Hi Devin!
Welcome to planDisney! I'm so glad that you found us hEAR, and thank you for sending this Disneyland Resort vacation planning question our way! Ooooh, you're due to arrive this week! I'm sure you're getting super excited. Pro Tip: now is a great time to update your
Disneyland Mobile App if you haven't done so already.
You asked an intriguing question that got my mind wondering too. Unfortunately, I couldn't find anything - officially or unofficially - saying that
Disneyland Park or
Disney's California Adventure Park were closing early due to a specific reason on January 20. Typically events that are open to the public, such as the
Disneyland After Dark series, will sell special event tickets and be well-advertised weeks in advance, usually on the
Disney Parks Blog but also on the
planDisney Instagram page.
In looking at the
Five-Day view of the Park Hours calendar, both theme parks close at 8:00 P.M. all week as per their normal January, mid-week schedule. It could be that something is happening in the park after 8:00 P.M. just for Cast Members or perhaps a special event rental, like a wedding or corporate party. If this is the case there's typically signage at the entrance of the park, just after the turnstiles, that an event (or even television filming) will be happening that day that might affect park hours. From personal experience of being in Disneyland Park on a night when a massive corporate audience started streaming in, the only impact you might have is that the shops and quick-service dining locations on Main Street U.S.A. will also close immediately at 8:00 P.M. with the rest of the attractions instead of staying open their usual 30 minutes to 1-hour after the listed park closing time.
If you're a night owl like me, Devin, you'll be happy to know that the
Downtown Disney District has many
shops and
dining locations that will be open until 9:00 and 10:00 P.M., if not even later. But my favorite late-night watering hole,
Trader Sam's Enchanted Tiki Bar, is scheduled to be open until just after 11:00 P.M. on the 20th.
I know this answer didn't clEAR up the mystery, Devin, but if you do find out what's going on let us know because now I'm curious too. And if you have any more Disneyland Resort planning questions, We're All Ears!
~Kristen