This weekend brought a HUGE runDisney event, the Wine and Dine Half Marathon, to Disney World!
©Disney
Hundreds of runners got on their marks, got set, and WENT running through Disney World in hopes of getting a cool medal, fun merchandise, and even some discounts on water park tickets and food! But how did that affect crowds in the parks? Let’s find out!
Magic Kingdom
When we started our morning at the Transportation and Ticket Center, we saw that the line to get on the Monorail to Magic Kingdom was crowded and long. There were a LOT of people here this morning!
That’s a lot of people
Likewise, when we finally got to Magic Kingdom later, Main Street, U.S.A. also felt very crowded.
Very busy
Fantasyland, which has its share of areas where people bottleneck, was a sea of people.
Loads of people in Fantasyland
Adventureland was the same.
Adventureland was packed
Of all the parks today, Magic Kingdom was certainly the busiest!
EPCOT
EPCOT wasn’t quite as bad. There were spots where it almost felt peaceful. But there are a lot of open spaces around World Showcase, which means it doesn’t feel as crowded.
Not too bad
However, the view from the Mexico Pavilion tells a different story, but it’s still not as bad as what we saw in Magic Kingdom.
World Showcase crowds
Note that there’s OFTEN a line to get into the Mexico Pavilion — it’s VERY popular (it’s gotta’ be the margaritas, right?).
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
We popped into Toy Story Land in Hollywood Studios because that’s usually where we can get a good idea of what the crowds are like in the park. There were definitely a lot of people there, but we’ve seen it much more packed!
Toy Story Land
If you’re headed to Disney World, you may realize that running into crowds could be inevitable. There are ways to avoid crowds, though, especially if you know about all these secret walkways that will take you AROUND them.
Sometimes, it’s also just nice to take a break — leave the parks, go resort-hopping, hit up Disney Springs, or take a dive in your hotel’s pool. You don’t have to stay in the park from opening to closing — you can enjoy many activities outside of the parks, too, that won’t have as many people!
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You didn’t mention transportation problems. Sunday, we took a bus from the Contemporary to Hollywood Studios. That’s normally a 15-20 minute trip down the 4 lane main road. But that road was closed for the race, so, instead, it was an hour of bumper-to-bumper, one-lane, back roads. We come down a few times a year from Pennsylvania. We’ll NEVER do it again on a race weekend.
What about animal Kingdom?