Just looked up Disney’s posted hours on MDE and for AK on Dec. 25 under “Parks & Tickets”, it lists Park Hours 8 am - 10 pm, with EMH 7 am - 8 am. Also on MDE but under the AK rides page for FoP, it lists Hours 9 am - 9 pm, with EMH 8 am - 9 am. Does anyone know the “real” park hours? Help, please! I have just one week before I can get FP’s, and this isn’t helping!!!
No one will know for sure the “real” park hours. They do change. Last year, we ran into the same thing with the hours changing. It looks like the same will happen this year and we are like you, 1 week away from our FP window. We are going there from 12/19 - 12/31 for our Honeymoon and have been making our TP’s and had to change them.
What we do is look at it this way. We are in the happiest place on earth (at least for us) and will be able to enjoy ourselves no matter how WDW changes the hours. When we can make our FP picks and get the times, we will then look at making changes, if we think it will help us, other that that, remember where you will be.
At the moment, the “real” hours are the ones posted for the park - the hours in the rides page were probably not updated correctly. However, be aware as @davidjjenkins1961 says that the park hours are very likely to change as we get closer to the date in question, especially for Christmas week.
So true! Thanks for the reminder. We’re going to be there from Dec. 21 - 27, and I’m so thrilled just to be going - it’s our first trip to WDW.
Makes sense. I’ll just keep checking…
I’m also in AK on Christmas day. I’m working with the 7am hours. Previously it was 8am EMH, the 7 am change was only recent so maybe they haven’t updated everything else yet?
For the Christmas week, just to give you an idea, last year the park times were changed maybe a couple of weeks before.
MK opened at 8 with EMH 7 - 8 all week. I think the EMH was added a few days before, around Dec 20th, possibly even later).
The other parks typically opened at 8 or 8:30 and had closing times of around 11 mostly, AK maybe an hour earlier; AK had the night time carnival shows but ROL wasn’t open yet, so this year it may be different with Pandora too. Again the nighttime carnival stuff was only confirmed a couple weeks ahead IIRC.
And then come Jan 1st it was back to 9am openings and “normal” park hours (as in what had been posted for several weeks).
Okay, thanks. I’m just going to keep an eye on hours and assume that my PPO BOG may not be PPO, after all!
Another question: If MK opening changes to EMH at 7 am just a few days before, say, Dec. 20, do a bunch of 8 - 9 am FP’s all of a sudden become available for those newly changed days? If this is so, then is it crowded enough by 8 am to warrant changing around FP’s last-minute?
I would think FPs would become available, just like in the last few days where they’ve extended hours in October / November.
I might be tempted to try and get an FP that I really wanted, or move one from say 10 to 9, but I wouldn’t change my entire plan. Many people might not even really notice the extra hours, and it would take some dedication to suddenly change everything around.
That said, I do not do rope drop, so no personal experience. As we come for longer we like to take our time in the morning, I have enough of getting up early for work 
How many are going? Me and what will be my wife are looking to spread some pixie dust for couples or small young families
It’s just my husband and me, but it’s our 30th wedding anniversary!
on Chirstmas, me and Andrea are going on a private Illumation cruise and are looking to share - spread pixie dust with some couples. would you be interested in joining us on Christmas to do this cruise?
Yeah, I hear you. I know I will be rope-dropping but I may meet up with my husband later that morning if there is EMH as he is not the early bird I am.
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Wow - you weren’t kidding about pixie dust. You are so wonderful to be offering this! I know this is an incredible gesture, but we already have too many other plans/reservations in place - on Dec. 25, we’ll be in AK with a Tiffins/RoL reservation. But thank you so much for the offer!
Its no problem. We have until the 24th to find people. Plan on offering it to honeymoon couples while we are there
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Ah, someone of a like mind to me.
My family are often doing different things, meeting up, going off again… It helps the boys are young adults of course, and we have long stays. We do a lot together, of course, but we also like to vacation in our own way.
I offered advice to someone who’s family couldn’t agree between 2 parks, and said “why not split”? The thought clearly had never occurred to them and they couldn’t countenance it.
Go for it. Enjoy that extra hour and then meet up and follow the plan!