Disney World Is a Ghost Town, Yet Lines Are as Long as Ever

This hasn’t been Disney World’s best summer ever. Over the past few months, the Walt Disney World Resort has faced a significant decline in Guests – with Parks reportedly a ghost town and visitation way down even on what’s usually a peak attendance day, such as the Fourth of July or Memorial Day.

Guests aren’t the only ones to have noticed fewer crowds around the Parks. Josh D’Amaro – Chairperson of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts – previously confirmed that the Walt Disney Company is expecting a drop in demand at its Florida Parks this summer.

But then, earlier this month, Disney CEO Bob Iger stepped in to deny that the Parks were suffering. He blamed Magic Kingdom’s low July 4 crowds on Central Florida’s extreme heat and humidity – even though that’s a pretty standard mid-summer day for the area. Magic Kingdom Park has previously hit capacity multiple times on Independence Day, regardless of the weather.

Whatever Iger says, it’s clear that Walt Disney World is trying to cling to Parkgoers. The Resort announced steep Disney Resort hotel room discounts earlier in the year and is currently offering the lowest Disney Park ticket offer in recent memory.

Related: Crowds Vanish From Walt Disney World, Park Nearly Empty

When it comes to Disney World attendance, Disney is sending mixed messages. However, so are actual Walt Disney World Guests. With all the recent headlines about an “empty” Walt Disney World, recent Guests have argued the opposite – citing long lines and high wait times as their proof to the contrary.

One such example on July 20 listed the standby wait time for both Avatar: Flight of Passage and Na’vi River Journey at Disney’s Animal Kingdom as 120 minutes each. Meanwhile, over at Magic Kingdom, the Peter Pan’s Flight attraction hit 95 minutes, and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train hit 105 minutes. At Hollywood Studios, Slinky Dog Dash sat at 110 minutes, while The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror reached a whopping 130 minutes. As user @DisneyTipsGuy wrote: “Narrator: Disney World was not empty.”

Narrator: Disney World was not empty. (Today's times) pic.twitter.com/NDL1Bnddnk

— Disney Clips Guy (@disneytipsguy) July 20, 2023

But not everyone is in agreement. While the My Disney Experience app may list long standby wait times, plenty of Guests have taken to Twitter to clarify that the listed times for Disney theme parks aren’t always accurate – especially right now.

“I did just get back from WDW and saw these wait times too,” wrote @TrishArnold15, “but got on even Star Wars rides in 30 minutes. Never waited over an hour for any ride. Not sure why wait times were listed so high. Almost didn’t get in line for a few but took our chances, and it wasn’t long.”

Related: Walt Disney World a Ghost Town as Florida Tourism Crashes

There have long been theories that Walt Disney World inflates wait times. Whether that’s for crowd control, reasons, or for more ulterior motives (such as making it easier to sell the concept of a line-skipping add-on like Genie+) is open to debate. Whatever the conclusion, it seems that even an “empty” Park can’t guarantee you a wait of less than an hour for Flight of Passage…

Have you noticed a difference in crowds at Walt Disney World lately? Let us know in the comments!