Crowds and Disney World seem to go hand-in-hand, don’t they?
Yikes!
It’s hard to find a time when there are low crowds in the parks these days, but it DOES happen! There are also ways to avoid the crowds or to plan your day so that you aren’t trying to ride the same rides as everyone else during peak hours. It’s still summer, which means Disney World is usually pretty crowded, but we noticed some oddly low wait times today!
We were in Magic Kingdom this afternoon when we noticed that popular rides had some shockingly low wait times! It was mid-afternoon at Pirates of the Caribbean only had a 10 minute wait…
What?!
…while “it’s a small world” only had a 15 minute wait.
What’s happening?
We were curious to see if other rides were experiencing this same phenomenon — and they WERE! We checked My Disney Experience and were blow away with how low the wait times were for Magic Kingdom.
Not too shabby!
Splash Mountain at 35 minutes in the middle of a summer afternoon?! That’s pretty rare, folks!
What a dream!
We think this is probably a combination of kids starting to go back to school and the fact that Magic Kingdom closes early tonight for Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. The park closes to regular guests at 6PM, so many people might have avoided going to Magic Kingdom today so they could spend more time in a different park, and save their Magic Kingdom day for when it’s open later.
Magic Kingdom
This theory also seems to be true because the wait times in the other parks are still relatively high right now. In EPCOT, Test Track and Frozen Ever After were still an hour or more…
Still high over here!
…and in Hollywood Studios, a BUNCH of rides had wait times over an hour.
Oof!
But, in Animal Kingdom, some of the wait times weren’t that bad. Kilimanjaro Safaris only had a 20 minute wait, and Na’vi River Journey only had a 30 minute wait. Kali River Rapids and Flight of Passage were still over an hour, though.
Look at that Safari time!
So, if this pattern holds true, it might be worth it to go to Magic Kingdom on a day it closes early! Sure, you would have to leave the park early, but if there were low wait times like these, you could probably still go on a lot of attractions. Then, you could go hang out in your resort for the rest of the night or hop to another park if you have a Park Hopper!
Just be sure to triple check the park hours for your trip when you’re making those Park Pass Reservations, because you don’t want to end up in Magic Kingdom and not know that it closes early!
Magic Kingdom
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If a park closes at 6 for an event or at 9 but extra hours to 11, can I stay in the park walking around and shopping without having paid for the event or stayed at a deluxe hotel…?
I think it is because kids are going back to school and summer vacation is over. But it is also probably because prices keep going up for anything, that it is no longer worth the price to visit as most families are being priced out. Plus you have the people who are upset with Disney for political and religiuos reasons who are basically boycotting Disney. But I am sure the crowds and the wait times will pick up during the holiday season.
Jim, I think you can stay during extended evening hours, but not a ticketed event. However, your transportation may not be available so you might need to take a Lyft. If you are driving your own car to the park, you would be fine.
Jim, the people coming in for a ticketed event get wristbands for the 7 pm event, and they’re allowed to come in starting at 4. The park gets cleared at 6 for all people without the wristbands.