July 4 ….Quiet?

[GatorChris]

Just checked times at WDW for the 4th of July 4 at about 5:30pm. I was always told it’s insane. But Disney Studios is the lightest crowds I’ve seen in 20 years! Only Epcot seemed a bit busier than usual - although Frozen was down and pushing crowds to Mexico. What is going on???

 

[scrappinginontario]

Wow!!! Great day to be there! Hope those in the parks are having a great time!

 

[2xcited2sleep]

Big storms have been coming through all afternoon.

 

[gottalovepluto]

Just checked times at WDW for the 4th of July 4 at about 5:30pm. I was always told it’s insane.

4th of July is actually rather quiet the last few years. This isn’t unexpected.

 

[Spittyfire]

Big storms have been coming through all afternoon.

That’s why we’ve stayed out of the parks. When there aren’t lightning strikes the pools are packed.

 

[SimonSez]

Judging by the crowds I've seen on livestreams this week, and wait times for attractions, it seems crowds are lower this week than last week. I know, I was there last week. How many people opt for the last week in June, instead of the week of the Fourth? I'm baffled why it seemed busier last week than a holiday week. Anyone know why this is? Wait times are definately shorter today, than any day last week. It is raining, but we had rain two days last week

 

[SimonSez]

I posted a thread about this, then saw this one

 

[SimonSez]

Big storms have been coming through all afternoon.

We had a couple stormy days, and it was still crazy

 

[chicagodisneyguy]

We're here this weekend....and shocked how dead it is. Maybe dead is the wrong word. We normally go in the fall.....with all the other Disney veterans. Today's crowd was something different. First....FL APs were blacked out....so few locals. Second.... Brasil and volleyball kids decided this is the week to visit. So we are competing with newbs.....and almost isn't fair.

Paid for LL and got on everything at HS in 5 hours. Slinky/TSM/ToT were our initial picks. But got RnR/Smugglers Run/ MMRR with little trouble. RotR was payable most of the day for 20m or less out....but that wasn't a focus this trip. Ogas was 70% full. Baseline Tap pretzel still is tasty.

I like lower, uninformed crowds. That's today.

 

[kylenne]

I was at Epcot today and it was the busiest park since I’ve been here, Remy was down most of the morning which made everything a bit nuts. But besides that it’s been dead.

MK yesterday legitimately felt like party day crowds. I didn’t even do my midday break because waits were so low everywhere. Chatting with other guests HS has been similarly slow.

 

[bobbiwoz]

The Voices of Liberty had great shows today!!

We visited the Passholder Lounge today and enjoyed getting the snacks and the special Photos.

The weather stayed clear for the fireworks!

 

[maxiesmom]

Irrelevant tbh. I’ve seen at least three massive South American tour groups and tbqh I’ve heard just as many foreign accents as I normally hear around the parks. This is literally just the continuation of a known, observable pattern the past few years of slow July 4th crowds. Let’s not get this thread locked.

I was at the parks over Memorial Day, and it was much slower than expected. And as someone who lives near a town that relies on tourists, there are things keeping many people from visiting our country.

 

[Minnie1222]

Just checked times at WDW for the 4th of July 4 at about 5:30pm. I was always told it’s insane. But Disney Studios is the lightest crowds I’ve seen in 20 years! Only Epcot seemed a bit busier than usual - although Frozen was down and pushing crowds to Mexico. What is going on???

This has been the trend in at least 15 years. It's a great time to go if you can tolerate the heat. It's only insane when you have to compete for a fireworks spot.

 

[ML_LovesDisney]

I've read a lot of reports that say Disney was expecting a slower summer in 2025 hence all the discounts. I'm sure there are many different reasons like people's finances, AP Blackouts, Epic Universe, the heat, etc. We went last year at end of July and it wasn't super busy (I realize that is not a holiday week). I'm curious to read what Epic Universe crowds were like.

 

[GADisneyDad14]

I’ve seen at least three massive South American tour groups

I got behind a relatively massive tour group in the FoP LL yesterday - I’m estimating 50ish people. Unknown to us when we scanned in we got in the middle of the back third of their group who were stragglers, who then later wanted to get by us and others around us in the LL line. Mildly annoying but whatever, they seemed to be younger people having fun and I was willing to have some grace. Was not upset we later got split into different theaters/rides though.

Saw the same group later at Epcot, along with several others. Definitely numerous groups around property.

 

[bobbiwoz]

I heard languages other than English many times yesterday at Epcot. One positive thing for us was that it took less time and was a bit easier for us to ride our ECV’s back to the International Gateway and the Beach Club Villas after the fireworks. We use a HA area between the two gift shops as the place to watch fireworks. However, the line for the Skyline went beyond the small entrance to the Beach Club. There was plenty of people, but I think less than last year.

 

[john7994]

As always, multiple things can be true at once, Tourism to the U.S. is down, Disney is providing discounts for the Summer (expecting lower attendance), there is a level of economic uncertainty, it is hot/rainy in the summer months, and foreign tour groups are still visible in the parks - (I was just there as well).

Likely Disney and Universal understand the trends impacting them or not - probably better than most - and earnings will begin reflecting the actual impacts (positive or negative) over the next two reporting periods. So, it will be interesting to watch.

Personally, I am not opposed to crowds or pricing in general trending lower - whatever the reasons - but that heat is tough to beat.

 

[HeiHei2018]

Magic Kingdom looks amazing this morning (July 5)!

 

[elvispursley]

Hopefully by this will be the case for our trip Aug/Sep over Labor Day. I was floored when I saw the wait times on MDE yesterday! Makes me wish we had done the 4th of July this year!

 

[GADisneyDad14]

In case anyone is wondering, I’ve found the crowds - they’re at Blizzard Beach today (and I suspect Typhoon Lagoon too)!

Holiday weekend and the sun is out (for now).