Walt Disney World is always busy to one degree or another. But there are times of year when one expects the parks to be packed, and there are times that are viewed as being less crowded, at least by comparison. January is usually seen as being one of the slower periods for theme parks, but Magic Kingdom just had one of its busiest days in quite some time, leading to a frustrated guest’s comments going viral on Reddit.
The Reddit user took to the r/WaltDisneyWorld board to complain about just how busy the park was. The person apparently had a pretty awful time, with the park being so busy that people were packed shoulder to shoulder and wait times for nearly every attraction were significant.
Nobody is happy when theme parks are too crowded but the whole thing is especially weird because this time of year is often seen as the “slow season.” A lot of people book Disney World trips for the holidays, so when that season wraps up after New Year’s, there tends to be a lull in foot traffic. The parks certainly aren’t empty, but they’re usually less crowded than this until the weather gets a bit more reliable. But the parks were indeed crowded, as one team member shared:
It’s a random MONDAY! WHY IS IT SO PACKED?! Disney World is officially not slow in January pic.twitter.com/svNPfckpVWJanuary 24, 2022
The exact reason for Magic Kingdom being so busy is unclear, the previous Monday was a holiday weekend but it wasn’t as crowded as the park was this week. There are a number of anecdotal explanations and other factors that may have added up to these massive crowds. First, it’s believed that Mondays do tend to be busier at Magic Kingdom. If you’re spending a week’s vacation at Walt Disney World, you'll probably plan to hit Magic Kingdom first without even thinking about it, as it’s the classic location. Got to get those castle pics first.
It’s also probable that we’re seeing an influx of tourists who rescheduled their vacations from earlier dates after the pandemic warned some off going to the parks last summer or fall. Disney World is celebrating its 50th anniversary right now and the event is certainly doing its job in bringing in guests. There's also the possibility thatJanuary being traditionally seen as a slow period resulted in more people booking trips, thus making it not slow anymore.
Finally, there’s the fact that Magic Kingdom was scheduled to close early on Tuesday this week for a Cast Member appreciation event. The event ended up being postponed at the last minute, but since people had already made park reservations, and changing them can be tough, many likely booked Monday rather than Tuesday in order to have more time in the park, resulting in the inflated Monday numbers.
The reason for Monday’s crazy crowds was likely some combination of all these things coming together in a perfect storm. Wait times at Magic Kingdom today are much more reasonable, at least for Disney World, so this probably doesn’t signal a massive shift in guest behavior. Although that doesn't make those who were stuck in Monday’s massive crowd any happier.
