Thousands Adhere to Disney's Urgent Advisory to Remain Home, Park Now Vacant

Recent crowds and uncharged prices at Walt Disney World Resort have made it clear that if you are choosing to visit the most magical place on earth during spring break, you should expect high crowds and high prices. However, there has been a break in the jam-packed system.

Typically, during spring break, summer break, the Christmas holidays, and other holidays when kids and parents are out of school and work, Disney World is more busy than usual. Right now, we are entering the era of spring break in Orlando, where massive crowds are starting to form. We have seen Disney take advantage of this as they have raised their date-based ticket pricing as well as the cost of Disney Genie+. This month, Disney Genie+ has already hit a 2024 high of $35 per person for Magic Kingdom.

It is good to remember that at that cost, Disney Genie+ still only guarantees Lightning Lane access for 2-3 attractions that day.

The high crowds have also been confirmed by Orlando International Airport, which predicted that over 7 million guests would be traveling to Orlando alone this month.

As reported by Disney fan site Disney Tips, “Orlando International Airport (MCO) has issued a warning anticipating a hectic spring break season, extending until April 7, 2024, with an estimated 7.6 million passengers expected to pass through its terminals. Terminal C, Terminal A, and Terminal B will all have high traffic throughout today and during spring break.”

The publication continued, “The Orlando Airport has been advised by the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority about the impending crowds arriving to MCO airport today through April 1. Airlines like Southwest Airlines, American Airlines, Spirit Airlines, Delta Air Lines, and United Airlines all have plans in place for this type of crowd surge.”

Even Orlando International Airport (@MCO) has taken to X (formerly Twitter) to advise guests should arrive three hours prior to travel.

It’s another busy #SpringBreak weekend! For smooth travels, follow the 3-2-1 travel rule:
3⃣ Be at the ticket counter at least 3 hours before your flight
2⃣ Be at security 2 hours prior to departure time
1⃣ Be at the gate 1 hour prior to departure time

It's another busy #SpringBreak weekend! For smooth travels, follow the 3-2-1 travel rule:
3⃣ Be at the ticket counter at least 3 hours before your flight
2⃣ Be at security 2 hours prior to departure time
1⃣ Be at the gate 1 hour prior to departure time pic.twitter.com/Baoqkm4TkI

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) March 15, 2024

While these large crowds are being predicted and expected, Disney World sat quite empty yesterday.

Disney fan Drew (@DrewDisneyDude) shared what looked to be an empty Magic Kingdom.

It’s a beautiful day at Magic Kingdom Park, and Main Street, U.S.A. is EMPTY. This is the quietest I’ve seen the park in as long as I can remember.

It’s a beautiful day at Magic Kingdom Park, and Main Street, U.S.A. is EMPTY. This is the quietest I’ve seen the park in as long as I can remember. pic.twitter.com/gb8cL4NnjJ

— Drew (@DrewDisneyDude) March 18, 2024

The account Original Orange Bird (@ogorangebird) shared photos of Magic Kingdom’s wait times as well, which had a majority of the attractions under a 15-minute wait. While Seven Dwarfs Mine Train was the longest wait at 70 minutes, Big Thunder Mountain was only 15 minutes and Space Mountain was only 30 minutes — which are very low times for any time of year, and shocking during spring break.

This checks out….😳 https://t.co/KSNfpUHA7U pic.twitter.com/RKT1v7Bzxq

— Original Orange Bird (@ogorangebird) March 18, 2024

So why is this happening?

One of the likely reasons that the parks went from shoulder-to-shoulder crowds to a much more sparse look, as we can see above, is due to Annual Passholder block-out dates. At the moment, only Incredi-Pass Annual Passholders are able to enter Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom. The Pixie Pass, Pirate Pass, and Sorcerer Pass are all blocked out, reducing the amount of guests in the park by thousands.

In addition to this, spring break varies in terms of when it takes place across America, so there will be an influx on certain weeks in March. On top of that, some guests actively choose to stay away during “peak” season, and as Disney has been raising the prices and alerting guests that they know there is a high demand, that warning has likely been received by some. 

Overall, it seems that if you are looking to visit the theme parks this week, it would not be a bad time to snag a selfie with Mickey Mouse or Cinderella Castle.

What do you think of these low Disney crowds? When is the best time to visit the parks?