Summer 2021 predicted hours

No one knows the hours yet as Disney has only announced hours into April. That said, I would guess June hours will be most similar to the last two weeks of December. I think operating hours will start to get closer to normal as the summer wears on and into the fall.

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Welcome! Planning is very different compared to pre-covid. Understandably, Disney cannot predict conditions far ahead during these times.

Tentative plans this far out are good. But since ADR’s are only available 60 or so days out, it does take patience. Disney has been posting their hours about 2 and a half months out. As soon as you know your hours, you can get serious with planning for your ADR’s and then the rest of your touring plans.

Eta: You do make a good point though as your hands are tied to actually see how many rides you can do on a given day (That is if the hours are indeed extended). In early December 2020, TP updated the crowd level predictions and hours estimates through May 31 2021. Let’s hope they extend that very soon with an update!

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I certainly am not looking for anything final or definitive - even when Disney releases hours there will be a very good chance they will change. But there are reasonable predictions in the planning tool through May (even though Disney has only released through mid-April), and I’m wondering why similar predictions can’t be extended into the summer.

There was a post on this recently. In a nutshell, at the time TouringPlans was picking out a date when maybe things will go to normal. I think as you get closer to it’ll change of course. May just changed in the last few weeks to be normal covid ones (as in certain attractions still say they’ll be closed and hours are the typical covid ones). Not too long ago even they were from “normal” standpoints. One thing TP could do is remove the EMH since we know for sure that’s never coming back.

Edit: I’m also going May-June so I’ve been making plans too :slight_smile:

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So, Disney has released hours through May 1, 2021, but they are just the standard minimum post-COVID hours. I see they extended hours for Pres Day week only 2 or so weeks ago. In summer heat, the lack of evening hours will be pretty brutal. You can’t really take a mid-day break and get back to the park if it closes (MK at 6, AK at 5). While we can’t know for certain, it is really hard to plan even for ADRs at 60 days–to break or not to break? ADR at park close at 6 or will park close change until later? In the past, park hours may be extended close to the date but they were reasonable ahead of time. What are your predictions for hours for Memorial Day and beyond? Will Disney have evening hours until 9 or 10 or not?

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Just taking a guess … I think summer hours will look pretty similar to this past weekend for the Presidents’ Day / Valentines’ Day / Mardi Gras crowds:

  • MK 9am-10pm
  • Epcot 11am-11pm (8pm on weekdays)
  • HS 9am - 7pm
  • AK 8am - 8pm (5pm on weekdays)

Again, just a guess.

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I hope you are right and that they announce these hours at least a month out.

Obviously everything is wonky with Covid and the possibilities that things may start shifting towards more normal this summer, but I’m having trouble making any sense of the crowd calendar for Memorial Weekend. (I’m pondering adding some Disney days prior to our Universal evenings the following weekend.)

Resort crowd levels:
Fri 5/28 = 5
Sat 5/29 = 5
Sun 5/30 = 4
Mon 5/31 = 3

Is that Monday typically a travel day so not as high as the rest of the weekend? I would have thought Memorial Day would be a popular day?

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I’ll be at Disney that same week and I’ve been baffled by those numbers as well. I have been to Disneyland on Memorial Day before and I don’t think it was too bad, all things considered. But it’s still a holiday. Maybe the increase in staffing and ride vehicles compensates for the increased crowds? Who knows.

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I mean Columbus Day weekend felt pretty crowded and this is a bigger holiday. Plus according to the president all adults will be able to be vaccinated by then which I suspect will bring more crowds and maybe Disney upping their allowance of people?

Edit: I’m going this weekend too so I was also pretty disbelieving of the crowds. But I’m spending two weeks so I am not too worried as I haven’t planned full to the brim days.

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I just got emails updating predictions for my travel day and first park day. General trend is less park hours. It was for 5/21 and 5/22. I’d be a little disappointed at all the parks closing bw 5-7pm and opening bw 9-11am. We do have 6 park days which makes it not as bad. Obv things are subject to change. We’re going 5/21 - 5/28 (park days 5/22-5/27)

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Trying to plan for 5/8 thru 5/15. All I have is a resort reservation. Flights are screwed up because of SW changes. Have to pick ADR’s this Tuesday (3/9) and not even sure if I can rely on the crowd calendar to pick which parks on which days. In the past, I would have been thrilled to see 1’s, 2’s and 3’s, but I don’t even know what that means now? Also, park hours may very well change. We have rarely waited in standby lines in the past, taking full advantage of maximizing FP’s. I am hearing a lot about long lines. Would you still use the TP software with all of the unknowns? Have those plans been updated with the most current information? Just getting a feel for what all of you “planners” are doing to make the best decisions for your upcoming trips. At this point, mostly looking for advice on which parks for which days. Thanks!

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That will certainly be less than ideal moving into the summer months as those are the hottest hours of the day with no option for respite from the heat if parks are not open earlier and later than 9-6 and 11-7. I guess they are changes hours 2-3 weeks out. Waiting is the hardest part…

That’s a great point about the heat. The one nice thing about these revolving park hour changes is the fact that it doesn’t screw up FP+ like it would have in the past. I hope EP stays open till 8 as we bought tix with PH’s.

My wife is looking at the positives of more nighttime, hotel pool time and possibly going to Disney Springs more than we normally would.

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What do you (and anyone else!) think the probability is of them starting the 30 min early entry for Disney Resort guests by beginning of June?

We always took full advantage of EMH so are really considering staying off property this time. “Location” and “in the bubble” is nice, but not enough bang-for-the-buck for me.

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My guess is they won’t start the early entry thing until they are done with most of the social distancing stuff. So July 4th at the earliest, possibly fall or even 2022. But that’s just a guess.

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Yeah, from the way it’s currently worded, it sounds like by October 1, 2021 for sure. But everything seems subject to change these days!

“Coming later this year as part of The World’s Most Magical Celebration, Disney Resort hotel Guests will be able to enjoy more fun with 30-minute early entry to any Walt Disney World theme park, every day. It’ll be a great way to get a jump start on your Disney day, no matter the day!”

https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/resort-hotels-benefits/#/drawer=drawerMoreParkTime

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@amvanhoose_701479 @Jeff_AZ - I know they say the 30 minutes early thing is still coming, but from what I’ve been reading here with people’s experience arriving via car, it almost seems like they’re already letting resort guests in 30 minutes early. If you’re arriving via Disney transportation, you have access to the park before the parking lot opens. And that actually seems like one of the best ways for them to grant access without having huge lines of off-site guests outside each park clogging up the security area.
If this is how they decide to do it, onsite use of Uber won’t be helpful anymore though, which is a bummer.

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I thought buses were being held up like cars and Ubers and only Skyliner / walking was able to get to the different park gates quicker. Curious what others have to say.

They announced these hours today!

Edited to add: I’m going the end of May and have no idea how to plan soooo

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