Magic Kingdom Report: Walk-on Wait Times & Pre-Celebration Construction
It’s time for another Magic Kingdom park report. In this Walt Disney World photo update, we take a look at the latest pre-50th Anniversary construction, feels like crowds, walk-on wait times, and more.
The hot topic among Walt Disney World fans right now is the off-season crowds. Everyone has their theories for why attendance and wait times are so low, and we cover the most–and least–plausible explanations in Walt Disney World’s Lowest Crowd Week of the Last Year.
Historically, September is the slowest month of the year at Walt Disney World. While other previously off-season months have seen increases in recent years (e.g. January, February, and October), the same has yet to happen with September. Starting from that already low baseline, thus far current attendance is even lighter than a normal September.
Since our aforementioned crowd report from last week, Magic Kingdom wait times have dropped even further. The average wait time on Tuesday was 10 minutes, versus 18 minutes last week (and down from 50 minutes one month earlier). On the first day of September 2021, the average wait time was only 9 minutes! NINE MINUTES!!!
That makes yesterday’s wait times a new record low for 2021. It’s also the second-slowest day at Magic Kingdom since reopening, beat only by July 15 of last year when attendance was capped super low as the phased reopening began. (There was more demand than reservations, so it’s not at all an apples to apples comparison.)
I don’t think we can overemphasize just how slow Magic Kingdom is on a day when the average posted wait time is 9 minutes. Some attractions default to a 10 minute posted wait time when they’re a walk-on. On a day like this, Haunted Mansion’s infamous 13 minute walk-on wait would actually be raising the overall average.
For better context, the only two attractions that had average wait times above 20 minutes yesterday were Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (30 minutes) and Peter Pan’s Flight (21 minutes). We’ve visited in late August and September consisting for the last decade, and I don’t recall ever seeing anything like this on a “normal” day. Even on days with massive numbers of cancellations due to hurricanes, the wait times have been worse.
Labor Day weekend will almost certainly cause an uptick in crowds beginning today, and after that new Annual Passes go on sale September 8, 2021. So we probably won’t see many more single-digit wait time averages for Magic Kingdom, but anything under 20 minutes is pretty incredible.
Even with a likely influx of new Annual Passholders, we’re still expecting weekdays for the next three weeks to have some of Walt Disney World’s lowest crowd levels of the last 5 years. As high temperatures start to drop below 90 degrees, we’re going to get our fill of the parks in the coming weeks before the anniversary crowds arrive. October is going to be a totally different ballgame, so if you’re visiting next month (or beyond), don’t start salivating at these low crowd reports.
Interestingly, “feels like” crowds are a poor barometer of attendance or wait times right now.
To be sure, the feels like crowds are down sharply as compared to late July. However, if I were forced to guess wait times based on congestion levels then versus now, I’d be way off.
I don’t have any great explanation for this.
It’s still really hot, so it would make sense for guests to avoid outdoor areas. On the other hand, masks are required indoors, perhaps making outside more attractive? Or it could just be shorter wait times mean less time spent in line and more time moving between attractions. Regardless, it’s not like the parks feel even remotely crowded–just busier than I’d expect given the walk-on wait times.
Switching gears, a stage has been installed in the Central Plaza around the Partners statue.
This is presumably for the ABC News television special, “The Most Magical Story on Earth: 50 Years of Walt Disney World.” We shared details about this in our last Walt Disney World news roundup, and many readers could barely contain their excitement. Or something like that.
Moving to Magic Kingdom’s other castle, where work continues above Be Our Guest Restaurant.
Since being installed, this has rightfully been derided as a toy castle showcasing the limitations of forced perspective. That came into clearer focus when Tokyo Disneyland actually built Beast’s Castle with its Fantasyland expansion.
With that said, the fresh coat of paint gives the Magic Kingdom version of Beast’s Castle more detail.
It won’t sell the effect any better, but at least it looks nicer.
Be Our Guest Restaurant is open during the refurbishment.
As attendance drops and staffing increases, this is one of many restaurants around Walt Disney World that suddenly has more ADR and Walk-Up Waitlist availability after several months of nothing.
We’re starting to see more signs like this throughout the parks, advertising last minute availability.
These were pretty common pre-closure and even last July or August. For most of the last year, those wanting same day ADRs pretty much only got table scraps.
Back to construction, scaffolding has been going up on Splash Mountain.
Last week, Disney released New Concept Art & Details for Splash Mountain’s Princess and the Frog Reimagining. Based on the language used there, we have no reason to believe this scaffolding is related to that project.
To us at least, it sounds like the Splash Mountain overhaul is still in its early phases of conceptualization, with physical work at least a year away.
Our assessment could be inaccurate, but Disney is deliberate with its language, and everything there indicates it’s going to be a while. Probably post-50th Anniversary celebration.
This is more likely routine maintenance to spruce things up for Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary.
Here’s hoping the inside gets its typical winter refurbishment, as some of the show scenes are looking a bit worse for wear.
On the plus side, Splash Mountain is currently posting wait times under 20 minutes most of the time.
We walked onto the attraction and its counterparts in the Magic Kingdom Mountain Range. A far cry from the 120 minute wait time of just one month ago.
We keep coming back to those end of July wait times, but it’s hard not to given the stark contrast.
We fully believed this would be a slower than normal off-season in the lead-up to the 50th Anniversary, but the sharp drop happened faster, sooner, and to a more pronounced degree than anticipated.
Perhaps photos of a walled-off Country Bear Jamboree went viral on social media, and caused the crash in crowds? That’s an underrated theory that not enough people are talking about.
(For what it’s worth, Country Bear Jamboree is not closed–so no need to cancel your trips.)
Out front of Magic Kingdom, the walls have come down around the Main Street USA Train Station, and it is looking fantastic.
It’s now been almost three years without the Walt Disney World Railroad. Some readers have bemoaned this as poor planning, but the prolonged railroad downtime and operational cost-savings was a feature of the construction plan, not a bug. The train would’ve had to go down at some point, but not as early as it did. (Not to mention that the original plan involved TRON Lightcycle Run being open by now.)
Ultimately, it’s a pleasant time at Magic Kingdom right now with some of the lowest wait times we’ve seen in the last decade. We’d stop short of saying it’s a great time to visit given the weather, anniversary preparations & construction, and the current health situation–but it might be an attractive time to visit for those who are averse to crowds.
As we’re in the home stretch to Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary kickoff, we’re expecting a lot more changes at Magic Kingdom in the coming weeks. Accordingly, we’ll probably be back with another update sooner rather than later to showcase more of the changes!
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’ve visited Magic Kingdom this month, what has been your experience with crowds and wait times? Thoughts on feels like crowds or congestion v. wait times? Thoughts on any of the construction occurring around Magic Kingdom to prep for the 50th Anniversary? Are you anxious for more info or announcements about Walt Disney World’s 50th Anniversary? Thoughts about anything else covered here? Do you plan on visiting Walt Disney World this year, or are you sitting it out until 2022? 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!
Seeing comments from a bunch of sheep. Please do your own research! Kids should be in school but pulling them for a week isn’t going to hurt. Children and most of the adult population are not dying from the variant. Get vaccinated and live your life!
Hi we’re goin in a couple weeks stay at Pop Century. Need to ask silly question please, will the rooms still have hair dryers & shampoo do u think. Thanks for all updates
Was on the fence about coming week of September 19th and just canceled. This is the second year of pushing out a big milestone birthday celebration for myself with a dual trip to both Disney World and Universal. So disappointing. But with two children who can’t be vaccinated yet, we decided the risk wasn’t worth it.
Jeanette,
So sorry to hear about your family all contracting Covid while at Walt Disney World! Do you feel like it was from the parks or, airports, did you do indoor dining at restaurants? We went in June and took it very seriously with the masking Indoors and Only ate @ Toppolinos once (indoor) dining. All other dining we ate outside or in our room. And we drove. We really wanted to come down at the end of September but the numbers are just too high. On a happy note, so glad that you got the low waits and had an amazing trip. you recover quickly
Hello,
We have plans to go to DW mid-October but with the Delta outbreak and an unvaccinated child we are wondering if we should postpone till 2022. Any thoughts welcomed.
Linda, I guess it’s down to opinion. My good friend is a 5th grade teacher and she doesn’t think it is a big deal at all. However, she did caveat with “as long as they are not kids who are already behind”.
I will be visiting Disney World the last two weeks in September. I can’t wait to see Mickey and the gang and hopefully the BRICKERS
My family and I were at Disney World Aug 21-28, 2021. The lines were the shortest we ever saw on any previous trips at the same time of year. They seem to be even shorter this week. I really think the pandemic and Florida’s high infection rates are the reason for reduced crowds. We followed all CDC guidelines, and my whole family still tested positive for COViD on our return home to NYS, even vaccinated family members. We had a great time on our trip, but I’m not sure getting sick with COVID was worth the trip. We probably should have waited to go. But, the short waits sure was nice!
Fortunately up north, the kids not missing anything because they are off for Labor Day and some Rosh Hashanah. So it’s like a 4-5 day holiday weekend.
Hi do you think that the parks are less busy do to the fact that overseas travellers are missing, I’m from UK and I know lots of people here have had to cancel, last year, and have not been able to rebook for this year. We have booked a villa and bought our park tickets for Oct 2022, hopefully dealing with the pandemic will just be a normal part of life them and we will be allowed into USA
No worries , my kids are virtual again this year. So a couple days off won’t hurt
I was with a party of 10 yesterday, including 4 Disney World newbies and it was crazy how light the crowds were! It was so fun getting to go on so many rides and I kept telling everyone that this is NOT typical! The rain was a bit annoying at times but in many ways a blessing as it kept us all cool! I’d take the rain over the heat any day. Only bummer was the rainy day mini parades vs the more elaborate ones. Any idea when the parades will be back? It was awesome to walk up 10 minutes before the fireworks and go right up to the castle though. We’ve visited a couple of times during COVID but this was the first light show and fireworks that we’ve seen in more than three years. We definitely missed it! Loved seeing your post today reaffirming what I already suspected about MK yesterday. Crowds were LOW!!!
We’ve been in school for a month already. September is a great time for a break!
Hi Tom ! My family and I are DVC members we plan a trip every 3 years to Disney World ,fall of 2022 is our next trip any insight on fall of 2022?
We were there the first week in August with our grandson and his parents, and the wait times were quite long–so much so that our grandson didn’t get to ride his must-dos:
Seven Dwarfs, Slinky Dog, & Test Track (weather-based closures were a factor, too). But your recent posts about low crowds inspired my husband and me to return next week to check it out for ourselves. Looking forward to all those walk-ons! And with all the changes coming to WDW, we want to be there once more before Disney as we know it is gone forever.
We’ve had this planned since January, and are pulling the kids in mid-September. I’m not worried. The school system just spent a year and a half proving that they don’t need to be there in person to get their stuff done.
Sorry guys…retired teacher here. September is probably the most important month of the year. Terrible for kids to miss and they will feel one step behind for a while. All the framework of the year is set up. Especially this year teachers will frantically trying to figure out what learning gaps your child may have. But…no wait for the seven dwarfs mine train…