Daily Park Report: December 31, 2025

New Year's Eve Pushed EPCOT to Breaking Point: 177% Above Normal

EPCOT recorded its most extreme crowds of the holiday season yesterday, with median waits hitting 55 minutes—nearly triple the 30-day average. While guests packed World Showcase for the midnight celebration, the data tells a more complex story: three parks absorbed the crush while Animal Kingdom sat nearly empty.

Wednesday's clear skies and crisp 45-degree temperatures created ideal conditions for outdoor celebrations. The cold kept things comfortable for queue-bound guests, though the 36-degree low likely pushed morning crowds toward later arrivals—contributing to EPCOT's 5 PM peak rather than a midday surge.

EPCOT: The Center of the Storm

New Year's Eve transformed EPCOT into the resort's most crowded park, earning a 10/10 crowd level with 55-minute median waits. The 177% surge above baseline reflects both the fireworks draw and Festival of the Holidays traffic converging on the same day.

The outlier data reveals guests treating every attraction as a way to pass time before midnight. Journey Into Imagination With Figment—normally a 5-minute walk-on—hit 40-minute waits, a 700% spike. Gran Fiesta Tour jumped to 30 minutes. Even The Seas with Nemo and Friends, typically a 10-minute commitment, demanded 50 minutes of patience.

Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind posted staggering 205-minute averages, nearly doubling its already-high 70-minute baseline. Soarin' Around the World reached 105 minutes. Spaceship Earth's 55-minute waits created an unusual chokepoint at the park entrance—guests couldn't even enter World Showcase quickly because the icon attraction was backing up the main path.

The 5 PM peak hour (75-minute median) confirms guests weren't just arriving for fireworks—they were stacking into the park throughout the afternoon and never leaving. Spaceship Earth's 57-minute late-afternoon downtime compounded the congestion, forcing guests deeper into Future World attractions that were already overwhelmed.

Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance Vanishes During Peak

Hollywood Studios hit 10/10 crowds with 62-minute median waits, 76% above the 35-minute baseline. But the story here centers on what guests couldn't ride rather than what they could.

Rise of the Resistance went down at 12:31 PM and didn't return until 4:07 PM—a 216-minute outage spanning the heart of peak touring hours. With the park's most sought-after attraction offline during a 2 PM peak hour (85-minute median), displaced demand cascaded across Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land.

That cascade created a second crisis: Toy Story Mania went down for 54 minutes starting at 2:58 PM, just as families fled the Rise situation. Slinky Dog Dash had already experienced a 66-minute morning outage. Guests hunting for family rides found themselves in an increasingly narrow funnel of operational attractions.

Star Tours—normally a 5-minute afterthought—absorbed the Galaxy's Edge overflow with 20-minute waits, a 300% increase. That's still manageable, but it signals how thoroughly Rise's absence reshaped traffic patterns across the entire park.

Magic Kingdom: Heavy But Not Extreme

Magic Kingdom registered 8/10 crowds with 22-minute median waits—elevated at 45% above baseline, but notably lighter than EPCOT or Hollywood Studios. The 1 PM peak hour (35-minute median) suggests guests who wanted New Year's Eve fireworks chose EPCOT's World Showcase over Magic Kingdom's hub.

The park experienced its own operational challenges. Tiana's Bayou Adventure closed from 4:40 PM to 6:52 PM, removing the park's newest headliner during evening hours when guests were positioning for New Year's festivities. Peter Pan's Flight lost nearly two hours in the morning (8:49 AM to 10:43 AM), pushing early-arriving Fantasyland guests toward alternatives.

Those alternatives weren't always available. The Barnstormer hit 35-minute waits (250% above its 10-minute norm), and Under the Sea climbed to 30 minutes—triple its baseline. Families seeking low-wait Fantasyland options found them converted to moderate-wait commitments.

Animal Kingdom: The Empty Alternative

While three parks operated at capacity, Animal Kingdom recorded just a 3/10 crowd level with 21-minute median waits—17% below the 30-day average. On the busiest day of the year for the resort, this park was easier to tour than a typical December Wednesday.

The 5 PM peak (33-minute median) barely qualifies as moderate. Guests who skipped the NYE celebration parks found walk-on conditions at attractions that normally demand planning. Expedition Everest's brief 21-minute morning downtime was the only notable operational issue.

The explanation is straightforward: Animal Kingdom lacks a nighttime fireworks spectacular. On a night when midnight celebrations drove every decision, this park simply wasn't part of the equation.

Downtime Patterns: Morning Chaos, Afternoon Crises

The downtime data reveals two distinct failure patterns. The 8:30-9:30 AM window saw simultaneous issues across multiple parks: EPCOT lost Spaceship Earth, Test Track, Journey Into Imagination, Nemo, and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure all within a 48-minute overlap. Magic Kingdom saw Magic Carpets, PeopleMover, and Winnie the Pooh go down. Hollywood Studios lost Tower of Terror and Slinky Dog.

This concentration suggests system-wide stress during the opening surge, possibly from capacity crowds testing infrastructure simultaneously. Guests arriving for rope drop found scattered availability across every park.

The afternoon brought targeted but severe outages. Rise of the Resistance's 216-minute absence was the day's most consequential downtime, removing Hollywood Studios' capacity-absorbing headliner during peak hours. Combined with Toy Story Mania's subsequent 54-minute closure, Toy Story Land and Galaxy's Edge essentially lost their anchors mid-afternoon.

Today's Outlook: New Year's Day Demands Strategy

New Year's Day brings continued winter break crowds with schools still out across Orange, Osceola, and Seminole counties. Clear skies and a high near 64 degrees will make outdoor touring more comfortable than yesterday's chill, potentially pulling guests toward Animal Kingdom's outdoor attractions.

The smart play today targets Animal Kingdom. Yesterday's 17%-below-normal crowds demonstrate guests deprioritize this park during holiday peaks. Without a major nighttime draw, the pattern should repeat. Arrive early for Pandora, hit Safari before the animals retreat from midday sun, and avoid the EPCOT and Hollywood Studios crush entirely.

If Hollywood Studios is non-negotiable, commit to morning hours before the afternoon pattern that buried guests yesterday. Rise of the Resistance is the priority—get there before any repeat of yesterday's extended outage removes your option entirely.

Avoid EPCOT unless you specifically want Festival of the Holidays booths. Yesterday's 177% surge shows no signs of abating with families still on vacation and World Showcase still drawing celebration crowds.

These crowd splits—one park empty while others overflow—are exactly what Lightning Brain detects in real-time, so you never waste touring hours fighting extreme crowds when walk-on alternatives exist one monorail away. Available now at lightningbrain.app, and coming soon to the iOS App Store.