Disney World Has Some UNEXPECTED Crowds for Labor Day Weekend

If you’ve ever visited Disney World during a holiday weekend, then you know that it can be risky business!

Traveling when students are out of school means that you’ll likely see higher-than-usual crowds and wait times in the parks, and it could be challenging to snag things like park passes, dining reservations, or Genie+ Lightning Lane reservations. But occasionally, we have holiday weekends with unexpectedly low crowds…and you’ll have to see this year’s Labor Day crowds to believe them!

On Friday, September 2nd, we’re kicking off Labor Day weekend, which means many students are out of school for at least an extra day. But based on the looks of things in the parks, we never would’ve guessed that this weekend was projected to be busy!

According to the Orlando International Airport, travel is supposed to be heavy in the next few days. They recommend arriving early for your flight, following TSA guidelines, and downloading the airport app to make your journey easier.

It’s another busy #LaborDayWeekend! Remember to:
⏰ Arrive at least 3 hours prior to your departure time
🧳 Follow TSA rules (@AskTSA)
📱 Download our app for security wait times, parking status & more: https://t.co/IlcYns2pzL
🚗 Use our cell lots while waiting to pick up someone pic.twitter.com/gxbHhfOw34

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) September 2, 2022

But even though travelers are flocking to the airport, we haven’t yet seen those same crowds in Disney World! Let’s take a look.

Magic Kingdom

Starting out at Magic Kingdom Park, we noticed a very odd phenomenon when we walked in this morning — an empty Main Street, U.S.A.!

As we got further down the street and closer to the castle, we found more guests, though not nearly as many as we might expect leading into a holiday weekend.

To be fair, this evening Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party is scheduled to take place, which means that Magic Kingdom closes at 6PM. Fewer guests tend to visit the parks on these shorter-hour days.

Things could also change as we head into the weekend. Some guests may be waiting to travel until they get off work and out of school at the end of the day. We’ll continue to monitor the parks and see.

Of all the parts of the park, Fantasyland seemed to be the most crowded, but that area is particularly prone to bottlenecks due to the lack of space. Liberty Square also seemed to have more people, but things are a bit more spread out there anyways.

But Magic Kingdom wasn’t the only park experiencing this weird crowd phenomenon!

EPCOT

Over at EPCOT, we saw unusually low crowds as well. Even in the front of the park near the most popular rides, there weren’t very many people mulling around.

Surprisingly, we didn’t spot hoards of guests crowding around Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind either! This area has been particularly popular since the ride opened in May.

For a weekend during the Food & Wine Festival, World Showcase was eerily quiet. Some of the booths didn’t have lines at all, and those that did were fairly short.

And one of the most crowded places in the park (the inside of the Mexico Pavilion) only had a few guests! Usually it’s so packed that it’s hard to walk in here.

Wow! What a surprising turn of events! We’ll continue to monitor the crowds throughout this weekend and keep you updated, so stay tuned to AllEars for the latest.

If you’re traveling during the month of September, we’ve got lots of updates to share! Between the 50th Anniversary, the Food & Wine Festival, and the Halloween celebrations, there’s a lot to check out in the next few weeks.