Walt Disney World has made two main modifications to Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios, each of which may or will trigger ripple results for crowds and different friends. This put up particulars the modifications together with our commentary about their significance. (Up to date July 19, 2024.)
The primary is that Prolonged Night Hours will return to Disney’s Hollywood Studios in September 2024. The perk will doubtless shift from Magic Kingdom to Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Wednesdays, beginning with Wednesday, September 25, 2024. The transfer has not but been formally introduced by Walt Disney World, however you’ll be able to see the change by way of the My Disney Expertise app. (It’s not but mirrored on the web-based calendar, which doesn’t go as far out for some purpose.)
This isn’t even remotely stunning. Solely a few days in the past, we up to date our our Technique Information Information for Prolonged Night Hours at Walt Disney World with the “warning” you could solely anticipate Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom to run by late September 2024, earlier than they change over to different parks till 2025.
This was to be anticipated due to Social gathering Season, which begins in early August however doesn’t actually kick into excessive gear with a full schedule till late September. Final yr, the very same factor occurred–Disney’s Hollywood Studios started internet hosting ExEH in late September. Then Animal Kingdom hosted ExEH all through the Christmas season as the choice as a result of each Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios had vacation events.
Whereas just one date is official for 2024, our expectation is that the very same factor will happen this yr. Walt Disney World has introduced that the Jollywood Nights Christmas Social gathering is returning to Hollywood Studios in November and December, which means that it’s doubtless DHS will host ExEH from late September by October (and perhaps a little bit of early November), and Animal Kingdom will supply it from November by December 2024.
There’ll undoubtedly be Deluxe Resort friends who grouse about this, however on stability, that is excellent news for many friends. We did Prolonged Night Hours at Magic Kingdom a few instances in the beginning of Social gathering Season final yr, and it was bonkers busy. Understandably so, as there are fewer nights to expertise Magic Kingdom at night time with out paying additional.
Shifting it over to Hollywood Studios and/or Animal Kingdom throughout these busy stretches is the precise transfer from crowds perspective. (Additionally, each of these are underrated parks at night time.) It offers common friends extra alternatives to get pleasure from Magic Kingdom with out working round a particular occasion, and provides ExEH friends an precise alternative to expertise decrease crowd ranges.
Most significantly, this additionally ought to open the door for extra later park closings at Magic Kingdom from late September by December. For my part, Magic Kingdom ought to by no means have an everyday closing time earlier than 11 pm as soon as late September rolls round and must be open till midnight on most nights between October and late December. The sooner closings brought on by Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Social gathering push most individuals to these occasion off-nights, thereby necessitating longer common hours to assist higher take in crowds.
The opposite main change is that Walt Disney World has lastly added Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the Prolonged Night Hours experience roster at Magic Kingdom. This comes almost 3 weeks after the attraction opened.
Previous to this, there had been radio silence from Disney about TBA throughout ExEH, which was odd on condition that Splash Mountain was open throughout the perk and all different new/reimagined points of interest have instantly joined the lineup, even ones utilizing digital queues.
July 19, 2024 UPDATE: Tiana’s Bayou Journey has been fully faraway from the Prolonged Night Hours web site. This follows its separate removing from data within the My Disney Expertise app. As defined beneath, Tiana’s Bayou Journey was added in a number of spots on the ExEH web page, suggesting it was purposeful and never a typo or mistake. Nonetheless, it was added on Wednesday and Tiana’s Bayou Journey was not open that night time for ExEH, so who is aware of!
Sadly, this isn’t the primary time one thing like this has occurred. It’s not even the primary time this month. It’s turning into extremely irritating that we will’t belief what’s revealed by Disney by itself official web site and as a substitute should caveat or “interpret” that information, however that’s turning into the case.
Our interpretation of what occurred right here is, most probably, that Disney IT prematurely pushed an replace that wasn’t meant to go dwell simply but. That Tiana’s Bayou Journey goes to hitch the Prolonged Night Hours lineup, however (clearly) not this week. My expectation is that TBA can be re-added to the Prolonged Night Hours web page and function subsequent Wednesday, July 24, however who is aware of! After all, that is simply our guess. We gained’t know till Disney updates the ExEH web page. Really, scratch that. We gained’t know till it truly operates throughout ExEH, as a result of apparently we will not belief Disney as a constantly credible supply of information.
Right here’s what was added to (and subsequently faraway from) DisneyWorld.com’s Prolonged Night Hours web page:
An Further Alternative to Be part of the Digital Queue
Company staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort, Disney Deluxe Villa Resort or different choose resorts can have further alternatives to hitch digital queues.
At 6:00 PM on nights with prolonged night theme park hours at EPCOT, these Company can request to hitch the digital queue for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.
At 6:00 PM on nights with prolonged night theme park hours at Magic Kingdom park, these Company can request to hitch the digital queue for:
- Tiana’s Bayou Journey
- TRON Lightcycle / Run
Company don’t must be in EPCOT or Magic Kingdom park once they request to hitch the digital queue.
What follows is our unique commentary, previous to the removing…
Turning to commentary, there are some things value discussing. The primary is that the official Walt Disney World web page for Prolonged Night Hours has been up to date with this data, and in two spots. This is available in the identical week as Nation Bear Musical Jamboree was added, at which era Tiana’s Bayou Journey was not. This strongly suggests, to me, that the addition of Tiana’s Bayou Journey right now was purposeful and never made by mistake. (It does occur.)
That is the primary level as a result of Tiana’s Bayou Journey becoming a member of the Prolonged Night Hours lineup has not been added to the web page describing how digital queues work. Extra importantly, at present is Wednesday (July 17, 2024) which means that Magic Kingdom is internet hosting Prolonged Night Hours. Regardless of that, and the truth that the digital queue entry time is approaching in half-hour on the time of press, there’s no choice to hitch for Tiana’s Bayou Journey–solely TRON Lightcycle Run.
Which means that both Tiana’s Bayou Journey was purposefully added to the official Prolonged Night Hours web page in two separate spots by chance, or the change wasn’t supposed to roll out till tomorrow and take impact subsequent Wednesday. Simply based mostly on stealth updates we’ve seen made earlier than official bulletins within the final couple of weeks (Jungle Cruise refurbishment being a major instance), my cash is on the latter rationalization.
Previous to this, we had been working beneath the idea that Walt Disney World was ready till Tiana’s Bayou Journey dropped the digital queue earlier than including it to the Prolonged Night Hours lineup. In case you recall, Tiana’s Bayou Journey would solely be utilizing a digital queue for its preliminary opening interval–Walt Disney World indicated {that a} standby queue wouldn’t be out there throughout the “attraction’s preliminary opening days,” however that they anticipated to drop the digital queue quickly after the attraction’s opening.
On condition that, our take was that Disney didn’t wish to problem with two digital queues throughout Prolonged Night Hours, and would wait a pair weeks for Tiana’s Bayou Journey to have a standby line to keep away from confusion and complaints or no matter. That it might solely be 1-2 ExEHs, so no massive deal. I preserve that this attitude was/might be appropriate.
That’s, till it wasn’t. For that to have been appropriate earlier than, it means one thing needed to have modified. My guess is that it’s the standing of the digital queue for Tiana’s Bayou Journey that has modified. Frankly, I believe that is most likely a given. It’s three weeks later and there are not any indicators of the digital queue going away anytime quickly–on the contrary, this would appear to cement that it’ll be round for at the very least one other couple of weeks. At this level, I might argue that we’re already already exterior of the “preliminary opening days” of Tiana’s Bayou Journey. So how lengthy the digital queue is meant for use can be “what modified.”
Fortunately for Walt Disney World, the attraction’s “preliminary opening days” is imprecise and open to interpretation. Whereas I could contend that window has already handed, they may nonetheless argue that they all the time meant the digital queue would final till September or, I dunno, mid-January 2025. That this was the plan all alongside! I wouldn’t purchase that, but it surely’s definitely an argument they may make. There are many uncritical followers who would consider it.
My view is that the “preliminary opening days” assertion was made on the idea of anticipated demand slightly than downtime. Which means that Disney figured opening weekend can be very busy and so they didn’t need an awesome line clogging up Frontierland or getting in the way in which of the parade route. In spite of everything, this was earlier than previews or anything began, so Disney was most likely working beneath the idea that Tiana’s Bayou Journey can be at the very least as dependable as Splash Mountain.
Clearly, it isn’t. Whereas the downtime scenario had seemingly been bettering over the course of the final week, simply yesterday, Tiana’s Bayou Journey didn’t open for the day till after 1 pm. So one thing remains to be very incorrect. It is perhaps a two steps ahead, one backwards type of deal–however regardless, the experience will not be constantly dependable.
At this level, the secure prediction is that Tiana’s Bayou Journey will use a digital queue for as lengthy at it’s tormented by downtime woes. Digital queues supply a way of pulsing demand and are the imperfect answer to operational woes. That’s exactly why Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance debuted the experience VQ again in 2019.
It’s doubtless additionally the case that Walt Disney World including Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the Prolonged Night Hours experience roster with a digital queue is a tacit acknowledgment that the (daytime) digital queue isn’t going away anytime quickly. In spite of everything, if it nonetheless had been getting standby quickly–why not simply maintain off including it to the lineup for an additional couple of weeks? Particularly after simply including Nation Bear Musical Jamboree!
Finally, I nonetheless don’t have any clue how lengthy the digital queue will final for Tiana’s Bayou Journey. What I can say is that, up till yesterday, I used to be beginning to lean in direction of “any day now” because of an bettering uptime streak of a couple of week. Between the downtime yesterday and this growth, I’m extra inclined to say “hopefully by the late August or September low season.”
Even that, although, is contingent upon the present issues plaguing the attraction being mounted. That might take days, weeks, or months. Walt Disney World’s delayed choice so as to add Tiana’s Bayou Journey to the Prolonged Night Hours lineup with a digital queue says to me we will most likely cross off “days” from that checklist.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s your plan of assault for minimizing issues with Tiana’s Bayou Journey–will you purchase making an attempt for the digital queue, shopping for Lightning Lane entry, or each? Are you excited for the opening of Tiana’s Bayou Journey or frightened concerning the day by day downtime and different points? Glad that it’ll have a restricted time digital queue for the preliminary opening interval, or would you like a standby line? Do you agree or disagree with our recommendation? Any questions we may also help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even once you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!
