Walt Disney World is still the happiest place on earth. You’ll just have to fit the same amount of happiness into fewer hours of fun come September. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Disney’s four Florida theme parks will be trimming their hours of daily operation — after reopening on July 11 during the coronavirus quarantine — following the return of smaller crowds amid the state’s continued climb in COVID-19 cases.
Per Disney’s website, the Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios will soon close an hour earlier, with Epcot shuttering two hours early and Animal Kingdom cutting back the day on either end, opening an hour later and closing one hour earlier. The changes will take affect on September 8.
The change was announced less than a week after Disney revealed the multibillion-dollar toll COVID-19 has taken on the company. “Parks, Experiences and Products revenues for the quarter decreased 85 percent to $1.0 billion, and segment operating results decreased $3.7 billion to a loss of $2.0 billion,†Disney’s quarterly report, revealed Tuesday, explained. “Lower operating results for the quarter were due to decreases at both the domestic and international parks and experiences businesses and to a lesser extent, at our merchandise licensing and retail businesses.â€