In addition to extended hours at the Magic Kingdom, EPCOT will be shifting to new hours starting November 27. These changes are now reflected on the Walt Disney World park hours calendar:
New park hours will be from 12:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Do note that this is not an extension of park hours, but merely an hour shift later into the evening, which may help accommodate nighttime crowds for the start of the EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays, which begins starting on November 27.
Currently, park hours are 11:00 AM to 7:00 PM. Hours in December have yet to be released for any of the parks. For a full list of holiday offerings coming to Walt Disney World, click here!
12:00 noon opening is absurd. Disney needs to get back to regular park hours. How can you expect people to travel to your destination with offerings already limited and then not opening until half the day is gone.
Additionally, this practice will only lead to more clustering of crowds at opening. When the parks open early, not everyone comes at opening, but opening this late will put even more pressure on crowds at opening time. Hardly responsible pandemic practices. Once again, its all about Disney saving a dollar while short thrifting guests in terms of both experience and value.