Magic Kingdom is going to get crazy from August through December. The next several months are a roller coaster of crowd levels, with huge swings in choosing the best vs. worst days to do MK during the Halloween and Christmas seasons. This explains why, with lists of the least & most crowded dates for the rest of 2025, plus a handful of red flag dates to avoid at all costs.
Summer has been relatively slow at Walt Disney World, the parks are still about to get slower as schools go back into session. August 11, 2025 is the start of the off-season, with “Party Season” kicking off only a few days later with the first Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP).
Party Season is a big deal at Walt Disney World because it disrupts attendance dynamics and creates a “porcupine pattern” of wait times and crowd levels. In a nutshell, the crowd phenomenon is that both MNSSHP and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party (MVMCP) push attendance much higher on the dates they’re not occurring and lower on days of the events.
This is nothing new–we’ve been banging the Party Season drum the last decade, at least. Magic Kingdom crowd patterns during Party Season are a key discussion points of our August through December crowd calendars. It’s actually one of the easiest “predictions” we make–akin to forecasting longer lines for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train than the Swiss Family Treehouse.
Most day guests avoid Magic Kingdom on days when MNSSHP or MVMCP is being held at night because the regular park hours are shorter and Happily Ever After fireworks are not shown to regular guests. This results in significantly lighter crowds on days of the holiday parties when Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm.
These same guests then flock to non-party days in Magic Kingdom. For visitors without Park Hopper tickets (which is most guests), visiting Magic Kingdom on non-party nights is the obvious choice. For the same admission price, they get several more hours in the park and get to see the fireworks.
After all, Magic Kingdom closes at 10 pm or 11 pm on non-party nights. That amounts to staying an extra 4-5 hours later, seeing fireworks, and getting to enjoy the cooler evening hours in the park. Very few rational guests who base their visits on published park hours will choose the 6 pm closing days.
How Much Better is Magic Kingdom on Party Days?
Having several extra hours in Magic Kingdom is the intuitive choice, which is precisely why our zig when they zag recommendation has been to do Magic Kingdom on days of MNSSHP or MVMCP and to Park Hop somewhere else at around 4 pm, which is when the mix-in starts for those hard ticket events.
Last year, it was rare for Magic Kingdom to have a crowd level higher than 1/10 on days when the park closed at 6 pm. There were a handful of 2/10 crowd levels, mostly from mid-October through December when overall attendance was higher. These were busier weeks, as a whole, and also windows with fewer non-party nights per week, making them more difficult to avoid.
Average wait times on party days were usually under 20 minutes, and sometimes under 15 minutes. This doesn’t mean every ride was a walk-on, but even attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle Run had very manageable wait times. My actual midday wait times for both were around 20-30 minutes, with posted wait times under an hour.
This is contrasted with non-party days, which had crowd levels and wait times that were more over the place. Even some dates with 10 pm or 11 pm closings in August and September had below-average crowd levels of around 4/10. There were similar circumstances around non-holiday periods in October, November, and December, albeit with more moderate crowd levels.
Regardless, the rough rule of thumb is that the difference in average wait times between party days with 6 pm closings and regular days was at least 10 minutes. Meaning that if the average one party day was 20 minutes, you could count on at least a 30 minute average on the following non-party day.
These are minimum differentials, with greater extremes around Fall Break, Jersey Week, Veterans Day, Thanksgiving, etc. These also do not account for day of week dynamics. Suffice to say, if you went on Monday in October or November with 3 parties on adjacent dates, you’d see an even bigger crowd spike.
One of the added upsides to visiting Magic Kingdom on a party day is Magic Kingdom Early Entry at 7:30 am (on some dates). If park opening moves forward to 8 am on your dates, that makes this approach doubly-advantageous.
Sadly, Walt Disney World moved away from 8 am opening times on MNSSHP dates during the doldrums of the off-season last year. They mostly returned to 8 am opening times for MVMCP, but it wasn’t every single date.
The good news is that Walt Disney World has already extended hours through the second week of August, and the first MNSSHP has been extended to an 8 am opening. This doesn’t mean that trend will continue, but that date should be one of the slowest of the entire Party Season, so it’s a positive early sign!
If Walt Disney World is going to sell Magic Kingdom twice on so many dates from August through December and create these nightmarish crowd dynamics, the least they can do is 8 am openings and midnight closings. This is something that Disneyland is doing right now on a daily basis, and will throughout the off-season. And that’s without a sea of 6 pm closings on the calendar!
Even though Magic Kingdom has longer hours on non-party days, you will often get less done than you could before 4 pm on a party day–in 4-5 fewer hours! It’s usually so slow on these days that using Lightning Lanes is unnecessary, which also means saving money by not having to buy Lightning Lane Multi Pass.
As we often stress, crowd levels are a measure of wait times. At the risk of stating the obvious, fireworks and parades do not post wait times. There’s also no ‘differential’ between non-party and party days when it comes to fireworks and night parade viewing, since Happily Ever After and Starlight are only shown on non-party dates.
That’s precisely the problem. As explained at greater length in Top 10 Misconceptions About Crowds at Walt Disney World, this is basically a math problem. Fireworks viewing areas are limited, and lower capacity than the Magic Kingdom as a whole. So it’s always the case that congestion on Main Street for the fireworks can be disproportionate to actual crowd levels (as measured by wait times).
This is exacerbated during Party Season when there are only 3-4 nights per week when Happily Ever After is shown. So it’s not just one night worth of demand, like normal. It’s multiple nights of displaced guests condensed into a single evening. This is why, regardless of overall crowd levels, congestion for fireworks is always worse from mid-August through December. It could be a moderate crowd level day, but the park will feel absolutely slammed in the evening on Main Street due to this math problem.
It’s going to be even worse from August through December 2025 due to Disney Starlight: Dream the Night Away.
This brand-new night parade just debuted, and is going to be a high priority for many guests. There’s a greater incentive to camp out on Main Street for both Happily Ever After and Starlight in order to see both, and demand will far outstrip prime viewing area capacity.
There will also be a bigger incentive for fans and repeat visitors to Park Hop over to Magic Kingdom for the evening to see Starlight, when in the past they might’ve avoided MK. It’s already been the case during past Party Seasons that makeshift viewing areas were created in the backstage crowd corridor behind Main Street and near Tomorrowland. Expect a lot more of this in 2025, with nightly 10/10 “feels like” crowds at the front of the park and along the parade route. Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
Park Hopping is Best During Party Season
For guests with Park Hopper tickets, this is the real no-brainer. You can do Magic Kingdom until 4 pm on the day of MNSSHP or MVMCP, and then head to EPCOT or Disney’s Hollywood Studios and have dinner and enjoy the nighttime spectaculars in one of those two parks.
On a non-party day, you can start out at Disney’s Hollywood Studios and/or EPCOT–our favorite options as those typically see lower crowd levels on non-party days and have more headliners benefiting from lower waits. Then you can bounce back to Magic Kingdom in the evening hours for the last couple of hours to catch Happily Ever After, Disney Starlight Night Parade, and evening ambiance.
Yes, it’ll be chaos on Main Street and that evening exodus is a nightmare. Fireworks crowds are already bad enough on normal nights throughout the year. It’ll be so much worse with consolidated demand from fewer nights of 11 pm closings and Starlight’s debut season. Without a doubt, this will be worse than the last couple of years due to the night parade…and it was already pretty bad.
We’re recommending this despite the anticipated congestion because it’ll be worth it. Happily Ever After and Starlight are awesome. The higher congestion is completely rational guest behavior, and it’s worth enduring the crowds and chaos to see the fireworks and night parade.
Moreover, there are mitigation measures you can take. You don’t have to watch Happily Ever After from directly in front of Cinderella Castle. You can go to Fantasyland for a relatively relaxed and immersive under-the-radar spot. (See Best & Worst Magic Kingdom Fireworks Viewing Spots.)
You also don’t have to watch the first performance of Starlight from Main Street. You can opt “sneak into” a prime spot for the second parade right after HEA. Or you can watch from a quieter part of Frontierland or Liberty Square. (See Best & Worst Starlight Night Parade Viewing Spots + Tips for Beating Magic Kingdom Crowds.)
You can also wait out the mass exodus crowd by taking a spin on the TTA PeopleMover or doing one of the many other rides that are better at night. Since you’ll have (presumably) done every important attraction on the party day, the stakes are lower for you than something who spends all of that crowded day in MK.
Yes, the front of Magic Kingdom can be miserable after sunset on non-party nights. That’s why we’ve spent so much time on this warning. Thankfully, there are so many ways you can zig when they zag even as you’re watching the same nighttime entertainment as everyone else. Heed our warnings, but not to the point that you actively avoid Magic Kingdom at night. Again, there’s a reason it’s so busy–it’s worth it!
Now that we’ve explained the why and how of this, here’s the list of least-crowded dates at Magic Kingdom for the remainder of the year.
Best Days at Magic Kingdom in August 2025
- August 6-15, 2025
- August 17, 2025
- August 19, 2025
- August 22, 2025
- August 24, 2025
- August 26, 2025
- August 29, 2025
When it comes to August, it’s worth noting that several non-party dates should be fine. If I didn’t have the budget to splurge on Park Hopper tickets, I wouldn’t really worry about crowds on August 20-21, 27-28 or 30-31, for example. Yes, they’ll be elevated as compared to the days before and after, but it’s the off-season, and those are consecutive days of full park hours. Nights will be chaotic, but daytime waits should be average–possibly slightly below-average.
Best Days at Magic Kingdom in September 2025
- September 2, 2025
- September 5, 2025
- September 7, 2025
- September 9, 2025
- September 12, 2025
- September 14, 2025
- September 16, 2025
- September 19, 2025
- September 21, 2025
- September 23, 2025
- September 25, 2025
- September 26, 2025
- September 28, 2025
- September 30, 2025
It’s a similar story here as with August, especially earlier in the month when September is the heart of the off-season at Walt Disney World. If Park Hopping is a non-starter, I wouldn’t be especially averse to September 3-4, 10-11, or 17-18. I wouldn’t even bother with Lightning Lane Multi-Pass for any of these dates, but I would brace myself for chaotic crowds for Starlight and Happily Ever After.
Best Days at Magic Kingdom in October 2025
- October 2, 2025
- October 3, 2025
- October 5, 2025
- October 7, 2025
- October 9, 2025
- October 10, 2025
- October 13, 2025
- October 14, 2025
- October 16, 2025
- October 17, 2025
- October 19, 2025
- October 23, 2025
- October 24, 2025
- October 26, 2025
- October 28, 2025
- October 30, 2025
- October 31, 2025
Best Days at Magic Kingdom in November 2025
- November 7, 2025
- November 10, 2025
- November 11, 2025
- November 13, 2025
- November 14 2025
- November 16, 2025
- November 18, 2025
- November 20, 2025
- November 21, 2025
- November 25, 2025
- November 26, 2025
- November 28, 2025
- November 30, 2025
Best Days at Magic Kingdom in December 2025
- December 2, 2025
- December 4, 2025
- December 5, 2025
- December 7, 2025
- December 9, 2025
- December 11, 2025
- December 12, 2025
- December 14, 2025
- December 16, 2025
- December 18, 2025
- December 19, 2025
- December 21, 2025
As for the most crowded dates, it’s basically the opposite of the above–the dates not listed.
The schedule can vary around holiday weeks, but days that are typically going to be worst are Mondays and Wednesdays. Monday because it’s always been the busiest day in Magic Kingdom–and because there are usually parties on Sunday and Tuesday (but not Monday–with a couple exceptions). It’s a similar story with Wednesday–there are often parties on Tuesday as well as Thursday and Friday.
It used to be the case that Saturdays were the worst day of the week at Magic Kingdom during Party Season. That may end up being true again during the heart of the holiday season, but weekends haven’t been as bad the last couple of years. It remains to be seen how this changes (or doesn’t) for Party Season, especially October through December.
Be particularly mindful of non-party dates that are sandwiched between or among party dates. This is the biggest red flag from mid-October through December, when Party Season “expands” from 2-3 days per week to 4 days most weeks.
There are some 4-5 days stretches when Magic Kingdom is only one until 10 pm or 11 pm once. This creates major problems, as there are several days of crowds consolidated into a single date by virtue of those concentrated 6 pm closings.
There are a lot of guests who will only have one chance to see Starlight and Happily Ever After over the course of their entire trip. November 12, 2025 is a good example of this, and you can expect that night to be especially chaotic on Main Street!
Red Flag Late 2025 Dates at Magic Kingdom
- September 22, 2025
- September 24, 2025
- October 1, 2025
- October 4, 2025
- October 8, 2025
- October 15, 2025
- October 18, 2025
- October 25, 2025
- October 27, 2025
- October 29, 2025
- November 12, 2025
- November 17, 2025
- November 19, 2025
- November 27, 2025
- December 3, 2025
- December 10, 2025
- December 13, 2025
- December 17, 2025
- December 20, 2025
We would highly recommend avoiding Magic Kingdom on the dates above, if at all possible. Again, my personal policy is also to avoid Mondays, even ones that aren’t listed above. Those tend to be the busiest day of the week, and many of them will be even worse during Party Season even if they’re technically not ‘red flag’ dates.
If visiting Magic Kingdom on any of the above days, take advantage of Early Entry and purchase Lightning Lane Multi-Pass. Take a midday break, stay late, use savvy strategy, etc. These are the dates you’re most likely to encounter 7/10 and above crowd levels at Magic Kingdom. That’s still “beatable” but only if you’re properly prepared!
Ultimately, that’s why we strongly recommend visiting Magic Kingdom during the daytime hours of both Mickey’s Not So Scary Halloween Party and Mickey’s Very Merry Christmas Party. Hopefully “showing our work” on some of this helps you make more sense of this dynamic, and why it’ll almost certainly be more exaggerated than normal from August through December 2025 due to the debut season of Starlight Night Parade.
Days when the Magic Kingdom closes at 6 pm will be much less busy than days the park closes at 10 pm or later. Crowd levels and average wait times from past Party Seasons are conclusive on this–the data is indisputable. And that’s purely from a numbers perspective, which does not measure “feels like” crowds.
From heaps of anecdotal experience, we can assure you that the gap is even greater there–especially on Main Street in the evenings. Again, Starlight will worsen what’s already exacerbated by this “math problem” of low capacity coupled with consolidated demand.
There are nevertheless compelling subjective arguments in favor of doing Magic Kingdom on non-party days, especially if you value evenings in the park and use savvy strategy. Our focus here is on wait times, as many guests see the calendar and draw the conclusion that they can do more rides during ~4 extra hours in MK. The problem is that this is the thought process of most guests, and why you can come out ahead by zigging when they zag if rides and short lines are your primary focus.
Ideally, you’ll have a Park Hopper for a “best of both worlds” approach. Honestly, if we didn’t have Park Hoppers, we would absolutely visit on non-party days so we could see Happily Ever After and Starlight Night Parade, and enjoy evenings in Magic Kingdom. We would bear the longer lines and heavy crowds because nights in MK are “worth it” to us. Your mileage may vary.
Planning a Walt Disney World trip? Learn about hotels on our Walt Disney World Hotels Reviews page. For where to eat, read our Walt Disney World Restaurant Reviews. To save money on tickets or determine which type to buy, read our Tips for Saving Money on Walt Disney World Tickets post. Our What to Pack for Disney Trips post takes a unique look at clever items to take. For what to do and when to do it, our Walt Disney World Ride Guides will help. For comprehensive advice, the best place to start is our Walt Disney World Trip Planning Guide for everything you need to know!
YOUR THOUGHTS
What’s your approach to Party Season at Magic Kingdom? Do you favor the shorter days and lower crowds? Or the longer day and subjective superiority of nighttime in Magic Kingdom and getting to see Starlight and Happily Ever After? Did you visit on any of the ‘red flag’ dates last year? Do you agree or disagree with our assessment? Any questions we can help you answer? Hearing your feedback—even when you disagree with us—is both interesting to us and helpful to other readers, so please share your thoughts below in the comments!