Hollywood Studios closes to regular guests at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, October 20, four hours earlier than its usual 9 p.m. close, because the park has been booked for a private evening event. A few days later, EPCOT opens an hour late on October 23 and 25 for Disney Wine & Dine Half Marathon Weekend, so two Walt Disney World parks need a little extra planning next week.
Why Hollywood Studios Closes Early
The October 20 buyout is for attendees of the Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo conference, which is taking over the park that night. WDWMagic reported the early close back in August, and the park is scheduled to run 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. that day.
The morning is untouched. Early Theme Park Entry for resort guests starts at 8:30 a.m., and the park opens to everyone at 9 a.m. That still leaves eight regular hours, which is plenty for a focused day built around a handful of headliners. It is not the day for a slow, see-everything visit that runs into the evening.
Early closings like this can work in your favor. Plenty of guests simply pick another park when they see the shorter hours, so the morning and early afternoon can be calmer than a typical October Tuesday. If you only have one Hollywood Studios day on your trip and it lands on October 20, get there for the 8:30 a.m. start and plan to be done by late afternoon.
The rest of the resort runs normally that day. Magic Kingdom stays open until 10 p.m., and Animal Kingdom has Extended Evening Hours until 8 p.m. for eligible resort guests, so there is somewhere to go once Hollywood Studios empties out.
EPCOT Opens At 10 A.M. For Race Weekend
EPCOT goes the other way later in the week. The park opens at 10 a.m. on Friday, October 23, and Sunday, October 25, instead of its usual 9 a.m., with Early Theme Park Entry running from 9:30 to 10 a.m. The early-morning races that weekend are why the park starts its day later.
Closing time does not change, so EPCOT still runs until 9 p.m. both days. The bigger thing to plan around is the crowd: race weekends tend to bring plenty of runners into the park once their races are done. If EPCOT is usually your rope-drop park, consider swapping it with another park on those two mornings.
EPCOT’s hours shift again later in the season with its holiday hours, so it is worth checking the official park hours calendar again before you lock in dining reservations or Lightning Lane times for either park.
For the latest news and updates make sure to follow us on social media! Facebook | Twitter | Threads | Instagram | TikTok
