Given its status as the most attended theme park on the planet, it’s hard to find many, if an,y “empty” days at the Magic Kingdom, even during traditional “off-seasons.”
Magic Kingdom
Now, one BIG clarification to make here: The Magic Kingdom is always busy. Yes, these weeks are comparatively less crowded than the rest of the year, but if you’re expecting the park to be a ghost town with mostly walk-on attractions, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment.
April 19th – 25th
Thanks to Easter — and in turn many spring break sessions at U.S. schools — falling relatively early this year, the final weeks of April and even early weeks of May will likely be relatively quiet at the “Most Magical Place on Earth.” The closer things get to Memorial Day, the more things will pick up.
EMPTY!
August 23rd – 29th
The aforementioned Memorial Day holiday will launch the unofficial start of the summer season, which — as always — will be busy at the Magic Kingdom. However, crowd levels will begin to go down at the end of August as most U.S. students — including Florida locals — will be back in session, meaning that for many families, summer vacation season will have passed. The downside to visiting during this period is the weather. Not only is it hot, but it’s the height of hurricane season.
Cinderella Castle
September 13th – 19th
Following the last gasp of summer that is Labor Day Weekend, the Magic Kingdom will be (again, relatively) empty during mid-late September, as many guests visiting the resort during this period will likely prioritize EPCOT for the Food & Wine Festival. In addition, this will only be exacerbated on days when the park is closing early to host Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party, leading to even lower daytime crowds.
Magic Kingdom in the fall.
While there’s no such thing as an “empty” week at the Magic Kingdom, if you can swing a visit during any of these weeks, you’ll be dealing with comparatively smaller crowds. Stay tuned to DFB for more on Disney World’s crowds.
5 Magic Kingdom Secrets Disney Doesn’t Want You to Know
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Love it. I know when to time. For real. In Dec I set for OKW April 12-17 and Sept 6-12. Going to Disney for a long time, you learn when to hit it. 👍
Can you tell me why this week was particularly crowded at the parks? I know Monday was a holiday, but I went to Epcot and Hollywood Studios and both places were unbelievably crowded. And magic Kingdom you couldn’t even get a reservation for At the last minute. I truly thought this week would be relatively quiet after the three day weekend. It’s too early for spring break so I’m just curious what was happening this week that made an insane amount of people be at the parks. I’ve lived here all my life and have been going to Walt Disney World since I was a baby. They truly were great specific times of year where it was fantastic to be at any of the parks and the crowds truly or low. Where you actually could breathe And not worry, about 500 people running into you every day and super long lines for rides. I know they are a business to make money, but it seems like all of the old slower times. Disney has decided to fill with cheerleading and other competition, competitions and events. I guess unless people stop spending their money at Walt Disney World Disney will continue to be crowded 365 days a year. Mind you I know it’s a theme park and I expect there to be crowds, but it does kind of take some of the enjoyment out of it in my opinion When it’s an hour and a half wait for Toy story mania on a Tuesday afternoon. I thought the economy was supposed to be bad, but it seems that lots of people have lots of money to spend and their kids are not in school. I’m kidding, of course, but I really am interested to find out what was happening this week that made the parks Busier than normal for a weekday. Love your blog and following it for many years, you guys always have the best information and tips. So thank you for all you guys do and putting out this fabulous information for us
Hi, Kathy! You know, I’m not exactly sure, but I was in Animal Kingdom on Tuesday and was likewise surprised by how busy it was. My only thought is that perhaps some guests arrived early for the Princess Half Marathon Weekend which starts on Feb 26 (plus Mardi Gras on the 17th, which can bring crowds to Universal), but I can’t imagine that would affect crowds to the extent that you and I have both seen this week since it’s not too different from the lineup from previous years. You must have a really unique perspective as a lifelong local, that’s so neat!