When should you go to Magic Kingdom? What are the best days of the week to visit Disney World’s most popular theme park? And which days should you visit a different park? If you want to avoid long lines, we have a complete guide on which are the least crowded days at Magic Kingdom.
Using wait time data from Thrill-Data.com, we’ve compared the average wait time at Magic Kingdom based on day of the week for the past four. We’ve also broken down crowd patterns by month, and looked at how the introduction of Lightning Lane affected average wait time. Our recommendations put an emphasis on the past 12 months, as visiting habits have greatly changed since 2020.
Update June 8, 2023 – Earlier this year, I updated this article with data for all of 2022, which gives us a much clearer picture of new crowd patterns with Genie+ included. The new data significantly changed our recommendations, so you will be able to better plan for your 2023 Disney World vacation. Plus, I just created a video version of this article for Guide2WDW’s YouTube channel, which you can watch below.
Read on to find out the best days of the week to visit Magic Kingdom, as well as which days to avoid.
The Best and Worst Days to Visit Magic Kingdom in 2023 – Video
In this video, I break down all of the wait time data below and share the overall findings in 5 minutes. Be sure to subscribe to the Guide2WDW YouTube Channel for more Disney World tips, tricks, and advice, but read on for more in-depth analysis.
Average Wait Time by Day of the Week at Magic Kingdom
From January 1, 2019 through December 31, 2022, here is the average wait time at Magic Kingdom for each day of the week.
- Monday: 37 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 33 Minutes
- Wednesday: 33 Minutes
- Thursday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
- Friday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 35 Minutes
- Sunday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
Recent crowd patterns tell a slightly different story. Here are just the Magic Kingdom wait times in 2022.
- Monday: 40 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 34 Minutes
- Wednesday: 38 Minutes
- Thursday: 34 Minutes
- Friday: 33 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 36 Minutes
- Sunday: 34 Minutes
While Monday still has the longest wait times, there has been a distinct shift towards lower wait times and lower crowds on Friday during 2022. You’ll also notice that wait times are on average higher in 2022 than they were over the past four years combined. So it’s not your imagination if the parks feel more crowded lately.
The Best Days to Visit Magic Kingdom in 2023: Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
Fridays have been consistently among the least crowded days at Magic Kingdom. Friday has had the lowest wait time or second lowest wait time of any day for each of the last four years except 2020, which is something of an outlier. For five out of the twelve months in 2022, Fridays have had the lowest crowds at Magic Kingdom. When planning my Disney World vacations, Friday is my first pick for Magic Kingdom.
Thursdays and Sundays follow closely behind as good days to visit Magic Kingdom. Sundays have had the lowest wait times three out of the last twelve months, while Thursdays had the lowest wait times in October and December.
Saturdays can be good, depending on the time of the year. In March, April, and July, Saturdays had the lowest wait time. However, Saturdays on average had the third highest wait time over the entire year, and they are second highest over the past four years.
The Worst Day to Visit Magic Kingdom in 2023: Monday
Mondays have long had a reputation as the worst day of the week to visit Magic Kingdom. One of our longest-held Magic Kingdom tips was to avoid Mondays at MK. Monday is typically a first day of someone’s vacation (or at least the first day they go into the parks), and most people visit Magic Kingdom first.
The data backs this up. Mondays will have the heaviest crowds at Magic Kingdom. In fact, Mondays had the longest wait time for nine months out of the year.
In the last version of this guide, I placed Tuesdays as the second worst day to visit Magic Kingdom. However, Wednesdays are now clearly the runner-up for most crowded day. Wednesdays had the second highest wait time for 2022, and they had the longest waits in October and December. Tuesdays are a bit more neutral, with the second shortest wait time on average. However, Tuesdays had the longest waits of any day in March and July, but the shortest waits in February and December.
Magic Kingdom Day of the Week – Average Wait Time Based on Month
Of course, these recommendations are based on an average of recent history. Crowd patterns shift based on time of the year. Below are monthly average wait times at Magic Kingdom, broken out by day of the week. As you can see, the above recommendations would shift based on which month of the year you visit.
January 2022
- Monday: 42 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 36 Minutes
- Wednesday: 35 Minutes
- Thursday: 36 Minutes
- Friday: 39 Minutes
- Saturday: 35 Minutes
- Sunday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
February 2022
- Monday: 48 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 37 Minutes (Shortest)
- Wednesday: 42 Minutes
- Thursday: 41 Minutes
- Friday: 42 Minutes
- Saturday: 38 Minutes
- Sunday: 40 Minutes
March 2022
- Monday: 43 Minutes
- Tuesday: 45 Minutes (Longest)
- Wednesday: 41 Minutes
- Thursday: 40 Minutes
- Friday: 40 Minutes
- Saturday: 38 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 32 Minutes
April 2022
- Monday: 42 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 41 Minutes
- Wednesday: 39 Minutes
- Thursday: 39 Minutes
- Friday: 37 Minutes
- Saturday: 36 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 32 Minutes
May 2022
- Monday: 36 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 34 Minutes
- Wednesday: 34 Minutes
- Thursday: 34 Minutes
- Friday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 35 Minutes
- Sunday: 32 Minutes (Shortest)
June 2022
- Monday: 41 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 38 Minutes
- Wednesday: 36 Minutes
- Thursday: 36 Minutes
- Friday: 35 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 37 Minutes
- Sunday: 36 Minutes
July 2022
- Monday: 38 Minutes
- Tuesday: 39 Minutes (Longest)
- Wednesday: 36 Minutes
- Thursday: 37 Minutes
- Friday: 35 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 35 Minutes (Shortest)
- Sunday: 35 Minutes (Shortest)
August 2022
- Monday: 35 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 27 Minutes
- Wednesday: 34 Minutes
- Thursday: 32 Minutes
- Friday: 24 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 33 Minutes
- Sunday: 31 Minutes
September 2022
- Monday: 36 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 24 Minutes
- Wednesday: 32 Minutes
- Thursday: 29 Minutes
- Friday: 20 Minutes (Shortest)
- Saturday: 34 Minutes
- Sunday: 23 Minutes
October 2022
- Monday: 40 Minutes
- Tuesday: 31 Minutes
- Wednesday: 43 Minutes (Longest)
- Thursday: 28 Minutes (Shortest)
- Friday: 29 Minutes
- Saturday: 39 Minutes
- Sunday: 31 Minutes
November 2022
- Monday: 42 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 29 Minutes (Shortest)
- Wednesday: 37 Minutes
- Thursday: 30 Minutes
- Friday: 32 Minutes
- Saturday: 36 Minutes
- Sunday: 34 Minutes
December 2022
- Monday: 42 Minutes (Longest)
- Tuesday: 32 Minutes
- Wednesday 42 Minutes
- Thursday: 27 Minutes (Shortest)
- Friday: 31 Minutes
- Saturday: 36 Minutes
- Sunday: 28 Minutes
Other days to avoid at Magic Kingdom
Pay attention to which dates Magic Kingdom hosts the Not So Scary Halloween Party and Very Merry Christmas Party. If you do not have a ticket to these events, you have to leave the park by 7 pm. This means that you will not be able to watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom that day. If you have a park hopper, you can just go to another park. But if you have a single park ticket, going to Magic Kingdom on party days can feel like a waste of your ticket.
Also pay attention to which dates Magic Kingdom has Extended Evening Hours for Deluxe Resort guests. Magic Kingdom will be more crowded on these dates. If you don’t have access to this Deluxe resort perk, then avoid the park on these days.
Crowds will be at their absolute highest on Christmas Eve, Christmas, and New Year’s Eve. Magic Kingdom regularly reaches capacity on the days between Christmas and New Year’s Day. If you want to avoid crowds, avoid Magic Kingdom on these holidays.
How to plan a Magical Magic Kingdom Day
Planning a trip to Disney World? Figuring out when to go is just the beginning. Get in touch with our friends at Vacationeer for free Disney World vacation planning. Their travel agents can help you plan your vacation for no extra cost, including helping get park reservations for the best days to visit Magic Kingdom. They’ll make sure you get the most out of your visit to Magic Kingdom and the other WDW theme parks. Plus, they are Disney experts, so they’ll have their own recommendations and advice.
Don’t miss our Magic Kingdom Tips & Tricks so you can visit like an expert. We also have free Disney World guides, which help you learn the basics of planning a WDW vacation. Our Guide 2 Disney Genie and Magic Kingdom Lightning Lane Guide will help you spend less time waiting in line for Magic Kingdom’s best rides and attractions. Plus, we have an in-depth section on Magic Kingdom Rides & Attractions, a Magic Kingdom Character Guide, as well as Magic Kingdom Dining and Restaurants.
We want to hear from you!
What do you think the best day to visit Magic Kingdom is? Let me know in the comments below!
Don’t miss the other entries in our When to Visit Disney World Guide.
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