Disney World’s 50th anniversary is fast approaching and we want to make sure you’re ready!

When it comes to where you can spend your October 1st (that’s the 50th!), you’ve got some choices to make. Magic Kingdom is sure to have an AMAZING celebration, but EPCOT will feature a brand-new ride. So, what should you do? We’re here to help!

Availability

First things first, we gotta talk about availability. As of right now, Disney expects to use the Disney Park Pass theme park reservation system through the 50th anniversary. That means that you need park admission AND a reservation to your park of choice. In some cases, those reservations are already gone.

Magic Kingdom is COMPLETELY unavailable for all ticket holders on October 1st. EPCOT is unavailable for Annual Passholders, but at the time of writing, regular ticket holders and resort guests can still snag an EPCOT reservation.

Availability may open up, but we’re not sure. The system is in place to keep capacity limited so if capacity is raised due to lifting health concerns by October, we may see more availability. Plus, Disney has added some more availability in the past. If you don’t have a reservation yet, we recommend keeping a close eye on the availability and DFB. We’ll let you know if more become available.

If you DO already have a Disney Park Pass for October 1st, then the decision might be made for you! Those reservations are hard to come by so stick with the one you have and make that your park for the day. As far as we know, park-hopping will be an option, so you could maybe even do BOTH parks.

Click here to learn more about the Disney Park Pass system!

Hours

You can also consider park hours! Disney does tend to extend park hours on very busy days, but hours remain limited at this time due to the global health crisis. That may change by October, but we might still be contending with earlier-than-usual nights by the 50th.

The most that hours have been extended was on New Year’s Eve. That day, Magic Kingdom was open from 8AM to 11PM and EPCOT was open from 10AM to 10PM. If the parks have a similar extension for the 50th, you’ll have more hours in the parks on the 50th if you spend them in Magic Kingdom.

Want to learn more about how hours were extended during the holidays? Click here.

Crowds

As you can probably tell from the already-gone Disney Park Pass reservations, Disney World is expected to be absolutely SLAMMED on October 1st. A big anniversary like this is a major draw for Disney fans.

A very busy Magic Kingdom can feel VERY crowded, whereas a very busy EPCOT sometimes feels slightly less so due to the size of the park. Still, it’s going to feel busy, busy, busy no matter what park you’re in.

To see a busy EPCOT day, click here!

Decorations

As you might have heard, the Disney World parks are getting some spiffy decorations for the 50th celebrations. Magic Kingdom will feature a whole new look on Cinderella Castle and more decorations around the park.

Decorations have already started going up on the castle! 

EPCOT on the other hand will have beautiful new lighting on Spaceship Earth. Both of these icons are sure to be a sight to see but keep in mind that Spaceship Earth’s new look is PERMANENT. So, you don’t have to visit that park during the 18 months (!!!) of celebrations. Cinderella Castle will only have its makeover for a limited time.

Disney has already given us a first look at the new Spaceship Earth lighting! 

In addition to this, Mickey and Minnie will both be getting special outfits for the anniversary.

We’re not sure if they’ll appear all dressed up in just Magic Kingdom or if they’ll have their special ‘fits in EPCOT too.

Click here to learn more about the 50th decorations! 

New Attractions

So far, you might be thinking that Magic Kingdom will have more going on during the 50th. Au contraire! Though Magic Kingdom was supposed to debut TRON Lightcycle Run in time for the 50th, that coaster may have been delayed.

We have yet to hear an update on when it will open officially.

Read MORE about TRON Lightcycle Run here! 

EPCOT on the other hand will be welcoming the remainder of the France Expansion including Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure, a new trackless dark ride based on Pixar’s Ratatouille. This attraction is HIGHLY anticipated and is sure to be BLAST.

If your focus is less on fun celebrations and more on brand-new rides, you might want to make EPCOT your pick for the big day.

Want to learn more about the opening of Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure? Click here!

Overall, EPCOT and Magic Kingdom both present VERY good options for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. Again, park hopping might get you the ability to do BOTH — as long as you can snag a Disney Park Pass before they’re completely gone.

As always, stay tuned to DFB for all the latest updates about Disney World’s 50th Anniversary and all the best Disney tips!

To learn more about the 50th, click here!

Headed to Disney World on October 1st? Tell us in the comments!