Disney World Does Not Plan to Shut Down Day One Attraction, Despite Rumors

Some Walt Disney World fans and guests have been concerned that one of Magic Kingdom's original attractions was set to close. Frontierland Shootin' Arcade has been around for 50 years, but the operating hours for the attraction for a period of time in November and December were absent from Disney World's listings. Since the arcade wasn't part of the park's "Closed for Refurbishment" lineup, many felt that it was going away for good. Fortunately, that isn't actually the case.

With rumors of Frontierland Shootin' Arcade's closure swirling, Cinemablend reached out to Walt Disney World for clarification, wondering if the longtime Magic Kingdom staple was actually going extinct. A representative from the park confirmed that their side of the site showed normal operating hours from November 27th to October 11th — the period that was missing from the public side of the site. It was simply a glitch or error in the system causing the missing hours. Frontierland Shootin' Arcade is sticking around.

The arcade may not be one of the biggest or most popular attractions in Magic Kingdom, but it is one of the handful to have survived all 50 years of the park's existence. Disney World just kicked off the Most Magical Celebration at the start of October, honoring the 50th anniversary of Magic Kingdom's opening. 

The attraction previously cost a little extra for guests to play, but it spent quite a while closed to the public in the wake of COVID-19. Even when Disney World opened back up last year the arcade remained closed. It just recently reopened with the arrival of the 50th anniversary celebration.

Its reopening probably led to some of the confusion regarding its hours of operation going missing from the website. Since it just opened back up recently, closing it down for repairs wouldn't have made much sense. And when it returned recently, it did so without the extra charge, making the attraction free to all guests. There's a chance some may have seen the gesture as a way to say a pleasant goodbye to such a long-standing attraction. But that's not the case, and the arcade is sticking around for the foreseeable future.

Walt Disney World's 50th anniversary celebration will continue throughout all four of its Orlando, Florida theme parks over the next 18 months.

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