Celebration Season is now underway for 2024 at Walt Disney World, with Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration now by way of the tip of October and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration nearly instantly thereafter till December 20, 2024! This covers rising crowds throughout Magic Kingdom, why that is occurring (and can solely worsen), and the right way to keep away from it.
Specifically, this covers my expertise with mix-in through the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween (MNSSHP). Clearly, because it’s nonetheless spook season and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration (MVMCP) doesn’t start till November. Regardless, the concept is precisely the identical. These crowds have been a rising downside for the final two years at each MNSSHP and MVMCP.
This doesn’t cowl the occasion in any respect. Simply the window of time earlier than it begins when company can enter Magic Kingdom early for the pre-party. In case you’re searching for step-by-step technique for the occasion, seek the advice of our Information to the 2024 Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration or our Information to the 2024 Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration as a substitute.
For individuals who are unfamiliar with the Magic Kingdom mix-in, it’s the time between 4 pm and 6 pm when Magic Kingdom remains to be open to day company however earlier than MNSSHP or MVMCP formally begins. Because of this, there are each common ticket holders and particular occasion exhausting ticket holders each within the park on the identical time. Therefore the title: Magic Kingdom mix-in.
There are a number of causes for permitting particular occasion company to enter Magic Kingdom previous to the official begin time, most of that are past the scope of this put up. We’ll concentrate on a reasonably easy logistical one, which is {that a} exhausting begin at 7 pm would lead to an enormous crowd all making an attempt to enter Magic Kingdom without delay and changing into annoyed (gentle understatement) when it took an hour of worthwhile social gathering time to get contained in the park. The combo-in staggers entries to a higher diploma, which is sweet for company and park operations.
Nonetheless, Magic Kingdom mix-in crowds have been growing over the previous couple of years, as talked about above. That is occurring no matter crowds through the day or through the occasion itself. On the contrary, what you encounter at mix-in is nearly totally divorced from daytime or social gathering attendance.
To that time, I’ve noticed this dynamic at Magic Kingdom a number of occasions already this yr past what’s documented right here. On each single a type of days, wait occasions and ‘looks like’ crowds had been each absurdly low through the day. Our newest wait occasions report lined the Lowest Crowd Stage Month & Week at Walt Disney World Since 2021! Though it must be evident from the title alone, the parks are actually gradual proper now.
On social gathering days, Magic Kingdom is the slowest of the gradual. We’re speaking common wait occasions which can be 14-Quarter-hour and, at worst, 1/10 crowd ranges. A lot of as of late don’t even register as 1/10 on thrill information’s scale, and are as a substitute 0/10. I’ve been in Magic Kingdom on a few of these days, and so they give me flashbacks to the post-reopening interval in 2020. Not fairly that useless, however nonetheless fairly gradual.
That is the low season and decrease crowds are to be anticipated to a point. The present “diploma” is simply a lot much less busy than I anticipated, and I anticipated pretty low crowds. In any case, it’ll additionally get progressively worse over the course of Celebration Season. See Greatest & Worst 2024 Crowd Days at Magic Kingdom for a fool-proof listing of the least and most crowded dates at Magic Kingdom between now and December 2024. This features a handful of crimson flag dates to keep away from in any respect prices.
Regardless of absurdly low daytime attendance, the MNSSHP I attended was bought out…similar to each different social gathering up to now this season. And similar to each date can be by the point it’s over. There are solely a half-dozen events that also have tickets out there and, relaxation assured, these will all promote out very quickly. Ditto Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration. Just one date is bought out proper now, however November and December are additionally additional into the long run than September and December. That’s the reason there, nothing extra.
On this specific day, I returned to Magic Kingdom at round 3:15 pm. This was simply the worst crowd I’ve ever seen this early for mix-in at any exhausting ticket social gathering at Magic Kingdom. That’s an statement I’ve had repeatedly over the previous couple of years. These Magic Kingdom mix-in crowds are solely getting worse–a pattern we anticipate to proceed.
It must be famous that this was nonetheless 45 minutes earlier than particular occasion company could be allowed to enter Magic Kingdom. Furthermore, that this was on a highly regarded day (albeit not almost as unhealthy as final yr) with looks like temperatures flirting with triple digits.
Fortuitously, Walt Disney World has gotten higher about dealing with the ever-increasing mix-in crowds. This yr, there’s a brand new corral system and really clear signage indicating the place company ought to go:
That is fairly nicely organized–an enormous enchancment over final yr. It additionally could not seem like too unhealthy of a crowd…however it’s solely 3:15 pm.
Standard knowledge is to reach half-hour upfront of mix-in, and that’s for educated company who plan forward. Many extra (maybe most) arrive proper at 4 pm, not realizing there can be friction to the method and it’ll take a little bit of time to really get into the park.
In terms of Walt Disney World, one mantra to recollect is: “when you’re early, you’re on time…when you’re on time, you’re late.” (I by no means appreciated my dad’s army cliches as a child, however boy have they been helpful as an grownup doing the very severe work of visiting theme parks.)
As you’ll be able to most likely collect, this crowd solely worsens between 3:15 pm and three:55 pm.
There are extra corrals that proceed to refill, and it turns into extra chaotic outdoors the park as there’s solely a lot area on the turnstiles themselves. Disney must maintain pathways clear to permit visitor stream into and out of the park, in addition to routes to transportation open.
Moreover, Magic Kingdom remains to be open to day company, so not the entire turnstiles can be utilized for the events till 6 pm.
When it comes to sensible recommendation, we’ve a number of suggestions about the right way to navigate this.
First, when you’ve got common admission to Magic Kingdom, don’t use the particular occasion turnstiles! This might sound apparent, however we’ve heard from so many individuals through the years who exit the park and re-enter (or from Annual Passholders who simply present up at 4 pm for no actual cause).
Anybody with common admission is significantly better served by using an in-park check-in station. Go to Fantasy Faire close to Mickey’s PhilharMagic in Fantasyland, Tortuga Tavern throughout from the Pirates of the Caribbean in Adventureland, or Sew’s Nice Escape throughout from Monsters Inc. Chortle Flooring in Tomorrowland. Tortuga Tavern is the least busy, Sew’s Nice Escape is busiest–however it’s additionally closest to the entrance of the park and sometimes opens sooner than the others. That is advantageous when you plan on queueing up for the Jack & Sally meet & greet in City Sq. earlier than the social gathering begins.
There’s actually no different cause to make use of the SGE check-in location. And truthfully, there’s actually no different cause to line up proper at or earlier than 4 pm. In our expertise, the candy spot is round 4:30 to five pm. The preliminary rush is over, however you’re beating everybody else who doesn’t suppose to do that till the social gathering begins.
In case you don’t have common admission and also you’re making an attempt to get absolutely the most out of your social gathering time, we’d advocate arriving at round 3:15 pm. Perhaps a tad earlier. This will likely look like unhealthy recommendation given the crowds you’ll be able to plainly see in these images, however any earlier and also you’ll see diminishing returns.
There can be crowds at 3 pm and even earlier than that. Nevertheless it’s protected to imagine, I hope, that your whole time has worth and it’s not value arriving a full hour earlier to avoid wasting ~5 minutes coming into the park. Granted, time inside Magic Kingdom might be value greater than time outdoors it, however how way more?
If that’s an additional hour of pool time or having fun with your resort (which additionally prices some huge cash and has a excessive worth!), it’s a good tradeoff. Spending much less time in these crowded corrals within the (doubtlessly) scorching solar is the way in which to go.
Which brings us to the third choice: arriving between 4:30 pm and 5 pm.
That is the very same thought as going to the in-park wristband distribution a bit later, blended with the above notion that your whole time at Walt Disney World has worth. To every their very own, but when I’m on trip and staying at an on-site resort, that is what I’m doing. All waking trip time is efficacious, and one of many largest mistake Walt Disney World planners make shouldn’t be recognizing this.
If spending extra time on the pool and even taking an extended nap will depart you extra rested, it’s going to extend the probability that you could keep till the bitter (or slightly, glorious) finish of the evening versus leaving early. It’s also possible to do an early dinner outdoors the park, having fun with meals that’s truly edible versus consuming in Magic Kingdom.
I don’t know your loved ones or your priorities and may’t give definitive recommendation–these are just some choices to think about.
As for why that is occurring, there has all the time been an preliminary rush of company round 4 pm, however many individuals didn’t know they might enter Magic Kingdom early previously. That or they didn’t care as they had been already within the park. This has modified in recent times as Walt Disney World higher advertises the perk, presumably to assist justify the value will increase.
My robust suspicion is that an growing variety of company are buying Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween as a substitute of standard day tickets, slightly than along with common admission. This could possibly be taking part in out in a methods huge and small, from vacationers shopping for shorter length tickets (3 days as a substitute of 4) to locals skipping out on Annual Passes and getting their “Disney repair” throughout Celebration Season.
This would possibly sound like far-fetched theories or greedy at straws to clarify this phenomenon, however it’s based mostly on a mixture of firsthand expertise and intensive suggestions from readers and journey brokers.
When Disneyland actually began growing costs on Annual Passes a number of years in the past and decreased choices for locals, many Californians began skipping APs and as a substitute doing Mickey’s Halloween Celebration (now Oogie Boogie Bash). This skipped the recognition of those events, which now promote out in a short time even on dates that aren’t notably busy.
Priced-out locals eager to get their Disney repair would additionally clarify why MNSSHP and MVMCP are promoting sooner than ever, regardless of pent-up demand in any other case slowing. It could additionally clarify how that is occurring within the face of falling crowds, that are the bottom they’ve been since 2021. Low common attendance and excessive demand for exhausting ticket occasions isn’t even contradictory–it makes excellent sense.
It additionally explains the bigger crowd previous to 4 pm. These are company eager to get as a lot worth out of the social gathering ticket as attainable as a result of they don’t have different admission. This can be a distinction to vacationers with multi-day tickets which will embrace a park day previous to the beginning of MNSSHP or MVMCP, who don’t have any incentive to reach proper at 4 pm.
Consequently, you’ll be able to anticipate each Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Celebration to proceed promoting out even when daytime attendance drops. Priced out locals and even vacationers making an attempt to chop prices and squeeze essentially the most worth out of their tickets will maintain demand for these particular occasions.
It’s also possible to anticipate value will increase to proceed. As long as single-day tickets for Magic Kingdom aren’t considerably cheaper (and so they aren’t!) than the events, many company will go for MNSSHP and MVMCP as a substitute. Once more, we’ve already seen all of these items occur at Disneyland Resort, so these are hardly daring predictions.
For exactly the identical cause, this mix-in crowd may also proceed to develop, as a better proportion of company don’t have different admission on social gathering days. And as these higher-knowledge company study from previous expertise, they’ll begin arriving even earlier in future years. What was as soon as a crowd at 3:45 pm has already change into a crowd at 3:15 pm. It’ll be a crowd at 3:00 pm by 2025, at 2:30 pm by 2026, and so forth.
So how can Walt Disney World resolve this downside? (And it’s a downside to some extent as a result of Disney doesn’t like congestion like this outdoors the gates, because it’s a security and safety concern.)
The very first thing that involves thoughts is letting Disney Trip Membership members enter at 2 pm. This isn’t even my shiny thought–it’s Disney’s! They used to do that pre-COVID. Again then, the perk was deemed essential to entice DVC members to buy tickets (MVMCP and MNSSHP didn’t promote out often). Now, it might be to unfold out that mix-in crowd only a bit.
Apart from that, Walt Disney World’s finest choices are ticket offers. They have already got the the Florida Resident Uncover Disney Ticket and the 4-Park, 4-Day Walt Disney World Magic Ticket that run by way of the tip of this month. Understandably, many locals–who’re aware of Florida climate this time of yr–would nonetheless want an night particular occasion. I’d thus suggest bringing again the EPCOT After 4 Annual Cross and likewise promoting ‘starlight’ tickets (discounted admission on common days after 4 pm–additionally not my thought, Tokyo Disney does this).
With that mentioned, these mix-in crowds are literally a good factor to a point–so Walt Disney World shouldn’t go too far in making an attempt to scale back them. Having all kinds of visitor demographics means folks could have completely different causes for being there–rides with decrease wait occasions, leisure, characters, and many others. Regardless of the bigger mix-in crowds, we’ve seen that persons are unfold out significantly better throughout MNSSHP or MVMCP. It’s a fragile stability, and it looks like Walt Disney World has achieved that within the final couple of years at these occasions.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? In case you’re curious about studying extra about accommodations, our Walt Disney World Motels Critiques web page is an effective place to start out. For the place to eat, check out our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques web page. If you wish to lower your expenses on tickets or decide which sort you must get, learn our Suggestions for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets put up. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys put up takes a singular have a look at unconventional issues you must take in your journey. When you arrive on the parks, our Walt Disney World “Experience Guides” are nice for figuring out what to do and when to do it. For overviews of all of those matters and a lot extra, one of the best place to start out is our complete Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information to take advantage of your expertise!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Have you ever skilled these enormous Magic Kingdom mix-in crowds earlier than Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Celebration? Are you one of many company who has chosen social gathering tickets over an Annual Cross or longer length common tickets? Ideas on any of the recommendation or assessments right here? Any questions we might help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even if you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas beneath within the feedback!