Memorial Day Weekend crowds were shockingly low at Walt Disney World in 2025. Editor-in-Chief of That Park Place, Marvin Montanaro, took a stroll through Magic Kingdom on May 26th and was amazed at how empty the world’s most-visited theme park had become. Meanwhile, Epic Universe still appears to be kept at low capacity for the start of summer (to ensure a smooth transition to full operations), but Universal Studios proper and Islands of Adventure were both slammed with guests.
In fact, Magic Kingdom was so low on guests for Memorial Day that we decided to take photos specifically with shadows clearly visible. Why? Well, so that nobody can claim that we took these photos in the morning or the evening at a time when we’re faking just how empty Magic Kingdom actually was. Prepare to be shocked.
Photo by M. Montanaro
Image by M. Montanaro
Image by M. Montanaro
Image by M. Montanaro
Image by M. Montanaro
Image by M. Montanaro
Overall, wait times often hovered around 10-15 minutes for even the most coveted of attractions. It makes one wonder how the summer is going to be for Walt Disney World if Memorial Day Weekend already is this sparse. How will guests react when the Magic Kingdom’s Frontierland becomes a sea of construction walls with the aim of destroying much of what people loved about the park in the first place? And how will Disney pull in families once Epic Universe is allowed to operate at full capacity (or even expands)?
The Liberty Belle is looking as beautiful as ever with American flag bunting to honor Memorial Day at Magic Kingdom. ❤️ pic.twitter.com/5iTshBjiFF
— Drew Smith (@DrewDisneyDude) May 26, 2025
We’ll definitely keep an eye on Disney World and Universal Studios crowd levels as we are now definitively into the summer vacation season… but this was not a great sign for the House of Mouse with the 2025 kickoff for the traditionally most-important time of the year.
Let us know down in the comments how you think the theme parks will do this year, both in Central Florida and beyond!
