Yep, there was a decrease at Walt Disney World, which is primarily due to higher costs and lower volumes (i.e., lower attendance). The increase in costs there was attributed to inflation but also the accelerated depreciation of Star Wars: Galactic Starcruiser, which will be permanently closing soon.
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The evidence currently suggests slightly lower-than-normal crowds at Disney this summer compared to the last few years and a return to a more pre-pandemic level of busy.
Off-peak times fall around January, February, September, and early November. Discounts on vacation packages booked directly through Disney (which combine park tickets and hotel stays) can be found year-round, though they're most common at these less-crowded times.
Yes, you're reading that right, Disney REDUCED capacity during certain holiday periods in the first quarter of fiscal year 2023 (which covered from around October 2nd to December 31st, 2022) by 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels.
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.
Off-peak times fall around January, February, September, and early November. Discounts on vacation packages booked directly through Disney (which combine park tickets and hotel stays) can be found year-round, though they're most common at these less-crowded times.
Highest Crowd Level When Visiting Walt Disney WorldThe week before Christmas through the first two weekends of January, with the weeks including Christmas Day and New Year's Eve bringing in the historically highest crowd level each year.
Star Wars: Galactic StarcruiserClosing down on September 30, 2023, this is a sad one because it's not coming back. The final Voyage is slated for September 28-30. Bookings are on hold, and the Disney Theme Park is offering those with reservations a 50% discount to move to an earlier date.
The busiest holidays in Disney World are Easter, the 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's. The crowds usually start coming in 3-4 days before those holidays begin, and stay for 2-3 days after, or at least through the weekend, before returning home Sunday or Monday.
“So, when a big crowd starts to form, Disney can be ahead of it. They actually have an entire team devoted to monitoring crowds.” “When a big crowd forms, they'll address the issue as quickly as possible by adding characters, opening up additional space in restaurants, and adjusting wait times and ride queues.”
Side note: There is a “no show” policy for Disneyland Magic Key Holders. If they miss 3 theme park reservations within a 90-day period, they will not be able to make a new reservation for 30 days. Existing reservations will not be impacted.
This makes the September/October 2023 a good time to visit. Even once Moana is open, we're actually expecting Walt Disney World to be relatively stable until “late 2024” when Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens. We expect TRON to keeps its virtual queue at least through the end of 2023.
Guests are allowed to bring outside food and nonalcoholic beverage items into the park for self-consumption, provided they are not in glass containers and do not require heating, reheating, processing, refrigeration or temperature control and do not have pungent odors.
With kids in school most of the month, crowds during October (the holiday weekend excepted) tend to be pretty low. Combined with the good weather (post-summer) and average prices, this is one of the best times to visit if you can fit it into your schedule.
As a general matter, Animal Kingdom is the park that requires the least strategy and is the easiest place to beat the crowds in all of Walt Disney World. It doesn't require Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lanes, and is pretty easy to knock out everything–and then some–if you stay for a full day.
Genie Plus is definitely worth it for Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios, and if you don't like early starts, you might consider it for Epcot and Animal Kingdom. If you are park hopping, Genie+ is even better value as it maximises the number of rides you have access to.
For Disney, it would mean losing a significant source of revenue, as the company's Florida operations include four theme parks, two water parks, several hotels, and numerous other attractions that draw millions of visitors each year.
Refresh the reservation pageGuests make and cancel reservations all the time, which means it'll benefit you to keep checking back. If your preferred park is sold out, you'll want to periodically refresh Disney's reservation page. This is especially the case as your dates move closer.
From an objective perspective, July is one of the worst months of the year, but it does have upside and if you're forced to visit during the summer due to your school or vacation schedule, you should not hesitate to do so. You'll still have a good time! Planning a Walt Disney World trip?