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UNUSUAL 8A OPENINGS AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

As soon as I had enough data last summer to analyze 2011-2012 school calendars, it was clear that the week beginning March 10 would be one of the three busiest Spring break weeks at Walt Disney World in 2012.

Disney’s operating calendar for that week is beginning to reflect this.

In particular, it is showing 8a openings at Disney’s Hollywood Studios on March 10 and March 11, and 8a openings at the Animal Kingdom on March 12, 13, and 14.

In past years, these 8a March spring break openings have more commonly been on Saturdays at the Magic Kingdom.  As I write this, the Magic Kingdom is still showing 9a openings the entire week.

The purpose of adding Studios and Animal Kingdom 8a openings is not obvious to me:

• Is it to wean crowds away from the Magic Kingdom? If so, then I would not expect to see many 8a Magic Kingdom openings offered
• Or is it solely to deal with the overall crowds? If so, then I’d expect to see 8a openings added to the Magic Kingdom that week.
• The daylight savings time change March 11 likely has a role in this as well

Meanwhile, there are anomalies in the operating hours later in this week.

For example, the Animal Kingdom is open 9a-8p Thursday the 15th and Sunday the 18th, but 9a-7p the two days in between.  I can’t think of any crowding pattern that explains this, so I expect to see further changes in operating hours between now and then.

Keep checking Disney World’s calendars to make sure any changes don’t trip you up!

The original version of this page blew up after a site upgrade…

The same info under a slightly different title is here: http://yourfirstvisit.net/2011/06/20/disney-worlds-2012-prices-include-different-prices-for-different-value-resorts/

…and to all a good night!

THANKSGIVING AT WALT DISNEY WORLD

 Thanksgiving week at Walt Disney World can be quite busy–particularly the latter half: Thanksgiving itself, and the three days that follow it.

While not as bad as some other holiday weeks–Easter and Christmas, for example, it can be challenging, and the material below gives some hints on how to deal with it.

[Read more →]