NEWS: Disney Releases 4th of July Celebration Details

An all-American red, white and blue fireworks spectacular will bathe the sky this Independence Day at Walt Disney World Resort, joined by live entertainment, scrumptious treats, and patriotic pageantry. Here’s what’s in store for Fourth of July week, 2019.

Magic Kingdom Park – Park Hours: July 3, 8 a.m.-12 a.m.; July 4, 8 a.m.-1 a.m.

• “Disney’s Celebrate America! A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky” offers booming fireworks orchestrated to patriotic melodies showering the Magic Kingdom sky on both July 3 and July 4 at 9:15 p.m. Guests can also dance the night away with DJs spinning tunes at a Hoedown Throwdown in Frontierland and an out-of-this-world Galactic Gathering in Tomorrowland. Fans at home can join in the Independence Day celebration by viewing a special July 4 live stream of the dazzling fireworks display on the Disney Parks Blog.
• A fuzzy cast of Muppets – Miss Piggy, Kermit, Fozzie Bear and friends – reenact famous moments in American history in a whimsical way during “The Muppets Present … Great Moments in History.”The live show is performed several times daily near the Hall of Presidents in Liberty Square.

Epcot – Park Hours: 9 a.m.-9 p.m.

• “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” will end its nearly 20-year run on September 30, 2019. So this will be the last chance to experience the patriotic Fourth of July grand finale of this beloved nighttime spectacular. “The Heartbeat of Freedom” fireworks extravaganza will begin immediately following the 9 p.m. “IllumiNations: Reflections of Earth” display.
• A cappella vocal group Voices of Liberty will perform great American tunes during a Fourth of July concert on the America Gardens Theatre stage at 5:30, 6:45 and 8 p.m. on July 4. The group also will perform in the rotunda inside The American Adventure pavilion at 2 p.m. and 3 p.m.
• Guests can meet favorite Disney characters donning their “Spirit of ’76” patriotic attire at The American Adventure throughout the day on July 4.
• Guests can indulge in themed eats and sips honoring Independence Day throughout the park – everything from patriotic cupcakes and special dining packages to red, white, and blue sangria and a Boom Berry Lemonade.

RELATED ARTICLE: 6 Reasons Summer is the Best Time to Visit Disney World

by Christy Caby

Summertime really is one of the most exciting times to visit Disney World.  It may be in the heat of summer and draw in some crowds, but it is still an amazing time to visit with your family and enjoy everything that Disney has to offer!  Here are 7 reasons why we love to visit Disney World in the summer:

6 – Kids are on vacation, so no missed school (while still learning).

Parents are always concerned about pulling their kids out of school mid-year and what impacts that will cause at the school and their grades.  Well, this makes visiting in the summer absolutely perfect since the kids are already on break.  No messing with the school and catching up on homework, plus they still get a vacation that can be extremely educational.  Many of the attractions have educational components in the areas of history, science, media, etc.  For our young kids we even work on reading and word recognition everywhere we go so that they are practicing reading the entire time.  They are learning and don’t even realize it because it’s so much fun!

5 – The parks are open later.

This is definitely a great benefit.  The normal hours for the Magic Kingdom, not including Extra Magic Hours, is usually around 1 or 2 AM during the summer months.  This gives even more time to enjoy the parks without being out in the sun the entire time so you get more bang for your buck on park admission.  During fall/winter months, these hours are much shorter closing as early as 7, 9 or 11 PM on most nights.  You get a lot more out of your days!

4 – Shows are shown more frequently.

In the summer months many of the shows, including evening shows, are shown more frequently.  This is partly due to the longer park hours since there is more availability in the day for the volume of shows to increase.  This is also due to the popularity of the shows, especially the evening shows so that more guests can experience all that the parks have to offer and not miss out on any of the attractions.

3 – Planning makes wait times more bearable.

With FastPass+, you have more control of your day and when you wait. While the summer months can be hot, if you use your FastPass+ wisely, you can minimize the time you are spent waiting in the heat.  You can select FastPass+ options during the heat of the day so that you can get right on attractions and it won’t feel as hot.  You really have a lot of control over your day and can make it work for you so that the heat and crowds won’t be an issue during your vacation.

2 – The water parks are at their best.

Disney water parks are so much fun!  They are some of the best themed water parks you will ever visit with awesome, thrilling attractions to enjoy.  You can swim with sharks, ride a water coaster, ride the tallest water slide in the world (with no raft) and so much more!  They are perfect for beating the Florida heat while enjoying the sun.  If you visit during other months, it is very possible one of the water parks could be closed for annual refurbishment since they tend to do this in non-summer months.  It is a great time to make sure you can experience both Typhoon Lagoon and Blizzard Beach!  Both water parks also have character meet and greets and more excitement that they discontinue in the less busy months!  So you get more out of your visit.

1 – The pools at the resorts are amazing.

We can’t forget the amazing pools and all the fun activities.  During the heat of the day, you can come back to your resort and swim in an amazing pool!  Many of them even have water slides and water playground features that make the pool areas almost like a mini water park right at your resort.  Playing in the Florida sun feels like the ultimate vacation and is a great way to relax in between the excitement of the theme parks.  It rounds out the perfect summer vacation!