In news that will delight coaster enthusiasts and weary parents alike, Disney’s Florida theme parks are reportedly the emptiest they’ve been for years, according to new analysis cited by the Wall Street Journal.
This year’s figures revealed that parkgoers who spent the Fourth of July at Animal Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom experienced shorter wait times for attractions, despite the much-loved firework displays and July 4th festivities going ahead as usual.
Queues to the kingdom
Disney’s sprawling Orlando kingdom of theme parks has contributed much to the company’s revenue in recent years. Indeed — as we charted last year — Disney’s "Parks, Experiences, and Products" division brought in some $7.4 billion for Q3 2022, more than a third of the entertainment giant's overall takings — hence why the wait time drops may have Disney execs concerned.
Thrill Data, which tracks queue times from the official My Disney Experience app, corroborate WSJ reporting and show thrillseekers at Disney’s Hollywood Studios Park and Magic Kingdom saw the most significant drops this Independence Day. Fans of the Star Wars rides at Hollywood Studios waited in line for just ~18 minutes on average, down from 37 minutes in 2022. Riders at Magic Kingdom, home to Space Mountain and the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, queued for 25 minutes on average, almost half the wait time from 6 years ago.
Price hikes have certainly been a factor for the lighter crowds, with Disney looking to attract a smaller number of customers who may spend more money, and its ongoing war with Ron DeSantis won't have helped either. Another factor is simply that tourists have cooled on American theme parks more generally, with international travel more possible this year than during the pandemic.
