Magic Kingdom Crowd Report: Busiest Week of the Year
We’re back with another update on Magic Kingdom construction, crowds, and changes. This Walt Disney World park report will take a look at projects happening in advance of the 50th Anniversary, plus wait times, problem points, and congestion during the heart of summer tourist season on July 22, 2021.
The big topic today is crowds at Magic Kingdom. Towards the end of last month, there was a significant Disney Park Pass reservation refill for the remainder of summer. That was the last big replenishment, which might sound like good news for those hoping for reduced capacity during their Walt Disney World vacation, but it’s really not.
There are two reasons for this. First, the calendar has remained largely yellow or green since then, with no grey days. The yellow ones have meant no availability for Disney’s Hollywood Studios and/or Magic Kingdom. Second, Disney Park Pass reservations have been added periodically for the random dates that had diminished availability.
While it probably was not the first time this has happened (we don’t have the means to track that data), yesterday was the first time we saw Magic Kingdom green across all three reservation buckets for such a lengthy amount of time. Both in advance and through the morning-of itself.
This is significant because it means yesterday’s Magic Kingdom crowd level and wait time numbers are more or less a snapshot of organic demand, without any crowd throttles or meaningful limits on attendance. (To be sure, some guests who at some point wanted a Disney Park Pass reservation for Magic Kingdom were probably shut out, but this nevertheless would be close enough to unfettered attendance.)
Back when revising our July 2021 Crowd Calendar & Month Info, we indicated that Walt Disney World’s approach to refilling Park Pass reservations would have a massive impact on crowds, and could result in a huge swing in wait times. If the current (at the time) trajectory were maintained, overall crowd levels would be average or below.
If Walt Disney World “opened the floodgates” and stopped artificially limiting attendance, it would result in a busy summer. As of the last couple weeks, the latter approach has been increasingly adopted. Which brings us to yesterday at Magic Kingdom. Let’s start with a look at average wait times courtesy of Thrill-Data.com:
For perspective, the average wait time across all attractions and the entire day at Magic Kingdom was 46 minutes. This made it tied for the second busiest day of the last year, surpassing even Easter, New Year’s Eve, and Christmas week (save for December 22, the #1 day).
Splash Mountain averaged a triple digit wait, which is unsurprising given the triple digit feels like temperatures. After that, 6 other attractions also averaged wait times of over an hour. Several hours peaked above an hour midday, too.
As suggested above, July 22 was not an anomaly. Crowds and wait times have been trending in this direction for roughly the last two weeks. The graph above shows weekly average wait times at Magic Kingdom–this week is #1.
You might also notice the yellow lines in May and June, and think that doesn’t track with anecdotal reports of “feels like” crowd levels. However, those months are when Walt Disney World was in the process of reducing physical distancing–and thus improving hourly attraction efficiency–but had not yet increased capacity caps to a corresponding degree. July has seen capacity caps catch up to improved operational efficiency–and surpass it.
The wait time data should speak for itself, but we’ll add some corroborating anecdotal observations and color commentary.
All around Magic Kingdom, feels like crowds and posted wait times reflected elevated attendance.
Last Thanksgiving and Christmas, we routinely commented that even when wait times were higher and lines physically longer, it was easy to find pockets of uncrowded space away from other guests.
Not so anymore. You can still get away from the congestion, but it’s not the case that attractions are the only thing that’s busy. The whole park feels chaotic.
We’ve made several trips to Magic Kingdom in the last couple of weeks, and it has clearly been getting busier.
Nevertheless, there were some peak posted wait times yesterday that I haven’t seen in a long time. I can’t remember the last time I saw Under the Sea – Journey of The Little Mermaid hit 50 minutes outside a holiday week.
Here’s a look at the line for the Little Mermaid dark ride.
This snakes around towards Storybook Circus, using part of the meet & greet queue (or former meet & greet queue–the sign has been removed). On the other side of the walkway, there’s a 90 minute line for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train.
Over in Tomorrowland, it’s actually not looking too bad for Space Mountain! Earlier this spring, there were times when the queue was heading back towards the speedway.
Oh wait…
Turns out that the line for Space Mountain is now routed behind the old Stitch stage, by the restrooms, and beyond.
That “line starts here” marker is not for Carousel of Progress–it’s for Space Mountain.
Also in Tomorrowland, the lines for the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover (far left) and Astro Orbiter (right) both extend out of their designated and overflow areas.
This is almost certainly exacerbated by the brief refurbishment of Buzz Lightyear’s Spaceranger Spin, but it’s not like these waits would be short if that ride weren’t down.
While on the topic of Tomorrowland, here’s a glimpse at TRON Lightcycle Run construction. For more details and updates on the upcoming coaster—including several new photos from inside Magic Kingdom and California Grill—see TRON Lightcycle Run Info: Opening, Construction Photos & Concept Art.
After moving at a glacial pace for much of the last year, work here is now full steam ahead with a huge crew again. That bodes well for a probable 2022 opening date!
Also in Tomorrowland, work continues to remove the gears in the pavement. It’s impossible for me to view this objectively; it might’ve been dated, but I loved the aesthetic of Tomorrowland ’94.
Don’t let the lack of crowd here fool you; I waited to get this photo, and got several dirty looks from people wondering why I was standing in the middle of the walkway like a buffoon. That, or they were jealous of my super cool bucket hat.
In other Tomorrowland news, Walt Disney World announced that several shows would return in August 2021, including Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor. [File photo above.]
We love the Laugh Floor, and are very pleased by this news. Hopefully a lot more is on the horizon–it’s needed!
Haunted Mansion’s line once again extends well outside the entrance, back towards the Rivers of America walkway.
When viewing these overflow queue photos, keep in mind that physical distancing is a relic of the past. So those photos from several months ago with similarly-long queues had significantly fewer people in them.
When I took this photo, the feels like temperature was 107º.
It’s thus understandable that Splash Mountain would be commanding the longest wait time in the park. Just think, after waiting only two hours, much of which is in a shadeless extended queue exposed to direct sunlight, you could enjoy a refreshing water ride! Long before that point, my shirt would be “naturally” soaked.
Here we have a huge crowd gathering as Liver Lips McGrowl waves to his adoring fans.
This photo is deceptive in the opposite way of the Tomorrowland archway one–here I waited until this area was reasonably congested so it looks like Liver Lips is a popular fella. Perhaps I have too much time on my hands.
Coming full circle back to the front of Magic Kingdom, there’s a restoration project underway on the Partners statue.
Per Walt Disney World, Partners is receiving routine care in preparation for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
For those who can’t read the small text:
“The process of removing oxidation buildup from patinated bronze is intensive – involving multiple phases to strip the sculpture to its bare metal before cleaning, reapplying a patina, and coating the entire figure in protective polymer and wax.”
After a decade of extensively photographing Partners and Cinderella Castle, this scene looks/feels like Bizarro Magic Kingdom to me.
Not that I’m complaining–if anything deserves some TLC ahead of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary, it’s Partners!
In other news, the multi-month Confectionary refurbishment has been extended on paper until October 2, 2021.
This is hopefully a matter of the way the DisneyWorld.com calendar is programmed (same thing happened with the PeopleMover refurbishment). Disney has previously stated that this project would be finished by October 1, 2021. I have a hard time imagining the Confectionary won’t be open by that date–that’s prime real estate for selling those special anniversary cupcakes!
In the end, I try wrapping up these park reports on a positive note. Unfortunately, between the heat and crowds, it was not the most pleasant day in Magic Kingdom. Of course, I write this as someone who is able to visit any day of the year, popping in for a few hours here or there, often times at or after sunset. I’m very cognizant of the fact that’s a luxury the vast majority of people do not have. Those who have been stuck at home for the better part of the last year and are just now taking an overdue vacation probably have a very different outlook–hopefully they’re having a good time despite the weather and wait times!
In terms of forward-looking optimism, pent-up demand burning off during the summer months is ideal. While I have no delusions that any day between October through December will have low crowds, more casual guests vacationing now (theoretically) means fewer visiting for the start of Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary. I’m also optimistic that the return of more shows, entertainment, and other things to do–plus longer hours and better weather–will make the coming off-season and last quarter of the year a good time to visit Walt Disney World.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Thoughts on anything covered in this Magic Kingdom park report? If you’ve visited Magic Kingdom recently, what has been your experience with crowds and wait times? Do you expect Walt Disney World to bring back more shows/entertainment/dining/etc., or do you think staffing and/or other constraints will preclude that? Have you been able to loop the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!
I would be hesitant to read too much into this. Max demand and capacity with still limited staffing and offerings. The closer we get to 10/1 more things will have reopened, more cast members will be trained, park hours will be longer, and kids will be in school.
If I were going in the next 2-3 weeks I would be concerned. After that though, I think this situation doesn’t really apply. So much is changing in the run-up to 10/1. I would be confident that they look at this summer as an in-between time, with September their true ramp up.
Looking forward to your report. We are scheduled for Animal Kingdom with Yak and Yeti ADR on Wednesday and Tuesday on the Skyliner and Disney Springs ADR for dinner. I went to Animal Kingdom in 2009, but it will be my sister’s first time. Plus so many new things since I was there. (We always do MK and Epcot, so branching out this time.) Hope it is fun- we canceled last year due to Covid. Any tips will be much appreciated. We are driving over from the Beach.
We were just there July 10-23. We found long wait times but it really seemed to increase this past week. What we really missed were the later closing times. We are not rope drop people but we really enjoy being there later after dark. We really missed seeing Pandora at night. Not having longer hours to spread the crowds out and fast pass really made for a different Disney trip, a lot of time in lines!
We are heading there in two weeks for an entire week and this article was really disheartening. I was really excited about our trip a month ago. But as we get closer the situation keeps getting worse, both with the Delta variant and with crowd forecasts (which combined make for an even less appealing environment). Like a previous poster said, we are fully paid and there is no backing out now. We are life long Disney fans and this feels like it may be one of our most expensive and least enjoyable trips. Ugh. Anything you can offer those of us who are locked in make the best of an otherwise suboptimal situation would be appreciated. I get your hands are tied on public health so any insights on how to game the crowds will be appreciated.
Tom- had the same experience at Disneyland, earlier this week. There’s a lot of gaps that need to be fixed in the mobile order system and dining reservations at DL. Some examples included allowing dining reservations 5 mins before closing (e.g. saw several guests turned away from signature dining locations) and mobile ordering that allowed you to “move up” your reservation, but then when attempting to complete the arrival change, the app failed.
I guess there’s a strategy here to either “burn off” the excess demand, or figure out what the optimum park pass size should be from experience reports delivered through surveys. One final thing I noticed is the lack of a feeling of “plus” from the guest experiences. Right now, it seems that Disney is doing the best they can, but that’s not a great way to ensure return visits. If there’s one thing I am telling friends who are planning a visit is to not go cheap. The places that feel like they are the closest to the WDW and DL we all know and love are those that have the most money behind them because Disney is prioritizing staffing and other resources to those places first.
Ughhh, I was afraid of this! We’re going 8/31-9/7 and, dare I say it, almost hoping for a freaking hurricane to scare away people in lines? LOL. Really, really hope schools starting back up helps the crowds, but I am not that optimistic.
We went late August of 2019 for low(er) cost at Caribbean Beach and what were supposed to be shorter lines. I didn’t think anything was short lines except for the Indiana Jones Stunt Spectacular and Star Tours. We couldn’t get fast passes for SDD, waited well over an hour in the direct sunlight, and even Astro Orbiter and TSM had longer queues, for what the rides are.
I was at MK today and it was tough. We’ve been twice before in July and today was the first time I’ve ever felt sick from the heat. We only did 4 attractions in 4 hours before giving in to go rest, that’s it. Multiple breakdowns and insane lines. I felt bad for the people who didn’t know about how to mobile order early, even as a vet I had to keep reminding myself to order that dole whip an hour before I actually wanted it.
I did see a lot of cast members doing a great job and encountered many in training. No trash piled up like I’d heard about last week either.
I’m here this week and is the first time I’ve ever had a bad week at Disney. It’s July in Orlando. I expected miserable weather and came prepared. What I didn’t expect were all the ways that Disney made the heat intolerable. It’s as if they went out of their way to remove anything that might have made guests more comfortable. The crowds are INSANE. There are no parking lot trams, which means a 5-15 min walk on asphalt to get to the gates and back if u drive. They won’t let u in a restaurant until your food is prepared via mobile order -so U can’t just wander in and sit down with a drink and a snack When u need a break. You have to find a place with mobile order availability and then walk there and prove to the door guard that your order is ready. The labyrinth of lines winding through the parks is the worst offense. First of all, I have found it completely messes with my ability to enjoy the ambiance of the parks. You can’t even really see the land your in. U just see rows and rows of people. Secondly, it makes the heat problem sooo much worse. Most of these lines are in direct sunlight. Didn’t we used to just walk into the intended (and often indoor) queue of a ride even if it was an hour or 90 min wait? Why is the same wait time suddenly requiring a queue that stretches a quarter of a mile outside of the official entrance? Since social distancing is no longer a factor, I can only assume the problem is lack of fast pass? The general feeling of the parks being overcrowded is likely due to these lines and also the lack of shows/character meet and greets. All around , things are not great at Disney right now. I knew not to expect the Disney World from our last trip in 2019, but i will be so very disappointed if these changes stick around.
Wow, that’s crazy busy! We will be there in two weeks. I expect it to be crazy though schools are already going back to instruction so maybe we will get lucky, and it won’t be so nuts. Still really excited. Thanks for all the updates!
That’s a true. And history doesn’t reflect much for 2021.
Either way! Fall will be better. Especially in September. Kids haven’t been in school for close to two years so there is no way I’d take my kid out for a vacation that quick. October will be busy with the diehards coming for the 50th.
Will you update your best times to go based upon openings and crowd trends?
Ugghhh we leave in 5 days! This was my biggest fear realized We have been several times but this trip we are going with a group of 10 who the majority have never been to Disney before, I’m praying that something gives in the next few days to alleviate the frustrations I know will brew for our group!! Going with the attitude that any day at Disney is better than a day at home!
I was there today. Down from Ontario, Canada where social distancing and mask wearing is still common.
The lines were not only long, but unpleasant to see. People standing everywhere, blocking paths and taking up space. I’ve been at Christmas and New Years where people are packed shoulder to shoulder. While it wasn’t like that, at over 100 degrees, it was not fun. I really question why Disney doesn’t do more (I get they are understaffed) but so many people standing around and not spending money seems counterproductive to their bottom line.
I am sure the long lines outside guest relations areas had many people receiving passes for a future visits. I was at AK yesterday and lines for Navi and the Safari were both an hour while I was there. And those lines were in the sun.
Will this lead to an update on your itineraries? Curious if these crowds will change the strategy for Animal Kingdom, in particular.
Yes, Animal Kingdom is the first itinerary that’ll be updated–it’s on my list for tomorrow or Saturday. (Specifically, Pandora will no longer be at the end of the day and the advice to arrive late will disappear.)
Summer is always busy. I’m thinking September forward has to be some what quieter as kids are back in school. Also international travel is still heavily restricted.
“Summer is always busy.”
That has not been the case for the last few years (prior to last year, which was slow for obvious reasons). More on that here: https://www.disneytouristblog.com/summer-not-peak-season-disney-world-crowd-trends/
Just here to say I appreciated and laughed at the Liver Lips blurb. When we went last month I was PSYCHED when the bears came out to wave hello. Freaking love me some Country Bear Jamboree! Also on a serious note it looks like a miserable day at Magic Kingdom. Ugh. I would have been so frustrated to be there with those lines. My max is 45 min.
Ugh. Those pictures and wait times make me thankful for our early December trip (even though we thought we were crazy).
Anecdotally, it seems like this insanity might be any vacation destination. We just returned from 10 days at Rocky Mountain National Park. To access the area of the park that has the most family friendly hiking you had to do some RoTR style ninja moves to get a reservation every evening at 5pm. Even with a reservation you needed to be in the park by 630am to ensure you didn’t have to rely on a shuttle because all parking lots were full early in the morning. We were on the early train most days so we’d be rolling out of the park after lunch time and there were several days were there was a miles long back up at the entrance. It was still amazing and with planning a little ahead you could dodge the insanity, but totally different than the last time we were there.
Oh, this is definitely not just a Disney problem–it’s an everywhere issue. (Save for large cities, which are seeing less demand while also having better capacity to absorb crowds.) We actually pumped the brakes on one planned summer trip because of these issues.
I follow the National Parks pretty closely, and the situation there is a mix of pent-up demand, reputations as being outdoor escapes from crowds, and aging infrastructure that has seen (literally) decades of underinvestment. Visitor numbers at the top NPS units has been increasing steadily since the Great Recession and is unlikely to let up.
Tom: WDW needs to get its fast passes going pronto (and other shows. food, etc. in a huge staffing push). Disney fans have a high threshold tipping point. Yet, when reached, the concomitant bad will is hard to reverse.
Looking forward to your updated September report. Spending the first 10 days of September in Disney. Getting down to the wire but hopeful that there are a few more things returning between now and then. Disney blog said a lot more to come as they build up to the anniversary, so let’s get moving Disney!!
Anyone know about the anniversary celebration? I heard that the celebration will actually begin at midnight on the first? Anyone know if this is true or not?
Thanks, Tom! Always appreciate your observations, thoughts, and photos! I’m traveling back late October and early December. Can’t wait to see the 50th celebration and Christmas decorations.