Credit: Jeremy Y., FlickrDisney World is heading into the holiday season from an interesting position.
The latest financial results from The Walt Disney Company show that its Experiences business continues to generate record-level revenue, even as attendance growth at the domestic parks remains relatively modest. In Disney’s fiscal third quarter, the company said global guest numbers (inclusive of park attendance and passengers on the Disney Cruise Line) increased 4% year over year, with particular strength at Walt Disney World.
That same quarter saw domestic park attendance increase 3%, while per-capita spending rose 4%. In other words, Disney has been able to generate meaningful financial growth without needing a dramatic increase in the number of people walking through the gates. The overall revenue for the quarter, $9.97 billion, is particularly notable given that international visitation remains softer.
“We continued to face headwinds from international attendance at our domestic parks, but as expected, those headwinds moderated relative to the year-over-year impact observed in fiscal Q2,” the company, led by Chief Executive Officer Josh D’Amaro, explained in its quarterly comments.
That backdrop makes Thanksgiving week particularly interesting. Disney World remains one of the country’s biggest holiday destinations, and the Thanksgiving period brings some of the year’s strongest demand. Guests heading to Walt Disney World from November 22 through November 28, 2026, now have their first look at the operating schedule—but they should also be prepared for the possibility of some of the year’s highest costs for reducing attraction wait times.
Disney has released its initial Thanksgiving-week park hours, though the company often makes amendments to operating hours as major dates approach. Magic Kingdom is currently scheduled to operate from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, November 22, Monday, November 23, Thanksgiving Day on Thursday, November 26, and Saturday, November 28. The catch comes on Tuesday, November 24, Wednesday, November 25, and Friday, November 27, when Magic Kingdom is scheduled to close to regular daytime guests at 6 p.m. for Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, which begins at 7 p.m. Guests without a party ticket will have to leave the park at the early closing time.
That makes Magic Kingdom the park requiring the most careful planning during Thanksgiving week. Three of the seven days currently have the early 6 p.m. closure, while the other four days provide a much longer operating window. Early Entry for eligible Disney Resort guests is currently scheduled for 8:30 a.m. each day, making those first hours particularly valuable for guests trying to get through popular attractions before crowds build.
If the recent changes made to Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party Days are anything to go by, it may be that Early Entry is moved even earlier, and hours on non-party days are extended. Nothing has been confirmed as of yet.
The other parks have fewer interruptions. EPCOT is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the week, with Extended Evening Theme Park Entry from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday, November 23. Hollywood Studios is scheduled for 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. most days, although Disney Jollywood Nights will bring 7 p.m. closures on November 23 and November 28.
Animal Kingdom is scheduled for 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. every day, with Extended Evening Theme Park Entry on Tuesday, November 24.
And then there is Lightning Lane. Disney’s dynamic pricing system means guests visiting during high demand can expect to pay more to bypass standby queues. With Thanksgiving falling squarely into one of Disney World’s busiest holiday periods, there is a strong possibility that several Lightning Lane products will be at or near their pricing ceilings.
Magic Kingdom’s Lightning Lane Premier Pass is likely to attract the most attention. The product has already reached $449 per person for a single day on select 2026 dates, such as the Spring Break period, demonstrating just how high Disney is willing to price the all-attractions option during periods of strong demand. For Thanksgiving week, the expected price is $449 (up $20 from last year’s $429 pricepoint), illustrating the potential cost of visiting Magic Kingdom during the year’s most expensive period.
The individual Lightning Lane Single Pass attractions could also be priced at their highest levels during the Thanksgiving rush. At EPCOT, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind remains one of the attractions guests can purchase separately through Lightning Lane Single Pass, while Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance fills that role at Hollywood Studios. Both attractions are among the biggest draws in their respective parks, and demand-based pricing means guests should expect them to move toward the upper end of their pricing ranges during Thanksgiving week.
For guests trying to maximize their time, that could create a particularly expensive combination. A Magic Kingdom visitor could potentially spend hundreds of dollars per person on Premier Pass alone, while a guest at EPCOT or Hollywood Studios could face the year’s highest Single Pass prices simply to guarantee shorter waits for Cosmic Rewind or Rise of the Resistance. Disney has not yet published the actual Thanksgiving 2026 Lightning Lane prices, so the precise amounts remain unknown.
The bigger picture is that Disney World appears to be entering the holiday season with a business model that is increasingly capable of generating higher revenue per guest, even when attendance isn’t rising dramatically. The company’s recent results show clearly that domestic attendance growth has been relatively small, while spending per guest and Experiences revenue have continued to rise. Thanksgiving week could provide another test of that strategy, with Disney simultaneously dealing with heavy holiday demand, premium Lightning Lane pricing, and special-event restrictions at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios.
Disney World Closes Theme Park
Not only will guests be facing heavier crowds, but those crowds will also be spread across fewer parks. Ever since the pandemic shut down the industry, Disney World has reopened with a new operating model that has become increasingly concrete over the last couple of years.
In 2025 and 2026, Disney changed its one-water-park-at-a-time model to opening both water parks during the spring and summer seasons. This year, for example, both Disney’s Typhoon Lagoon Water Park and Disney’s Blizzard Beach Water Park opened from mid-May through September 8, 2026, with the former closing its gates on September 9; Blizzard Beach remains open.
Alongside the entire park closure, Thanksgiving guests will also face a number of construction sites across the Disney World property, with heavy refurbishment work taking place at Magic Kingdom (for Piston Peak National Park and Villains Land), Disney’s Hollywood Studios (for Monstropolis), and Disney’s Animal Kingdom (for the Tropical Americas). The significant overhaul of these parks is expected to continue through 2027 and 2028, with 2031 possibly marking a momentous new era for The Most Magical Place on Earth.
For Thanksgiving visitors, the advice is straightforward: watch the park hours and Lightning Lane prices closely as the dates approach. Disney can still extend operating hours, particularly during a holiday week, but the three Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party dates are already scheduled for early Magic Kingdom closures.
And if Lightning Lane pricing follows the pattern seen during other peak periods, guests looking for the shortest possible waits could be facing some of the highest prices Disney World has ever charged.
How do you feel about all the changes and price increases at the Walt Disney World Resort? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!
