Daily Park Report: December 4, 2025

Thursday, December 4, 2025: A Tale of Two Strategies

Thursday brought near-perfect Florida weather to Walt Disney World—a high of 78.6°F under mostly clear skies with no rain to speak of. The humidity sat at a tolerable 77%, making for comfortable conditions across all four parks. But the real story wasn't the weather. It was how dramatically crowd distribution shifted due to two major events: Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at Magic Kingdom and the ongoing EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays. The result? A study in contrasts that savvy guests exploited to their advantage.

Park-by-Park Analysis

Magic Kingdom: Ghost Town Conditions

Magic Kingdom recorded something remarkable: a crowd level of just 1/10 with a median wait time of only 10.4 minutes—a full 30.7% below its 30-day average. The culprit? Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party. When the hard-ticket event runs, day guests must exit by early evening, which suppresses daytime attendance. Peak hour didn't hit until 6:00 PM, and even then the median wait was just 15 minutes. For context, Space Mountain averaged only 10 minutes—66.7% below its typical 30-minute wait. Classic attractions like "it's a small world," Dumbo, and Mad Tea Party all posted 5-minute averages, half their normal waits. If you were in the park Thursday, you likely walked onto most attractions.

Hollywood Studios: The Moderate Choice

With Magic Kingdom effectively operating at reduced capacity and EPCOT drawing festival crowds, Hollywood Studios absorbed some overflow. The park posted a median wait of 37.5 minutes, running 7.1% above its 30-day average. Crowd level held at a moderate 5/10. Peak hour came at 4:00 PM with median waits reaching 45 minutes. This wasn't unexpected—guests looking for a full-day park experience without festival chaos or party closures naturally gravitated here. The 1,941 data points we collected paint a picture of steady but manageable crowds throughout the day.

Animal Kingdom: Higher Than Usual, Still Light

Animal Kingdom's numbers tell an interesting story. While the crowd level remained light at 3/10, the median wait of 22.9 minutes was 52.7% above the 30-day average of 15 minutes. Peak hour hit at 11:00 AM with a 35-minute median. This suggests guests who wanted to avoid both the Christmas Party impact at Magic Kingdom and festival crowds at EPCOT chose Animal Kingdom as their alternative. The percentage jump looks dramatic, but in absolute terms, we're talking about waits increasing from 15 to 23 minutes—still very manageable conditions.

EPCOT: Festival Season, Light Crowds

Despite the Festival of the Holidays theoretically driving attendance, EPCOT posted a crowd level of just 2/10 with a median wait of 19.8 minutes—essentially flat against the 30-day average. Peak hour occurred at 11:00 AM with 30-minute median waits. The festival appears to be spreading guests across the World Showcase for food and entertainment rather than concentrating them at attractions. With 2,391 data points collected, we had strong coverage confirming these light conditions held throughout the day.

Outliers and Surprises

The most notable outlier was Zootopia: Better Zoogether! at Animal Kingdom, averaging 25 minutes—66.7% above its typical 15-minute wait. As a newer attraction still building its audience, any uptick in Animal Kingdom attendance amplifies its wait times disproportionately.

At EPCOT, Journey Into Imagination With Figment doubled its typical wait from 5 to 10 minutes, and The Seas with Nemo & Friends jumped from 10 to 20 minutes. Festival guests exploring Future World between food booths likely account for this—these attractions sit directly in the festival foot traffic path.

The Magic Kingdom outliers all skewed dramatically low. When Space Mountain posts 10-minute waits and family attractions drop to 5 minutes, it's a clear indicator that party-night dynamics fundamentally alter typical crowd patterns.

Downtime Report

Thursday was operationally clean across all four parks. We recorded no notable downtimes exceeding 15 minutes. This is worth highlighting—December often sees increased technical difficulties as parks run at higher capacity with extended hours. Maintenance teams appear to have the resort running smoothly heading into the holiday peak.

Today's Prediction: Friday, December 5

Expect warmer conditions today with a high of 82°F under partly cloudy skies and zero precipitation chance. Both Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party and the Festival of the Holidays continue, which should replicate yesterday's crowd distribution patterns to some degree.

However, Friday historically draws heavier attendance than Thursday as weekend visitors arrive. We anticipate:

• Magic Kingdom: Another party night means suppressed day crowds, though likely busier than Thursday's ghost town conditions. Still your best bet for low waits if you arrive early.
• Hollywood Studios: Expect moderate-to-heavy crowds as the spillover destination. Rope drop or evening visits recommended.
• Animal Kingdom: Should remain light but watch for elevated waits at Zootopia and Avatar attractions.
• EPCOT: Festival crowds will build, particularly after 4:00 PM when holiday entertainment ramps up.

Best choice for today: Magic Kingdom in the morning hours, departing by early afternoon before party preparations begin. Yesterday's 10-minute average waits may not repeat, but conditions should remain well below typical levels.