Gobble gobble gobble, hip hip hooray — It’s finally Thanksgiving day! Yup, it’s time to feast on a delicious meal, score the latest shopping deals, and…..check if heavy Thanksgiving park crowds are real.
Magic Kingdom
We’ve been talking nonstop about Thanksgiving travel news and tips, so we’re hitting up Disney World to see what it’s like to spend a day at the parks on a big holiday. Here’s a look at what we encountered today at the most magical place on earth.
We’re always talking about how heavy crowds are at Disney World during the Holidays so we checked it out on Thanksgiving to see for ourselves. When we arrived to the Transportation and Ticket Center to go to Magic Kingdom, things were a little backed up. No surprises there. Park pass reservations are GONE for today for that park.
Well, this is never a good sign
Our reporter got pulled for an extra security check, so that slowed us down a bit. However, one thing surprised us — there are long lines at the ticket booths. Are people really waiting until the day of to buy tickets on one of Disney World’s busiest days of the year? Pro tip: don’t do that.
Long lines at the ticket booths
We ended up having to arrange our plans accordingly, so we just made a quick trip to EPCOT and then came back around to Magic Kingdom. Once we entered, though, we were already seeing that things were going to be hopping as people made their way to Main Street, U.S.A.
Heading towards Main Street, U.S.A.
Happy Thanksgiving, y’all!
Happy Thanksgiving from Magic Kingdom! ✨🦃 pic.twitter.com/5tByggEx2A
— Disney Food Blog (@DisneyFoodBlog) November 28, 2024
Sure enough, Main Street, U.S.A. was humming with people. We will say, though, this isn’t the most crowded we’ve seen this park. That would probably be New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.
It’s hopping
Walking down Main Street, U.S.A. did require some patience, though.
Yep, it’s busy
By the time we made it over to Tomorrowland, we were seeing some pretty long lines for rides.
Lines for rides
Pretty much all of Magic Kingdom was pretty crowded.
Crowded pretty much everywhere
Wait times for rides were starting to creep up while we were there. Astro Orbiter had a wait time of 40 minutes.
Wait times are getting up there.
Other wait times were over an hour, like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Jingle Cruise, Space Mountain, Peter Pan’s Flight, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Hour and longer waits
We saw similar high wait times at other parks. For example, the standby line for Slinky Dog Dash was already up to 80 minutes in Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
It’s busy in Hollywood Studios, too
Over in Disney’s Animal Kingdom, folks were waiting a little less, but they were still waiting.
Animal Kingdom is also busy
If you’re planning on visiting the parks for the upcoming holidays, here are a few tips we suggest trying out to make your day a little easier:
- Take advantage of mobile orders and make sure to do so as early as possible
- If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel with perks like Early Theme Park Entry or Extended Evening Hours, make sure to use them
- Use the My Disney Experience app to stay updated on ride closures, wait times, last-minute reservations, and more.
- Patience will be your best friend.
- Make sure to enjoy your time and have fun!
We’re always doing our best to keep you updated when it comes to Disney holiday and crowds news, so make sure to stay tuned with us as we continue to do so. And most importantly: Happy Thanksgiving from all of us at DFB!
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We went to Epcot on Tuesday and then went to Magic Kingdom for the happily ever after show. Magic Kingdom was pretty crowded were not expecting the crowd that was there on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Being native Floridians we should have known better. Tourist’s come to Florida for the holidays.