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Disney updated the operating schedule for March 2011 at each of the Disney World theme parks. Here’s a list of the changes:
Tuesday March 1: No changes
Wednesday March 2: No changes
Thursday March 3: Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 7:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 9pm, in addition to 7:30pm Fantasmic.
Friday March 4: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 8pm from 9am – 8pm.
Saturday March 5: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 10pm from 9am – 9pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 9pm, in addition to 7pm Parade.
Sunday March 6: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 7pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Monday March 7: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Tuesday March 8: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 7pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Wednesday March 9: Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Thursday March 10: Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 7pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Friday March 11: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Saturday March 12: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 10pm, in addition to 8pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 7pm. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Sunday March 13: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 9pm from 9am – 8pm (likely to change to 9:30pm or 10:00pm close). Second Fantasmic added at 9:30pm, in addition to 8pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Monday March 14: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Tuesday March 15: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10:00pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Wednesday March 16: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 10pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10:00pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Thursday March 17: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Friday March 18: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Saturday March 19: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 7pm. Fantasmic added at 8:30pm and 10pm (no Fantasmic previously scheduled). Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Sunday March 20: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Monday March 21: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Tuesday March 22: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Wednesday March 23: Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Thursday March 24: Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Friday March 25: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Saturday March 26: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 11pm from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Sunday March 27: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Monday March 28: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 8am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Tuesday March 29: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 1am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Wednesday March 30: Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 8pm from 9am – 7pm.
Thursday March 31: Magic Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 12am from 9am – 11pm. Second Main Street Electrical Parade added at 11pm, in addition to 9pm Parade. Hollywood Studios hours extended to 9am – 10pm from 9am – 8:30pm. Second Fantasmic added at 10pm, in addition to 8:30pm Fantasmic. Animal Kingdom hours extended to 9am – 7pm from 9am – 6pm.
I checked these park hours against the calendar on DisneyWorld.com and they are different? Who’s right?
The Disney World website is notoriously slow at updating theme park hours. These changes were just released today. The Park hours above are taken from the Disney World Travel Agent Hours available at http://www.disneytravelagents.com/StaticFiles/DTA-Domestic/pdf/ParkHours/WDW_Operating_Calendar_mar.pdf. The Travel Agent Hours are always updated before the Disney World website and are almost always correct before Disney makes their own update. Expect Disney to update their website within the next few days with all of the changes listed.
Will These Changes Greatly Affect the Crowd Level Estimations or Best Parks to Visit?
This is a pretty substantial update, similar to what we see around Christmas. If you look over the March Crowd Calendar, you’ll see that I already had crowds in the seven to nine range for most of March. The extended hours, particularly at the Magic Kingdom, verify that Disney is expecting substantial crowds in the above-average to well-above-average range. On the plus side, we don’t have any 8am openings at Animal Kingdom, no change to Epcot’s schedule, and only one additional Fantasmic night, which means Park closures due to crowds shouldn’t be an issue. Nonetheless, crowds will be heavy and we don’t have the additional Extra Magic Hours that we enjoy during Christmas break. I will be updating the March Crowd Calendar tomorrow with the changes listed here. The recommended Parks should not change much. In fact, in many cases it will make the recommended Parks that much less attractive to the general population, and thus that much less crowded for us to enjoy.
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