BEST Tips For Navigating This Weekend's BIG Crowds at Disney World

Disney World is about to have a VERY BUSY weekend.

Magic Kingdom crowds

For many Americans, Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial start of summer. When it comes to Disney World, it’s when the summer vacation season begins. That means the weekend is likely going to be crowded, both at the parks and in overall travel.

According to many prognosticators, Memorial Day Weekend 2024 is going to be one of the busiest ever as far as travel goes. According to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, over 315,000 flights will fly between May 23rd and May 29th, over 100,000 of them on the 23rd and 24th alone. In other words, If you’re flying to Disney this weekend, be prepared for lots of crowds, long security lines, and likely some delays.

We’re anticipating today to be the busiest day for air travelers this Memorial Day holiday travel weekend.

Go to https://t.co/htXzk0fHoJ for real-time airport updates. pic.twitter.com/BKh6tEtszm

— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) May 23, 2024

Once you do arrive in Walt Disney World, it’ll likely be more of the same. However, there are some things you can do to mitigate the heavy holiday crowds. These include:

Buy Genie+ as Early as Possible

Genie+, Disney’s paid skip-the-line system will often sell out on busy holiday weekends, so it’s key you buy it as early as possible each day, which is usually midnight. That way, you lock In the service. Also, have money budgeted aside for this, as Disney uses a dynamic pricing model for Genie+. We would anticipate prices for a busy holiday weekend to be somewhere in the $35 range. You should early be ready to jump on virtual queues for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or Tron Lightcycle/Run at 7:00AM sharp to try and secure a spot for the day.

Mian Street

Plan Your Day

As much as we value spontaneity, a must Memorial Day weekend requires a bit of planning. Have a set idea of what your “Must-Do-List” for a given park is, be it rides, shows, merchandise, or food. Speaking of food, we would highly recommend dining reservations. Fear not if you haven’t made any yet however. While it might seem like short-notice, if you keep checking the My Disney Experience App some may open up through cancelations or etc.

The Sci-Fi Dine-In Theater

Be Early & Stay Late

While this may not sound like the most relaxing way to spend a Disney vacation, rope-dropping parks and/or staying as late as possible can help avoid the largest swells of holiday weekend crowds. Also note, wait times generally go down at night as most visitors at the park have dinner/stake out spots for nighttime shows/etc. Definitely could be a good time for you to try and hit some of the more in-demand rides and attractions.

EPCOT at night

Take Advantage of Perks

Speaking of arriving early or staying late, if you’re staying at a Disney hotel, there are some hour perks to take advantage of. If you’re staying at one of the company’s hotels or certain other hotels in the area, you’re eligible to enter each park 30 minutes early. While that does’t seem like much, it can be a game changer for getting on an in-demand ride with a quicker wait than usual. Also, if you’re staying at a Disney Deluxe Resort or Disney Deluxe Villa Resort, EPCOT is offering Extended Evening Hours all four days of Memorial Day Weekend.

Disney

Prepare for the Weather

This tip should go for ANY trip to Walt Disney World, but definitely prepare for the weather. Temperatures for this weekend are expected to be in the mid-high 90s, so it’s going to be HOT. Wear appropriate clothes, hydrate, and take care of yourself. Also, while there’s not heavy rain in the forecast currently, there’s ALWAYS a chance for rain in Central Florida, so make sure to be prepared if it does rain by packing items including ponchos, extra socks, and etc.

Weather Channel

Memorial Day Weekend is likely to be super-crowded at Walt Disney World this weekend, but there are ways to work around them. Stay tuned to AllEars for more Disney tips.