'At the same time, we're also introducing new ways for guests to enjoy their visits, including early theme park entry for Disney resort hotel guests.'Īs it stands right now, the loss of the Magical Express beginning in 2022 is probably more significant than the end of Extra Magic Hours, as those have effectively been gone since last March anyway. 'As consumer needs and preferences change, we will no longer offer Disney's Magical Express service starting with arrivals in 2022,' a Walt Disney World Resort spokesperson told TPG on the phone. Related: These are the best hotels at Disney World Bottom line I'd argue this is actually better than traditional Extra Magic Hours, as that benefit had the unintended consequence of causing the park of the day to become more crowded - a disadvantage even for guests leveraging Extra Magic Hours.Īdditionally, the introduction of Park Pass reservations, where you have to identify the first park you'll visit each day in advance, will be better aligned with this new structure. Instead, we learned that later this year, Disney resort guests (and guests of other select properties) will get a 30-minute head start for all four Disney World theme parks every day. This perk hasn't actually returned since Disney World reopened in July of 2020, and we now know that it's not coming back.

You could potentially get in early or stay later than non-resort guests at the designated park of the day. Extra Magic Hours will be replaced with a 30-minute head startīefore the pandemic changed much of how Disney World operates, Disney resort guests enjoyed Extra Magic Hours at rotating parks every day. (Pro tip: While availability is never 100% guaranteed, do remember that there are Ubers with car seats available in the Orlando area.)Īlso, remember that the Brightline train extension from the Orlando airport's South Terminal to Disney Springs is expected to come online in the coming years, providing an additional transportation method for travelers heading to the Most Magical Place on Earth once that construction is complete. Travelers who will be the most negatively affected by this change are likely those who require car seats or who have more complicated logistics with wheelchairs or other accessibility needs that were relatively streamlined with Disney-provided transportation. And for your return to the airport, you couldn't control the pick-up slot, which often left you with excess time to burn at the airport. You sometimes had to wait for the bus to arrive, and you could draw the short straw if your resort was the final drop-off stop. The Magical Express bus wasn't always perfect, of course, and sometimes took more time than the savings were worth.

Disney extra magic hour