Low season has arrived once more at Walt Disney World! This wait occasions report covers trip & every 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 season at Orlando’s theme parks, as we talk about at size in Why Summer season is the New Low Crowds Season at Disney World. That gives our theories for the summer season slowdown, in addition to why it’s probably not all that stunning and is a pattern first noticed in 2016-2018, then once more the final two years.
Nonetheless, the summer season slowdown has been extra pronounced than even we anticipated. However two issues are sure: that summer season has not been notably crowded at Walt Disney World, and that in a traditional yr, August and September can be even much less busy than June and July. It’s not that the gradual summer season is ending–it’s that low season is beginning and wait occasions 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 season was very robust when it comes to visitor spending and lodge occupancy. What’s extra attention-grabbing for our functions is that attendance was largely unchanged year-over-year. It’s not as if final summer season was notably robust, crowd-wise, however we’ve however seen wait occasions pattern downwards during the last three months, and as in comparison with final yr.
This can be a good time to elucidate that crowd ranges really measure posted wait occasions for points of interest, not the density of individuals packed into the parks. As we’ve acknowledged elsewhere, our idea for decrease wait occasions/crowd ranges regardless of largely flat attendance is decreased Lightning Lane utilization. (See Is Lightning Lane Multi Cross Nonetheless “Price It” at Disney World?)
In a nutshell, standby strains are shorter and quicker transferring, resulting in decrease wait occasions. Even when attendance is precisely the identical, crowd ranges can be decrease given this dynamic. Virtually throughout the board, wait occasions are down by a couple of minutes year-over-year, which implies crowds are 1-2 ranges beneath comparable dates final yr.
With that background out of the way in which, let’s check out August crowds. As all the time, 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 a complete, courting all the way in which again to 2019.
Month-to-month crowd ranges climbed from final October via this March, after which have been on a gradual decline since. That is fully in keeping with final yr, and akin to most different years, too. The most important 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 maintain dropping for summer season.
July was the slowest full month of 2025 to this point, with a mean wait time of half-hour and a couple of/10 crowd stage. The second-slowest full month of the yr was June, which had a mean wait time of 31 minutes and a crowd stage 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 stage. As of proper now, these numbers are equivalent with final August. Nonetheless, there are nonetheless a number of days to go and wait occasions are trending downward, so it’s attainable the common 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 occasions. The tip of July really completed robust, due to “final hurrah” summer season journeys.
The previous few weeks went downhill quick; the common wait time throughout all points of interest at Walt Disney World is at present 24 minutes this week. That’s the slowest week of 2025 to this point, adopted by two weeks in the past, which ties the week round Independence Day for the second-slowest week of 2025. For those who have a look at the far left, you may see even slower days final September. There’s each purpose to count on a repeat of that subsequent month.
As all the time, 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 occasions. They’re simply offset by 5-10 minute waits for decrease profile points of interest. There have additionally been loads of days which have been busier than that common.
Trying on the every day information for the final yr, it must be pretty straightforward 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 increasingly faculty districts return into session, August crowd ranges ought to lower. This shall 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 courses.”
Because it seems, Sunday, August tenth was the day with the large drop-off. Frankly, we should always’ve recognized higher. We perpetually level out how Sundays are slower and Mondays are busier; it additionally stands to purpose 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 Occasion 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 frequently been having 1/10 or 2/10 days because the begin of Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Occasion. That is one thing we’ve mentioned at size, most notably in Greatest & Worst 2025 Crowd Days at Magic Kingdom.
Once more, crowd ranges are a measure of posted wait occasions for rides. Seems like crowds and congestion are a completely completely 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 publish wait occasions.
Above are the particular trip averages for Magic Kingdom.
Just one trip hit 60 minutes this month: TRON Lightcycle Run. Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare being beneath an hour is attention-grabbing.
Notice that the hole between Seven Dwarfs Mine Prepare and Peter Pan’s Flight is just not all that vital, suggesting that beginning with the latter after which knocking out secondary Fantasyland darkish rides could be one of the best play throughout Early Entry.
Animal Kingdom had an up and down summer season, however pretty persistently over-performed prior to highschool going again into session.
Actually, I’m a bit stunned by this; my expectation was that Animal Kingdom would get hit arduous by the double whammy of its personal trip closures and Epic Universe opening. Maybe that’ll nonetheless occur as Epic Universe scales up.
It’s additionally attainable that Animal Kingdom was the large winner of the 3-Park Magic Ticket. It’s inconceivable to know simply how that bought, 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 season.
For your complete 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 much 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.
For those who’re going all out and have a limiteless funds, you could disagree. To every their very own, I suppose. On the plus facet, most visitors do agree with us, which is why there aren’t tiers at Animal Kingdom and why it’s the most cost effective park for LLMP and why it has one of the best stock. You may wish to take into consideration all of that–and the why of that–earlier than shopping for.
EPCOT wait occasions are probably the most attention-grabbing.
We all the time level out that EPCOT is the locals’ park, and Floridians usually tend to go to for festivals and environment than rides. (In the event that they don’t do rides, they don’t affect crowd ranges–even when they do enhance congestion or strains for meals cubicles!) Locals are additionally extra doubtless than vacationers to cancel park plans on the final minute if the climate is unhealthy–and it has been a scorching and wet month.
Because of all this, wait occasions typically don’t inform the complete story at EPCOT. Throughout Pageant Season, the appears like crowds are nearly all the time worse than wait occasions. To the purpose that you possibly can swear it was an 8/10 day when wait occasions had been solely at 3/10. This summer season, it was just about the other. World Showcase felt empty (or as near “empty” as Walt Disney World will get) on days that had been statistically larger. That’s nearly definitely pushed by vacationers.
A whole lot of this was fueled by Take a look at Observe 3.0. I’m not stunned the ‘new automobile scent’ hasn’t worn off the reimagined Take a look at Observe simply but; that’ll in all probability take over a yr if going by previous precedent. Nonetheless, I’m very stunned 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 favor to do Cosmic Rewind, however extra importantly, as a result of trip reimaginings giving EPCOT a shot within the arm might be simply what Walt Disney World must see the worth in these investments. Take a look at Observe 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 listing.
Additionally notable right here is that common wait occasions for Frozen Ever After and Remy’s Ratatouille Journey dipped beneath an hour in August.
Lastly, there’s Disney’s Hollywood Studios.
As all the time, that is the park with the best common wait occasions in all of Walt Disney World, owing to its disproportionate variety of headliners coupled with stage exhibits that publish no wait occasions in any respect (and thus don’t drag down averages). Disney’s Hollywood Studios didn’t see a lot of a summer season slowdown, which might be attributable to the 2 new stage exhibits and different choices. I’ve been stunned by the strains 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 occasions 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 occasions 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 as if 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 larger 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 present 3 “points of interest” in that constructing that publish (low) wait occasions. Dropping these may artificially enhance the general common of DHS. This could as soon as once more illustrate that crowd ranges are extremely imperfect. Crowds received’t really change…however it may seem that they’ve!
Within the nearer time period, our expectation is that wait occasions proceed falling. As mentioned within the newest replace to the September 2025 Crowd Calendar, that is one of the best month of the yr to go to from a wait occasions perspective. Actually your complete month sees beneath 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 shall 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 all the time, Labor Day is just not a serious vacation from the angle of Walt Disney World crowds. On the contrary, there are a number of explanation 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 One in all 2025’s Greatest Weeks to Go to Walt Disney World Simply Acquired Higher! for a full rundown of explanation why we’d advocate 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 occasions since October 2021. And it simply barely was above these numbers.
If there’s even a slight year-over-year drop, these may find yourself being the bottom crowd ranges since 2020. I wouldn’t essentially wager on wait occasions being down year-over-year, as final yr’s low lows are actually tough to beat. However the first half of September is persistently uncrowded, so it’s attainable.
Climate will in all probability be a much 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 can be sufficient to entice locals to go to and enhance 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 varied ticket offers begin winding down.
Regardless, September is without doubt one of the final bastions of the low season at Walt Disney World. This has been persistently true at the same time as 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) all the time ought to stay that manner on account of faculty schedules and fewer fascinating climate. Seems like crowds will definitely enhance with the top of Weight loss plan EPCOT and fewer evenings to see Starlight, however wait occasions for points of interest 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 remains to be a really “unhealthy” month as was the case for a number of years. Fall break will definitely be busy, however 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 top 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 complete 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 through the first half of the month.
As we’ve stated earlier than, this totally won’t final. Low attendance in September is just not the beginning of a pattern on account of value will increase, boycotts, or no matter else. The crowds will return in October and received’t let up–not less than, not persistently–till January 2026. Even then, winter is not the low season and we’re going to start out getting messages fairly quickly from fearful visitors about inns which might be absolutely 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 bother” on account 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 only 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 fireplace, or any stage of alarm, for that matter.
Our expectation is that the arrival of fall crowds in “full pressure” coincides with Columbus Day weekend. It doubtless received’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 facet, for those who do care about these issues, there are a handful of different gradual home windows amidst the height weeks which might be recognized in Greatest & Worst Weeks to Go to Disney World in 2025, 2026 & 2027.
Planning a Walt Disney World journey? Study inns on our Walt Disney World Inns Critiques web page. For the place to eat, learn our Walt Disney World Restaurant Critiques. To save cash on tickets or decide which kind to purchase, learn our Ideas for Saving Cash on Walt Disney World Tickets publish. Our What to Pack for Disney Journeys publish takes a singular have a look at intelligent gadgets to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Journey Guides will assist. For complete recommendation, one of the best place to start out is our Walt Disney World Journey Planning Information for all the pieces it is advisable know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
Ideas on August crowds at Walt Disney World? Predictions for the remainder of the month or fall low season? For those who’ve visited throughout the final month, what did you consider wait occasions? Have you ever completed Magic Kingdom through the day of a MNSSHP night time? What about posted vs. precise wait occasions? Do you agree or disagree with something in our report? Any questions we may also 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 beneath within the feedback!
