Credit: DisneyWalt Disney World has been building toward May 26 for months. The date has been circled on the Disney planning community’s calendar since the wave of announcements that made it one of the most significant single-opening days the resort has seen in recent memory. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets opens to the general public after a Passholder preview window that sold out Hollywood Studios reservations within hours of being announced. The new Walt Disney Studios area debuts with Disney Jr. Mickey Mouse Clubhouse Live! opening inside a nearby soundstage. Soarin’ Across America officially opens at EPCOT for its limited-time American landmarks run. Bluey’s Wild World opens at Animal Kingdom with a virtual queue already confirmed. Jessie’s Roundup debuts at Magic Kingdom’s Diamond Horseshoe. All four parks are receiving meaningful new additions on the same day, and the summer season that everything has been pointing toward is officially beginning.
Disney knows what May 26 will look like. The Lightning Lane pricing for that day already reflects it, with Hollywood Studios sitting near the top of the pricing scale. The Bluey virtual queue confirmation signals Disney’s expectation of overwhelming demand at Animal Kingdom. And now, a look at the official park calendar on the Walt Disney World website reveals that Disney is taking one more operational step to prepare for what May 26 has in store for Hollywood Studios specifically.
And this specific park is opening an hour earlier than usual on May 26, and only on May 26.
The Operating Hours
According to the park calendar posted on the Walt Disney World website, Hollywood Studios will operate on the following schedule next week. Monday, May 25, runs Early Entry from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. with park hours from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 26, runs Early Entry from 7:30 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. with park hours from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, through Friday, May 29, all return to the standard Early Entry from 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. with park hours from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
Tuesday, May 26, is the only day next week when Hollywood Studios opens at 8:00 a.m. rather than 9:00 a.m., and Early Entry guests with Disney Resort hotel reservations can enter at 7:30 a.m. rather than the standard 8:30 a.m. That is a full hour of additional park time on the one day when Hollywood Studios is expected to see its highest demand in months.
Disney has not officially announced why the park is opening early on May 26, but the context is clear. Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets opening to the general public is the most obvious driver, as it is the attraction that sold out Passholder preview reservations almost immediately and has been generating the kind of anticipation that tends to produce very long opening day lines. May 26 also falls on the day after Memorial Day, a holiday weekend that already brings elevated attendance. And the new Mandalorian and Grogu mission at Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run debuted on May 22, giving guests another high-demand reason to be at Hollywood Studios that week.
Why This Matters for Your Planning
The extra hour at Hollywood Studios on May 26 is a meaningful operational advantage for guests who use it correctly. Disney Resort hotel guests with Early Entry access can be inside the park at 7:30 a.m., a full 30 minutes before the Early Entry window even opens on every other day that week. General park guests can enter the gates at 8:00 a.m. rather than 9:00 a.m.
For a day when Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets is going to generate significant standby demand from the moment the park opens, that extra hour is the difference between riding during a manageable window and spending much of the morning in a line that built up before you even arrived. The same logic applies to the new Smugglers Run mission, which has been running since May 22 and is already attracting guests seeking the Mandalorian and Grogu experience before summer crowds peak.
Hollywood Studios already operates with some of the highest average wait times at Walt Disney World on normal days. Adding Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring The Muppets opening day demand to the existing pressure from Rise of the Resistance, Slinky Dog Dash, Tower of Terror, and the new Smugglers Run mission creates a park day that rewards early arrival more aggressively than almost any other day this summer will.
The early hour at Hollywood Studios on May 26 is not a coincidence. Disney is preparing for what it knows is coming and giving guests who pay attention to the calendar a window to get ahead of it. Disney Resort hotel guests with a Hollywood Studios reservation on May 26 should set an alarm and be at the park gates before 7:30 a.m. Everyone else should aim to be through the gates as close to 8:00 a.m. as possible.
May 26 is going to be a big day across all four parks. At Hollywood Studios, it starts an hour earlier than usual. Plan accordingly.
