Jul 12
30

The Demise of Extra Magic Hours

2 Comments

If you haven’t heard in recent days, Walt Disney World has recently announced that evening Extra Magic Hours, which use to be three hours (at Epcot, from 9pm-midnight) will now be reduced to two hours. This news was disturbing to me, as I think many of us are seeing a trend to Disney cutting our perks and giving us less and less even though the prices continue to rise.

I find it hard to believe that this is a money saving move for Disney. With single day park tickets hovering near $100 a piece, most travelers are booking packages, which guarantees Disney more money through food purchased, souvenirs, and miscellaneous items.

I, frankly, am disappointed by this move. Disney World gurus know that Extra Magic Hours are a time to accomplish things. The crowds diminish. The screaming kids go to bed. You are left with a park virtually all to yourself. It’s sad that this time to ourselves will be cut short.  A major reason I stay on property every time I visit is for the EMHs.

It isn’t the first time we have seen cuts like this before though. Fantasmic went on a one-day-a-week hiatus for quite a while, but seems to be back to a normal schedule now. The Disney Dining Plan has taken major hits over the years too, from losing appetizers to ridding the package price of the inclusive tip.

Walt’s intentions would never be for us to feel ripped off. I am sad that Disney has decided to do this, and I hope the pattern doesn’t continue. Give me what I pay for, and I will be a happy guest. That is all I ask.

What are your thoughts on this recent change? I am interested to hear what our readers think on EMHs. 

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This entry was posted on July 30, 2012 at 8:00 am. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Posted in Blog Outside Epcot by Jennifer 2 Comments

2 Responses to "The Demise of Extra Magic Hours"

  • Theresa S. says:
    July 30, 2012 at 8:36 am

    This is very disappointing to me and my family. We always plan our days in the park with extra magic hours, because although it means bigger crowds during the day, we know we will have smaller crowds in the evening. It’s just like going to the grocery store-smaller boxes, bigger prices. I just don’t think Disney has to do this. The sad thing is, when we go, I can’t tell that the crowds are getting smaller at all. If anything, they seem to be pulling in more and more families, who just need to get away from it all. As long as the demand is up, they will continue to raise their prices and make our boxes smaller. And my husband and I will continue to sacrifice, and scrape together every spare penny we can, just so we can take our children on their beloved Disneyworld vacations as often as possible.

  • Walt - iZenBoxer says:
    July 30, 2012 at 7:10 pm

    I’m more surprised that WDW is actually keeping them at all ! Over the last couple of years, as soon as EMH kick in, less attractions & food services stay open. Making EMH not so magical.

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