Disney World has seen intense wait times and crowds in the post Covid-19 era, and in recent months Disney World in particular has made headlines for long wait times and frequently crowded parks. Which is why this week has been such a surprise for the House the creator of the Mouse built. Fourth of July Crowds at Walt Disney World just hit a record, for sure – just not the positive kind.
So, apparently crowds were down at the Magic Kingdom and other Disney World parks in Orlando during the Fourth of July holiday. This is despite the U.S. Air Force conducting a flyover using F-35 stealth jets over the parks. It’s also despite a magnificent nightly fireworks display in the parks that hits a little harder on the the Fourth. (The one at MK, Wishes, allegedly costs the park in the ballpark of $50,000 a night to put on.)
Reports indicate that Disney World Crowds were down hard on the extended Fourth of July weekend. In fact, per recent reports, the 2023 Independence Day celebration was the worst day for attendance on the holiday in a decade – which is wild considering in 2021 and 2022 a lot of businesses were still recovering from the economic impacts of the pandemic. Theme parks, however, at that point were booming after being hit hardest in 2020 due to an extended shutdown.
Note: As a sidebar, it’s worth noting that in 2020, Walt Disney World was closed until July 11th, so that year the holiday was not celebrated by the parks.
Now, the question is: Attendance was down, but why?
Other Theme Parks Also Reported Lower Than Average Crowds
Sure 4th of July fell on a Tuesday this year, which may have impacted when families were in and out of the parks (particularly as some had to work on the 3rd even with the 4th off). Reports about the travel industry at large have also indicated there were a lot of travel woes for families attempting to travel during the holiday weekend.
Some blogs have mentioned DeSantis’ current legal battle with Disney World as one of the reasons behind the crowd woes but it’s worth noting crowds were sparser than normal at other theme parks in the Orlando area. Inside the Magic reports that crowd attendance was also at a record low at Universal Orlando over the holiday. So, it wasn’t just the Disney Parks that saw fewer crowds than usual.
Blog Mickey shared a graph showing that rides only averaged a 24 minute wait on the holiday, continuing a trend that had started in the spring when the outlet first noticed attendance began dropping in the parks. Over the last couple of months, Disney crowds have slowly been dropping, and economic downturns in general may explain why the Fourth was not a great day for theme parks. However, I’d be willing to hedge it’s never just one thing or another.
Disney World has increased prices lately (and defended those increases), it’s added costs with services like Genie+, it’s hot in Florida in July to begin with (though that usually doesn’t deter families), there has been a lot of talk about the company’s policies in recent months, and then travel was a problem over the Fourth of July weekend and more.
I would guess a combination of feelings, travel practicality and the current economy all played a role, but no matter what, if you are in the Happiest Place on Earth this week, you are likely enjoying a quieter, more relaxing experience. Unless you’re trying to get on the admittedly excellent attraction Peter Pan’s Flight right now. Because I just checked, and even during a slow week that sucker is at 90 minutes.
