extended hours. Animal Kingdom, in particular, has been hit hardest, with closing times rarely stretching past 7 or 8 PM — even in the height of summer. This August’s 5:00 PM closure marks one of the earliest public shutdowns for the park in years.
Why Animal Kingdom’s Hours Are So Short
Disney has long cited the welfare of its animals as a key reason for keeping Animal Kingdom’s hours limited. Loud nighttime entertainment could disrupt habitats, and extended guest activity might cause stress to certain species.
While this reasoning has merit, critics point out that Disney successfully offered late-night hours at the park for years without harming the animals — by simply keeping certain sections closed after dark.
Before 2020, the park operated with limited-access late nights, allowing guests to enjoy Pandora, Discovery Island, and Asia while keeping the animal-heavy areas like Kilimanjaro Safaris off-limits. This gave Disney the ability to create magical nighttime experiences — without disturbing the park’s residents.
Private Events: The Likely Culprit
While animal care may explain shorter hours in general, early closures like August 28 are almost always tied to exclusive private events. In these cases, companies or organizations pay for the right to have the park entirely to themselves, usually from evening into the night. The result? Regular guests lose hours of park time, but Disney gains a massive payday.
Hollywood Studios’ August 16 closure at 6:00 PM fits the same pattern. The absence of Fantasmic! that night is a direct consequence, with the amphitheater presumably off-limits to the general public. These events often feature catered meals, open bars, and unlimited ride access for attendees — a VIP fantasy that comes at the expense of day guests.
How Will it Change Your Vacation?
For guests paying full price for single-day tickets or carefully planning multi-park itineraries, early closures can feel like a gut punch. At Animal Kingdom, an 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM schedule compresses the day to just nine hours — the shortest operational day of any Disney World park in summer.
For Hollywood Studios visitors, losing the evening means no sunset views over Galaxy’s Edge, no nighttime Tower of Terror, and no chance to see Fantasmic!, a bucket-list item for many. With no discounted tickets or formal announcements ahead of time, some guests only discover the change when they’re already in Orlando.
A Missed Opportunity for Nighttime Magic
What makes these early closures sting even more is the missed opportunity to offer nighttime experiences guests crave. Pandora – The World of Avatar was designed with a “day-to-night” transformation in mind, with bioluminescent pathways, glowing plants, and surreal lighting effects.
Closing the park before sunset in late August means most guests will never see it in its intended nighttime glory.
Animal Kingdom also has the infrastructure for quieter nighttime experiences — from gentle projection shows to lantern-lit trails — that could keep guests entertained without disturbing animals. Seasonal “After Hours” events could be another option, providing exclusive, limited-capacity evenings while keeping regular park hours intact.
With two major parks closing early within twelve days of each other this August, Disney World’s late-night magic feels increasingly out of reach for regular guests. While private events may be lucrative for Disney, they also risk alienating visitors who expect full-day access — especially in peak travel season.
Unless policies change, fans hoping for Animal Kingdom under the stars or a late-night Hollywood Studios spectacular will have to keep waiting. And with no signs of Disney returning to pre-2020 hours, it’s starting to look like those “endless” park nights may never come back.
For now, August 16 and August 28 will be two more dates in the growing list of evenings when the parks go dark early — just not for the paying public.