Grab your hot dogs and fireworks because it’s the Fourth of July!
Fourth of July in Magic Kingdom
Around the resort, there are several limited-time snacks to enjoy, rare fireworks to watch, and more! While America is celebrating its 250th birthday, we are celebrating at the Magic Kingdom by checking out the crowds. You might be just as surprised as we were!
Happy Birthday, America! The country tends to celebrate in BIG ways each year, but this year might be the biggest bash yet. If you’re partying at home or in Disney World, we thought we’d take you along with us to check out one of the most popular park days of the year. Starting off on Main Street, U.S.A., while crowds looked a little intense, it wasn’t shoulder to shoulder, which was nice.
Not too wild on Main Street
While we walked through the rest of the park, we noticed that there were fewer people out than we expected to see, especially on such a big holiday.
Fantasyland Crowds
That was, until we stepped into some of the quick service restaurants and noticed that the crowds are all in there, soaking in the AC.
We found the people!
This makes complete sense. July is almost always hot as all get out in Disney World, but this week has been something else. There’s been a heat wave affecting a large part of the United States, making things even hotter than usual.
The AC is where it’s at
Crowds can be deceiving, though! One of the best ways to really tell just how busy a Disney World park is is to check those wait times. Right at around 11 AM, the highest wait time in the park was TRON Lightcycle / Run at 70 minutes.
©Disney
The party isn’t just going on in Magic Kingdom! Over in the rest of the parks, wait times are looking pretty normal for a summer day. Test Track was the highest around 2:30 PM at 110 minutes, Slinky Dog Dash was sitting at 95 minutes, Frozen Ever After sat at 75 minutes, and Tiana’s Bayou Adventure was sitting at 70 minutes. There were numerous rides that were closed throughout the parks, so it does look like the parks may be having a bit of trouble, but overall, nothing too intense.
©Disney
If you’re in Disney World this weekend to celebrate, there are lots of ways to get in on the patriotic fun! In Magic Kingdom, you can watch Disney’s Celebrate America! — A Fourth of July Concert in the Sky. This nighttime fireworks show will take place on July 3rd, July 4th, and July 5th at 9 PM each night.
Magic Kingdom Fourth of July Fireworks
Over in EPCOT, you can check out the newest version of Soarin’ called Soarin’ Across America! This new version of the popular ride takes you across some of the nation’s most notable landmarks.
Soarin’ Across America
You can also watch The Heartbeat of Freedom fireworks show on the 3rd, 4th, and 5th at 9:15 PM nightly. It’s important to note that this show is not a full fireworks show, but rather a 5-minute patriotic finale that’s added to Luminous: The Symphony of Us.
©Jeff Krause
There are also tons of red, white, and blue snacks across the theme parks and resort, and the special Sam Eagle Popcorn Bucket. It is a tribute to all popcorn buckets, but mostly to himself.
Sam Eagle Popcorn Bucket
No matter where or how you’re celebrating, we’re here to say Happy Fourth of July from our team to yours. Be sure to keep following DFB for more Disney news, updates, and more.
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I’m surprised that you’re surprised. I don’t think it has anything to do with the heat but the destruction of the parks, particularly MK, and the offensive policies Disney keeps thrusting on us. I don’t expect crowds to ever come back. Also it’s mentioned that rides are down? Since you and staff say you’re in the parks every day, that won’t matter to you. You can just go another day. But to those who only visit once a year or once in a lifetime, and are only visiting for a few days, it greatly affects their experience. With so much of wdw under construction or refurbishment, it makes sense to me that attendance will be low for quite some time. It’ll be interesting to see how many return in a year or two. I don’t think Disney realizes how much they’ve offended and disappointed loyal, constantly returning guests or how much they think Disney guests will put up with. Imo we’ve reached our limit!
100% Anne. WDW has been run into the ground by beancounters and DEI ineptitude. Rides constantly breakdown, new rides and features don’t work properly. Many of the smaller things that distinguished WDW from other amusement parks are long gone. CMs are poorly trained college grads while others look more like carnies. All while charging excessive prices for everything. Cannot imagine anyone saying they cannot wait to return to WDW anymore.