midnight in the magic kingdom

[rstevens333]

How do people feel about crowds on days when the MK is open until midnight?

Is it a zoo or is there a little fun to be had from 9-12? I've never been during a busy enough season to experience it.

 

[tinkerbelletreasure]

I’ve always had good success from 9-midnight. Most of the rope drop crowd is gone and people with smaller kids. The thrill rides can get busy, and I noticed this time that people started heading into Tomorrowland after the fireworks, but we head to fantasyland and can ride a lot of things walk on. Even Peter Pan and 7 dwarfs lines got reasonable after 11 2 weeks ago.

 

[Minsc]

It can vary, but it's generally pretty good. The later it stays open, the better the chance of lighter crowds. When they have the EMH's that go to 2am, it can be you and just a few other zombies staggering around after midnight. Many families with younger children tend to head to the exits after the last HEA. It won't seem much lighter at first, but it will dwindle down the closer you get to closing. If rides are your thing, avoid the hub and Main Street areas as they will be a zoo. Disney will sometimes pull the Wait Time Shenanigans and you will find the posted wait times are much greater than actual times. Plan your strategy to make the most of your time by focusing on one or two areas. Crisscrossing is sometimes necessary, but is a waste of precious ride time. If you just like to hang out, grab a hot dog from Casey's or Ice Cream from the Plaza and try to get a table in front of the castle. You can people watch and catch the Kiss Goodnight. I have so many pictures of my kids sitting in front of the Castle between midnight and 2am giving the "We did it!" thumbs up.

 

[rstevens333]

"good but variable" sounds pretty good in my book!

 

[goofyintoronto]

It varies. Sometimes rides are walk-ons about 11pm-ish onwards, and sometimes they're not. All depends on the time of year etc. I remember in Oct they were open quite late but man, was it ever packed. Right up until closing time.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

Here's an example from a recent summer visit to MK from 8 pm to midnight. We did all of this without any FPs:

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.

 

[dprincessmom]

It is getting harder! I think more and more people are realizing that after the fireworks there is a mass exit and they don't want any part of that, so let's stay for one more ride. That one more leads to several more and then it's midnight.
2 or 3 years ago, we would walk on to Pirates after the Fireworks, now it is 20-30 minute wait. I think Disney doing away with the evening parades also impacts ride flow as that would pull crowds back to the parade route and not ride lines.

 

[Artzy9]

It is nice to take in MK from 9-midnight. Lighter crowds, and we enjoyed the rides at night. We didn't have much, if any, wait on all the rides we rode.

 

[glocon]

When we were there last July, lines were long at MK til close. But that won’t stop me from staying late again!

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

It is getting harder! I think more and more people are realizing that after the fireworks there is a mass exit and they don't want any part of that, so let's stay for one more ride. That one more leads to several more and then it's midnight.
2 or 3 years ago, we would walk on to Pirates after the Fireworks, now it is 20-30 minute wait. I think Disney doing away with the evening parades also impacts ride flow as that would pull crowds back to the parade route and not ride lines.

We find the opposite to be true. It seems to me that guests are arriving earlier and earlier, making rope drop the busiest time of the day for the most popular attractions. Those guests do eventually tire out which results in very short lines in the evenings.

This past summer, we felt that we were able to do more than any pervious trip and we rarely arrive much before 11 am at any park. You just have to keep in mind that the wait times are intentionally exaggerated at night to discourage late riders.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

When we were there last July, lines were long at MK til close. But that won’t stop me from staying late again!

The lines were long or the posted waits were high? There's often a very big difference.

 

[maryj11]

When we went the end of July it was pretty crowded until about 11:30 when it started to thin out a little. By a little I mean not much. I was disappointed.

 

[mamamelody2]

It can still be rather crowded, but I LOVE MK at night, so if it's open until midnight, I'm there!
We usually have a long enough trip that we're not needing to pack as many rides in to every hour as possible. I love to just wander and soak in the atmosphere!

 

[maryj11]

The lines were long or the posted waits were high? There's often a very big difference.

When we were there last year in July it was both. It was even hard getting around, there were so many people.

 

[glocon]

The lines were long or the posted waits were high? There's often a very big difference.

Lines were long AND the waits were high. Did not expect that. But the emh were til midnight, maybe for the later nights the lines and the waits are shorter.