Disney attendance plunges to all-time low for 2025 as visitors report 'ghost towns' at parks

Walt Disney World logged its slowest three-week stretch of the year in September, putting it on track to be the quietest month since 2021.

Crowd tracker data for mid-August through mid-September shows average waits dropped to about 24 minutes per ride, even shorter than during the July 4 holiday, according to posted times from Disney's My Disney Experience app, aggregated by third-party tracker Thrill-Data and analyzed by Disney Tourist Blog.

On TikTok, some visitors described the parks as "ghost towns."

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"I'm at Magic Kingdom right now, and this place is a tomb," one user said. 

"There is literally nobody here. There is no wait time for anything. Space Mountain - walk on. Haunted Mansion - walk on. Pirates of the Caribbean - walk on. The longest I have even seen a wait time for … 30 minutes."

Financially, Disney paints a different picture. The company has reported mostly unchanged attendance, while its recent earnings show revenue growth.

Fox News Digital reached out to Walt Disney World for comment. 

Some analysts and third-party trackers suggest that standby lines may have moved faster because Disney adjusted how many guests enter via Lightning Lane rather than standby, freeing up capacity in the regular queues.

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A look back at the summer months may help explain the trend. 

August was the slowest full month of the year to date, averaging 28 minutes per ride, followed by July at 30 minutes, according to Disney Tourist Blog's tracking data. Weekends in September were busier than weekdays, reversing past trends and adding 10 to 12 minutes of wait time on average.

To fill the traditionally empty weeks after Labor Day, Disney rolled out aggressive deals, including an $89-per-day three-park ticket that excludes Magic Kingdom, 50% off children's tickets and the return of free dining for certain dates and packages, according to multiple Disney blogs.

Some TikTok users and commenters blamed ticket prices being "too expensive" or politics for the slowdown - while others argued Disneyland in California remains crowded by comparison, the Mirror reported.

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Many of the emptiest days came on "party days," when Magic Kingdom closes early for its separately ticketed Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party. Those days consistently produce the shortest waits, sometimes only a few minutes. Hollywood Studios continues to post the longest waits resort-wide, according to Disney Tourist Blog.

Experts claim the lull is also influenced by back-to-school schedules and peak hurricane season rolling in. 

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Both Thrill-Data and Disney Tourist Blog report that September consistently brings some of the shortest lines of the year. Analysts expected a late-month bump as Florida residents use expiring discounted tickets, with a larger surge likely in October around Columbus Day. Still, midweek visits in late September can remain relatively quiet, they advise.

Meanwhile, a growing number of millennials and Gen Xers are flocking to Disney parks without kids, with experts saying the appeal lies in finding comfort, community and escape, Fox News Digital previously reported.

Despite viral claims of "empty" parks, Florida tourism rose this summer, with Visit Florida estimating 34.4 million visitors from April through June, up slightly from the same period in 2024, CBS News reported.