Disney World expands its theme park hours

Over the 4th of July holiday, a lot of images went up on social media showing Disney World's four theme parks with lower-than-usual crowds. While some of those pictures were shot in a way to overstate how empty the parks were, it's fair to say that there were periods over the holiday when attendance was not as robust at it would be expected to be.

Some blamed the low attendance on Walt Disney's (DIS) - Get Free Report battles with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis while others cited general economic woes. In reality, while Disney and Comcast's (CMCSA) - Get Free Report Universal Studios did see slight attendance drops this summer, the 4th of July was an outlier weekend. 

Temperatures were hot, so many of the people visiting Disney World opted for shorter days with more time spent in their hotel pools. In addition, airfares were higher-than-normal over the holiday period. They may have enticed some people to push their trip to a different week. 

The Disney World attendance picture actually requires a more nuanced look rather than just looking at how many people visited. That's something Walt Disney (DIS) - Get Free Report CEO Bob Iger explained during the company's third-quarter earnings call.

We saw softer performance at Walt Disney World from the prior year, coming off our highly successful 50th anniversary celebration. Also as post-COVID pent-up demand continues to level off in Florida, local tax data shows evidence of some softening in several major Florida tourism markets.

And the strong dollar is expected to continue tamping down international visitation to the state. However, Walt Disney World is still performing well above pre-COVID levels, 21% higher in revenue and 29% higher in operating income compared to fiscal 2019

Basically, Disney World has seen attendance slow, but it has made more money on fewer customers. That's at least partially a choice the company has made to deliver a better experience at its Florida theme parks. 

Yes, fewer people are visiting Disney World, but the company has shown that it can raise profits by doing a better job serving fewer guests. Now, Disney has shared some news that visitors to three of its four Florida theme parks will be really happy about. 

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Disney World extends park hours, adds rare midnight closure 

Disney World has expanded hours on a number of days in October and November at Magic Kingdom, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. Epcot, which is not changing its hours, is almost always open from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. although that can change.

As part of the expanded hours, which were first reported on by Blog Mickey, Magic Kingdom will close at midnight on Nov. 11 (which is Veteran's Day, a holiday that has not traditionally had late hours at the park).   

Magic Kingdom

• October 28, November 4: Park hours extended to 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
• November 5, 8: Park hours extended to 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. 
• November 6: Park hours extended to 9 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
• November 7: Park hours extended to 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. 
• November 9 and 10: Park hours extended to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
• November 11: Park hours extended to 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.

Hollywood Studios

• November 10: Park hours extended to 8:30 a.m., to 9 p.m.

• November 11: Park hours extended to 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

Animal Kingdom

• November 5-9: Park hours extended to 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.  
• November 10-11: Park hours extended to 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. 

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Disney World has been working to create a balance between pricing, attendance, and park experience. Adding hours on certain days suggests that sales have gone well at those parks on those days.

Disney has big theme park plans 

Disney World still caps attendance at levels that are lower than they were before the covid pandemic. That has produced happier customers, according to Iger.

"We continue to see positive guest experience ratings in our theme parks, including Walt Disney World, and positive indicators for guests looking to book future visits. This includes strong demand for our newly returned annual passes," he added.

The company also plans to invest heavily in its theme park business around the world.

"We're making numerous investments globally to grow our parks business over the next five years, and I'm very optimistic about the future of this business over the long term," Iger said.

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Few specific things have been shared about the company's plans for investing in Disney World aside from Iger admitting they will. Universal Studios will be opening its third Florida theme park, Epic Universe, in the summer of 2025, making it likely that Disney will time an expansion of one of its parks, likely Magic Kingdom, for a similar time period. 

Disney shares fell 0.7% to $82.65 on Friday. They were off 2% for what was a troubled week for stocks generally. Disney is up nearly 2% for the month, however, but off about 5% for the year.