Avoiding Magic Kingdom’s Evening Exodus
Attendance at Walt Disney World varies depending upon the day and season, with low and high wait times for popular rides also being possible based on time of day. In other words, crowds or the perception of them is highly variable–with one pretty big exception.
For most of the last year-plus, Magic Kingdom has been chaotic and congested before, during, and after the nightly fireworks. This began with the return of Happily Ever After during the summer season and only got worse with the debut of Disney Enchantment for the 50th Anniversary. As attendance has increased this year, it’s only gotten worse.
Fantasmic’s return will definitely help remedy this to some extent, although that’ll likely be offset by higher crowds during the holiday season. That plus Animal Kingdom having nothing to offer at night means Magic Kingdom and EPCOT have seen an influx of guests each evening for their nighttime spectaculars. This has resulted in some bonkers crowds, especially on and around Main Street–World Showcase is much better at absorbing guests. In short, Magic Kingdom has been a madhouse before and after the fireworks.
Not just on Main Street during Disney Enchantment, but also outside Magic Kingdom on the monorail system and buses that service the mass exodus of guests leaving the park immediately after the fireworks.
In all honesty, the purpose of this post is to scare you (with the best of intentions, of course). We will hopefully accomplish that feat by sharing photos of the scene outside Magic Kingdom right after the fireworks end…
While approaching the Main Street USA Train Station, you’ll see Cast Members with signs for the monorail, boats, buses, and parking. They’ll direct you to the right or left side so you have an easier time of entering the corrals for each transportation option.
Don’t let the above photo fool you–this was taken towards the tail end of the exodus.
Getting through the tunnels is chaotic, as traffic merges from a large mass into a few narrow lanes.
Good luck if you need to return a stroller or stop to marvel at the Country Bear Jamboree attraction poster. It’s difficult to navigate through here. (We strongly recommend having all of your party together before going through this area.)
Outside the park, you can once again see the signs for the monorail, ferry, buses, parking, etc.
While it might appear that there’s some “available space” in the middle, those are switchbacks for the monorail that’ll soon fill up as more guests flow out of Magic Kingdom.
Another look at the crowd heading to the monorail.
Apologies for the photos that basically look like a “found footage” horror movie. (In a way, that’s very apt.) It’s difficult/impossible to stop for good photos amidst the chaos without being mowed down by a double-wide stroller. Justifiably, I might add. No reason to stop and impede traffic out here! (I took these over the course of several months, and these are still the best of the bunch.)
Turning the other direction, we have a look at people hustling to beat the crowds to the bus stops. Moving so quickly they literally blur through the photo!
Despite the congestion, these people actually shouldn’t have much of a wait for the buses. They’ll be at the front of the pack, and will arrive to likely find “fully-stocked” bus stops waiting to fill up with the first load of departing guests.
To that point, here’s a look at the bus stops at the start of the post-fireworks exodus from Magic Kingdom.
You can see the overfill switchbacks set up, but not yet in use. If you’re able to beat the crowd out, you won’t have much of a wait. You will be packed elbow to armpit with other guests, which isn’t always the best way to end of a long day after everyone has slow-cooked in the Florida sun. (It can be an, ahem, olfactory overload.) But at least the bus will load quickly and be on its way!
Back outside Magic Kingdom, we can start to see the overflow queues filling up for the ferry and monorail. It’s hard to tell what’s going on in these photos…and also when you’re in this mass of humanity outside the park.
To the credit of Disney’s transportation network, these waits usually aren’t too terrible–certainly not as bad as the lines would suggest–buses, monorails, and boats are deployed pretty much nonstop in an incredibly efficient manner.
To the immense credit of Cast Members, they do a really good job with crowd control.
Some of them have fun with giving directions over their speakers, and it’s about as organized as chaos can possibly be. But there’s only so much that can be done. People are trying to go all different directions, and gridlock can ensue.
Our sincere hope is that this scares you out of leaving Magic Kingdom immediately after Disney Enchantment.
While you can beat the crowds and avoid the bulk of the congestion outside the park, that’s a gamble. Even then, you almost certainly will not be able to avoid a packed ride on the monorail or buses.
With that said, if you’re going to disregard our advice and leave right after Disney Enchantment, you really want to watch the fireworks from near the end of Main Street.
We generally like this location as it’s good for seeing the projections on the building facades and is less crowded than spots closer to Cinderella Castle. With that said, “less crowded” is still very much a relative term. Up in the Central Plaza, you’ll be packed like sardines. Back here, you’ll be packed like, I dunno…salmon?
Our actual recommendation is not to leave any park right at closing. If you don’t get lucky with leaving the park quickly, you’ll have multiple monorail or busloads of other guests in front of you.
You’re going to be waiting 30+ minutes one way or the other, so spend that time on Main Street, soaking up the atmosphere of World Showcase, etc., rather than standing in an uncomfortable and frustrating bus line.
Better yet, do popular attractions!Â
Disney Enchantment is currently being presented nightly at 8:15 pm above Cinderella Castle. Magic Kingdom is closing at 10 pm or 11 pm nightly. That gives you ~90 minutes or more to enjoy the park after the fireworks. That’s enough to do popular rides (plural) during the most enjoyable time of day in Magic Kingdom.
What you can accomplish varies dramatically based on crowd levels, where you watch the fireworks, park closing time, and how quickly you break out of the gridlock. In short, it’s impossible to offer strategy that’s universally-applicable.
If you don’t watch the fireworks from Main Street and instead do directly behind Cinderella Castle, we’d recommend jumping into line for Peter Pan’s Flight right after Enchantment ends. Other options include the Magic Kingdom Mountain Range, Astro Orbiter, or anything that’s better at night. It doesn’t save a ton of time, but we’re big fans of doing a late night spin aboard the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover.
Whatever you do, our strong advice is to queue up for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 1 minute before park closing. Disregard the posted wait, as it’s often inflated to discourage people from lining up last minute. There are times the posted time has been 90 minutes and we’ve waited (literally) 7 minutes. Our average at this time of night is about 10 minutes, with a normal range of about 5 to 15 minutes.
The other upside to doing Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at the end of the night as opposed to earlier in the day is the atmosphere. Not thematically, but in a literal sense. The overhead fans are usually still on, and will hit you with a blast of cool air. While this is refreshing in the evening, it’s downright necessary during the day as this line can get hot and uncomfortable. (Also no standing in the sun at night!) Doing Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is so much easier and more pleasant at the end of the night, which is a big reason we’re so vehemently opposed to doing it during Early Entry or around normal park opening.
You’ll get off Seven Dwarfs Mine Train about 20 minutes after park closing, but even then, there’s no rush to leave Magic Kingdom. Slowly make your way towards Main Street, stopping to get memorable family photos in the now-deserted Fantasyland. Stop to test your strength at the Sword in the Stone. Marvel at Cinderella Castle from the backside, which is arguably prettier than the front.
Even if you take as much time as you can and it feels like you’re the only people left in Magic Kingdom, there’s a good chance the Central Plaza and Main Street will still be busier once you arrive up there. Keep going slow, soaking up the ambiance, taking more photos, or even shopping.
Walt Disney World will not strand you at the park. We’ve left (literally) 2 hours after park closing before and there was a private bus waiting for us. Buses are idling at the stop until Magic Kingdom is cleared of all guests. There’s absolutely no upside to rushing to leave in order to stand around and wait. You don’t need to leave a full hour or 90 minutes after park closing, but it’s certainly a much better idea than leaving right when the fireworks end!
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you experienced the post-Enchantment exodus at Magic Kingdom? How bad were the crowds on the evening(s) you exited the park following the fireworks? Do you prefer leaving immediately, or waiting out the crowds? What have you been able to accomplish in the last 90 minutes or so in Magic Kingdom? Transportation experiences upon leaving? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Other thoughts or concerns? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback–even when you disagree with us–is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I watched the fireworks one time (pre Covid) with my kids in a double stroller, single parenting. It was really bad. I did everything wrong (tried to get to busses right after fireworks), but it is hard to slow down your exit and kick your feet up when you have two exhausted young kids losing their minds. If you can’t stay later, Toms advice to watch the fireworks near the park exit seems wise. Is it sacrilege to suggest leaving before the finale?
we are going mid November to Mickeys Christmas party, should we expect the same crowd exodus?
You may not experience the same crowd issues after a mickeys very merry party fireworks because the park is still open for another couple of hours . But those with tired kids will most likely be departing after fireworks . It’s always a traffic mess anytime at magic kingdom closing . It’s poorly designed and limited space in front .
Having been in a wheelchair or a scooter in the midst of these crowds, it’s fair to say it’s also the best time to get run over or pushed as if people just didn’t see you in front of them. It’s the best time to duck into a store and calmly shop until the crowds die down.
The ice cream cone suggestion sounds good too!
On our last trip, during the holiday week in October, we did a reverse of this. Wednesday night was extra evening hours so we did the Villain’s Lair thing at Top of the World for a late dinner. Could easily have been dinner anywhere else in Contemporary or another monorail resort for those without DVC access. We watched the fireworks from the top of the Contemporary and left about 10 minutes after the end to walk to MK.
We hit a bit of reverse foot traffic on the way, but sailed through security and the tapstiles to an emptying park, after that massive exodus was over. It helped that a light rain started just at the end of the fireworks then stopped soon after. We enjoyed a few hours of short lines for the rides, starting with some G+ we had booked earlier in the day for the mountains. Hopped on Mine Train right before closing for a 20 minute wait – I think the other benefit is the lights are just better at night! Rolled onto an almost empty bus at the end of the night.
If you are staying at a deluxe resort and have seen the fireworks at least once before, I think this is the way to do it. We always get more done in the evening hours than we could in twice the time during the day.
Are there still busses from the MK bus station to TTC? I know a couple of years ago when I was waiting (and waiting) for a resort bus, there were so many busses to TTC, some of them even leaving half empty. Maybe this is a golden tip for those that have parked at the TTC? 🙂
Having this year be our 4th Disney trip with the last one between x-mas and New years, I have become well versed in Night time at magic kingdom and the chaos to leave the park. This years trip is over Thanksgiving week so to avoid this, the days we are at MK in the day I have ADR’s for Dinner at 8pm in Disney Springs so we can avoid as much Chaos as possible, My wife and kids has say I’m over reacting and now Tom you have justified “my paranoia”. See Dad is not just a nutbag!
We have extended evening hours from 10 to midnight, we were thinking of starting in Adventure land and hitting up Jungle Cruise and splash mt before closing then doing big thunder and working our way towards space mt and such. Where would you suggest watching the fireworks to be closer to the adventure land side of the park? THANK YOU!!!
We have been leaving MK after closing for years now. Our family are night owls, as well as the fact that we much rather be in the parks at night then 1st thing in the morning. I would always laugh at the massive herd of people heading out of MK right after the fireworks and then you read all the complaints about Disney’s transportation being bad. Really?? They are walking out with thousands of people and I guess they just expected most of them to disappear and not be waiting for transportation. LOL I think WDW does a very good job of moving people from point A to point B.
We love hanging out at park close and taking our time and just taking in the park sights and sounds and of course “The Kiss Goodnight”:) People just do not know how to relax anymore and just slow down to enjoy the sights, instead they are constantly rushing from the resort to the parks and vice versa:( Once we learned to slow down, it made a BIG difference to where we actually found the vacation relaxing and a lot less stressful.
On our trip in August on each of the three nights we stayed until closing at MK we were able to get the next boat out to the campground. The same looked to be true of the boat to Wilderness Lodge. There was extreme congestion at all other points of transportation. We thought something had to be wrong at first. No lines there!
Great article, Tom! With the increased rate of monorail refurbishing, hopefully the monorails will be more reliable. During our recent trips, we employed similar fun-at-the-end-of-the-night techniques and never waited longer than 15 minutes for a monorail on the Resort Beam. Also, Poly guests should not dismiss the option of taking the Express Beam to TTC and walking – especially if they are staying on the East side (DVC side) of the resort.
The dreaded Magic Kingdom at closing . I wish they built the parking lots closer to the park .
I’ve taken the monorail, the bus, and the ferry and my winning choice is usually the ferry. The lines can be long, but the ferry holds a lot of passengers so they can opacity them in . The worst option is the monorail . It’s painfully slow and loading kids and strollers with balloons onto small cars is very frustrating, and I don’t have kids ! If you get a wheelchair loader , forget it ! Going to WDW in December . Haven’t been here since 2020 pre Covid , and park reservations and Genie +. I have a feeling I’m going to be in for many disappointments.
I’ve heard this advice many times before, so we stayed after the fireworks ended and did a few attractions, heading out about 45 minutes after the fireworks ended. The entrance/exit was still crowded but we could move at a reasonable pace. We took the resort monorail to get to the Polynesian. The line was stopped part way down the ramp. So it took about 15 minutes before we were able to catch the train. Add in the 15 minutes to walk from the center of MK to the exit and monorail entrance and our total time to exit the park and actually leave was about 30 minutes.
My favorite tradition (if fireworks are at park closing time):
Get an ice cream cone at the Parlor and pull up a table at the railing, watch the crowds go by while putting our feet up and enjoying a treat, stroll out when Main Street has emptied. NEVER queue up in that post-fireworks horde!
[If the park’s still open, we’re riding rides in Tomorrowland until they kick up out.]
We usually just walk back to TTC – pleasant walk especially at night and much better than being stuffed in monorail ( also we usually leave right before fireworks anyway
That’s impressive!
I enjoy that walk this time of year (November through February, maybe March) but not the rest of the year. Even at night, it’s just too hot. Given that very few people even walk from the Grand Floridian–and fewer from the Poly–I’m guessing it’s a nonstarter to the TTC for most families.
This is a great advice and a helpful article. Thanks.
How frequently are there capacity issues with the transportation? On my only MK night this summer, both monorail lines were down when I arrived, and only one of the two lines (can’t remember which) had re-opened by park closing. This made for some insane lines for the ferry and monorail, so I ended up walking back to TTC.
The monorail going down is always a possibility, as it’s old and overdue for replacement.
I will say that it seems like that has been *less* of an issue the last two years than in 2017-2019. Perhaps that’s just my anecdotal perception, or the in-park downtime making the monorails look better by comparison, though. When it does happen, they usually deploy buses pretty quickly–but it does make the ferry line brutal for a bit.
I wonder if not allowing guests to use the Express monorail back to the TTC has affected things. Unless the lower weight with no guests is extending the mean times to break somehow, I could actually believe that minor breakdowns without guests are less noticeable to the public than minor breakdowns without guests.
The Mark IV WDW monorails operated no longer than 20 years, so the Mark VI monorails have been operating in some cases for over 30 years. They are so due to be replaced.
Sorry, I mean “minor breakdowns without guests are less noticeable to the public than minor breakdowns WITH guests.”
This year I’m taking the tinkerbell zipline out of MK.
And now we know the real reason MK doesn’t have beer carts, etc.
How about the Kiss Goodnight? Is it back?
I haven’t seen it. I hope it’s still just a temporary thing due to the Beacons of Magic, but I fear it’s gone for good. Social media really made it more popular, with a lot of people hanging out to see it.
Didn’t know it went away. Ugh. That’s good to know, though. I would’ve been waiting around in vain!
We are staying at the flamingo crossing area. How hard is it to get an Uber or Lyft at that time?
We’ve never tried to get an Uber or Lyft during the exodus, in part because I strike up a conversation with every driver we have, and they consistently say it’s the “best” time to drive because of surge rates.
Unless you get lucky, you would be waiting quite a long time. There are tens of thousands of people leaving after the fireworks, if even a fraction of a percent of those people are trying to order cars it will vastly outpace supply.
Anecdotally, last year around this time we did one day at EPCOT. After Harmonious, we took our time exiting the park and even stopped at guest services because we had some issues during our day; it was probably a good 45 minutes after the show ended before we tried to order a Lyft (we were staying off-site). After ordering the car we *still* had to wait 15-20 minutes for it to show up. I can’t imagine it would be better at Magic Kingdom.
Keep in mi d to take Uber/Lyft you have to make your way to a resort or TTC first. No pick up at front of park