9 Things I Learned At Magic Kingdom On A High Crowd Day

We went to Magic Kingdom on July 5th which is one of the busiest days of the year. Here are the things I learned at Magic Kingdom on a high crowd day.

1. Getting to the parks early is a must. We got to Magic Kingdom about 8:10 AM. We were able to get on 7 Dwarfs with less than a 5 minute wait. After we got out, the line was already 30 minutes long and climbing. By 11:30 AM it was a 120 minute wait!
2. Go away from the crowds. I know that the crowds head to Fantasyland at opening, so as soon as we finished with 7 Dwarfs we went to Haunted Mansion, Aladdin (x2) and Pirates with no wait.
3. Utilize Fastpass+. We opted for a 9:30 AM Fastpass for Big Thunder that we redeemed closer to 10:30 AM. We were able to ride it quickly even though it had a longer stand by line at this point. We booked Pooh for 10:30 – 11:30 AM and Peter Pan for 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM.
4. There are more kiosks open. I noticed a lot more water, soda and ice cream kiosks throughout the parks to help people with the crowds and the heat. I even saw a kiosk in the standby line for 7 Dwarfs.
5. The restaurants are busy, busy, busy. Try to eat between 10:30 – 11:15 AM, 1:45 – 4:30 PM or 8:30 PM or later. The restaurants are busy and packed and if you are able to eat when it’s an ‘off’ time you’ll have less of a wait.
6. Know when to ride what. Don’t spend your precious morning time riding something that will have a shorter line later. My husband and I shook our heads as we watched people head into Swiss Family Treehouse, Prince Charming Regal Carousel and Mickey’s Philharmagic during the first hour or so the park was open. This is the time when you ride everything that will have a longer line later!
7. Pack your patience. Guests are everywhere and they will cut you off, stop in front of you and make snide comments about you. Just pack your patience and don’t let them get to you! You don’t want the way a stranger behaves to affect how you enjoy the trip you worked so hard to pay for.
8. Have a punch list of things to do. When it is crowded it is going to be harder to accomplish everything. Instead I suggest that you make a list of the top 3 things that each person wants to see in each park and aim to tackle those things.
9. Book the character meals – The lines for the characters were very long (we didn’t attempt any). I suggest booking a variety of character meals so you can meet them without having to attempt the lines.

Hope this helps you to have a fabulous time when the crowd levels are high!