Magic Kingdom Closing at 4:30 on 5/3

[jsmla]

Just got an update. Anyone know why?

 

[thanxfornoticin]

Just a guess, but they've been trying to do a cast member celebration event at MK for months now, and it's been postponed numerous times. It's possible that is the night they hope to do it. But it is a guess.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

they are rescheduling the cast member service celebration events that didn’t happen in 2020 and 2021. Originally scheduled for January and February but were again postponed because of weather. They will now be May 3 and 15.

 

[Delirium]

That's gotta stink if you already booked MK for that day.

 

[dledger]

That's gotta stink if you already booked MK for that day.

I actually changed my MK TO that day from the day before! Less crowds hopefully!

 

[sponica]

I actually changed my MK TO that day from the day before! Less crowds hopefully!

I imagine people with base tickets won't go there that day.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

booking MK on the 15th with monorail pub crawl after 4.

 

[GoofyDad_4427]

That's gotta stink if you already booked MK for that day.

That's gotta be the best news possible if you already booked MK for that day, unless you really, really want to see the fireworks.

 

[bobcat]

That's gotta be the best news possible if you already booked MK for that day, unless you really, really want to see the fireworks.

That was my thinking. We have hoppers so I think we will do MK that day and hop that evening. Glad to see they will be getting the CM celebration!

 

[Gizmo74]

We were at MK on 2/8 and it was closed at 4:30 for the cast event that got cancel due to weather. Everything was a walk on and it was empty as it got closer to closing time. Of course, it was a light drizzle all day and cooler out but it was one of our best days ever at MK. We went to MK back in October for extended hours since we were staying at the Poly. That night and 2/8 was about the same for crowd levels. I also heard that MK was packed the day before and day after the cast event so keep that in mind. I think it is worth going on a shorter day.

 

[Haley R]

We’ll be there may 2-5. I just booked May 3 as our MK day hoping we’ll see low crowds

 

[jsmla]

Thanks! I think I’ll switch to MK that day. I always loved MK mornings on MNSSHP & MVMCP parties.

 

[rdaky]

That's gotta stink if you already booked MK for that day.

Longer hours are not always better. It will most likely be less crowded and those who are there will probably have shorter lines and be able to do more in less time. The Monday before will be slammed with the regular starting the vacation at MK people along with everyone trying to avoid the 4:30 close on Tuesday.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

most guests who don't have a hopper ticket will probably avoid MK on those days. Theyll switch to the day before or after.

 

[Delirium]

I actually changed my MK TO that day from the day before! Less crowds hopefully!

Longer hours are not always better. It will most likely be less crowded and those who are there will probably have shorter lines and be able to do more in less time. The Monday before will be slammed with the regular starting the vacation at MK people along with everyone trying to avoid the 4:30 close on Tuesday.

For people that go all the time, that's great. A lot of people forget, though, that, for many, WDW is a once in a lifetime trip. I'm sure parents of the 5 and 7 year old kids, on a 3-4 day visit to WDW, that chose that day for their MK Park reservation, and have ADRs in the other parks on the other days, probably don't have as positive of an outlook about the change.

 

[Haley R]

Will it be low crowds all day or mostly just before closing? I’m wondering if we’ll be good in the morning.

 

[rdaky]

For people that go all the time, that's great. A lot of people forget, though, that, for many, WDW is a once in a lifetime trip. I'm sure parents of the 5 and 7 year old kids, on a 3-4 day visit to WDW, that chose that day for their MK Park reservation, and have ADRs in the other parks on the other days, probably don't have as positive of an outlook about the change.

I'm going to stand by what I said in that longer hours are not always better. Even if you're there for a once in a lifetime trip, you still have 7.5 hours. If there are fewer people in the park, you might not be spending 60+ minutes in line for multiple rides, which allows you to do more on that day. The crowds have been insane lately, so if it means a less crazy day, I think that's a plus. I do think not having fireworks for a once in a lifetime trip is an absolute bummer. I agree with you there.

People should be able to still change park reservations at this point if they really want to switch things around.

 

[Kirsti]

We were there Feb 8th which was the second of the two originally scheduled appreciation nights, so with a 4:30pm park closing. It was also grey and rainy and cold (hence the postponement), but as a result, everything was really *really* low wait times.

The other thing to note, if you look at the historical crowd calendars for the dates in Jan and Feb where this was originally scheduled is that the days either side of the early closing see MASSIVE spikes in park numbers at MK. In January, the park hit a 10 the day before, and a 7 the day after - and I think that was the first 10 for two years, so even more crowded than the 2021 holiday season. In Feb it was a 10 both days. So take that into your planning too! (I'm also really curious as to how HS will be for May 4th... maybe another one to avoid that day!)

 

[focusondisney]

For people that go all the time, that's great. A lot of people forget, though, that, for many, WDW is a once in a lifetime trip. I'm sure parents of the 5 and 7 year old kids, on a 3-4 day visit to WDW, that chose that day for their MK Park reservation, and have ADRs in the other parks on the other days, probably don't have as positive of an outlook about the change.

Anyone with a 3-4 day visit that includes May 3rd haven’t made their ADRs yet.

 

[Promomx2]

Will they still do fireworks? We’re staying at gf and were thinking of watching firewalls on beach with a drink every night.