Christmas Crowds, Park Capacity and Closure Phases: Everything You Need To Know
As the Christmas crowds descend on Walt Disney World, a question I get asked a lot is whether it gets so busy that Disney World closes the theme parks and what this means for visitors. We here at MickeyBlog want to make sure that your destination Christmas goes off without a hitch so we thought it would be helpful to share with you information about what happens when Disney’s parks reach capacity.
A good place to start if worried about crowds levels around the Holiday Season is by understanding the system Walt Disney World puts into place to manage surging crowd levels during popular times of the year. Disney has a Phased Closure Plan and here’s a quick rundown of how this would work.
Phased Closure Plan – Walt Disney World
Phase A:
This is the first step if a theme park is looking to manage crowd levels. If Disney goes to a Phase A Closure ONLY the following guests are allowed into the parks:
- Walt Disney World Resort Guests including those staying at the Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green
- Guests staying at one of Disney World’s Good Neighbor properties.
- Residents of Golden Oak
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholders
- Visitors with Park Hopper Tickets who are re-entering or park hopping for another theme park.
- Guests with special bookings at the Magic Kingdom including Tours, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and Harmony Barber Shop
- Visitors who purchase a Memory Maker Package.
This means that all other guests including those with single-day non-hopper tickets will not be allowed into the park facing a phased closure.
Phase B:
If Phase A has been implemented but the crowds continue to be a problem, a theme park may introduce a Phase B closure. this means that walk-ups will not be able to gain entry as well as off-site guests in possession of a single-day ticket. Guests hopping parks may also be denied entry unless they fall into the following categories
- Walt Disney World Resort Guests including those staying at the Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green)
- Those staying at Select Good Neighbor Hotels
- Residents of Golden Oak
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholders
- Guests with Advanced Dining or Dessert Party Reservations
- Guests with special bookings at Magic Kingdom including Tours, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and Harmony Barber Shop
- Guests who purchased Memory Maker
Phase 1:
If a Disney theme park decides to move into a Phase 1 Closure, guests with single-day tickets and walk-ups will be turned away once they reach the entrance to the parking lots. Cast Members with Main Gate and Silver Passes will also be prohibited from entering. Those still allowed to enter the parks are as follows:
- Walt Disney World Resort Guests including those staying at the Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green
- Those staying at Select Good Neighbor Hotels
- Guests with multi-day park tickets
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholders
- Guests that are Park Hopping
- Guests relying on using Disney Transporation to get to the parks including buses, boats and monorail
- Guests with Advanced Dining or Dessert Party Reservations
- Guests with special bookings at the Magic Kingdom including Tours, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and Harmony Barber Shop
Phase 2:
During this stage, the theme park will start to restrict admission even further to prevent overcrowding. Admission is typically limited to the following groups:
- Walt Disney World Resort Guests including those staying at the Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green
- Those staying at select Good Neighbor Hotels
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholders
- Those with Advanced Dining or Dessert Party Reservations
- Guests that are Park Hopping
- Visitors that have purchased 1-day Magic Kingdom Park Tickets in advance
- Guests with special bookings at the Magic Kingdom including Tours, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and Harmony Barber Shop
Phase 3:
Once we reach a phase three, the theme park is inching ever closer to a complete shutdown. Only the following visitors may enter the park during this stage:
- Walt Disney World Resort Guests including those staying at the Swan, Dolphin and Shades of Green
- Those staying at select Good Neighbor Hotels
- Walt Disney World Annual Passholders
- Those with Advanced Dining or Dessert Party Reservations
- Guests with special bookings at Magic Kingdom including Tours, Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and Harmony Barber Shop)
Phase 4:
This is the final option in Disney World’s Phased Closure system. This means the park is closed. Guests are not allowed entry. During a Phase 4, even if you are staying onsite or have reservations you will be turned away. It is rare that the parks reach a Phase 4 and this is most common at the Magic Kingdom. However, were it to happen, Any guests not in the park before the closure is in place will need to make alternate plans.
Tips for Managing a Closure During Your Disney Visit
Those park closures due to capacity crowds are rare, here are some tips to help you manage should crowd levels start to surge over the holidays.
1. Stay in the know
If you know that you are heading to the parks on a busy day, stay abreast of the latest Disney theme park updates. A great starting point is the Walt Disney World Today twitter feed. If staying onsite you can also ask your hotel-concierge who should have up-to-date information. Just a quick word of caution. During the holiday season, the closure rumor mill can go into overdrive and with it comes a lot of misinformation from visitors, blogs, forums etc. If you’re visiting the parks on a busy day try to get information directly from Disney rather than having your visiting impacted by inaccurate information.
2. Stay Onsite
Though it may be too late to re-arrange your plans for this Holiday Season, if planning a future destination Christmas at Walt Disney World, consider booking your stay at one of Disney’s amazing onsite properties. Even if the park hits a Phase 3 closure you’ll still have access to the park. Couple this with other perks like free Disney transportation, amazing amenities and the ability to book a Disney Dining Plan and it really is a win, win situation.
3. The Earlier You Arrive The Better
Early birds are less likely to be impacted by a phased closure. The crowds typically start to swell late morning with parks reaching their peak levels around lunchtime. You can drastically improve your chances of getting into a busy park by arriving at least an hour before opening! On Christmas day at Magic Kingdom, that means 6 am!! It may mean getting up a bit earlier than you had planned but will be well worth it when you hear that crowds arriving later are being turned away at the gates.
4. Stay Away from the Most Popular Parks
If you’re visiting over Christmas and New Year’s Day, you can expect the Magic Kingdom to be the busiest of all Walt Disney World’s theme parks. As a matter of fact, it is exceptionally rare to see a Phase 4 closure at parks other than the Magic Kingdom. If you’re worried about crowd levels, give the Magic Kingdom a miss and plan to spend the day at Epcot, Hollywood Studios or the Animal Kingdom.
5. Make Dining Reservations or Other Bookable Appointments
As you can see from the closing phases above, guests are still allowed to gain entry into a theme park in Phases 1, 2 and 3 if you’ve booked an appointment or dining reservation for that day. Planning a little added extra fun means that you are less likely to get turned away should crowds reach capacity. So, make that reservation at Crystal Palace, go for makeovers at the Pirate’s League or go on one of Disney’s amazing tours!
6. Leave your car at the resorts
Busy holidays are the perfect time to take advantage of Disney’s free resort transportation system. As parks reach capacity, the first place you feel this is in the parking lots. Disney’s parking areas will start to fill up before parks reach capacity making it a gridlocked mess. If there are no parking spots to be had, you may be among the first turned away even if Disney hasn’t yet reached a Phase 4.
As we mentioned above, Phased Closures are rare and nothing to get too worried about in advance. However, for those visiting during this busy holiday period, a little forward planning on busy days like Christmas and New Year’s can go a long way.
Readers are encouraged to keep following along with MickeyBlog for the latest Walt Disney World news and updates!
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My family visited on 12/28/18 and attempted to go to the Magic Kingdom. The gate attendant sold us a ticket to go to Adventureland in the morning and Magic Kingdom after 3pm, which seemed to be a weird park hopper pass. I’d never heard of this, and afterwards wondered if I’d protested if we could have bought a regular ticket? It was the same cost as a regular ticket would have been for that date. Has anyone experienced this?