Have you ever seen Magic Kingdom when the park is at capacity?
Magic Kingdom entrance
On November 17th, 2022 the Magic Kingdom completely sold out of park passes, for regular guests and for Annual Passholders. (Park Passes are no longer required for regular guests.) Come with us to see what a sold-out Disney World park looks like!
When we saw that the passes were completely sold out, we were curious to find out what the crowds would look like in Magic Kingdom. So imagine our shock when the park actually felt pretty…empty?
Where’d everyone go?
Even the Transportation and Ticket Center (where you’ll park your car to take a Monorail, bus, or Ferryboat to the park) was less busy than we saw earlier in the month. There was still a fairly decent line for the Monorail, but it wasn’t miles long like we have seen before.
Lines aren’t bad
Entering Magic Kingdom, we noticed pretty standard crowds at the top of Main Street, U.S.A., and over near the Town Square Theater.
A few crowds here
This is usually one of the busiest areas of the park, as many guests enter and leave throughout the day.
Still not bad!
In Fantasyland, crowd levels looked pretty normal, and we’ve certainly seen this area get far busier. What’s going on??
We’ve seen much worse
It was even stranger in Adventureland, which felt like a ghost town. The Pirates of the Caribbean ride was closed down when we were there, but there weren’t many guests nearby to be disappointed by that closure, because they all seem to have mysteriously vanished.
Um…hello?
Even the nearby gift shop, which is usually bustling, was eerily empty.
Not much shopping going on here
Aloha Isle is THE place to get a Dole Whip in Magic Kingdom, and you’d have no trouble buying one this day, as there wasn’t a line at all at this restaurant.
Aloha Isle
We took a look at the ride wait times, which confirmed the strangely low crowds we were seeing. Popular rides like “it’s a small world,” Haunted Mansion, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin all had wait times under an hour (with many under 30 minutes), which is pretty low for the middle of the day.
©Disney
Splash Mountain had a wait time of 5 minutes (!!)…
©Disney
…and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had a wait of only 70 minutes. Seven Dwarfs is the most popular coaster in Magic Kingdom, and a 70-minute wait in the afternoon is very low for it, especially during the holiday season.
©Disney
It makes sense that the crowds would be lower, as many people likely have plans to visit for the holiday break, but it’s interesting that Disney seemed to adjust the available park pass reservations so that those passes ran out even though the park doesn’t feel full at all.
Near the Hub
We’ve seen Magic Kingdom get MUCH busier than this (does anyone else still have nightmares about the 50th-anniversary opening day crowds?), so clearly the number of available reservations for Magic Kingdom would change day by day.
Crowds on Main Street
Based on the crowds we saw this day, it might be a good idea for the future to plan a Disney vacation right before the holiday season officially kicks off. You could find yourself enjoying all the holiday perks (like Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party, holiday treats, and festive decorations) without the huge crowds!
SANTA
If you do experience bigger crowds during your upcoming trip, take a look at these posts to help you manage your time and beat the crowds:
- What Exactly Is Rope Drop in Disney World, and How Can You Do It Like a Pro?
- What You Should Ride FIRST in Disney World
- 5 Places to Escape in Magic Kingdom When Your Anxiety Is Through the Roof
- Over 15 Secret Walkways to Beat the Crowds in Disney World
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What do you think of these crowds in Magic Kingdom? Let us know in the comments.
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What time of day were the pictures taken?
Gigi, when we were in the Magic Kingdom on July 4, 2001 the crowd size was 48,000 people, a RECORD at that time. Gigi, what is the maximum crowd size in the Magic Kingdom in 2022 when Disney says that it is SOLD OUT. This is confusing. Thanks
Still not even close to prepandemic crowds.
Hi Ron! Disney has never actually released their numbers as far as what their maximum capacity is in any park so we have no way of knowing. I can tell you it’s a lot busier now than when I was there in 1998, just a few short years before you.
Don’t forget the main point of the reservation system is so they can allocate staff and manage attendance.
I would assume they had low availability of workers and so cut reservations down to lessen the burden in the park