Low season has arrived once more at Walt Disney World! This wait instances report covers journey & each day information for August 2025 at Magic Kingdom, EPCOT, Hollywood Studios, and Animal Kingdom, plus predictions, my on-the-ground observations, and what to anticipate for September and past.
To recap, Walt Disney World has not been busy for the previous few months. It’s been a gradual summer time at Orlando’s theme parks, as we focus on at size in Why Summer season is the New Low Crowds Season at Disney World. That gives our theories for the summer time slowdown, in addition to why it’s not likely all that stunning and is a pattern first noticed in 2016-2018, then once more the final two years.
Nonetheless, the summer time slowdown has been extra pronounced than even we anticipated. However two issues are sure: that summer time has not been significantly crowded at Walt Disney World, and that in a traditional yr, August and September could be even much less busy than June and July. It’s not that the gradual summer time is ending–it’s that low season is beginning and wait instances are on the precipice of dropping to their lowest ranges of the yr.
One factor to notice is that the Walt Disney Firm just lately reported its quarterly earnings and the primary half of summer time was very robust when it comes to visitor spending and resort occupancy. What’s extra attention-grabbing for our functions is that attendance was principally unchanged year-over-year. It’s not as if final summer time was significantly robust, crowd-wise, however we’ve nonetheless seen wait instances pattern downwards during the last three months, and as in comparison with final yr.
This can be a good time to clarify that crowd ranges really measure posted wait instances for sights, not the density of individuals packed into the parks. As we’ve acknowledged elsewhere, our principle for decrease wait instances/crowd ranges regardless of principally flat attendance is decreased Lightning Lane utilization. (See Is Lightning Lane Multi Cross Nonetheless “Value It” at Disney World?)
In a nutshell, standby traces are shorter and sooner shifting, resulting in decrease wait instances. Even when attendance is precisely the identical, crowd ranges could be decrease given this dynamic. Virtually throughout the board, wait instances are down by a couple of minutes year-over-year, which implies crowds are 1-2 ranges under comparable dates final yr.
With that background out of the way in which, let’s check out August crowds. As at all times, all graphs and wait time stats are courtesy of Thrill-Information.com:
We’ll begin with the month-to-month numbers for Walt Disney World as an entire, courting all the way in which again to 2019.
Month-to-month crowd ranges climbed from final October by means of this March, after which have been on a gentle decline since. That is fully per final yr, and similar to most different years, too. The largest change we’ve seen emerge is that Might has been busier than June or July, when it was once the shoulder season slowdown. That also occurs relative to spring break, however then crowds simply hold dropping for summer time.
July was the slowest full month of 2025 to date, with a median wait time of half-hour and a pair of/10 crowd degree. The second-slowest full month of the yr was June, which had a median wait time of 31 minutes and a crowd degree of three/10. Within the final 12 months, the one slower months have been final September and October, which had hurricane scares.
With just a few days left, August 2025 will quickly take the crown because the slowest month of the yr, with a 28 minute common wait time and 1/10 crowd degree. As of proper now, these numbers are an identical with final August. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless a number of days to go and wait instances are trending downward, so it’s attainable the typical finally ends up being 27 minutes. Regardless, September will (spoiler alert) nonetheless in all probability beat August, simply because it did final yr.
Previous to Central Florida colleges going again into session mid-month, August was on par with July for wait instances. The top of July really completed robust, due to “final hurrah” summer time journeys.
The previous couple of weeks went downhill quick; the typical wait time throughout all sights at Walt Disney World is at the moment 24 minutes this week. That’s the slowest week of 2025 to date, adopted by two weeks in the past, which ties the week round Independence Day for the second-slowest week of 2025. Should you take a look at the far left, you possibly can see even slower days final September. There’s each cause to anticipate a repeat of that subsequent month.
As at all times, that’s an common, which nonetheless implies that hour-plus waits (and even 120+ minutes, as we’ve noticed on a number of events) are attainable for the headliners at peak instances. They’re simply offset by 5-10 minute waits for decrease profile sights. There have additionally been loads of days which have been busier than that common.
Trying on the each day information for the final yr, it must be pretty simple to identify a lull round mid-June (Father’s Day weekend), then a slight spike on the finish of June, adopted by one other lull for the Independence Day vacation weekend, and one other spike on the finish of final month.
From our August 2025 Crowd Calendar: “As an increasing number of faculty districts return into session, August crowd ranges ought to lower. This might be most noticeable starting August 11, 2025, which is when each Orange County Public Faculties and Osceola County Public Faculties begin their first day of lessons.”
Because it seems, Sunday, August tenth was the day with the massive drop-off. Frankly, we should always’ve identified higher. We perpetually level out how Sundays are slower and Mondays are busier; it additionally stands to cause that native households would’ve gone out for enjoyable on Saturday earlier than on the brink of resume faculty on Sunday. One thing to notice for subsequent yr.
For park by park evaluation, we’ll begin with Magic Kingdom.
We’re lower than two weeks into Social gathering Season, however already can see the “Porcupine Sample” emerge that’s typical of crowd ranges this time of yr. In case you’ve ignored all of our recommendation and ramblings about busy vs. gradual days in MK this time of yr, the highs are non-party days.
On the times when the park closes at 6 pm, Magic Kingdom has commonly been having 1/10 or 2/10 days because the begin of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Social gathering. That is one thing we’ve mentioned at size, most notably in Finest & Worst 2025 Crowd Days at Magic Kingdom.
Once more, crowd ranges are a measure of posted wait instances for rides. Appears like crowds and congestion are a completely totally different story. I can converse to this from private expertise, as there’s already been a noticeable uptick for Starlight and Fortunately Ever After, neither of which submit wait instances.
Above are the precise journey averages for Magic Kingdom.
Just one journey hit 60 minutes this month: TRON Lightcycle Run. Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare being under an hour is attention-grabbing.
Word that the hole between Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Peter Pan’s Flight isn’t all that vital, suggesting that beginning with the latter after which knocking out secondary Fantasyland darkish rides is perhaps the perfect play throughout Early Entry.
Animal Kingdom had an up and down summer time, however pretty constantly over-performed prior to highschool going again into session.
Actually, I’m a bit shocked by this; my expectation was that Animal Kingdom would get hit arduous by the double whammy of its personal journey closures and Epic Universe opening. Maybe that’ll nonetheless occur as Epic Universe scales up.
It’s additionally attainable that Animal Kingdom was the massive winner of the 3-Park Magic Ticket. It’s not possible to know simply how that offered, however my guess is fairly nicely. Walt Disney World pushed it arduous, and that appears to have labored. In my anecdotal expertise, Animal Kingdom felt busier than final summer time.
For your entire month, Avatar Flight of Passage is the one attraction that averaged a wait time over an hour in August. It’s attention-grabbing that DINOSAUR was solely barely above 20 minutes, even because the countdown to extinction is on. (I have to’ve gotten actually unfortunate with DINOSAUR, as I normally encountered ~45 minute waits throughout my visits.)
Besides on the very worst days of the yr, Animal Kingdom is way and away the park at Walt Disney World the place the crowds are probably the most “beatable.” As long as you arrive early or late, you completely don’t want to purchase Lightning Lane Multi Cross right here.
Should you’re going all out and have an infinite price range, it’s possible you’ll disagree. To every their very own, I suppose. On the plus aspect, most visitors do agree with us, which is why there aren’t tiers at Animal Kingdom and why it’s the most affordable park for LLMP and why it has the perfect stock. You would possibly need to take into consideration all of that–and the why of that–earlier than shopping for.
EPCOT wait instances are probably the most attention-grabbing.
We at all times level out that EPCOT is the locals’ park, and Floridians usually tend to go to for festivals and ambiance than rides. (In the event that they don’t do rides, they don’t affect crowd ranges–even when they do enhance congestion or traces for meals cubicles!) Locals are additionally extra possible than vacationers to cancel park plans on the final minute if the climate is unhealthy–and it has been a sizzling and wet month.
On account of all this, wait instances typically don’t inform the total story at EPCOT. Throughout Pageant Season, the appears like crowds are nearly at all times worse than wait instances. To the purpose that you possibly can swear it was an 8/10 day when wait instances have been solely at 3/10. This summer time, it was just about the other. World Showcase felt empty (or as near “empty” as Walt Disney World will get) on days that have been statistically increased. That’s nearly definitely pushed by vacationers.
A whole lot of this was fueled by Check Monitor 3.0. I’m not shocked the ‘new automobile odor’ hasn’t worn off the reimagined Check Monitor simply but; that’ll in all probability take over a yr if going by previous precedent. Nonetheless, I’m very shocked that it’s the #1 wait time in EPCOT for the primary full month after it reopened.
Beating Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a large accomplishment. I hope this retains up! Each as a result of I’d personally desire to do Cosmic Rewind, however extra importantly, as a result of journey reimaginings giving EPCOT a shot within the arm may very well be simply what Walt Disney World must see the worth in these investments. Check Monitor 3.0 was paid for with Chevy Bucks, however maybe Disney will open up the checkbook and at last greenlight one of many perpetual walk-ons in direction of the underside of the checklist.
Additionally notable right here is that common wait instances for Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Journey dipped under an hour in August.
Lastly, there’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As at all times, that is the park with the very best common wait instances in all of Walt Disney World, owing to its disproportionate variety of headliners coupled with stage reveals that submit no wait instances in any respect (and thus don’t drag down averages). Disney’s Hollywood Studios didn’t see a lot of a summer time slowdown, which may very well be attributable to the 2 new stage reveals and different choices. I’ve been shocked by the traces for the Little Mermaid ~ A Musical Journey, and even Disney Villains Unfairly Ever After taking part in to packed homes a lot of the time.
There have been days into August when DHS had common wait instances of 40+ minutes and seven/10 crowd ranges. On a few of those self same dates, Magic Kingdom was 20-21 minutes and 1/10. That’s a large distinction over the course of a day. Crowds have largely dropped since faculty went again into session, however even throughout my most up-to-date go to to DHS simply final week, it nonetheless felt busy. As we’ve been emphasizing for some time now, Disney’s Hollywood Studios is the #1 park for Lightning Lane Multi-Cross. It dethroned Magic Kingdom some time in the past, and this could fairly clearly illustrate why.
Above are ride-by-ride wait instances for Disney’s Hollywood Studios final month. Solely Slinky Canine Sprint and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance above an hour, however a number of not too far behind.
It’ll be attention-grabbing to see whether or not these proceed falling. Would possibly September be the month of sub-60 minute waits on all the pieces at Walt Disney World?! Our guess might be not. DHS looks like the de facto vacation spot for visitors on celebration days at Magic Kingdom, and Walt Disney World retains extending the closing time for Disney’s Hollywood Studios, suggesting increased inner attendance projections.
Maybe probably the most notable factor that’ll occur subsequent month from a crowds perspective is the closing of Star Wars Launch Bay. That can have zero affect on appears like crowds, however there are at the moment 3 “sights” in that constructing that submit (low) wait instances. Dropping these might artificially increase the general common of DHS. This could as soon as once more illustrate that crowd ranges are extremely imperfect. Crowds gained’t really change…nevertheless it would possibly seem that they’ve!
Within the nearer time period, our expectation is that wait instances proceed falling. As mentioned within the newest replace to the September 2025 Crowd Calendar, that is the perfect month of the yr to go to from a wait instances perspective. Actually your entire month sees under common attendance.
There’s actually no unhealthy time to go to so far as the September 2025 crowd calendar goes. It’s secure to say that the second half of the month might be busier than the primary half. Nonetheless, “busier” is a relative time period, as even these must be actually gentle in comparison with the height weeks in October, November, and December.
As at all times, Labor Day isn’t a significant vacation from the angle of Walt Disney World crowds. On the contrary, there are a number of the reason why we really like Labor Day weekend from a subjective or holistic perspective, together with the beginning of the EPCOT Meals & Wine Pageant, Prolonged Night Hours at DHS, Vacation spot D23, and extra. See Certainly one of 2025’s Finest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World Simply Bought Higher! for a full rundown of the reason why we’d suggest the window round Labor Day.
What’s harder to foretell is when attendance will backside out.
Our expectation is that September 2-12, 2025 will see the bottom crowds of the month, complete yr, and fairly presumably the bottom ranges in a number of years. For reference, it was roughly this timeframe final yr that had the bottom common posted wait instances since October 2021. And it simply barely was above these numbers.
If there’s even a slight year-over-year drop, these might find yourself being the bottom crowd ranges since 2020. I wouldn’t essentially wager on wait instances being down year-over-year, as final yr’s low lows are actually troublesome to beat. However the first half of September is constantly uncrowded, so it’s attainable.
Climate will in all probability be an even bigger issue than anything–excessive warmth, rain, or a attainable hurricane scare issue greater than previous precedent when coping with such a low baseline. Conversely, unseasonably cool climate and clear days could be sufficient to entice locals to go to and increase the numbers. It’s additionally not as if dates after September twelfth are unhealthy–removed from it. There’s simply normally a gradual lower as the assorted ticket offers begin winding down.
Regardless, September is likely one of the final bastions of the low season at Walt Disney World. This has been constantly true whilst attendance has spiked throughout different beforehand low season months.
Whereas different low season months have gotten busier, September has stayed the identical–and (knock on wooden) at all times ought to stay that means because of faculty schedules and fewer fascinating climate. Appears like crowds will definitely enhance with the tip of Food regimen EPCOT and fewer evenings to see Starlight, however wait instances for sights ought to proceed their regular decline till later within the month.
What’ll be actually attention-grabbing to see is what occurs with October 2025. It ought to see a year-over-year enhance in crowd ranges, as final yr was low because of the aforementioned hurricane scares. However we’re not satisfied October continues to be a very “unhealthy” month as was the case for a number of years. Fall break will definitely be busy, nevertheless it’s attainable that group occasions are actually avoiding Walt Disney World within the fall. We will see.
Finally, our expectation is that decrease attendance continues all through most of September 2025. Even with a in direction of the tip of the month as ticket offers expire and early fall breaks start, it’s a near-certainty that September would be the least busy month of your entire yr. If savor low crowds and don’t thoughts the warmth or a hurricane scare, you actually ought to go to in September. That’s very true for those who can go in the course of the first half of the month.
As we’ve mentioned earlier than, this positively is not going to final. Low attendance in September isn’t the beginning of a pattern because of value will increase, boycotts, or no matter else. The crowds will return in October and gained’t let up–at the very least, not constantly–till January 2026. Even then, winter is now not the low season and we’re going to start out getting messages fairly quickly from frightened visitors about inns which can be totally booked within the first two months of 2026.
So please don’t learn into this what isn’t there, specifically that Walt Disney World is “doomed” or “in hassle” because of decrease crowd ranges. That isn’t remotely true. What we’re seeing already, and what’s going to speed up within the coming weeks is solely seasonal, and occurs year-in and year-out with crowds bottoming out quickly. September is the sleepy gradual season at Walt Disney World, and has been for many years. This isn’t a five-alarm hearth, or any degree of alarm, for that matter.
Our expectation is that the arrival of fall crowds in “full drive” coincides with Columbus Day weekend. It possible gained’t let up a lot after that. Indicators level to the final three months of the yr being busy, so for those who solely care about numbers–and never climate or Christmas–the subsequent month is the time to go to Walt Disney World. On the plus aspect, for those who do care about these issues, there are a handful of different gradual home windows amidst the height weeks which can be recognized in Finest & Worst Weeks to Go to Disney World in 2025, 2026 & 2027.
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YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on August crowds at Walt Disney World? Predictions for the remainder of the month or fall low season? Should you’ve visited throughout the final month, what did you consider wait instances? Have you ever executed Magic Kingdom in the course of the day of a MNSSHP night time? What about posted vs. precise wait instances? Do you agree or disagree with something in our report? Any questions we will help you reply? Listening to your suggestions–even whenever you disagree with us–is each attention-grabbing to us and useful to different readers, so please share your ideas under within the feedback!
