If You Were in Magic Kingdom Today, Are You Okay?

The crowds in Disney World have been interesting this summer.

We saw lower-than-expected crowds on the Fourth of July, but significantly INCREASED crowds on other days around the holiday. Following the Fourth, wait times were trending down, but then things started to increase. And on a random Monday in July, things were INTENSE but still somewhat strange.

Hollywood Studios

Let’s start over at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. On July 24th, we found ourselves surrounded by quite a few friends early in the morning at this park.

Things were fairly packed when we got inside, but thankfully crowds were able to disperse a bit more, giving everyone some breathing room.

Perhaps the biggest sign of the large crowds, however, was the fact that Tower of Terror was already at a 75-minute wait at 9:30AM. That’s quite the wait that early in the morning!

Good morning from Disney’s Hollywood Studios where Tower of Terror is ALREADY at a 75 minute wait! ? Now that IS terrifying ? pic.twitter.com/qZ6Gy2r7CX

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) July 24, 2023

Our reporter in the park shared that wait times were looking high in the morning and it already felt very busy. They also noted that they had seen around four 40+ people tour groups in the park, which can really add to the crowded feeling. If you’ll be visiting in the summer, these large tour groups are something you’ll want to be aware of and watch out for.

But Hollywood Studios wasn’t the worst of it…

Magic Kingdom

Over at the Transportation and Ticket Center, things were looking PACKED in the morning.

The crowds here were no joke.

And as we stepped off the monorail and into Magic Kingdom we saw a sight that really surprised us.

The crowds at the entrance to Magic Kingdom were some of the WORST our reporter had seen recently.

It was verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry people-y.

We’re not quite sure what brought all of these guests into Magic Kingdom on a Monday morning, but we suppose the excitement of potentially riding TRON Lightcycle / Run, coupled with a DOLE Whip was enough to make these folks feel very motivated.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios isn’t the only crowded park this morning…take a look at these Magic Kingdom crowds ? pic.twitter.com/Q1UvNvPXlT

— AllEars.Net (@AllEarsNet) July 24, 2023

Just look at the SEA of people.

Inside, we found some crowds on Main Street, U.S.A., as you would expect.

But by around 2:45PM, things were better. The rest of the park wasn’t nearly as bad as the front was.

Wait Times

That doesn’t mean things were empty, however. On July 24th, 2023, at around 2:40PM ET, wait times for several rides were BEYOND 100 minutes. That included:

• Flight of Passage at 140 minutes
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train at 135 minutes
• Tower of Terror at 130 minutes
• Slinky Dog Dash at 130 minutes
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run at 130 minutes
• Na’vi River Journey at 115 minutes
• Space Mountain at 110 minutes
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at 105 minutes

Others were closer to an hour, like Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (65 minutes) and Frozen Ever After (65 minutes). And there were some rides in the upper 40s, mid-30s, or below like Alien Swirling Saucers (40 minutes), The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (35 minutes), and Living with the Land (20 minutes).

Certain spots had shorter lines, like Journey Into Imagination With Figment (10 minutes) or the Carousel of Progress (5 minutes), but many of the popular attractions in the parks were quite packed!

If you encounter some surprisingly large crowds in Disney World, just be sure to take a few seconds to catch your breath, take things slowly, go one step at a time, and (once you can) find a quieter area to take a breather if you need it. Some lines may look worse than they really are (so don’t let them all freak you out), but sometimes crowds will lead to long waits at park entrances or popular rides.

You can try to use things like Early Theme Park Entry (for ALL Disney World hotel guests), Extended Evening Hours (for guests at Disney World Deluxe Hotels, Deluxe Villas, and select other hotels), After Hours Events (you’ll have to pay extra for those!), and Genie+ (another paid service) to help alleviate some of those longer waits.

Just be sure to pack that patience (and some snacks and games to keep the group full and entertained!). We’ll keep an eye on wait times and crowds trends in Disney World so you know what to expect in the coming weeks.

Stay tuned for more!

What are your top tips to avoid the crowds in Disney World? Tell us in the comments!