Here’s what Disney World looks like on the busiest day of the year
Speaking from first hand experience, I can tell you that the busiest time of the year at Walt Disney World is between Christmas and New Year. The reasons are simple: No one is in school, and everyone wants to see the magnificent holiday decorations around the parks and the resorts. Because of this, the place is PACKED.
“But, I’ve been there during the summer, and it was really crowded (and hot),” you say. While you are right, because the summers are very crowded, they are nothing compared to the week between Christmas and New Year. In the summer you might encounter a 90 minute wait for Space Mountain; that’s normal. The week between Christmas and New Year you’ll find upwards of a three hour wait for Space Mountain, and also an hour and a half wait to get food at any quicks service restaurant, and maybe spend 20 minutes trying to find a table, and also there’s a 20 minute wait to use the bathroom. THAT’S busy. If that’s not enough already, the parks — especially Magic Kingdom — frequently hit “capacity.” That means there are so many people in the park, no one else can come in. Magic Kingdom actually closes the front door.
If the park is at capacity, that translates to wall-to-wall people (and strollers). It’s hard to move anywhere at all, let alone quickly, because THERE ARE SO MANY PEOPLE. But, this is Disney, so even though you might be at the park with tens of thousands of your new closest friends, Disney still makes everything magical. You still trudge through the park, in the crowds, in the heat, because it’s awesome. And you most certainly stick around for the fireworks, even though you’ve barely got an inch of space to call your own.
The other night someone snapped a picture from Magic Kingdom high atop Cinderella Castle showing the nighttime crowds in the park. This person (probably a cast member) wasn’t simply standing on the stage looking out at the castle courtyard. Nope, they were some hundred feet in the air, peering out from inside the castle, looking down at the HUGE crowd below.
All those tiny little dots? Those are people. People stretch all through the area in front of the castle (called The Hub) and head all the way down Main Street to the Train station off in the distance. You can see people on the bridge to Tomorrowland and Adventureland (on the left and right sides). You can see people chilling in the Tomorrowland backstage parking lot (top lefthand side, which is opened up on busy days to accommodate guests). People are everywhere. Take a look.
Even though it might be more crowded than you could ever imagine, I bet all these people are still having the best time ever. It’s Disney World, after all! No one can be upset when fireworks are about to happen.
And remember, if you want a nice, quiet time to visit the parks, don’t go Christmas to New Years. Go in like, September.
(Image via Disney.)
