Walt Disney World is designed to handle massive crowds of people. During the most crowded times of the year, mainly between Christmas and New Years but sometimes July 4th as well, the Magic Kingdom can hold upwards of 100,000 guests. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? It’s no picnic, that’s for sure. It’s a sea of people, walking shoulder-to-shoulder and stroller-to-stroller.
With the massive amounts of people, there are likely to be problems for guests – inflated and insane wait time for attractions (some have reached well over 3 hours), FastPasses becoming unavailable and the ultimate letdown of your Disney vacation – the parks have reached capacity and are closing their gates to incoming guests. GASP!
For the safety and enjoyment of their guests, although sharing the parks with 100,000 people doesn’t seem enjoyable, Disney has several phases of closures in order to maintain the crowds.
It is not uncommon during the heaviest touring times at Disney World for the parks to under their different phases of closures. Guests who are staying at the Disney Resorts are always guaranteed access to the parks, however it may not be the park of your choice.
It is more likely that the Magic Kingdom will be the first of the parks to go into the different phases of closing due to reaching capacity. Epcot, due to its large size is less likely to close however, guest attempting to park at the Magic Kingdom may be re-directed to Epcot’s large parking lots.
Here is a rundown of the different capacity closing phases that Disney has in place. If you are planning on being in the parks tonight for New Year’s Eve and tomorrow for New Year’s Day, you will want to take this into consideration.
Phase A:
No admission of guests with one day tickets, and no admission of guests even with FastPass+ reservations unless they have one of the following:
- WDW Resort Guests – this includes guests who are staying at the Swan, Dolphin, Shades of Green and The Four Seasons Resort. Downtown Disney Resort guests arriving by bus are also included in this phase – B Resort & Spa, Best Western, Buena Vista Palace, Double Tree Suites, Hilton, Holiday Inn and the Wyndham. Golden Oak residents and guests.
- Annual, Premier and Premium Passholders
- Guests with Park Hopper tickets re-entering the park or coming from another Disney Theme Park
- Guests with Memory Maker
- Guests with dining reservations
- Magic Kingdom Guests with special in-park reservations like Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique, The Pirates League and The Harmony Barber Shop
Phase 1:
Guests without tickets, guests with 1-day, single park tickets and those with the intention of entering under Cast Member Main Gate and Silver Passes with be denied entry and turned around at the parking lot booths.
The following guests may enter:
- Guests with mutli-day, multi-park tickets
- Guests staying at one of the Disney Resorts (including the Downtown Disney resorts arriving via Disney transportation)
- Annual, Premier and Premium Passholders
- Guests re-entering the parks on the same day
- Guests who are “hopping” from other parks
- Guests with in-park reservations such as dining reservations and other appointments.
Phase 2:
Here is where it starts to get a little crazy. Admission to the parking lots and parks is limited to:
- Guests staying at one of the Disney Resorts (including the Downtown Disney resorts arriving via Disney transportation)
- Annual, Premier and Premium Passholders
- Guests re-entering the parks on the same day
- Guests who are “hopping” from other parks
- Guests with in-park reservations such as dining reservations and other appointments.
Phase 3:
The following guests are the only ones admitted through the toll booths, into the parking lots and into the parks:
- Guests staying at one of the Disney Resorts (including the Downtown Disney resorts arriving via Disney transportation)
- Annual, Premier and Premium Passholders
- Guests with in-park reservations such as dining reservations and other appointments.
Phase 4:
No guests are admitted through the toll booths, into any of the parking lots or into the theme parks
Visit www.capturing-the-magic.com for a preview of the stunning coffee table book, Capturing the Magic and purchase your copy today.
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