Breaking: Big change for who is allowed to use the extended evening hour benefit

You will not believe who will now be able to enter extended evening hours only reserved for guests staying at Disney deluxe resorts. Be sure to check this out because it may cause a big headache! Will you be adjusting your plans?

Extended Evening Hours

Disney announced earlier this year that Extra Magic Hours would be replaced. Instead of having morning and evening benefits at various parks, Guests can utilize Early Theme Park Entry and Extended Evening Hours.

For Early Theme Park Entry, any Guest staying onsite can enter every park every day 30 minutes early. I highly encourage you to take advantage if you can! See how my family rode almost every ride at Hollywood Studios without a wait HERE.

Extended Evening Hours are reserved only for Guests staying at deluxe resorts. This includes DVC villas as well. Many staying at value and moderate resorts are understandably not happy with this change. They argue that it’s not fair and further caters to those who spend a lot of money at Disney.

So far, the only parks that are participating are Magic Kingdom and Epcot. On Monday nights, deluxe resort Guests can enjoy Epcot from 10:00 pm to 12:00 am. Additionally, Deluxe resort Guests can enjoy Magic Kingdom on Wednesday nights from 9:00 pm to 11:00 pm. The times may vary a bit depending on what time the parks close.

Changes to the Schedule

However, we noticed a change to this pattern and decided to investigate. There will be no Wednesday night Magic Kingdom hours on February 2, 2022. Instead, the extended evening hours for that week moved to Friday, February 4.

Extended evening hours moved from Wednesday, February 2 to Friday, February 4 at Magic Kingdom.

So far, Disney has remained on schedule since its debut in early October. What could possibly make them switch things up? Will all future dates be moved to Friday or is this a one time thing?

Competitions

Disney World hosts many competitions throughout the year, and there is one currently scheduled for February 4-6, 2022. The UDA High School National Dance Team Championship will take place that weekend.

So, I checked around their website – specifically the FAQ page. Among answers for ticket and hotel purchases, I found this:

Is there a Celebration Party or Extended Hours this season? 

Yes! We are excited to bring back the Extended Park Hours on Friday night as well as the Celebration Party on Sunday night! These are included for those on the Hotel Travel Package. Those attending the Celebration Party, do not need a Theme Park reservation on their ticket for that event. For commuters, you can purchase tickets for the Celebration party. 

So, what exactly is the Hotel Travel Package? This travel package basically ensures that every competitor has their flights, hotel, and tickets purchased. It offers convenience as well as financial savings.

Under the Hotel Travel Package section:

What is the difference between a Value and Moderate Resort? 

The Value accommodations are very nice yet economical hotels. Moderate accommodations are more upscale hotels on the Walt Disney World® property. Therefore, the main difference in package prices is the hotel cost only. All other services will remain the same for both hotels. 

Notice how nothing mentions deluxe? I actually searched the entire FAQ page and found nothing that mentioned deluxe!

Will these competitors have access to Extended Evening Hours?

Yes, it appears that these competitors will be mixed in with deluxe resort Guests on Friday, February 4. These late night “parties” are almost always held at Magic Kingdom.

If you are planning to utilize this benefit that evening, you may want to adjust your plans. This event will significantly increase the amount of people in attendance. Plus, these late nights are notoriously known for being loud with a bunch of teenagers running around!

I’m not sure why Disney could not just keep the Wednesday hours for deluxe resort Guests and add the Friday night party for competitors.

Are you planning to use those extended evening hours the same night as the competitors? Or, will you change your plans? Do you think this sets a precedent for future competitions? Join the conversation in the comments below and on Facebook.