For decades, Walt Disney World has been a premiere location for Americans from all 50 states to celebrate the nation’s founding on the Fourth of July. It’s known to Disney veterans as one of the busiest days of the year, with shoulder to shoulder traffic crowding the entirety of Main Street USA.
But “the times they-are-a-changin,’” as the saying goes.
A photo of Frontierland in Walt Disney World from La Reina Creole YouTube
In years past, the Magic Kingdom and Epcot were hotspots of patriotic celebration, with both parks often hitting maximum occupancy and wait times for even mid-tier attractions hitting three, sometimes even four hours. The parks would be decked out in red, white, and blue, a true picture of American patriotism that would have made company founder Walt Disney swell with pride. The 360 degree fireworks spectacular was an attraction in and of itself, filling the sky with celebratory explosions in excess of 13 minutes.
But Fourth of July 2024 was a far different experience. The parks were downright empty, seeing less of a surge and more of a sprinkle of humanity meandering down a sparsely decorated Main Street for a fireworks show that was just a little over seven minutes in length.
A photo of Main Street USA in Walt Disney World via LaReina Creole YouTube
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Same day park reservations were available for all four parks, something utterly unheard of in recent years, and wait time for attractions all across Walt Disney World were actually lower than a typical summer non-holiday from years past.
At 3 p.m. on July 4th several big ticket rides throughout Walt Disney World had no wait at all. This includes Kilimanjaro Safaris in Disney’s Animal Kingdom and Star Tours – The Adventures Continue in Disney’s Hollywood Studios. Expedition Everest only had a 15-minute wait time and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance (arguably Disney’s most popular standby queue attraction) only had a 45-minute wait. Its close neighbor Slinky Dog Dash clocked in at just 50 minutes.
Wait times for Walt Disney World attractions on July 4, 2024
But the hotbed of Independence Day activity in Walt Disney World has always centered around Magic Kingdom and Epcot.
Peter Pan’s Flight in Fantasyland, an attraction that often sees wait times in excess of 70 minutes on a normal day, was only 50 minutes at 3 p.m. for the July 4th holiday. Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain Railroad saw a sparse 40 and 45 minutes respectively. Even Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, typically the longest standby wait in the park, was only sitting at an hour wait.
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Other Disney staples like the Haunted Mansion and It’s a Small World were downright easy to get on with 35-minute waits.
Over in Epcot, Frozen Ever After clocked in at just under an hour with a 50-minute wait time. The longest wait in all of Walt Disney World came from Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure at 90 minutes.
Wait times for Walt Disney World attractions on July 4, 2024
The sparse attendance was noted by YouTube influencer and frequent That Park Place contributor La Reina Creole, who went to the Magic Kingdom on both the third and fourth and was shocked by the low crowds and wait times.
“The crowd levels are definitely much lower than they used to be for the Fourth,” Creole told us on July 5th. “I’ve been going to Disney for the Fourth of July since I was a kid. That was a tradition for my family and for a lot of families in the Northeast. Fourth of July was when you went down to go to Disney world and to visit relatives. It was a huge time to visit the parks. Literally oceans of humanity on the Fourth of July.”
La Reina documented this shockingly sparse celebration in a livestream on her YouTube channel, seen below.
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La Reina described this year’s Walt Disney World Fourth of July as being, “less patriotic and definitely less people.” She noted how Magic Kingdom used to be all decked out in red, white, and blue decor, with the Citizens of Main Street (a classic park-original character group that was sadly removed from the parks some time ago) wearing patriotic garb. This year, there was some bunting at the front of the park and on the Main Street Emporium, but that was it. The Dapper Dans were also decked out in some special Independence Day gear.
“I remember when the horticultural department would have flowers out in red white and blue, but there was none of that,” La Reina said. “Once you got past Main Street USA, it looked like just any other day at the Walt Disney World resort.
A photo of Main Street USA in Walt Disney World via LaReina Creole YouTube
It’s not the first year for low wait times and crowds on the Fourth of July, however. This trend started in 2023 and seems to be getting far worse in 2024. Summertime crowds have been sparse all season, despite Disney opening a new attraction, Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, just a week ago in the Magic Kingdom.
Disney also recently completed its renovation and reimagining of EPCOT with the opening of Communicore Hall. However, it seems as though neither of these experiences have been enough to drive people in through the front gates during what’s supposed to be one of the busiest days and seasons of the year.
Promotional image of Tiana’s Bayou Adventure via Walt Disney World’s website
One can’t point to a specific cause for this phenomenon with absolute certainty, however many have floated theories. The company raising prices for everything from admission to food far beyond the rate of inflation could be causing middle class income families to look elsewhere for their summer vacation needs.
Additionally, Disney’s recent embrace of “woke” ideology in both the movies and theme parks has been cited by many as the main reason they’re no longer attending the Most Magical Place on Earth.
What do you make of Disney’s low crowds? Have you canceled a Disney vacation in recent years or removed Disney Parks from consideration for your family?
Marvin The Movie Monster is a YouTube Commentator, Puppeteer, and Comedian with channels dedicated to movies, TV, and professional wrestling. Check out his channel Tooney Town TV and Tooney Town Wrestling. He is also a regular contributor to That Game Place, the video game channel for That Park Place.
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