Too crowded at Magic Kingdom lately

[Disneyworldpirate]

Have any of you noticed how crowded Magic Kingdom has been lately? Even going on weekdays I noticed it is just as crowded on the weekdays. January and February used to be great times to go but it seems like even the less crowded months are crowded now. We went the last few months and most rides had wait times that were 55 minutes or more. Haunted Mansion lines were backed up all the way to the mini outside dining area. If this is how Disney is gonna be from now on then I don't see the point in going anymore. Who wants to wait an hour for most rides that last only a few minutes? Am I the only one noticing that Magic Kingdom has gotten more crowded?

 

[Marthasor]

IMHO, it's due to the overselling of the lower-tiered annual passes . . . we were there the week before Christmas when the AP blockout dates started (except Incredipass). On the first day of the blockout, there was zero line in the AP entrance lane in EP and the crowds dropped precipitously. We went to see Luminous on the evening of December 21 and EP was virtually empty. The day before the blockout - the crowds were huge as people were trying to get one last day in before they were blocked out. There was a lot of chatter about this in the AP threads on other social media channels. I certainly don't want to begrudge FL residents their discounted passes, but it is definitely contributing to crowding in the parks.

 

[melissa70]

Disney should limit number of guests like Discovery Cove does. Something needs to be done

 

[thanxfornoticin]

We did trips in early Dec and later in Jan - usually the crowds are quite manageable for us, which is why we visit then. But OP, you're right - we saw the same thing, and not just MK. We thought it noticeable at AK and EP (World Showcase, especially), too. Weekdays seemed much more crowded than we saw the past number of years (not counting the Covid restriction time period). Weekends seemed even worse. We were surprised a bit by it. We still enjoyed the trips, but the crowd levels were a bit unexpected for us.

 

[DaviVascaino]

that sucks, I am planning to go to WDW next feb 2025, we always go in Feb because the weather is perfect and crowds are great.

I hope Disney does something

 

[lowlight]

January was in our top two times to go. We will not go again in January after how hectic it was last month. I believe Disney said annual attendance was down, so I’m guessing people have caught on that January/early Feb was the best time to go and adjusted.

 

[thanxfornoticin]

I'm not sure what folks think Disney will do or needs to do about the fact that people are visiting the parks! Over the years, whenever Disney found a lull in the attendance during a particular time of year, they actually did something about it to bring people in! They created their run weekends to bump attendance, they created festivals to bump attendance, they timed sports/cheer events to bump attendance. Disney doesn't view a crowded park as a bad thing! Seems like the 'low crowd' time at this point is later in August, and parts of September after Labor Day - and those seems to be lower crowds because of the heat and threat of storms and hurricanes. It might just be us, but we'd rather have it a bit more crowded in Jan than visit in the August heat!

 

[Smugpugmug]

I think a part of the problem is that Magic Kingdom does not have enough capacity for the most visited theme park in the world. Parks like Hollywood Studios suffer MASSIVELY with this issue to the point where I don't even want to visit that park anymore but it's a problem at MK as well.

 

[ucf_knight]

Have any of you noticed how crowded Magic Kingdom has been lately? Even going on weekdays I noticed it is just as crowded on the weekdays. January and February used to be great times to go but it seems like even the less crowded months are crowded now. We went the last few months and most rides had wait times that were 55 minutes or more. Haunted Mansion lines were backed up all the way to the mini outside dining area. If this is how Disney is gonna be from now on then I don't see the point in going anymore. Who wants to wait an hour for most rides that last only a few minutes? Am I the only one noticing that Magic Kingdom has gotten more crowded?

Disney is and will be always busy.

 

[rdaky]

Since Covid, I think the high/low times have shifted. People have realized that it's hot and miserable in the Summer so they're going during what used to be off season. More people are working remotely, more willing to pull kids out of school, more homeschoolers than pre-covid, and international travel has really picked up. Years ago, we always went during free dining in November and everything was a walk on. I remember January being completely dead. They announced free dining for this year and it's late Summer. Why? Probably because it's hot and sticky and they want to bring more people in at that time and they know that crowd levels have shifted. Late Summer is now the slower season.

Also adding that it benefits Disney incredibly if it's more crowded. They're not going to start behaving like Discovery Cove. lol

 

[GinnyBear's_mom]

I agree with @rdaky post-Covid travellers are more willing to pull their kids out of school for family vacations. I have worked in K-12 education for over 20 years and the amount of students leaving school for travel is higher than at any point in my career. Not just Disney travel, but travel in general. I think waiting for summer vacation to travel isn't as popular as it once was.

 

[Scalemaster34]

Since Covid, I think the high/low times have shifted. People have realized that it's hot and miserable in the Summer so they're going during what used to be off season. More people are working remotely, more willing to pull kids out of school, more homeschoolers than pre-covid, and international travel has really picked up. Years ago, we always went during free dining in November and everything was a walk on. I remember January being completely dead. They announced free dining for this year and it's late Summer. Why? Probably because it's hot and sticky and they want to bring more people in at that time and they know that crowd levels have shifted. Late Summer is now the slower season.

Also adding that it benefits Disney incredibly if it's more crowded. They're not going to start behaving like Discovery Cove. lol

Agree August is now a great time to visit... low crowds and cheaper rates. Only problem is it's unbearable hot and tends to rain most every afternoon.

Disney really should have kept attendance limits and the park reservation system, but they are a business and right now the company as a whole needs every dollar they can generate. When they reworked Fantasyland and the HUB, they increased how many people that MK could hold... but that doesn't make for an enjoyable time.

But it's not just MK... and not just recently. Even before COVID the parks were at times very crowded, that FEB that was just as COVID was starting to hit the news.... super crowded the week we were there. We actually loved the year or so after the parks reopened and crowds were really limited.

 

[BeenToDisney5Times]

One of my trips was late August, other than a few days where it was rather hot, it wasn't too bad. For the most part, I enjoyed that trip quite alot. And yes, some school districts school doesn't start until either the very end of August-beginning of September, so some families don't have to deal with the schools as much in late August (and for those who have school starting middle August, they can go in June probably because school would get out earlier for them).
All the parks have been at minimum, moderate to crowded (maybe Animal Kingdom on a weekday if the weather isn't good might be the exception), just got to at least try to go on days where the crowd isn't likely to be as significant as compared to a day where it would be overpacked. There are some days where I would say, Magic Kingdom, Epcot, Hollywood Studios, even parts of Animal Kingdom would be absolutely unbearable to be in.

 

[Tonberry]

August has been getting busier every year. We went in late August 2023, and I have never seen so many people for that time of year before.
We go every August, mainly due to the lower crowds (use to be lower that is), and the fact that up in the north where we are, our kids don't start school until almost the beginning of September. So we've become pro's at handling the heat, managing our expectations, and knowing when and where to break.
We'll see if it's any different this year, but I've been reading a lot of posts telling people to go in the end of August because of lower crowds. But if everyone follows that advice.............

 

[greeneyedchick]

Agreed. I think crowds are worse because the Magic Kingdom is not open as long per day as it used to be for this number of people. Their extra magic hours are much shorter, too. It should be open 8am-midnight. Disney's also not running rides at full capacity, making the lines longer. Long before there were fast pass lines for each attraction, lines moved more quickly and more of the crowds were standing in a line at one time. WIth genie+, more people can shop and walk around instead of standing in line. Even when fast pass first came out, it was only for the top 2 rides (Splash and Space). That meant that the rest of the lines kept moving (making to feel more tolerable to people) and more people were standing in line.

 

[psc85]

that sucks, I am planning to go to WDW next feb 2025, we always go in Feb because the weather is perfect and crowds are great.

I hope Disney does something

We tried this in 2022 and found it almost unbearably busy (especially magic kingdom) despite the fact of all indications leading towards it being a slow season. Looking back at touring plans for those dates we visited Magic Kingdom was 10/10 with regards to crowds multiple days that week. We just tried a middle to early January trip and found it to be similarly busy. We've now gotten to the point where we do one halfish day at Magic Kingdom and won't go back unless we do a hard ticket event .

This recent January trip, we noticed a large number of South American tour groups that we haven't really seen at this scale since before the pandemic. So that's a whole new set of crowds that have started visiting again.

We're also noticing whatever system Disney is now using to update the attraction wait times is not nearly as accurate as the old FLIK Card system. Tower of Terror had a 60 minute wait posted when I rode it, I was in and out in less then 20, the wait time had dropped to 45 minutes by the time I got done checking out the gift shop etc. This really contributes to the feeling of it "being busy" IMO.

 

[DaviVascaino]

We tried this in 2022 and found it almost unbearably busy (especially magic kingdom) despite the fact of all indications leading towards it being a slow season. Looking back at touring plans for those dates we visited Magic Kingdom was 10/10 with regards to crowds multiple days that week. We just tried a middle to early January trip and found it to be similarly busy. We've now gotten to the point where we do one halfish day at Magic Kingdom and won't go back unless we do a hard ticket event .

This recent January trip, we noticed a large number of South American tour groups that we haven't really seen at this scale since before the pandemic. So that's a whole new set of crowds that have started visiting again.

We're also noticing whatever system Disney is now using to update the attraction wait times is not nearly as accurate as the old FLIK Card system. Tower of Terror had a 60 minute wait posted when I rode it, I was in and out in less then 20, the wait time had dropped to 45 minutes by the time I got done checking out the gift shop etc. This really contributes to the feeling of it "being busy" IMO.

yes, south Americans usually have school break in early January, so no wonder you saw a bunch of them. With Covid settling down, non-American tourists are back.

 

[psc85]

yes, south Americans usually have school break in early January, so no wonder you saw a bunch of them. With Covid settling down, non-American tourists are back.

That makes sense!

 

[nerdboyrockstar]

I checked wait times today at 4pm and wow..

Seven Dwarfs - 140min
Space Mountain - 120min
Peter Pan's Flight - 120min
Jungle Cruise - 105min
Big Thunder Mountain - 105min
Haunted Mansion - 100min
Pirates of the Caribbean - 85min

Tells me everything I need to know when I think I want to be there right now. And maybe I still do. It is winter break for the North East so lots of kids out of school currently.

 

[champagne&disney]

I checked wait times today at 4pm and wow..

Seven Dwarfs - 140min
Space Mountain - 120min
Peter Pan's Flight - 120min
Jungle Cruise - 105min
Big Thunder Mountain - 105min
Haunted Mansion - 100min
Pirates of the Caribbean - 85min

Tells me everything I need to know when I think I want to be there right now. And maybe I still do. It is winter break for the North East so lots of kids out of school currently.

I live in Atlanta and a winter break was introduced this year for several of the counties here so I know A LOT of people at Disney this week from the Atlanta area.