Disney’s Hollywood Studios Closing Early on Mid-October Date in 2026

Disney’s Hollywood Studios is set to close early for a private event on October 20, 2026. Per the latest operating hours release, Disney’s Hollywood Studios will close at 5:00 p.m. that evening. The park is closing due to a buyout for the Gartner IT Symposium | Expo, which is being held at Disney’s Swan and Dolphin Resort between October 19th and the 22nd.

As always, we like to remind our readers that there are advantages and disadvantages of visiting a theme park on a date with an early closure. Obviously, the negative factor is that the park closes early. If your time at Disney’s Hollywood Studios is limited to one day, you would miss popular nighttime entertainment like Fantasmic! and the opportunity to see the park after dark.

That said, if you have more than one day to spend at Disney’s Hollywood Studios or have the park-hopper ticket, you might prefer to take advantage of what will likely be lower crowds on this date. While there are never any guarantees, crowds tend to be significantly lighter on days when a park closes early. Not everyone is willing to burn their ticket when they can’t take advantage of a full day’s operating hours. So it’s definitely something to consider (either way).

Overall, mid-October is a moderate time of year to visit. Most of the major Fall break crowds will have dissipated by the 20th. However, guests will be coming in for the Disney Wine and Dine Half-Marathon Weekend, which runs from October 22nd through the 25th.

If you would like to know more about visiting this month, see our overview of what to expect at Disney World in October. You might also enjoy our guide on how to plan a Disney World vacation. Check back with Resorts Gal soon for more updates.

In the Comments

Will you be visiting this October? If so, will this early closing at Disney’s Hollywood Studios affect your plans? Let us know in the comments below.