We have some unexpected operating schedule changes to Magic Kingdom throughout the month of November. You may have noticed the new Passholder Preview dates and times, with previews extended all the way out to 1am:
I was expecting Disney to simply close at the stated time and then leave a walkway from the entrance/exit back to New Fantasyland for anyone doing a Preview, but Disney has instead opted to keep the entire Park open from 8am – 1am. This may complicate things a bit, especially if you were planning an 8am breakfast at Crystal Palace, but the extended hours also help. It makes 8am – 11am a great time to tour and 10pm – 1am will also be light on crowds. The good news is that the Previews don’t look to have a great impact on Magic Kingdom crowds. While attendance will be up over the course of the day for each Preview, you can expect a lot of these visitors to check out New Fantasyland and then make a quick exit after. And this doesn’t mean that overall crowds are going to be any larger than expected, as there weren’t any changes to the other Parks. And Disney didn’t add the Electrical Parade on the Tuesdays and Wednesdays that didn’t previously have one scheduled. With Previews going on every day through November 18th, there isn’t a whole lot we can do about it. Mickey’s Party days continue to have the lowest crowds possible, but you can certainly make an 8am – 1am day work. The Crowd Calendar will be updated shortly. Here are the changes:
Tuesday November 6: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 9pm.
Wednesday November 7: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 9pm.
Thursday November 8: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 10pm.
Tuesday November 13: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 8pm.
Wednesday November 14: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 9pm.
Saturday November 17: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 12am.
Sunday November 18: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 12am from 9am – 12am.
{ 26 comments… read them below or add one }
Mystery solved! Thanks so much for the info. I do, in fact, have an 8:05 ADR for Crystal Palace 11/13. Any idea when they will let us in the park, with the whole park opening at 8?
Not much earlier, probably. 7:45am? But I have admittedly never had an 8:05am breakfast with an 8am open. Someone else might know. You may want to cancel it unless you’d like to be eating when wait times are short everywhere.
Ugh so should we go as just normal peeps on Nov 9th or avoid the park because of crowds? Is there EVER a good day to go to MK?
You’re going to be dealing with the previews every day through November 18th. A Mickey’s Party day would still be the best day to go.
Do you think the New Fantasyland will be open for the MVMCP like it has been for MNSSHP?
Yes it should be.
We’ll be at Disney from Nov 9-18. No AP or party tickets. Guessing that means zero chance of seeing new Fantasyland.
@Kelly, That’s almost painful to be leaving the day before…
@Kelly….I’m in the same boat. I’m there from the 9th — 17th and until they announced these new previews, we had a good chance of seeing it. Thanks Disney…now I have a zero chance of seeing it and messing up my plans 2 weeks prior to my trip!
I think these new preview dates are due to the fiasco that occurred with the original dates that were announced. Argh!
Well, I’m glad I extended our trip to include the 19th, that’s our only chance to see the New Fantasyland. I just can’t see spending so much money for the Christmas Party!
@Kerri…I agree…. $70 to see some new attractions? Nope, I’ll wait. Just too bad that so many people will miss out.
I’m a passholder and I’ll be there those days, but I’m glad to have planned MK on a 9am day, and I’ll actually wait until our April trip to see the new areas. I think it’ll be way too packed to enjoy it.
I know that these extra hours were a surprise, but do you think they extend hours later weeks? We will be there 11/23 and I was just curious if they may decide to extend hours that week too.
we’ll also be arriving on Nov9 for a week. Will there be any availability into FLE on Saturday and Sunday when there is no Passholder preview scheduled? I know MK is not rec’d on those days, but just wondering. Looks like we’ll also miss the chance to try out LeFeu’s Brew and ETwB.
@Pac…..I believe that the original preview dates are for Sat/Sun on 10/11 for passholders (can someone verify this?) and there was a big mess when people were signing up and many couldn’t get in. I think that is why they added these new dates (messing up many people’s plans to see the extension).
Does anyone know if there are CM previews scheduled for 11/2?? Trying to see if we have a shot at getting in during mnsshp since these added days took away my hoped GP openings on those days
Josh, is wednesday 11/14 still the best bet this week to see MK nightime entertainment. Will the extended ours have a big or minimal impact on crowds that day?
Thanks Josh. This is helpful.
@Pac, @Susan – Yes, the 10th/11th were part of the original dates (as well as the 3rd/4th). We are there 8-13 for the W&D 1/2 and got my preview reservations for the afternoon of the 11th – only took a frustrating 1.5 hours to accomplish that!
@Mick….thanks for confirming. Glad you got in (finally!) Enjoy (I’m very jealous)
UGH…we have an 8am appointment at BBB on the 18th. Not too thrilled, but not exactly something I want to cxl either. On the plus side… I’m guessing this means more early morning buses heading to MK.
So, does this mean extended park hours for everyone? or just AP?
What about 11/3-4. Will they still have it open to public or close until the pass holders preview. My in laws just came back and we lucky enough to see it. Considering going to MK on 11/4 just to get a chance.
So, when does the open to the public? I know the GRAND OPENING date, but can normal folks see it before the Grand opening? We’ll be there the last week of November.
Maybe Josh can clear up all of this confusion as no one seems to know what the heck is going on. Too bad Josh’s post lacked any sort of detail or useful info. Let’s clear up the preview dates. Is 11/10 and 11/11 on the list? Because it isn’t on Josh’s list that is posted with this article. Chime in Josh and clear up this mess.
test track willa have a soft openning?