It’s time for our first Walt Disney Global crowd file of 2026, recapping the highs & lows of the couple months with a focal point on the newest traits lately January that may most probably spill into early February. This wait instances file stocks records for the final month-plus, plus our theories as to what’s going down with attendance & traces–and why wait instances are getting worse at portray a whole image of crowds.
Let’s get started with a snappy recap of crowds from the vacation season thru early January. We don’t want to fixate in this an excessive amount of, because it was once most commonly what you’d be expecting. Jersey Week thru Veterans Day noticed a slight spike to reasonable territory, with crowds peaking on Monday, November tenth. Wait instances plummeted the next week, with November 16-22 having lows rivaling the August and September low season.
Thanksgiving week was once the busiest of November with crowds arriving the Sunday prior to, peaking on Monday, and proceeding till Thursday. By means of Friday, the pointy downtrend had already begun. However even at its top, Thanksgiving week was once now not really busy. Crowd ranges, no less than as measured by means of wait instances, ended up being reasonable. As at all times, congestion is a distinct tale. However that is exactly why (spoiler alert) Thanksgiving ranks #1 on our checklist of the Least-Unhealthy Weeks to Seek advice from Walt Disney Global for Households on Faculty Schedules.
Maximum of December ended up having low to reasonable crowd ranges. Right through the primary 3 weeks of December, moderate wait instances around the entirety of Walt Disney Global have been 29 mins. That’s now not averaging all 3 weeks; it was once the similar 29 minute moderate in every of the ones weeks (some days have been higher and worse, clearly).
The ones are exceptionally excellent crowd ranges, and that is now the second one consecutive 12 months that decrease crowds have crept into that 3rd week, now not simply the primary two. Even though there have been some day by day and park-by-park spikes previous to then, there weren’t constant and sustained reasonable or upper crowd ranges till Saturday, December twentieth.
What could be a wonder is that the times and weekend round Christmas in fact weren’t that dangerous. Crowds have been top, however as an entire, the common wait time was once 40 mins and the group stage was once handiest 7/10, with height dates being December twenty second and twenty third. That’s under every of the final two Christmases, and the primary time we’ve observed a crowd stage under 9/10 for that exact week all the way through standard instances.
It was once the least-busy Christmas week since 2020, which was once slower for rather glaring causes. Even Christmas 2021, which noticed a slowdown beginning in past due September because of a resurgence of COVID and reinstatement of masks regulations, was once busier than the week of Christmas 2025.
Christmas week was once nonetheless the busiest since Easter and the 4th worst week of final 12 months. It simply wasn’t just about as dangerous as final 12 months or (particularly) 2022-2023 or 2019. All of the ones have been top 10/10 weeks; 7/10 is a large drop-off as contrasted with the ones.
Unsurprisingly, the week round New Yr’s Eve was once a lot, a lot busier. From December twenty seventh thru January fifth, Walt Disney Global had heavy crowds. The height day of the vacation season (December twenty ninth) noticed moderate wait instances of 60 mins, and just one week later (January sixth) that moderate was once right down to 32 mins. That week ended up being the busiest of 2025 by means of a large margin, however was once nonetheless down year-over-year.
It wasn’t simply Walt Disney Global that was once busy. As we’ve already coated, Epic Universe had its busiest day ever in early 2026. Now not simply the very best wait instances ever for Epic Universe, however for any park at Common Orlando or Walt Disney Global since no less than 2019–and by means of an overly extensive margin. The common wait on that date was once 107 mins, with height waits of over 300 mins and a couple of headliners hitting 200+ mins all the way through the day. That entire week was once likewise very busy at Common Orlando.
Something we didn’t prior to now duvet, then again, was once New Yr’s Eve at EPCOT. You will have to be capable of simply spot December thirty first at the under graph from thrill-data.com:
New Yr’s Eve has lengthy been the busiest day of the 12 months at EPCOT, and I take into account some really loopy wait instances on NYE again in 2019 and previous. We have been there to ring in numerous of the ones years, they usually have been wild.
Submit-COVID, EPCOT had now not reached those self same heights…till this 12 months. The common wait time on NYE at EPCOT was once 83 mins, a ways surpassing the second-busiest day of the 12 months (December thirtieth), which hit “handiest” 61 mins. For context, a standard day at EPCOT final 12 months had a median wait time of 31 mins.
We nonetheless love the ambience of EPCOT on New Yr’s Eve and will’t wait to do it once more, however it’s now not for the faint of middle…or someone short of to in fact journey rides. A excellent bucket checklist access for WDW regulars, however without a doubt now not first-timers.
For reference, the busiest stretches of the previous few months have been the 2 weeks of Fall Wreck round Columbus Day, two weeks round Veterans Day, Thanksgiving week, Christmas week, New Yr’s week, and primary week (or so) of 2026. None of this will have to come as an enormous wonder.
The larger wonder could be that the primary week of Fall Wreck was once busier than the November vacation weeks, and that there have been two weeks of summer time that have been on par with the weeks round Veterans Day and Thanksgiving.
Even if we’ve recognized the ones ‘dual peaks’ of summer time as ones to steer clear of because of crowd spikes, we by no means would’ve anticipated the November vacation weeks to simply be on par with the ones. Right here’s a take a look at the day by day wait time averages, courtesy of thrill-data.com:
To not belabor the purpose, however those are crowd ranges as measured by means of wait instances. In our in depth enjoy, ‘appears like’ crowds are at all times worse all the way through the vacation season. At all times.
Even 2/10 and three/10 days could have congestion, particularly at EPCOT. And there’s additionally the truth that Magic Kingdom and Disney’s Hollywood Studios shut early to onerous price tag occasions a couple of nights every week, so there’s extra variance in daily and park-to-park crowd ranges.
The turn aspect to that, despite the fact that, is that summer time has worse ‘appears like’ climate. The rationale congestion isn’t as dangerous is as a result of folks prioritize air-conditioning, in order that they transfer extra briefly from line to line. Crowds also are worse within the (fewer) midnight hours, particularly Prolonged Night time Hours as a disproportionate collection of visitors search out the ones as a reprieve from the elements.
To every their very own, however I’d fortuitously take upper ‘appears like’ crowds/congestion over upper ‘appears like’ temperatures. That’s exactly why extra weeks in November and December make our checklist of the most productive time to seek advice from; suggestions that the above in reality underscore.
The lesson from the above, no less than from my point of view, is that possibly the weeks of Thanksgiving and Christmas in fact don’t belong at the worst checklist anymore. However prior to I’m going bucking typical knowledge by means of converting the ones suggestions, I need to see any other 12 months of wait instances records.
Since January sixth, wait instances have most commonly been as anticipated. The weekdays that adopted dropped dramatically, and the final two weeks have had 29 minute averages prior to rebounding round MLK Day Weekend, which was once about on par with the lead-up to Christmas.
The larger wonder has been over the previous few days, which is what we need to draw your consideration to. We’ve talked to a few Florida buddies at Walt Disney Global this weekend, who described the parks as packed. EPCOT ran out of reservations on Saturday, and hit 9/10 crowd ranges each days. From what we heard, the congestion was once even worse, with it feeling like the ten/10 days between Christmas and New Yr’s (however in need of NYE itself).
The opposite parks have been extra in reasonable territory, no less than with regards to wait instances. Then again, we additionally won reader experiences that all over the place was once busy, even the inns. That the wait instances didn’t inform the overall tale. Frankly, that is continuously the case within the wintry weather months, particularly all the way through EPCOT Pageant of the Arts, so we to begin with weren’t too shocked or intending to hide it.
What piqued our interest, despite the fact that, is the collection of experiences we heard or noticed on social media of visitors from different southern states “fleeing” to Florida to flee the wintry weather climate. With the expectancy that faculty can be cancelled because of snow and ice this week, and now not short of to be of their house states for the wintry weather storms, a not-insignificant collection of folks took last-minute street journeys to Walt Disney Global, additional exacerbating the crowds.
Every other issue main to raised attendance the final couple of weekends is the Uncover Walt Disney Global Price tag Deal for Florida Citizens, which simply introduced on January twelfth. This annual particular be offering is at all times vastly well-liked amongst locals, and ends up in spikes in crowd ranges in opposition to the start and (particularly) finish of the cut price.
With all of that mentioned, the above is in keeping with our reports at Walt Disney Global from November thru February in every of the previous few years. Assuming that the wintry weather climate is making a flee to Florida impact, it’s handiest exaggerating what we’ve already observed play out for some time.
That is very true at EPCOT, and doubly so on weekends all the way through each Pageant of the Vacations and Pageant of the Arts. Possibly now not coincidentally, those are the shortest fairs of the 12 months, so locals have much less time to enjoy them–thereby consolidating crowds right into a shorter window. Anecdotally, we’ve discovered those to be the occasions which are extra well-liked by locals. (Flower & Lawn isn’t too a ways at the back of, specifically the primary couple of weekends if the elements is sweet.)
We’ve been discussing the ‘EPCOT Exception’ to crowds for some time now, because of it being the most important locals’ park at Walt Disney Global, however that is extra pronounced than ever. It’s loopy to navigate walkways which are filled with folks in Global Show off…however then have wait instances extra reflective of three/10 to six/10 crowds.
In the long run, we felt it was once price protecting this and as soon as once more pointing to the sometimes-significant hole between crowd ranges and congestion. Wait instances are used as a proxy for crowd ranges as a result of they’re the one goal measure for that. There’s no choice, and on the finish of the day, wait instances nonetheless are what’s maximum necessary to many of us (who seek advice from the parks to, , journey rides), despite the fact that congestion can go away an oversized affect.
It however bears underscoring that wait instances aren’t the end-all, be-all with regards to discussing crowds or opting for when to seek advice from. Appears like crowds are most often worse from November thru March. Conversely, appears like climate is most often worse from Might thru September.
There could be two days in mid-August and early December with equivalent numerical crowd ranges, however the ‘appears like’ stipulations in each can be radically other because of the temperature, walkway congestion, and extra. That’s to mention not anything of lowered capability because of refurbishments, closures and building, particular occasions, vacation decorations, and so on.. The secret is that there are a large number of variables that give a contribution to congestion or appears like crowds, and wait instances are just one piece of the puzzle.
To that finish, we will be able to as soon as once more plug our extra holistic checklist of the 10 Very best & Worst Weeks to Seek advice from Walt Disney Global in 2026 & 2027. Greater than ever, we suggest opting for when to seek advice from at the foundation of extra than simply numerical crowd ranges. They don’t inform the overall tale, and in scenarios like at this time–when wintry weather climate may well be inflicting an inflow of tourists–there are some variables which are inconceivable to expect.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
What do you recall to mind wait time and crowd traits over the process the final couple months? Have you ever been within the parks the previous few days? Understand an uptick in congestion or wait instances? Any individual ‘fleeing to Florida’ to flee wintry weather climate? Be expecting ‘appears like’ crowds to be heavy over the following couple of months, despite the fact that the wait instances recommend decrease crowds? Do you settle or disagree with my evaluation? Any questions we will can help you solution? Listening to your comments–even whilst you disagree with us–is each fascinating to us and useful to different readers, so please percentage your ideas under within the feedback!
