While Universal’s brand-new Epic Universe celebrated its highly anticipated grand opening with a sold-out first day, Disney World’s Magic Kingdom was unusually quiet—as shown by one very familiar channel in the theme park community. Jay, better known as Drunk3PO from the Park Hoppin’ YouTube channel, spent the day at Magic Kingdom during Epic Universe’s big debut (while the rest of the Park Hoppin’ crew was having fun over at Epic!).
What he witnessed wasn’t the typical hustle and bustle of a pre-holiday crowd, but rather an unexpectedly laid-back Thursday headed into Memorial Day Weekend.
In a vlog posted to Park Hoppin’, viewers noted short wait times, quiet walkways, and a level of crowd sparsity that raised eyebrows.
“Just walked in, not even on Main Street yet. You can see it’s pretty below average,” Jay said. “It’s a Thursday, so they’re usually not that crowded, but let’s walk down to the castle”
Jay’s footage shows a nearly empty entry plaza at 11:30 a.m., with Cast Members waiting outside the gates for arriving guests. Attractions like Haunted Mansion had a 35-minute wait, Tomorrowland Speedway clocked in at 15 minutes, and even Space Mountain and Tron Lightcycle Run—usually the biggest draws—were posting times well below their usual peak.
Tron’s posted wait was 65 minutes, a time that Park Hoppin’ cast some doubt on.
“This ride—even if there’s like six people at the park—is always 60 to 65 minute wait,” Jay explained. “I don’t know why. And yes, 65 minutes—that is a great, great wait time because I guarantee you will not wait 65 minutes to ride this ride.”
However, Magic Kingdom’s light attendance can’t be completely attributed to Epic Universe. Though Universal’s new theme park was completely sold out for the day, a midday drone shot revealed that the massive parking lot was less than a quarter full. This indicates that Universal may have deliberately capped attendance—possibly to ensure smoother operations on launch day.
Aerial look at guest parking at about noon on Grand Opening day of Epic Universe.
Universal is holding back ticket sales to find out how guests use the park. Park today is mostly Universal Resort guests. 11 hotels.
Easier to fix problems now. Add day guest ticket sales later. pic.twitter.com/OwWDUo3OPv
— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) May 22, 2025
It’s also worth noting that many guests were staying at Universal’s on-site resorts, including the new Helios Grand, which may explain some of the emptiness in the parking area. Still, the low turnout at Magic Kingdom suggests that Epic Universe isn’t the only reason for the slow day at Disney’s flagship park.
Despite the reduced crowds, Magic Kingdom is still preparing for the upcoming Lilo & Stitch promotional weekend. Park Hoppin’ showed off the themed merchandise lining the stores—including a $150 Rachel Zegler doll and a $75 Empire Strikes Back jersey.
Main Street USA in the Magic Kingdom on Memorial Day 2025 in Walt Disney World – Photo Credit: Marvin Montanaro
That Park Place was on hand at the Magic Kingdom just a few days later on Memorial Day and found similarly light crowds.
Whether this signals a trend of shifting tourism away from Disney toward Universal’s rapidly expanding offerings remains to be seen. But as Epic Universe continues to roll out its attractions, it’s clear that the battle for Orlando’s theme park crown has officially begun.
Did you watch this Park Hoppin’ Magic Kingdom video during the opening of Epic Universe? Sound off in the comments and let us know!
