For weeks, That Park Place and the WDW Pro YouTube channel have been reporting that Walt Disney World crowd levels are far lower than expected this summer. Now, respected data tracker TouringPlans.com has echoed the same findings, calling this one of the slowest Junes Disney has seen in over a decade outside of the 2020 closures and 2021’s limited attendance lockdown reopening.
Spaceship Earth in the evening in EPCOT at Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: Marvin Montanaro
In its weekly crowd calendar recap, TouringPlans dropped the following bombshell.
“We’re now looking at one of the slowest Junes on record in the past decade,” the site wrote. “The only slower June was in 2021…(and, to be fair, in 2020 when the parks were still closed).”
Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: Marvin Montanaro
The site had previously forecasted crowd levels in the 3–5 range for mid-June, but this past week made even that projection look optimistic. According to TouringPlans, “crowds went and got even lower,” with wait times across the resort slashed nearly in half compared to the peak of 2017’s summer season.
TouringPlans Calls It “Ghost Town Summer”
TouringPlans dubbed the current state of Walt Disney World, which is currently promoting “Cool Kids Summer” as “Ghost Town Summer.” It’s a dramatic turn of phrase, but one supported by the numbers as even popular rides like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Flight of Passage, and TRON Lightcycle Run saw massive dips in posted wait times.
The Tree of Life in Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit M. Montanaro
Here’s how average posted waits shaped up from June 10–16:
- Slinky Dog Dash (Hollywood Studios): 67 minutes
- Cosmic Rewind (EPCOT): 64 minutes (down from 83 the week before)
- TRON (Magic Kingdom): 58 minutes (down from 72)
- Flight of Passage (Animal Kingdom): 55 minutes (down from 64)
These are posted wait times. TouringPlans notes that actual waits averaged just 69% of posted times, meaning even the busiest attractions were moving guests efficiently.
The Rivers of America and Tom Sawyer Island in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit M. Montanaro
Magic Kingdom, often Disney’s most crowded park, had an average park-wide posted wait time of just 19 minutes. Hollywood Studios fell under 30 minutes. These are levels usually reserved for mid-September or post-holiday January—not mid-June.
Crowd Calendar Failure Shows Severity of Drop
TouringPlans’ predictive model also took a major hit. Their predictions were within one crowd level of reality 0% of the time last week—a first in the history of their blog. Every miss was an overestimate.
“That’s the worst performance in the history of this little blog series,” they admitted, even noting that it was worse than weeks with hurricanes.
The exterior of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: M. Montanaro
The most glaring miss came on June 15th, when Hollywood Studios was projected to be a crowd level 7. It ended up at crowd level 1.
Epic Universe Opens, Magic Kingdom Shrinks
The timing couldn’t be more awkward for Disney executives. Epic Universe just opened to tremendous buzz, and while Universal’s newest theme park continues gaining momentum, Magic Kingdom—Disney’s flagship—appears emptier than ever.
Buzz Lightyear Meet and Greet at Walt Disney World – YouTube, Mousesteps
This is especially embarrassing for Parks Chairman Josh D’Amaro, who previously claimed that Universal’s expansion would benefit Disney World attendance, especially at Magic Kingdom.
So far, the data tells a different story.
If anything, Epic Universe is giving guests another reason to delay or entirely skip a Walt Disney World vacation. And for those who are going, Magic Kingdom simply isn’t drawing them in.
What’s Driving the Decline?
TouringPlans suggests that socio-economic conditions are part of the equation, but they also point to operational and entertainment gaps. Magic Kingdom appears especially deserted, with guests likely holding off on visits until the new nighttime parade arrives.
The statue of Walt Disney in Dreamer’s Point in EPCOT at Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: Marvin Montanaro
EPCOT is similarly soft during its annual “festival gap,” with some analysts dubbing it “Diet EPCOT.”
In terms of ride reliability, some attractions saw unusually high downtime, such as Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, which was down 62% of the day on June 11. But with so few guests in the park, even major breakdowns didn’t ripple into chaotic backups.
Looking Ahead at Walt Disney World Summer Crowd Levels
TouringPlans doesn’t expect a meaningful rebound in Walt Disney World crowd levels until late July, when Starlight debuts on July 20th and Test Track reopens on July 22nd. Until then, anyone willing to brave the heat will find unusually short waits, open pathways, and a park experience unlike anything seen since the early reopening days.
Looking up at The Hollywood Tower Hotel (The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror) at Disney-MGM Studios at Walt Disney World, December 2004. Photo Credit: The original uploader was Techclub at English Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
For once, the best summer advice for Orlando isn’t “arrive early and pack your patience.” It’s bring sunscreen, hydrate, and enjoy the rarest Disney gift of all—breathing room.
Are you surprised by these Walt Disney World crowd levels? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
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