Are you ready to play our favorite game with us? It’s time for a Crowd Check at Disney World!
Magic Kingdom crowds
It’s currently the week of Christmas, and that means there are tons and tons of people in the parks ready to celebrate. We’re in the parks every single day, so we know a busy day in Magic Kingdom from a BUSY day in Magic Kingdom. Whether you’re planning a trip for next year or just love seeing the chaos, let’s see how Disney World is holding up with the crowds for the end of 2025.
Here’s a look at December 22nd. This is just the line to scan into Magic Kingdom!. To make scanning in a bit faster, make sure everyone has their cards or MagicBands connected to their accounts and knows which finger they scanned in on. Of course, you can’t control how fast everyone else goes through, but at least you know your family will be sliding through.
Waiting to scan in
Main Street, U.S.A. didn’t feel too bad for a moment…
Kinda empty
…but then we saw everyone coming through. There isn’t really a way to avoid Main Street, and while you can walk through the stores, I find it’s easier to go on the sidewalk versus the middle of the street or inside the buildings.
Found them!
You also might want to consider taking castle pictures on the sides or closer to the castle, versus on Main Street. If you catch the right angle, you can get fewer people with you in the photo.
On December 23rd, getting a little closer to Christmas, we were greeted with fewer crowds than expected as soon as we got to the Transportation & Ticket Center, which is where you can park for Magic Kingdom before taking the ferryboat or monorail to the park. It’s pretty debated with our team at DFB if it’s faster to take the monorail or ferryboat, but I say that a packed ferryboat is better than a packed monorail, and if you can go to the second floor, there is usually more space. The ferryboat gives you more fresh air, even if the route is a little longer.
Monorail lines
Another look at Main Street! Yep. Busy, busy, busy. Now onto wait times, which is the true indicator of how the crowds are looking.
People, people, people
Uh, what? Those are NOT the wait times we were expecting. Peter Pan’s Flight was only 50 minutes, which is low for a normal day, and the Jingle Cruise (the holiday version of the Jingle Cruise) was only 45 minutes, which is VERY low.
©Disney
Even Space Mountain was only 35 minutes, along with The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh and Mickey’s meet and greet at the Town Square Theater. Was it actually a secret, perfect day to go to Magic Kingdom?
©Disney
We’re not really sure what’s happening with the crowds, but we’ll be keeping an eye on it to see how it progresses. Make sure you keep following Disney Food Blog for more tips and tricks to keep your next Disney World trip running smoothly.
LIGHTNING LANE TIPS FOR THE MOST CROWDED DAYS IN DISNEY WORLD AND DISNEYLAND
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Not sure how some folks are feeling but I think $200 just to get in the park and another $42 to shorten some wait times has exceeded the value for the privilege to wait in lines to do anything. Just not worth it and way too high a hassle factor.
Worst crowds in my lifetime-Epcot New Years Eve 1989. They gave out FREE party hats!!
Mid day you could barely move along any walkway. You felt as if you were moving in a “package” of people, no chance to change direction.
Ps. Epcot on Christmas Day that year was delightful, crowd- wise because everybody went to MK.
Agreed
I have been going to Disney since it opened. I recently went to Mickey’s Merriest Christmas Party on December 9 to avoid the crowds and it was so crowded you could hardly move. Also, the attraction waits were long, so I prefer paying extra for Lightning Lanes during a regular day for shorter waits. I am an annual passholder, and this is the last time that I will pay extra for this event that was once a pleasure, but not worth it anymore.