Disney World to cut theme park hours in September as visits drop amid COVID-19
The magic is back at Disney World, but for fewer hours a day.
After lower-than-expected attendance amid the coronavirus pandemic, Disney is scaling back operating hours at the Magic Kingdom and several other Florida theme parks.
Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom will all lose an hour or two per day starting Sept. 8.
The revised park hours were shared over the weekend on Disney World’s website.
Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios are ending their day an hour earlier. Epcot is cutting back by two hours. Animal Kingdom is shaving an hour off on both ends of the day.
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Disney's revised hours:
Magic Kingdom: 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. ET.
Epcot: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Hollywood Studios: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Animal Kingdom: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
The COVID-19 surge in Florida has resulted in more cancellations and fewer visitors than the company anticipated, with the park operating at lower capacity, Disney executives announced last week in an earnings webcast.
After being closed for nearly four months, Disney World reopened in July with restricted capacity and safety protocolssuch as mandatory masks and temperature checks upon arrival. But parks have experienced a falloff in visitors from out of state amid steep declines in long-distance travel.
The Walt Disney Co. lost nearly $5 billion in April, May and June, while its theme parks were shut down altogether. It cost the company $3.5 billion just to close the parks during the third quarter, on top of the $1 billion it cost to shut them down the second half of March.
Contributing: Curtis Tate
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney World to reduce hours in September as visits drop amid COVID
