Walt Disney Global is now over one month into the low season, and crowds have dropped to their lowest stage of 2025. This wait occasions record covers knowledge for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. It additionally covers how our predictions carried out, forward-looking forecast for Fall 2025, and why this weekend was once almost certainly a turning level.
To briefly recap, Walt Disney Global has no longer been busy for the previous couple of months. It was once a sluggish summer time at Orlando’s theme parks, for causes mentioned in Why Summer time is the New Low Crowds Season at Disney Global. That still discusses why this shouldn’t be an enormous surprise, as this was once a pattern first noticed in 2016-2018; it’s simply turn into extra pronounced within the closing two years.
August and September were even much less busy than Would possibly via July. That is neither sudden nor sudden. Summer time has turn into like a chronic shoulder season, with only some slight spikes into reasonable territory ahead of faculty is going again into consultation and the actual low season arrives. Because of this, moderate wait occasions have fallen to their lowest ranges of the 12 months, surpassing even Fourth of July and different low issues of the summer time.
Attendance has been most commonly unchanged year-over-year at Walt Disney Global consistent with the corporate on the latest profits name, which encompassed the primary half of of summer time. Extra importantly to the corporate (however to not us), visitor spending and lodge occupancy are each up, and Walt Disney Global simply reported document quarterly earnings. So it’s no longer precisely as though the parks are hurting for industry!
As we often indicate, what’s coated in those “crowd” stories is in fact posted wait time knowledge that’s pulled from My Disney Revel in and compiled into graphs. It’s treasured for monitoring and evaluating wait occasions throughout days, weeks, months, and years. So much can also be gleaned from posted wait occasions, however they’re no longer essentially conclusive of in-park congestion or crowds.
Posted wait occasions be offering perception into how busy Walt Disney Global is, however they’re an imperfect measure. They’re nearly all the time inflated, some strains don’t publish wait occasions, they don’t account for Lightning Lane adjustments, EPCOT gala’s, and many others. However, wait occasions are the one function measure of crowds that we have got. On-the-ground observations can also be helpful, however in addition they have shortcomings.
Suffice to mention, attendance being flat year-over-year whilst wait occasions are down–two issues that may be true on the identical time–must underscore the above caveat. As for the why or how of this, we strongly suspect it’s a question of Lightning Lane usage. For a complete clarification of this pattern, see Is Lightning Lane Multi Move Nonetheless “Value It” at Disney Global?
The CliffNotes model is that standby strains are shorter and quicker shifting as a result of they’re being prioritized extra (as opposed to Lightning Lanes), resulting in decrease wait occasions. Although attendance is strictly the similar, crowd ranges can be decrease given this dynamic. Nearly around the board, wait occasions are down by means of a couple of mins year-over-year, this means that crowds are 1-2 ranges underneath related dates closing 12 months.
With that background out of the best way, let’s check out crowd ranges for August throughout the first half of of September 2025. As all the time, all graphs and wait time stats are courtesy of Thrill-Information.com:
We’ll get started with the per month numbers for Walt Disney Global as an entire, relationship all of the as far back as 2019.
Per 30 days crowd ranges climbed from closing October via this March, after which were on a gentle decline since. That is in line with closing 12 months, and related to maximum different years. Probably the most notable exchange is that Would possibly was once busier than June or July, when it was the shoulder season slowdown. Would possibly continues to be a slower month relative to spring destroy, however then crowds simply saved losing post-Memorial Day.
August has been the slowest complete month of 2025 thus far, with a 28 minute moderate wait time and 1/10 crowd stage. The ones numbers are in fact similar with closing August, so on this case, flat attendance does correspond with flat wait occasions. Previous to that, July was once the second one slowest month of 2025, with a median wait time of half-hour and a couple of/10 crowd stage. The third-slowest complete month of the 12 months was once June…and so forth and so on.
Midway throughout the month, September 2025 is poised to take the “crown” from August. This month is recently sitting at a median wait time of 24 mins, which may be a 1/10 crowd stage. Only a decrease one. If this pattern holds, September 2025 will be the slowest month since September 2021. That was once again ahead of the fiftieth Anniversary, amidst COVID cancellations because of the Delta wave and reinstated masks laws.
September will most probably finally end up being the slowest month of 2025. It’s already were given a 4 minute “lead” on August, which is so much to triumph over midway via. The larger query is whether or not it’ll surpass closing September and October, which bottomed out at 26 minute averages.
It’s going to be a actually shut name. The second one half of of September is sort of all the time busier than the primary half of, and we think an uptick in crowds for the following couple of weeks for plenty of causes mentioned underneath. My guess is that September finally ends up coming inside of one minute of closing September and October.
August was once on par with July for wait occasions throughout the center of the month. As anticipated, the previous couple of weeks went downhill immediate over again faculties began going again into consultation.
The closing week of August, heading into Exertions Day weekend, had a median wait time of 25 mins. Popping out of the vacation, the primary week of September was once even decrease at 23 mins. Suffice to mention, there’s a explanation why we wrote about this being Probably the most Very best Weeks at Walt Disney Global and known as it in your consideration past due closing 12 months. And why we’ve been stating for some time that Exertions Day Weekend Isn’t Busy at Disney.
This previous week, crowds ticked up a little bit to a median wait time of 26 mins. That’s nonetheless a 1/10 crowd stage and higher than any week all the way through the center of summer time, save for Fourth of July. However as you’ll see after we delve into day-to-day knowledge, it was once actually a “story of 2 weeks” in relation to wait occasions.
Having a look on the day-to-day knowledge for the closing 12 months, it must be quite simple to identify two lulls round mid-June and the Independence Day vacation weekend, plus spikes in each past due June and past due July via early August.
Publish summer time, August tenth was once the day with the large drop-off. Since then, the dailies were up and down, with spikes over the weekends–particularly on Saturdays–while weekdays were persistently low. That is in fact an unusual dynamic. For many of the previous couple of years, weekends have had decrease wait occasions (however incessantly no longer decrease “looks like” crowds or attendance).
Even so, we’re searching at spikes to crowd ranges of three/10 to five/10. Those haven’t precisely been height season numbers, but it surely nonetheless can also be moderately jarring–particularly for guests going from (moderately actually) the slowest days of all of the 12 months from Wednesdays via Fridays to reasonable numbers (plus even upper “looks like” crowds).
The variation in wait occasions from this previous Wednesday to Saturday was once +12 mins. That’s an enormous leap, particularly for this time of 12 months.
And which may be even worse relying at the park, misfortune with upkeep & breakdowns, and so on. It’s thus simple to look why more than a few Walt Disney Global guests record dramatically other reviews with crowds.
I talk from firsthand enjoy right here. I used to be within the parks each day within the lead-up to Exertions Day when a number of dates had a median wait time of 20-22 mins. While you’re searching at resort-wide numbers for a multi-day stretch, the ones are insanely low. A number of points of interest backside out at 10 minute wait occasions even if they’re stroll ons.
For the stats to be this low, that suggests the headliners additionally needed to have some distance decrease wait occasions than customary. And so they did! It was once improbable. I in any case noticed the elusive 7 minute posted wait time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Teach!
I used to be no longer within the parks as a lot over the vacation weekend till the afternoons and evenings (because of Vacation spot D23), however what I did see was once noticeably busier. Nonetheless no longer even remotely dangerous as in comparison to Spring Spoil or perhaps a couple months in the past, but when your body of reference is the low season low issues, it’s moderately the distinction.
As all the time, all of those numbers are averages, which nonetheless implies that hour-plus waits are conceivable for the headliners at height occasions. They’re simply offset by means of 5-10 minute waits for decrease profile points of interest, or widespread rides in the beginning of the morning and finish of night time. I additionally noticed 70+ minute waits for Seven Dwarfs Mine Teach all the way through the similar span.
For park by means of park research, we’ll get started with Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom has already began its “porcupine trend” of crowds for Birthday celebration Season, with complete working days being noticeably busier than days of Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying Halloween Birthday celebration. That is mirrored within the wait time knowledge, and it’s much more glaring from the in-park enjoy.
At the days when the park closes at 6 pm Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying Halloween Birthday celebration, it’s been not anything however 1/10 days at Magic Kingdom. That is one thing we’ve mentioned at duration, maximum significantly in Very best & Worst 2025 Crowd Days at Magic Kingdom. Suffice to mention, the ones predictions have confirmed true so far and all of Magic Kingdom’s slowest days of the 12 months have come for the reason that get started of August.
The turn facet has additionally been correct in terms of congestion on non-party nights, which is no longer measured by means of the above graph (once more, it’s completely trip wait occasions). I will talk to this from non-public enjoy, as there’s been a noticeable uptick for Starlight and Fortuitously Ever After, which is smart for the reason that there are fewer nights every week to enjoy each.
We predict this to worsen in the second one half of of September and past. To this point, non-party dates haven’t been that dangerous at Magic Kingdom. They are going to be deeper into Birthday celebration Season, particularly because the weekly choice of occasions will increase and round height weeks.
Animal Kingdom has noticed its crowd ranges far and wide this month. The low was once 11 mins on September third, with a top of 36 mins on September thirteenth. That’s an enormous unfold–an over three-fold building up–and one with out an glaring clarification.
Obviously, fending off weekends at this time is the important thing. That’s true with each park, and might be for just about the remainder of the month. If you happen to’re ready to seek advice from simplest on weekdays, you’ll be forward of the curve.
If that’s no longer conceivable, the excellent news is that, as all the time, early mornings and past due afternoons stay undefeated at DAK and precise wait occasions are minimum all the way through the ones timeframes even on a busier day.
Over at EPCOT, wait occasions are beginning to display indicators of existence after a sluggish summer time.
EPCOT is all the time a wildcard, however I’ll admit that this one stuck me by means of marvel. We all the time indicate that EPCOT is the locals’ park, and Floridians are much more likely to seek advice from for gala’s and environment than rides. This summer time was once Vitamin EPCOT, explaining the decrease crowds as soon as Flower & Lawn ended.
Alternatively, the 2025 EPCOT Meals & Wine Pageant is now underway. In searching on the knowledge, you may well be susceptible to consider that is the reason for upper crowd ranges on weekends. I’m no longer so positive about that. Meals & Wine is unquestionably spiking weekend attendance. However usually, that doesn’t translate to raised posted wait occasions or crowd ranges. It’s like a mirage within the knowledge. However for the closing 3 weeks, it reputedly has been mirrored within the numbers. Extra in this in a minute.
In the end, there’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As all the time, that is the park with the absolute best moderate wait occasions in all of Walt Disney Global, owing to its disproportionate choice of headliners. Disney’s Hollywood Studios didn’t see a lot of a summer time slowdown, most probably because of Little Mermaid ~ A Musical Journey and Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After. A unusually robust appearing for Cool Child Summer time would possibly’ve helped, too.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has nonetheless noticed a September slowdown, however no longer as pronounced as the opposite parks. And it’s noticed the similar weekend uptick as the opposite parks during the last couple weekends. As soon as once more, we’ll indicate that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the number 1 park for Lightning Lane Multi-Move. If you happen to’re going to shop for LLMP anyplace, make it DHS.
Our Prediction Efficiency
Within the closing crowd record and crowd calendars, we shared that our expectation was once that “September 2-12, 2025 would see the bottom crowds of the month, whole 12 months, and moderately perhaps the bottom ranges in different years.” We identified that this identical adjusted time-frame has noticed the bottom moderate posted wait occasions since October 2021 in each and every of the closing two years.
In reality, September 1-11, 2025 noticed the bottom crowds of 2025, and tied the similar time-frame closing 12 months in conjunction with the storm scare in October (even though that’s an outlier as a result of it will were a lot busier however for the storm) because the slowest stretch since October 2021. August 24-29 was once no longer some distance at the back of, and that whole week recently ranks because the second-slowest of 2025.
We additionally mentioned that “turning level” for upper crowds can be Saturday, September 13, 2025. It looks as if that’ll be correct, even though we’d be expecting extra midweek lulls, simply no longer with the similar low lows as during the last 3 weeks.
Observe that the September 1-11, 2025 stretch was once low regardless of September sixth “spiking” to a top 2/10 crowd stage. Frankly, I’m satisfied I don’t do day-to-day predictions, as I might’ve neglected the mark on that one. (This is a part of the explanation why we adore to zoom out a little bit when making predictions. It’s more straightforward to be correct when searching at wider home windows, however while one-off anomalies occur at all times!)
Past due August and the primary half-ish of September 2025 nonetheless weren’t even with regards to being as sluggish as August and September 2021. That extend nonetheless holds the crown for the bottom crowds within the closing 5 years. That was once the sort of distinctive set of instances that it’ll almost certainly take a storm scare all the way through the low season to ever beat that month-plus stretch. Or even up to I love low crowds, I frankly don’t need to see that occur. Believe me–there’s the sort of factor as too low of crowds.
Fall 2025 Crowd Predictions
As we’ve been stressing in this website for over a decade, September is the most efficient month of the 12 months to seek advice from from a wait occasions viewpoint. With simplest a few exceptions, all of the month sees underneath moderate attendance. The ones exceptions are fast-arriving.
As mentioned in the most recent replace to the September 2025 Crowd Calendar, the explanation why weekends are busier in September is the multi-month Florida resident price ticket deal is winding down. Those are “use it or lose it” tickets, and so they expire on September 27, 2025. Locals have a tendency to paintings on weekdays, so the closing couple weekends of validity have a tendency to spike consequently. That suggests the rage of busier weekends is simplest going to boost up, and we’re additionally going to look this bleed into some weekdays (particularly Fridays and Mondays), too.
This isn’t the one price ticket deal winding down in September. There’s additionally the Children 50% Off and 3-Park Magic Price ticket, which finish on September twentieth and twenty second. Those are aimed toward a distinct target market, so that they don’t have the similar affect on crowds. However the level stays that crowds spike in past due September 2025 as folks rush to make use of price ticket offers ahead of they finish.
However, there’s no “dangerous” time to seek advice from in September, save for upcoming Saturdays and Sundays. What stuck me by means of marvel isn’t that weekends spiked in September–we predicted it will–however that it began previous than standard. In most cases, the closing minute “use it or lose it” rush is actually glaring 2 weeks ahead of the deal ends.
This may be why we’re no longer assured September 2025 will finally end up being the slowest month since October 2021 as soon as the mud settles. With a 4 minute lead midway throughout the month, it’s most probably cemented victory over August 2025. However simplest 2 mins as opposed to closing September and October isn’t insurmountable, particularly if crowds building up from the closing couple of weekends, which is what we’re anticipating. If that occurs, September 2025 may well be busier than September 2024. Alternatively, “busier” is a relative time period, as each months must be actually mild in comparison to the whole lot of October 2025 (which is able to nearly indisputably beat October 2024 absent some other storm scare).
Regardless, mid-August via mid-September stays the closing bastion of the low season at Walt Disney Global. This has been persistently true at the same time as attendance has spiked all the way through different in the past low season months. While different low season months have got busier, September has stayed the similar–and (knock on picket) all the time must stay that means because of faculty schedules and not more fascinating climate. Although Disney will get competitive with pulling extra “levers” sooner or later to trap call for, there’s simplest such a lot they are able to do; we noticed this again in 2019 when no longer even the release of Big name Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Additional, Additional Magic Hours may triumph over the low season slowdown.
If you happen to’re searching ahead to 2026, 2027, and many others., you’ll be able to safely e-book a commute all the way through this stretch and be expecting low crowds. This is applicable to each the week ahead of Exertions Day, two weeks after, or even the vacation itself. Whether or not fending off weekends might be beneficial relies solely about when the Florida resident price ticket deal ends. There was once not anything sudden or extraordinary about the previous couple of weeks, although they have been the slowest of 2025 and some of the lowest since October 2021.
Having a look ahead previous the expiration of the outgoing price ticket offers, the large query marks are crew occasions and conference crowds. There’s an out of doors likelihood that the closing week of September sees an oversized spike due the arriving of those, plus early fall breaks for more than a few faculty districts across the nation. However for probably the most section, it must nonetheless be too early for all of that to meaningfully affect crowds.
Our expectation is that the arriving of fall crowds in “complete power” coincides with Columbus Day weekend. It most probably gained’t let up a lot after that. Any other large query mark is long term price ticket offers. Disney has been getting extra competitive in looking to put extra bandwidth within the parks to make use of, and we’re attending to the purpose that we’re roughly anticipating a price ticket deal for mid-October via mid-December 2025. That may additionally spice up crowd ranges within the ultimate few months of the 12 months.
Even absent the sort of price ticket deal, indicators already level to the closing 3 months of the 12 months being busy. If you happen to simplest care about numbers–and no longer climate or Christmas–the following couple of weeks adopted by means of the past due October lull is the time to seek advice from Walt Disney Global. If you happen to do care about the ones issues, there are a handful of different sluggish home windows amidst the height weeks–all of which can be flagged in Very best & Worst Weeks to Discuss with Disney Global in 2025, 2026 & 2027.
Making plans a Walt Disney Global commute? Know about inns on our Walt Disney Global Resorts Evaluations web page. For the place to consume, learn our Walt Disney Global Eating place Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or resolve which sort to shop for, learn our Guidelines for Saving Cash on Walt Disney Global Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular take a look at artful pieces to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney Global Journey Guides will lend a hand. For complete recommendation, the most efficient position to begin is our Walt Disney Global Go back and forth Making plans Information for the entirety you want to grasp!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on low season crowds at Walt Disney Global? Predictions for the remainder of the month or October? Assume September will finally end up being the slowest month since Fall 2021? If you happen to’ve visited throughout the closing month, what did you bring to mind wait occasions? Have you ever executed Magic Kingdom all the way through the day of a MNSSHP night time? Do you settle or disagree with anything else in our record? Any questions we will be able to can help you resolution? Listening to your comments–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas underneath within the feedback!
Walt Disney Global is now over one month into the low season, and crowds have dropped to their lowest stage of 2025. This wait occasions record covers knowledge for Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom. It additionally covers how our predictions carried out, forward-looking forecast for Fall 2025, and why this weekend was once almost certainly a turning level.
To briefly recap, Walt Disney Global has no longer been busy for the previous couple of months. It was once a sluggish summer time at Orlando’s theme parks, for causes mentioned in Why Summer time is the New Low Crowds Season at Disney Global. That still discusses why this shouldn’t be an enormous surprise, as this was once a pattern first noticed in 2016-2018; it’s simply turn into extra pronounced within the closing two years.
August and September were even much less busy than Would possibly via July. That is neither sudden nor sudden. Summer time has turn into like a chronic shoulder season, with only some slight spikes into reasonable territory ahead of faculty is going again into consultation and the actual low season arrives. Because of this, moderate wait occasions have fallen to their lowest ranges of the 12 months, surpassing even Fourth of July and different low issues of the summer time.
Attendance has been most commonly unchanged year-over-year at Walt Disney Global consistent with the corporate on the latest profits name, which encompassed the primary half of of summer time. Extra importantly to the corporate (however to not us), visitor spending and lodge occupancy are each up, and Walt Disney Global simply reported document quarterly earnings. So it’s no longer precisely as though the parks are hurting for industry!
As we often indicate, what’s coated in those “crowd” stories is in fact posted wait time knowledge that’s pulled from My Disney Revel in and compiled into graphs. It’s treasured for monitoring and evaluating wait occasions throughout days, weeks, months, and years. So much can also be gleaned from posted wait occasions, however they’re no longer essentially conclusive of in-park congestion or crowds.
Posted wait occasions be offering perception into how busy Walt Disney Global is, however they’re an imperfect measure. They’re nearly all the time inflated, some strains don’t publish wait occasions, they don’t account for Lightning Lane adjustments, EPCOT gala’s, and many others. However, wait occasions are the one function measure of crowds that we have got. On-the-ground observations can also be helpful, however in addition they have shortcomings.
Suffice to mention, attendance being flat year-over-year whilst wait occasions are down–two issues that may be true on the identical time–must underscore the above caveat. As for the why or how of this, we strongly suspect it’s a question of Lightning Lane usage. For a complete clarification of this pattern, see Is Lightning Lane Multi Move Nonetheless “Value It” at Disney Global?
The CliffNotes model is that standby strains are shorter and quicker shifting as a result of they’re being prioritized extra (as opposed to Lightning Lanes), resulting in decrease wait occasions. Although attendance is strictly the similar, crowd ranges can be decrease given this dynamic. Nearly around the board, wait occasions are down by means of a couple of mins year-over-year, this means that crowds are 1-2 ranges underneath related dates closing 12 months.
With that background out of the best way, let’s check out crowd ranges for August throughout the first half of of September 2025. As all the time, all graphs and wait time stats are courtesy of Thrill-Information.com:
We’ll get started with the per month numbers for Walt Disney Global as an entire, relationship all of the as far back as 2019.
Per 30 days crowd ranges climbed from closing October via this March, after which were on a gentle decline since. That is in line with closing 12 months, and related to maximum different years. Probably the most notable exchange is that Would possibly was once busier than June or July, when it was the shoulder season slowdown. Would possibly continues to be a slower month relative to spring destroy, however then crowds simply saved losing post-Memorial Day.
August has been the slowest complete month of 2025 thus far, with a 28 minute moderate wait time and 1/10 crowd stage. The ones numbers are in fact similar with closing August, so on this case, flat attendance does correspond with flat wait occasions. Previous to that, July was once the second one slowest month of 2025, with a median wait time of half-hour and a couple of/10 crowd stage. The third-slowest complete month of the 12 months was once June…and so forth and so on.
Midway throughout the month, September 2025 is poised to take the “crown” from August. This month is recently sitting at a median wait time of 24 mins, which may be a 1/10 crowd stage. Only a decrease one. If this pattern holds, September 2025 will be the slowest month since September 2021. That was once again ahead of the fiftieth Anniversary, amidst COVID cancellations because of the Delta wave and reinstated masks laws.
September will most probably finally end up being the slowest month of 2025. It’s already were given a 4 minute “lead” on August, which is so much to triumph over midway via. The larger query is whether or not it’ll surpass closing September and October, which bottomed out at 26 minute averages.
It’s going to be a actually shut name. The second one half of of September is sort of all the time busier than the primary half of, and we think an uptick in crowds for the following couple of weeks for plenty of causes mentioned underneath. My guess is that September finally ends up coming inside of one minute of closing September and October.
August was once on par with July for wait occasions throughout the center of the month. As anticipated, the previous couple of weeks went downhill immediate over again faculties began going again into consultation.
The closing week of August, heading into Exertions Day weekend, had a median wait time of 25 mins. Popping out of the vacation, the primary week of September was once even decrease at 23 mins. Suffice to mention, there’s a explanation why we wrote about this being Probably the most Very best Weeks at Walt Disney Global and known as it in your consideration past due closing 12 months. And why we’ve been stating for some time that Exertions Day Weekend Isn’t Busy at Disney.
This previous week, crowds ticked up a little bit to a median wait time of 26 mins. That’s nonetheless a 1/10 crowd stage and higher than any week all the way through the center of summer time, save for Fourth of July. However as you’ll see after we delve into day-to-day knowledge, it was once actually a “story of 2 weeks” in relation to wait occasions.
Having a look on the day-to-day knowledge for the closing 12 months, it must be quite simple to identify two lulls round mid-June and the Independence Day vacation weekend, plus spikes in each past due June and past due July via early August.
Publish summer time, August tenth was once the day with the large drop-off. Since then, the dailies were up and down, with spikes over the weekends–particularly on Saturdays–while weekdays were persistently low. That is in fact an unusual dynamic. For many of the previous couple of years, weekends have had decrease wait occasions (however incessantly no longer decrease “looks like” crowds or attendance).
Even so, we’re searching at spikes to crowd ranges of three/10 to five/10. Those haven’t precisely been height season numbers, but it surely nonetheless can also be moderately jarring–particularly for guests going from (moderately actually) the slowest days of all of the 12 months from Wednesdays via Fridays to reasonable numbers (plus even upper “looks like” crowds).
The variation in wait occasions from this previous Wednesday to Saturday was once +12 mins. That’s an enormous leap, particularly for this time of 12 months.
And which may be even worse relying at the park, misfortune with upkeep & breakdowns, and so on. It’s thus simple to look why more than a few Walt Disney Global guests record dramatically other reviews with crowds.
I talk from firsthand enjoy right here. I used to be within the parks each day within the lead-up to Exertions Day when a number of dates had a median wait time of 20-22 mins. While you’re searching at resort-wide numbers for a multi-day stretch, the ones are insanely low. A number of points of interest backside out at 10 minute wait occasions even if they’re stroll ons.
For the stats to be this low, that suggests the headliners additionally needed to have some distance decrease wait occasions than customary. And so they did! It was once improbable. I in any case noticed the elusive 7 minute posted wait time for Seven Dwarfs Mine Teach!
I used to be no longer within the parks as a lot over the vacation weekend till the afternoons and evenings (because of Vacation spot D23), however what I did see was once noticeably busier. Nonetheless no longer even remotely dangerous as in comparison to Spring Spoil or perhaps a couple months in the past, but when your body of reference is the low season low issues, it’s moderately the distinction.
As all the time, all of those numbers are averages, which nonetheless implies that hour-plus waits are conceivable for the headliners at height occasions. They’re simply offset by means of 5-10 minute waits for decrease profile points of interest, or widespread rides in the beginning of the morning and finish of night time. I additionally noticed 70+ minute waits for Seven Dwarfs Mine Teach all the way through the similar span.
For park by means of park research, we’ll get started with Magic Kingdom.
Magic Kingdom has already began its “porcupine trend” of crowds for Birthday celebration Season, with complete working days being noticeably busier than days of Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying Halloween Birthday celebration. That is mirrored within the wait time knowledge, and it’s much more glaring from the in-park enjoy.
At the days when the park closes at 6 pm Mickey’s Now not So Horrifying Halloween Birthday celebration, it’s been not anything however 1/10 days at Magic Kingdom. That is one thing we’ve mentioned at duration, maximum significantly in Very best & Worst 2025 Crowd Days at Magic Kingdom. Suffice to mention, the ones predictions have confirmed true so far and all of Magic Kingdom’s slowest days of the 12 months have come for the reason that get started of August.
The turn facet has additionally been correct in terms of congestion on non-party nights, which is no longer measured by means of the above graph (once more, it’s completely trip wait occasions). I will talk to this from non-public enjoy, as there’s been a noticeable uptick for Starlight and Fortuitously Ever After, which is smart for the reason that there are fewer nights every week to enjoy each.
We predict this to worsen in the second one half of of September and past. To this point, non-party dates haven’t been that dangerous at Magic Kingdom. They are going to be deeper into Birthday celebration Season, particularly because the weekly choice of occasions will increase and round height weeks.
Animal Kingdom has noticed its crowd ranges far and wide this month. The low was once 11 mins on September third, with a top of 36 mins on September thirteenth. That’s an enormous unfold–an over three-fold building up–and one with out an glaring clarification.
Obviously, fending off weekends at this time is the important thing. That’s true with each park, and might be for just about the remainder of the month. If you happen to’re ready to seek advice from simplest on weekdays, you’ll be forward of the curve.
If that’s no longer conceivable, the excellent news is that, as all the time, early mornings and past due afternoons stay undefeated at DAK and precise wait occasions are minimum all the way through the ones timeframes even on a busier day.
Over at EPCOT, wait occasions are beginning to display indicators of existence after a sluggish summer time.
EPCOT is all the time a wildcard, however I’ll admit that this one stuck me by means of marvel. We all the time indicate that EPCOT is the locals’ park, and Floridians are much more likely to seek advice from for gala’s and environment than rides. This summer time was once Vitamin EPCOT, explaining the decrease crowds as soon as Flower & Lawn ended.
Alternatively, the 2025 EPCOT Meals & Wine Pageant is now underway. In searching on the knowledge, you may well be susceptible to consider that is the reason for upper crowd ranges on weekends. I’m no longer so positive about that. Meals & Wine is unquestionably spiking weekend attendance. However usually, that doesn’t translate to raised posted wait occasions or crowd ranges. It’s like a mirage within the knowledge. However for the closing 3 weeks, it reputedly has been mirrored within the numbers. Extra in this in a minute.
In the end, there’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As all the time, that is the park with the absolute best moderate wait occasions in all of Walt Disney Global, owing to its disproportionate choice of headliners. Disney’s Hollywood Studios didn’t see a lot of a summer time slowdown, most probably because of Little Mermaid ~ A Musical Journey and Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After. A unusually robust appearing for Cool Child Summer time would possibly’ve helped, too.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios has nonetheless noticed a September slowdown, however no longer as pronounced as the opposite parks. And it’s noticed the similar weekend uptick as the opposite parks during the last couple weekends. As soon as once more, we’ll indicate that Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the number 1 park for Lightning Lane Multi-Move. If you happen to’re going to shop for LLMP anyplace, make it DHS.
Our Prediction Efficiency
Within the closing crowd record and crowd calendars, we shared that our expectation was once that “September 2-12, 2025 would see the bottom crowds of the month, whole 12 months, and moderately perhaps the bottom ranges in different years.” We identified that this identical adjusted time-frame has noticed the bottom moderate posted wait occasions since October 2021 in each and every of the closing two years.
In reality, September 1-11, 2025 noticed the bottom crowds of 2025, and tied the similar time-frame closing 12 months in conjunction with the storm scare in October (even though that’s an outlier as a result of it will were a lot busier however for the storm) because the slowest stretch since October 2021. August 24-29 was once no longer some distance at the back of, and that whole week recently ranks because the second-slowest of 2025.
We additionally mentioned that “turning level” for upper crowds can be Saturday, September 13, 2025. It looks as if that’ll be correct, even though we’d be expecting extra midweek lulls, simply no longer with the similar low lows as during the last 3 weeks.
Observe that the September 1-11, 2025 stretch was once low regardless of September sixth “spiking” to a top 2/10 crowd stage. Frankly, I’m satisfied I don’t do day-to-day predictions, as I might’ve neglected the mark on that one. (This is a part of the explanation why we adore to zoom out a little bit when making predictions. It’s more straightforward to be correct when searching at wider home windows, however while one-off anomalies occur at all times!)
Past due August and the primary half-ish of September 2025 nonetheless weren’t even with regards to being as sluggish as August and September 2021. That extend nonetheless holds the crown for the bottom crowds within the closing 5 years. That was once the sort of distinctive set of instances that it’ll almost certainly take a storm scare all the way through the low season to ever beat that month-plus stretch. Or even up to I love low crowds, I frankly don’t need to see that occur. Believe me–there’s the sort of factor as too low of crowds.
Fall 2025 Crowd Predictions
As we’ve been stressing in this website for over a decade, September is the most efficient month of the 12 months to seek advice from from a wait occasions viewpoint. With simplest a few exceptions, all of the month sees underneath moderate attendance. The ones exceptions are fast-arriving.
As mentioned in the most recent replace to the September 2025 Crowd Calendar, the explanation why weekends are busier in September is the multi-month Florida resident price ticket deal is winding down. Those are “use it or lose it” tickets, and so they expire on September 27, 2025. Locals have a tendency to paintings on weekdays, so the closing couple weekends of validity have a tendency to spike consequently. That suggests the rage of busier weekends is simplest going to boost up, and we’re additionally going to look this bleed into some weekdays (particularly Fridays and Mondays), too.
This isn’t the one price ticket deal winding down in September. There’s additionally the Children 50% Off and 3-Park Magic Price ticket, which finish on September twentieth and twenty second. Those are aimed toward a distinct target market, so that they don’t have the similar affect on crowds. However the level stays that crowds spike in past due September 2025 as folks rush to make use of price ticket offers ahead of they finish.
However, there’s no “dangerous” time to seek advice from in September, save for upcoming Saturdays and Sundays. What stuck me by means of marvel isn’t that weekends spiked in September–we predicted it will–however that it began previous than standard. In most cases, the closing minute “use it or lose it” rush is actually glaring 2 weeks ahead of the deal ends.
This may be why we’re no longer assured September 2025 will finally end up being the slowest month since October 2021 as soon as the mud settles. With a 4 minute lead midway throughout the month, it’s most probably cemented victory over August 2025. However simplest 2 mins as opposed to closing September and October isn’t insurmountable, particularly if crowds building up from the closing couple of weekends, which is what we’re anticipating. If that occurs, September 2025 may well be busier than September 2024. Alternatively, “busier” is a relative time period, as each months must be actually mild in comparison to the whole lot of October 2025 (which is able to nearly indisputably beat October 2024 absent some other storm scare).
Regardless, mid-August via mid-September stays the closing bastion of the low season at Walt Disney Global. This has been persistently true at the same time as attendance has spiked all the way through different in the past low season months. While different low season months have got busier, September has stayed the similar–and (knock on picket) all the time must stay that means because of faculty schedules and not more fascinating climate. Although Disney will get competitive with pulling extra “levers” sooner or later to trap call for, there’s simplest such a lot they are able to do; we noticed this again in 2019 when no longer even the release of Big name Wars: Galaxy’s Edge and Additional, Additional Magic Hours may triumph over the low season slowdown.
If you happen to’re searching ahead to 2026, 2027, and many others., you’ll be able to safely e-book a commute all the way through this stretch and be expecting low crowds. This is applicable to each the week ahead of Exertions Day, two weeks after, or even the vacation itself. Whether or not fending off weekends might be beneficial relies solely about when the Florida resident price ticket deal ends. There was once not anything sudden or extraordinary about the previous couple of weeks, although they have been the slowest of 2025 and some of the lowest since October 2021.
Having a look ahead previous the expiration of the outgoing price ticket offers, the large query marks are crew occasions and conference crowds. There’s an out of doors likelihood that the closing week of September sees an oversized spike due the arriving of those, plus early fall breaks for more than a few faculty districts across the nation. However for probably the most section, it must nonetheless be too early for all of that to meaningfully affect crowds.
Our expectation is that the arriving of fall crowds in “complete power” coincides with Columbus Day weekend. It most probably gained’t let up a lot after that. Any other large query mark is long term price ticket offers. Disney has been getting extra competitive in looking to put extra bandwidth within the parks to make use of, and we’re attending to the purpose that we’re roughly anticipating a price ticket deal for mid-October via mid-December 2025. That may additionally spice up crowd ranges within the ultimate few months of the 12 months.
Even absent the sort of price ticket deal, indicators already level to the closing 3 months of the 12 months being busy. If you happen to simplest care about numbers–and no longer climate or Christmas–the following couple of weeks adopted by means of the past due October lull is the time to seek advice from Walt Disney Global. If you happen to do care about the ones issues, there are a handful of different sluggish home windows amidst the height weeks–all of which can be flagged in Very best & Worst Weeks to Discuss with Disney Global in 2025, 2026 & 2027.
Making plans a Walt Disney Global commute? Know about inns on our Walt Disney Global Resorts Evaluations web page. For the place to consume, learn our Walt Disney Global Eating place Evaluations. To save cash on tickets or resolve which sort to shop for, learn our Guidelines for Saving Cash on Walt Disney Global Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular take a look at artful pieces to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney Global Journey Guides will lend a hand. For complete recommendation, the most efficient position to begin is our Walt Disney Global Go back and forth Making plans Information for the entirety you want to grasp!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on low season crowds at Walt Disney Global? Predictions for the remainder of the month or October? Assume September will finally end up being the slowest month since Fall 2021? If you happen to’ve visited throughout the closing month, what did you bring to mind wait occasions? Have you ever executed Magic Kingdom all the way through the day of a MNSSHP night time? Do you settle or disagree with anything else in our record? Any questions we will be able to can help you resolution? Listening to your comments–even while you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas underneath within the feedback!
