All About Walt Disney World's Extra Magic Hours

Remember that list of 20+ Reasons Staying At A Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Is The Best Thing Ever? I loved that post! Since it published we've received a lot of questions about some of the great perks available. One of the most common questions has been about Extended Theme Park Hours - Extra Magic Hours!


All About Walt Disney World's Extra Magic Hours


Disney's Extra Magic Hours rewards Walt Disney World Resort Hotel Guests by giving them even more time to play at the fabulous Disney Parks outside of the standard operating schedule. Every day, on a rotational basis, one of the Four Walt Disney World Theme Parks opens either one hour early or remains open up to 2 hours after regular closing time. It's worth noting that not all of the Parks attractions are open during these extended hours, however many attractions are available and there's always plenty of shopping, dining and character meets to participate in.

Guests Staying In The Following Accommodations Can Take Advantage of Extra Magic Hours:

• All Walt Disney World-owned resorts
• Walt Disney World Dolphin & Swan Resorts
• Hilton Resort at Downtown Disney
• Shades of Green
• Golden Oak Residents

Resort Guests will receive a printed times guide at check-in informing then of when each park offers Extra Magic Hours. You can also find out which Park will be offering Extra Magic Hours by checking the MyDisneyExperience App or if you'd like to plan early, be sure to check the Park Calendar online at waltdisneyworld.com.





It's easy to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours!

To participate in Extra Magic Hours, Guests must use their MagicBand or RFID Enabled Resort ID along with a Valid Theme Park Ticket at the designated Park's gate.

For morning hours Guests can arrive up to an hour before the Park of the day is scheduled to open to the public. That means if you're headed to the Magic Kingdom for Extra Magic Hours and the Park is scheduled to open at 9:00am, you can arrive and gain entry as early as 8:00am. In our opinion Morning Extra Magic Hours are the best use of your time because fewer Guests seem to want to get up early when they're planning an entire day in the Theme Park. Use these hours to get in all the rides you can and then take an afternoon break back at the Hotel.

In the evening Extra Magic Hours give Walt Disney World Resort Guests even more fun by extending Park Hours by up to two hours! To participate in these, cast members check for valid Resort IDs at the entrance to each attraction. Evening Extra Magic Hours tend to be more crowded as non-Resort Guests are still ambling back towards the front of the Park and testing their luck and sneaking onto just one last ride.

It's important to note that Extra Magic Hours do not automatically extend Park Hopping privileges, so if you want to take advantage of Extra Magic Hours and don't have Park Hoppers on your tickets, be sure that you start out the day at the Park, which offers the Extra Magic Hours.





A word about using Disney Transportation.

Disney boats and buses from your resort hotel to the Park will begin 30 minutes prior to the Extra Magic Hours opening time. The monorails however are on a set schedule and don't flex with the changing Park Hours. This makes it much less useful than it used to be for getting to the Parks early.


All About Extra Magic Hours


The Magic Kingdom Resort Monorail makes its way around the Seven Seas Lagoon from 8:30 a.m. to midnight and stops at each Resort on the loop and the Transportation and Ticket Center. For Guests heading to Epcot from Magic Kingdom area Resorts, the Epcot Monorail runs from 9 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Are you a fan of Extra Magic Hours? Do you prefer to hit them during the morning or evening hours? Leave a comment below and share your thoughts!