Daily Park Report: February 13, 2026

Hollywood Studios Hit 10/10 Crowds While Four Major Attractions Went Dark

Yesterday's Hollywood Studios crowds weren't just heavy—they were the worst-case scenario. A 10/10 crowd level with 60-minute median waits is brutal on its own. Now add Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway going down for over two hours during peak morning, Rise of the Resistance disappearing twice, and Toy Story Mania cycling through four separate outages totaling nearly four hours. Guests faced extreme demand with reduced capacity across the park's most popular attractions.

Clear skies and a comfortable 76°F high brought Valentine's weekend crowds flooding into all four parks. The USA Competitions Presidential Classic added youth sports families to the mix, and EPCOT's Festival of the Arts drew its own dedicated audience. The result: every park ran well above its 30-day average, with three of four reaching crowd levels of 8/10 or higher.

Hollywood Studios: Extreme Crowds Meet Operational Chaos

Hollywood Studios recorded a 10/10 crowd level with 60-minute median waits—50% above the 30-day average of 40 minutes. Peak hour hit at noon with 75-minute medians, but the raw numbers only tell part of the story.

The operational situation compounded the crowd pressure. Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway went down from 10:25 AM to 12:40 PM—135 minutes spanning the critical late-morning rush. Families who'd planned their morning around this headliner found themselves redirected to already-packed queues elsewhere. Rise of the Resistance added two separate outages totaling nearly two hours, first at 11:50 AM and again at 5:05 PM.

Toy Story Mania had the roughest day of all: four distinct closures totaling over three and a half hours scattered throughout the day. When the park's most family-friendly headliner keeps disappearing, demand cascades to alternatives that can't absorb it. Star Tours posted 15-minute averages—200% above its typical 5 minutes—as displaced guests discovered a walk-on alternative in Galaxy's Edge.

Magic Kingdom: Packed Crowds, Morning Headliner Outage

Magic Kingdom hit 9/10 crowds with 24.6-minute median waits—64% above the 30-day baseline. The 11:00 AM peak hour saw 35-minute medians across the board.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure was offline for over three hours from 8:05 AM to 11:25 AM, removing the park's hottest attraction during the critical rope-drop period. When it finally reopened, pent-up demand exploded: Tiana's averaged 85-minute waits for the rest of the day—325% above its typical 20 minutes. On a 76°F day, guests weren't avoiding the water ride; they were fighting for it.

Fantasyland bore the brunt of the crowds. Dumbo, Barnstormer, and Magic Carpets of Aladdin all posted 35-minute averages—more than double their typical waits. Under the Sea hit 30 minutes, twice its baseline, and then went down for 55 minutes in the early afternoon, creating a bottleneck that rippled through the land. Space Mountain's late-afternoon 55-minute closure added to the pressure on already-strained Tomorrowland capacity.

EPCOT: Festival of the Arts Drives Heavy Traffic

EPCOT reached 8/10 Very Heavy crowds with 26.9-minute median waits—a striking 79% increase over its 30-day average of 15 minutes. Peak hour came early at 11:00 AM with 45-minute medians.

Festival of the Arts is clearly driving this surge. The Seas with Nemo & Friends and Journey Into Imagination both posted 20-minute averages—300% above their typical 5-minute waits. These aren't headliners; they're climate-controlled refuges for festival guests taking breaks between food booths and art installations.

The afternoon brought operational trouble. Spaceship Earth went dark for two and a half hours from 4:30 PM to 7:00 PM, and Cosmic Rewind followed with an 80-minute closure starting at 4:50 PM. Guests hoping to ride EPCOT's top attractions as evening approached found two of them simultaneously unavailable.

Animal Kingdom: The Moderate Alternative

Animal Kingdom offered relative relief at 5/10 Moderate crowds with 33.1-minute median waits. That's still 32% above the 30-day average, but compared to the chaos at other parks, this was manageable touring.

Kali River Rapids posted 35-minute averages—600% above its typical 5 minutes. On most winter days, this would be surprising. On a 76°F afternoon, it makes perfect sense: warm weather brought water-ride demand roaring back. Kilimanjaro Safaris hit 55-minute averages at peak, more than double its 25-minute baseline, as the comfortable temperatures created ideal safari conditions.

Downtime Impact Analysis

Yesterday's downtime patterns tell a story of cascading pressure. Hollywood Studios absorbed the heaviest hits—when you combine 10/10 crowds with over 8 hours of collective headliner downtime across four attractions, queue management becomes nearly impossible. The simultaneous late-afternoon outages at EPCOT (Spaceship Earth and Cosmic Rewind both down around 5:00 PM) removed two major capacity sinks during evening touring hours.

Magic Kingdom's morning Tiana outage created a different dynamic: pent-up demand that exploded once the attraction returned. The 85-minute averages weren't just high crowds—they were three hours of rope-drop guests finally getting their chance.

Today's Outlook: Saturday Valentine's Day

Today brings identical weather (77°F high, clear skies) plus the added pressure of Valentine's Day falling on a Saturday. The Presidential Classic and Festival of the Arts continue, and Disney's Presidents Day Soccer Tournament adds another youth sports cohort.

Expect Hollywood Studios to remain at extreme levels—possibly worse than yesterday given the Saturday factor. Animal Kingdom showed it can absorb overflow while remaining at moderate levels, making it the strategic choice for guests seeking actual ride time rather than queue time. EPCOT's festival crowds will intensify for the weekend, but the park's capacity handles it better than Hollywood Studios' limited footprint.

The operational wild card is whether yesterday's troubled attractions stabilize. If Hollywood Studios' headliners run clean, the 10/10 becomes survivable. If yesterday's outage patterns repeat on Saturday crowds, touring there becomes an exercise in frustration management.

These operational patterns reshape touring strategy in real-time. Lightning Brain tracks live attraction status alongside crowd levels—so you can pivot away from troubled parks before committing your day. Now available at lightningbrain.app and on the App Store!