Disney World Warns of High Holiday Crowds
With Thanksgiving one week away, it’s the start of the holiday season crowds at Walt Disney World. Heavy attendance is forecast for the next couple of months and on-site hotels are pretty much sold out. In this post, we’ll share an update on Park Pass availability, a look at crowds plus a warning that Walt Disney World has sent out.
This comes after the Veterans Day weekend saw the highest crowd levels across Walt Disney World since the end of July. That holiday always seems to catch Walt Disney World fans by surprise, presumably because many people don’t have school or work off as a result.
Hopefully it wasn’t a big surprise for any of you. We’ve warned readers repeatedly that Veterans Day would be busy–in our Jersey Week crowd report and also our November 2021 Crowd Calendar, which called for higher crowds over Veterans Day with crowd levels at 8/10 or above for that entire week.
As it turned out, Veterans Day itself was the busiest day of last week, with an average daily wait time at Walt Disney World of 43 minutes. If you were visiting that day and think it’s “too low,” just keep in mind that this is an average of all attractions across the entire day–from rope drop to park close. Things were much worse during the middle of the day, and at headliner attractions.
That 43 minute wait marks the highest daily average since July 29 and makes it the 19th busiest day of the entire year. If anything, this speaks to how slow August through October were, despite the kickoff of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. Wait times didn’t let up over the weekend following Veterans Day, with daily averages from 40 to 42 minutes through that Sunday. Crowds have since eased up slightly, but will soon significantly worsen.
If you are visiting for Thanksgiving through New Year’s, we’d highly recommend using our Walt Disney World Park Itineraries to outsmart the masses. We just updated all of those to account for changes resulting from Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and have versions with and without buying paid FastPass.
With that said, you should really consider buying Genie+ if you’re visiting during peak season. Not for every park and every single day of your trip, but at least for Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios. See our Guide to Genie+ at Walt Disney World & Lightning Lane FAQ for all of the foundational need-to-know info about this replacement for free FastPass+.
Regardless of whether you’re buying the Genie+ service, you should also arrive to the parks early and leave late–beat and outlast the crowds. To accomplish both, you might need a midday break at one of the resorts (or your own). The Skyliner is great for that from Epcot or Hollywood Studios, while the monorail and boats provide ways to escape Magic Kingdom.
If staying on-site, definitely do Early Entry and Extended Hours if you’re eligible. We’ve found both to be incredibly useful.
If at all possible, avoid Disney buses during peak travel times in the morning and around park closing. While the transportation situation has improved considerably since spring, there’s still a bus driver shortage and delays are possible.
When it comes to Magic Kingdom, we strongly recommend not leaving immediately after Disney Enchantment. On many nights, the fireworks are simultaneous with park closing, which results in pure pandemonium upon exiting. (There’s a reason this isn’t normally done.) Even if it’s a Disney Very Merriest After Hours party night and you don’t have tickets, spend some time shopping on Main Street or just hanging around–you’re literally going to be waiting one way or another, might as well make it inside Magic Kingdom rather than in the sea of humanity outside the turnstiles.
Disney Park Pass reservation availability corroborates our predictions and Walt Disney World’s warning of high crowd levels for the next couple of months. Above is a look at November availability for Walt Disney World on-site resort guests and theme park ticket holders (despite the separate categories, the inventories for each are identical).
If you’re visiting next week and don’t already have reservations, hope you like Epcot! It’s all that’s available November 21-26, 2021.
It’s a similar story for the Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The week between Christmas and NYE is usually worse than the week leading up to Christmas, which is also reflected here.
The only park that’s unavailable for December 20-22 is Disney’s Hollywood Studios. For Christmas Eve and Day, only Magic Kingdom is unavailable. December 27-30, only Epcot is available. On New Year’s Eve, Magic Kingdom and Epcot are unavailable.
Here is a look at the calendar for Annual Passholders. Shown above is the Incredi-Pass; the other APs have pretty much identical availability, plus blockouts.
Most dates that have partial availability are booked up for Magic Kingdom and/or Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Epcot and Animal Kingdom are open for most dates, with the most notable exception being New Year’s Eve at Epcot.
In light of the anticipated attendance levels, Walt Disney World has sent out the following message to vacation planners:
Due to high demand this holiday season, theme park reservations for our Walt Disney World theme parks are quickly filling up or are already filled on select dates or parks. For entry to a Disney Park on the day of a visit, all guests must have a valid theme park ticket and have booked a theme park reservation for the park they wish to visit.
You can check current availability on our website and we encourage you to check availability of desired visitation dates before purchasing tickets. If you have already purchased tickets, please make sure to book Disney Park Pass theme park reservations as soon as possible to secure your visit to the parks. We look forward to welcoming you to Walt Disney World Resort!
Across town, Universal Orlando has not sent out any message to Annual Passholders yet (or if they did, we missed it). Normally, they have done this when crowds are forecast to be high and there’s the possibility that the parks would close to capacity.
It’s possible that won’t happen due to higher guest limits, but it is worth noting that Universal Orlando is experiencing the same staffing shortages as Walt Disney World (and pretty much everywhere in Central Florida). This means longer waits even before getting into the parks–whether it be checking into hotels, parking, security, etc–and then for food inside the parks.
Ultimately, all of this is basically just a long-winded reminder that the next couple of months are going to busy at Walt Disney World, with peak weeks being extremely crowded. While capacity is still capped to some degree at Walt Disney World, it’s not to keep crowds low–that ended months ago. At this point, all limits are self-imposed to prevent the parks from buckling under the weight of heavy attendance.
The end result is that “feels like” crowds (and waits for dining, in particular) will almost certainly be on par with or perhaps higher than normal for the weeks of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Pack your patience and arm yourself with savvy strategy if you’re visiting Walt Disney World next week or beyond. It is going to be very busy. We’ll have some more updated advice in the next few days, along with some park reports for the start of Christmas season at Walt Disney World.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
If you’re currently visiting Walt Disney World or experienced Veterans Day weekend in the parks, what was/has been your experience with crowds and wait times? Have you visited Walt Disney World during the holiday season in the past? Thoughts on the attendance levels? Are you visiting this year for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Year’s? Have you had any troubles making Disney Park Pass reservations? 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!
We were at Walt Disney World from November 5-12, 2021. Just a few weeks ago! We have been to Walt Disney World 4 times & this was by far the most crowded, even more than our trip there over Thanksgiving a few years ago. We were told by Walt Disney World that week was a less crowded time to go…ha! They didn’t warn us about Veterans Day & told us that it was still a week or two early for the holiday crowds. It was exhausting trying to navigate through the people & dodge the enormous amount of strollers. Why do people bring that young of children to Walt Disney World, let alone pay the admission for them. They sleep, cry & tie Mom & Dad down. Walt Disney World, we were told was only at 70-75% capacity, we would hate to see it at 100% capacity. Some of our family were staying at a Disney Resort, some were not. Bad situation. Disney also told us that would not be a problem with acquiring reservations for rides together with their new Genie+, Virtual Que & ILLS (Individual Lighting Lanes) procedures…wrong again! Disney told us just to have the people staying at the Disney Resort to make the 7a.m.(!) reservations for everyone, which did not work. They could not include the family staying off-sight in the ILLs. That really messed up our time together & threw most of the day off. It is not fair for those not staying on resort, We are all paying the same amount (depending on number of days). The most disappointing experience was when part of the family were able to get ILL tickets for Rise of the Resistance & the rest of the family went into the stand-by line with a 110 minute wait (because there were no ILLs available when they were eligible to apply). This literally turned out to be a 300 minute wait because: not knowing if turning the next corner would be the end of the line anticipating we were finally there (there were many corners & no indication of the wait time changing); no cast member coming out to inform us that the ride was only at 50% capacity until the 4th hour & only at that time telling us it would be another 15-30 more minutes, which turned out to be another hour. Some did leave, our family should’ve…the ride was a huge disappointment for how much it was built up. On a lighter note, except for not being able to ride the Millennium Falcon ride because of the long wait for Rise of the Resistance, we did as a family that week get to ride all of the other rides that we wanted to. The jury is still out on Disney’s new Genie app. Most people had their faces in their phones. The new ILLs & Genie Plus are another way for Disney to gouge people & a disadvantage for people not staying on resort. It is a lot of extra effort for each day. A lot of extra stress. We have always looked forward to our trips to Disney & enjoyed them. The magic is gone. The “fast past” process of the previous years was working & perfectly fine showing no discrimination.
Hi Tom,
I’ll be in Orlando Dec7-18.
Have never been there when Pop Warner is in town, so I’m not sure what to expect?
It looks like it’s at Universal this year (Dec4-11), so even though I’m a UOAP and WAS planning on a couple days there, I guess I won’t go to Universal now because it will be crazy / crowded there ?!?
And, might that still create spillover crowds even at Disney parks? Do a lot of the kids stay for days (or the week) after their games / competitions? Or will they mostly be gone after Dec11 ?? Anybody have advice, especially on which days would be best to do which WDW parks and Disney Springs during Dec7-18 in light of Pop Warner crowds? Or will they pretty much stay around Universal ? Thanks for any insights you can share!
It’s all about perspective. I will be there December 18-23. Am I expecting to ride all rides? No but I will be happy with the ones I get. I’m most excited to see the resorts decorated for Christmas, get some cocktails at Geyser Point, and just enjoy time with friends and family. Thank you Tom for your dedication to this blog, especially as of late with all of the Genie + content!
How busy do you think January 2022 will be this year? We’ll be there January 17-21. We’ve always gone during Jan in past years and it isn’t ever empty, but it has been manageable. Do you think it will be worse this year? Thanks!
Hi! I have a question! We would like to visit MK over the holidays but not do the after hours party. Our question is, if we don’t do the party will we see snow on Main Street or is that justtt during the after party?
I was there 11/11-11/14 and was so glad to have booked the Very Merriest After Hours event. We watched the entertainment but also heavily used the time for rides (arriving at 7 just after a some rainy weather) and we did 8 rides plus saw the stage show and parade and left at midnight. We experienced the fireworks as well but not from in front of the castle. This allowed us to check those ride boxes and not be stressed during the rest of the trip. We used Genie+ and ILLs for HS and ILLs for Epcot and got all of our favorite rides in, some a couple of times. We stood standby for Mickey and Minnie for nearly an hour but didn’t wait for anything else because we paid not to, and I would do it all again in a heartbeat!
We leave for 25th wedding Anniversary on Saturday, 5 days at Universal first then moving over to Disney Pop Century for 9 days. This trip has been postponed twice so I’ll take the crowds. I have Genie + purchased and plan to purchase ILL for Star Wars. Im making the best of this trip
Tom,
Ive been to Disney 10+ times but this year we are going Christmas to New Years which weve never done before. My question is, What time would you recommend arriving to be near the front for morning rope drop at the parks, normally would get there 1/2 hr. before and always be one of the first families in.
We will be there from Nov 30th to Dec 3rd.
I’m hoping most of the Thanksgiving crowds will have subsided. I’m expecting crowds just don’t want it to be wall to wall people
@Darren LOL on “Can’t wait to use your slick stacking tricks. Even if I don’t want to go on any of my selections, it’s fun to stack.” I will be there in two weeks and this is basically my goal, to prove to myself I am an ELITE Genie+ user and superior to the average guest. Actually enjoying myself is besides the point. 🙂
Just curious – do crowds lessen after NYE? I’m going 12/31-1/6 and already plan on doing G+ for MK and HS only. Ultimately, it doesn’t matter in that I’d rather deal with crowds instead of warmer weather (other option was a trip in June when school gets out). Thanks!
They lessen, but not entirely.
After NYE, lower tier AP blockouts end–which draws locals who are still off school or work. There’s also the WDW Marathon, which draws a lot of runners. That week will still be pretty bad.
Oh man, I’ll be there November 28 – December 4, was expecting low/moderate crowds.
Do have my reservations in, will be at Disney for 3 days … will expect to be buying Genie+ and individual lightning lane access in order to get everything.
Got reservations at Cinderella for lunch and Beast for dinner, which I’m hyped about (prices, though, ouch); however, partner and I are slightly worried about being to ride everything Magic Kingdom that day.
Plan is: Day 1 MK, Day 2 HS, Day 3 AK + EP
Have read all your itineraries in anticipation 🙂 I noticed none of them involve hopping, though?
Disney is going to have to add Mickey’s Runaway Railway to the regular Lightning Lane to help disperse Lightning Lane users elsewhere in Hollywood Studios. There are going to be a lot of upset guests who only get one ride at Hollywood Studios. I think it would slow down the other rides selling out so quickly.
The need to change it to just one ride per park being Individual Lightning Lane.
@Darren… LOVE IT. Keep that coughing thing going 🙂
Have a great trip
If all that’s available is Epcot.. can still park hop from Epcot to others right? Then bonus.. chance to stack stuff prior to hopping to MK or HS. Sort of what I was planning to do when I go Easter timeframe (book EC, PH from there). Of course, that only works if they don’t do closures to hoppers. Not sure how often that happens or if expected.
Correct. I wouldn’t expect any issues with Park Hopping, except possibly on a few peak days the weeks of Christmas and NYE. Even then, only to Magic Kingdom–and maybe not at all.
What do you think about 12/2-9? It used to be very slow season but in recent years before the pandemic it was busier. Looking at park pass availability it might be the eye of the storm? At least, I hope so :).
Well, there’s no Pop Warner at Walt Disney World this year, so that’s a plus!
I wouldn’t count on that week being low or even moderate, but it should be among the lowest weeks (relative terms) of the holiday season.
Hey Tom……..Do you anticipate any problems Park Hopping? We booked a last minute trip for only 4 days and our strategy relies heavily upon park hopping
Thanks
This coming week will be a true test of G+. I will be there and I have no confidence it will be able to stand up to demand. You’ll be lucky to get 3 rides with it at HS and it will be fairly worthless at EP / AK. I’m hopeful MK will be able to handle it. We’ll see.
Agreed that it’ll be the first true test.
We’ll be in the parks a couple days trying to see how much we can leverage it!
We leave for Orlando (first time to Universal) in less than two weeks (November 30th). We are staying at Portofino, and looking forward to the onsite perks. I must say, it feels really weird being this close to a trip and not spending the evening hours tweaking a detailed plan of attack for each day. Cheers!
Hope you have a great trip–Portofino is AWESOME!
Part of my “savvy strategy” for getting through thick crowds at the parks is to cough really loudly and when people eye me warily, I say, “It’s okay, it’s not Covid, I just got a test and it came back ‘positive’, which means good.” Tends to keep people a good six feet away from me. I’ll be testing out Genie+ for the first time during one of these “heavy crowds” weeks (first week of Dec, which won’t be Thanksgiving- or Xmas/NYE-heavy, but it looks like heavier than it’s been lately). We don’t have G+ over here yet, so I’m anxious to give it a whirl. Can’t wait to use your slick stacking tricks. Even if I don’t want to go on any of my selections, it’s fun to stack.
That’s truly the savviest of strategies.
You should be well prepared for heavy crowds at Walt Disney World, as Disneyland has been consistently busier for the last few months and has been that way without FastPass/MaxPass/etc.