4 Big Reasons Disney World Crowds Could Be Lower in 2025

2025 is only a few months away, but we already know there’s a lot of change coming to Disney World this next year.

Animal Kingdom Entrance

There are construction projects beginning in every single Disney World park (unless some get pushed to 2026, which is always a possibility), Test Track will be reopening with its new reimagined theme sometime in 2025, and of course, that’s not counting the changes that haven’t been announced yet (and these days it feels like Disney almost always has an announcement up their sleeve). But all of these changes don’t necessarily mean we’ll see MORE crowds in the Disney World parks — here’s why we think we could see FEWER crowds in Disney World in 2025.

Epic Universe

Yep, you knew it would be on here. Universal Orlando is unveiling their MASSIVE new theme park, consisting of 5 different lands and numerous new attractions. The new park will open on May 22nd, 2025 and many fans have already got their tickets, and others are planning trips in the new year already. With so much excitement happening across the pond, it’s very likely a lot of typical Disney World visitors may choose to skip out on the Most Magical Place on Earth for 2025 and visit Universal Orlando instead. Or they may choose to have fewer days at Disney World so they can explore Epic Universe.

©Universal

This is especially true since, at the time of writing, single day tickets to Epic Universe are not yet available to the general public (although they will be available before the park opens, according to Universal), so families are needing to book multi-day tickets or ticket + hotel packages to confirm they’ll be able to visit for their preferred dates in 2025.

Construction

While we’re very excited for all the new additions Disney World is adding to their parks, the reality is that a TON of it is scheduled to begin in 2025. Again, there are projects beginning in EACH park, some massive (like entire new lands and overhauls of existing areas) and some are smaller (like new lounges in Magic Kingdom and EPCOT), but regardless, those are a LOT of construction walls we’ll be seeing for a large part of the new year.

The new Tropical Americas land coming to Disney’s Animal Kingdom lets guests explore a preserved Maya temple – and the ensuing adventure – alongside Indiana Jones.

It’ll be like Wallcot all over again, but this time across all the parks, and that’s not ideal for a lot of families. They may find themselves getting confused on how to get around with all the walls, or be frustrated that there are fewer attractions available (more on that idea in a second). We also don’t exactly know when some of these projects are set to begin, but we DO know that many of them are set to begin in 2025 but not OPEN until 2026 or 2027 at the earliest, and going to the parks in the year BEFORE a lot of new attractions open up isn’t a lot of people’s cup of tea.

Why Not Wait?

Speaking of the above, if we know that a ton of new attractions and offerings are opening in Disney World in 2026 and 2027, many guests may choose to just hold off on their trip another year or two and wait to go when all of these new offerings are available to experience.

A new show inspired by the Walt Disney Animation Studios film “Zootopia” will debut next winter in Discovery Island at Disney’s Animal Kingdom.

However, it’s likely that you’ll be dealing with many more crowds if you wait until these new areas of the parks are open, as many people may choose to take this route. But let’s say a new park offering opens in March 2026 and you decide to go in September, some of the hype may have calmed by then. With so many new additions coming though, it will be hard to plan around these openings until they’re all announced and all our ducks are in a row!

Let’s Talk About Those Prices

Now, this one’s a little spicy, we’re not gonna lie, but we have to bring it up because it’s true. As the past few years have gone on, Disney has made some choices that have made many guests choose to vacation elsewhere. For many, it’s because the price to go to Disney World is now too expensive, and many families aren’t able to save up in a reasonable amount of time to take their kids at the ages they’re looking to.

Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

For others, they feel that what Disney has shown to create in the past few years (we’re looking at you Communicore Hall & Plaza) is not worth the constant upcharges that continue year after year. Price increases are now not only yearly, they often happen MULTIPLE times throughout the year on some items or experiences, and many guests are just simply not willing to pay an arm and a leg when they don’t feel there’s anything substantially new to constitute those prices.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

One thing’s for sure though — we know we’ll be going to Disney World EVERY day in 2025 to make sure we’re bringing you all the latest news, so be sure to stay tuned to DFB!