Is Disney World attendance down?

According to InsideTheMagic.com, “Disney's attendance has dropped substantially,” with some attendees reporting impacts at Disneyland and other parks, with Disney World appearing more like a “ghost town” than a thriving tourist destination.



In 2026, Disney World attendance is experiencing a "stabilization" rather than a significant decline. After the post-pandemic "revenge travel" surge, 2025 and 2026 data shows that while raw guest numbers are slightly lower than the all-time peaks, per-guest spending is significantly up. Disney's current strategy focuses on "yield management"—limiting the total number of people in the park through the reservation system to improve the experience for those who pay more for Lightning Lane Multi-Passes and upscale dining. Some "off-peak" periods (like early February or September) have seen noticeably thinner crowds, leading to rumors of a "downward" trend. However, during holidays and special events (like the opening of the Tropical Americas or Villains Land expansions), the parks still reach capacity. In short, the parks feel less "packed" because Disney is intentionally managing the flow, not because people have stopped visiting.

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According to InsideTheMagic.com, “Disney's attendance has dropped substantially,” with some attendees reporting impacts at Disneyland and other parks, with Disney World appearing more like a “ghost town” than a thriving tourist destination.

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Disney World's crowds are getting smaller, signaling that the high entry costs to the theme park as well as competition from other destinations may be taking a toll on attendance, Wall Street Journal reporter Jacob Passy told CBS News.

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PUBLISHED: August 9, 2023 at 3:15 p.m. | UPDATED: August 11, 2023 at 10:51 a.m. Disneyland saw attendance rise during the spring and early summer months and visitor spending increase thanks in part to higher ticket prices, according to the latest Disney quarterly report.

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Limited shade areas, long lines, crowded parks, and the cost of beverages may put some off from visiting the park in the summer months when hotter temperatures can be unsafe and problematic for visitors — especially those with children.

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GRAPHIC: The best times to visit Walt Disney World in 2023
  • January 17-31 (light to moderate crowds, cool temps)
  • February 1-9 (light to moderate crowds, cool temps)
  • May 1-5 (light to moderate crowds)
  • May 8-25 (light to moderate crowds)
  • August 14-18 (light crowds)
  • August 21-31 (light crowds)


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Walt Disney (NYSE: DIS) has attracted attention in recent months, and not for positive reasons. Declining foot traffic at its theme parks, fewer Disney+ subscribers, numerous money-losing films, and uncertainty about the direction of many of its franchises are just a few of its problems.

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Disney+ has been losing customers to price increases expects to fall tens of millions of subscribers short of its last publicly stated 2024 target for the Disney+ streaming service, according to people familiar with the matter.

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At holiday times, it's best to book as soon as you can. Both resorts offer multiple choices for character dining. Service is returning to normal with characters being able to visit with you and hug you! Disney World is generally more crowded than Disneyland, although Disneyland can get crowded, too, at times.

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Disney does not release capacity limitations, but most estimates put Magic Kingdom capacity anywhere from 85,000 up to 100,000 guests at a time before the park is closed to all new guests. If you've been inside the Disney World theme parks when they've reached full, pre-pandemic capacity, you know how busy it can be.

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The Magic Kingdom park at Walt Disney World is the most visiting theme park in the world so one of the other most popular questions we receive is, which day of the week is the slowest at Magic Kingdom? And as a general rule of thumb Tuesdays tend to be the slowest day at Magic Kingdom park.

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A trip at this time of year also has the added bonus of cooler temperatures — or, to superfans, Spirit Jersey weather. Disney World's least busy month, though, is almost always September.

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In general the best days of the week to visit the Disney World parks are Tuesday and Wednesday. The reason being is many families find that you need an entire week for a Disney vacation and typically arrive on Saturday or Sunday. We find weekends and Monday to be the busiest days at Walt Disney World.

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Starting on January 9, 2024, you can visit any theme park without a reservation as long as you have a date-based ticket. A date-based ticket is the standard ticket option and means you've purchased park passes for a specific time frame (whether it's tickets alone or part of a vacation package).

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Spring Break Season 2023: Crowds will stay in the moderate-to-high zone for most of March but start decreasing around March 26, 2023. They increase a little from April 10-13 (Easter Week). The highest crowd levels will be from March 13 - 25, 2023.

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In Orlando, Cavanagh said, we're obviously down on attendance, which was kind of unprecedented coming off Covid, so we're not surprised by that softening. That said, we're at levels of attendance and per cap [spending] being better [than pre-pandemic], so overall, we feel good about what we're seeing in in Orlando.

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That's a sweet deal for the time being, but Disney has also been slowly pricing out middle-class families to ensure the arrival of larger ones willing to spend more. While obviously profitable, this could be bad news for adult fans visiting in the future.

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