BREAKING: Park Hopping Currently Unavailable at Magic Kingdom
The spring break crowds have really been out in full force over the past few weeks, but this week might be the worst we’ve seen it so far. Wait times are high, Genie+ is selling out early, and the walkways of the parks are packed.
Crowds
And now, something major has happened due to the crowds.
Park Hopping Unavailable for Magic Kingdom
Park hopping is currently unavailable for Magic Kingdom. This means that you can only go to Magic Kingdom right now if you have a reservation for the park.
Photo: Disney
However, when we talked to a Cast Member, they said this message is because parking at the Transportation and Ticket Center is nearly full and cars are being turned away (and have been since around 11:30 this morning).
So, theoretically, you might still be able to get into Magic Kingdom if you take another form of transportation to the park. But there is no guarantee! Some Cast Members have told us that park hopping is completely halted right now.
But, here’s the thing, we tried to go park a little after 1:30PM and they let us in! So, we’re really not sure what’s going on. The Cast Members at the TTC told us that you can park and you are able to get into Magic Kingdom right now.
It doesn’t seem too busy?
We did see this sign outside of the entrance to the parking lot saying that 1-Day Magic Kingdom tickets are sold out.
We spoke to a Cast Member at Guest Relations in Magic Kingdom and they told us that the park is at fire marshal capacity. They said the only people allowed into the park are people with a park reservation, a dining reservation, or a 1-Day Park Pass.
However, we were able to get into the park without a reservation as Annual Passholders…so…😬
We’re pretty confused about the messaging here. But, if you were looking for a different way to get to Magic Kingdom to try and get in, you could take the resort buses that drop off at the front of the park, the ferry, or the monorail. You could also potentially walk from The Contemporary Resort or The Grand Floridian Resort & Spa.
Okay, but here’s another issue — we saw that Cast Members at EPCOT were scanning MagicBands of people before they’re allowed to get on the Monorail toward Magic Kingdom. If you haven’t scanned into a park yet, they’re turning you away.
We actually even saw Cast Members blocking the entrance to the monorail at EPCOT at one point. When we talked to them and told them we were going to Magic Kingdom they let us through, but said “just a heads up it’s a bit crazy over there” because the park is at full capacity.
Is it crazy, though? This is what the parking lots of the TTC looked like around 1:30PM.
And, this was the entrance to Magic Kingdom. Sure doesn’t look too crazy to me.
So, if you’re trying to get on the EPCOT to TTC monorail because you need to get back to the TTC or your Magic Kingdom area hotel, we’d advise to speak to a Cast Member at the monorail station, it seems like they’re probably operating on a case-by-case basis.
Or they’ll just let you through anyway, like they did for us! Apparently there is some major miscommunication going on within Disney right now.
This photo was from a few months ago, the EPCOT monorail is open right now!
It is pretty crowded inside the park right now, though.
Magic Kingdom is the busiest we have seen in a long time!! 🤯‼️ pic.twitter.com/LLePW69886
— MickeyBlog.com (@MickeyBlog_) April 4, 2024
The wait times do back up the theory that the park is very busy! A little before 1:30PM, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had a wait time of 125 minutes, Space Mountain and Big Thunder Mountain were at 110 minutes, Peter Pan’s Flight was at 105 minutes…
…Jungle Cruise and Meeting Mickey were are 95 minutes, Haunted Mansion was at 90 minutes, Pirates of the Caribbean and Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin were at 80 minutes, and even The Barnstormer was at 65 minutes!
Haunted Mansion
We even saw people eating on the floor in Cosmic Ray’s in Tomorrowland. Big yikes.
There are a LOT of people in the park today — you can see more pics of the crowds right here.
Anyway, we haven’t seen park hopping be halted for Magic Kingdom in a very long time!
Spring Break Crowds
Even though you can now park hop any time you want at Disney World (you no longer have to wait until 2PM), that doesn’t mean you won’t be turned away from a park if they decide to pause park hopping temporarily. So, if you’re in Magic Kingdom right now and thinking of leaving and then coming back later…maybe just stay inside until this message goes away!
This doesn’t apply for people who have a reservation for the park today. But, the only people who need park reservations still are people without date-based tickets and Annual Passholders. So, if you have date-based tickets and don’t have reservations for Magic Kingdom, you’re out of luck for park hopping (maybe? hard to tell from what we’ve already stated above!).
We will let you know if anything changes — stay tuned for more Disney World news and updates!
