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Credit: David Aughinbaugh II, FlickrThe period between Christmas and New Year’s Eve has long been considered sacred ground in the theme park industry. It’s the week when families flock to parks in droves, armed with gift cards and vacation time, ready to celebrate the holidays in the most magical way possible.
For decades, this particular stretch of days has represented peak season for Disney World, with crowded walkways, extended wait times, and entertainment offerings running at maximum capacity to handle the influx of guests.
Park veterans know to either embrace the chaos or avoid it entirely, as this week traditionally separates the casual visitors from the die-hard fans willing to navigate shoulder-to-shoulder crowds for a chance to ring in the new year at the most famous theme parks on Earth.
Operations teams prepare months in advance, adding extra show times, extending park hours, and staffing up to meet what should be overwhelming demand. This year, however, something unexpected is happening that has caught the attention of frequent park visitors and industry watchers alike.
Social media posts from guests currently in the parks are painting a picture that contradicts everything we’ve come to expect from this supposedly busiest week of the year.
Fantasmic Playing to Nearly Empty Houses
Disney’s Hollywood Studios added a third showing of Fantasmic to accommodate what park planners anticipated would be massive holiday crowds. The nighttime spectacular, which typically runs once or twice per evening during regular seasons, was scheduled for three performances to handle the expected demand.
Instead of packed amphitheater seating with guests claiming spots hours in advance, visitors are reporting something almost unheard of for this time of year.
Kdodgers24 shared footage on X showing rows upon rows of empty seats during the third Fantasmic performance. The video captures an eerily quiet amphitheater, with the guest noting they had no one sitting in front of them throughout the entire show. “Reminder this is CHRISTMAS/NYE week,” the caption reads, highlighting just how unusual this scenario truly is.
In subsequent replies to other users, Kdodgers24 confirmed that all three Fantasmic shows that evening experienced similarly low attendance, suggesting this wasn’t an isolated incident limited to just the final performance of the night.
Reminder this is CHRISTMAS/NYE week. pic.twitter.com/Iu3P7nPuEv
— Kdodgers24 (@Kdodgers24) December 28, 2025
For context, Fantasmic typically sees guests staking out viewing spots well before showtime during peak seasons, with the amphitheater filling to near capacity. The decision to run three shows indicates Disney’s operations team predicted traditional holiday week crowds. Seeing these performances play to what amounts to a sparse audience represents a significant deviation from historical patterns.
Annual Passholder Blockouts May Play a Role
One factor potentially contributing to the lighter than expected crowds involves Disney’s Annual Passholder program. Currently, the majority of passholders are blocked out from visiting the parks during this holiday period. Only Incredipass holders, who purchase the most expensive tier of annual passes, retain access during these blackout dates.
This restriction removes a substantial portion of the regular guest base from the attendance equation, particularly locals and frequent visitors who might otherwise fill seats at entertainment offerings throughout the day and evening.
The blockout strategy aims to preserve park capacity for vacation guests who typically spend more per visit and book resort accommodations.
However, when those anticipated vacation crowds don’t materialize at expected levels, the absence of annual passholders becomes more noticeable. Entertainment venues that might otherwise see consistent attendance from local fans instead sit partially empty.
Magic Kingdom Parade Viewing Areas Similarly Sparse
The attendance situation isn’t isolated to Hollywood Studios. ThatOnePassholder shared video from Magic Kingdom showing the viewing area for the second showing of Disney’s Starlight parade. The footage reveals stretches of parade route with barely any guests sitting or standing in prime viewing locations.
For anyone familiar with Magic Kingdom parade viewing during holiday weeks, this image is jarring. These spots typically reach capacity long before the parade begins, with families camping out on curbs to secure their places.
Interesting…. pic.twitter.com/7AU7JLd4hA
— ThatOnePassholder (@That1Passholder) December 28, 2025
Previous holiday seasons saw parade viewing areas so crowded that cast members had to close off sections once they reached maximum safe capacity. Guests arriving even thirty minutes before showtime often found themselves relegated to less desirable viewing angles or standing room only positions.
Seeing these same areas mostly empty during what should be the busiest week of the year suggests attendance levels significantly below what park operations planned for when scheduling the second parade performance.
What This Might Mean for Theme Park Operations
The images and reports emerging from this holiday week raise questions about attendance forecasting and operational planning. Disney added entertainment capacity specifically for this period, from the third Fantasmic show to additional parade performances, based on historical data and advance booking patterns.
When actual attendance falls short of these projections, it creates an unusual situation where the parks appear to be overstaffed and over-scheduled for the crowd levels present.
Whether this represents a temporary anomaly, a shift in vacation booking patterns, or something more significant remains to be seen. Economic factors, changing consumer priorities, or simply a quirk of this particular year could all play roles.
What’s clear from the guest reports and social media documentation is that the crowds anticipated for this holiday week haven’t materialized in the way operations teams expected. For guests currently in the parks, this means shorter wait times and easier access to entertainment.
For Disney’s planning teams, it likely prompts questions about how to more accurately forecast attendance during traditionally peak periods.