Daily Park Report: January 16, 2026

Hollywood Studios Hit Packed 9/10 Crowds While Animal Kingdom Sat Nearly Empty

The same Friday produced radically different experiences depending on where you toured. Hollywood Studios surged to a 9/10 crowd level with 48-minute median waits—20% above its 30-day average—while Animal Kingdom dropped to a gentle 3/10 with sub-25-minute medians. Guests who picked the right park yesterday walked onto headliners. Those who didn't faced some of the longest waits we've recorded this month.

Clear skies and a 59-degree high brought comfortable touring weather, though the 33-degree morning low kept early arrivals bundled up. The real crowd driver wasn't weather—it was the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals pulling thousands of competitive spirit families into the resort, and they overwhelmingly chose Hollywood Studios.

Hollywood Studios: Cheerleading Nationals Overwhelm Toy Story Land

The cheerleading and dance competition crowd hit Hollywood Studios hard. The park's 48-minute median placed it firmly in "Packed" territory, and the noon peak hour pushed medians to 60 minutes. Toy Story Land bore the brunt: Slinky Dog Dash averaged 110 minutes—57% above its typical 70—while also suffering two separate downtimes totaling over three hours.

That operational chaos compounded an already stressed land. When Slinky went down from 8:31 to 10:01 AM and again from 10:28 AM to 12:28 PM, guests hunting for ride options found Toy Story Mania backing up instead. Mania averaged 70 minutes (55% above normal) and experienced four separate downtimes totaling over three hours of its own. Families expecting a quick Toy Story Land loop instead found themselves trapped in a capacity crisis.

The competitive cheer demographic—large family groups with teenagers—gravitates toward thrill rides and photo opportunities. That pattern explains why Galaxy's Edge and Toy Story Land absorbed the surge while slower attractions likely saw lighter relative traffic.

Animal Kingdom: The Hidden Gem Nobody Found

While Hollywood Studios strained under cheerleading crowds, Animal Kingdom sat 17% below its 30-day average with just a 24.8-minute median. At crowd level 3/10, this was genuinely comfortable touring. Kali River Rapids dropped to 5-minute waits (half its typical), and even the new Zootopia: Better Zoogether saw only 10-minute averages.

The 3 PM peak at 35 minutes remained well within manageable territory. Expedition Everest went down for 55 minutes mid-afternoon, but with crowds this light, the impact barely registered. Guests who recognized the cheerleading competition pattern and pivoted to Animal Kingdom were rewarded with walk-on conditions at attractions that typically demand patience.

Magic Kingdom: Morning Chaos, Afternoon Recovery

Magic Kingdom landed at a 6/10—busy but not overwhelming—with an 18-minute median that ran 10% below the 30-day average. But those averages mask a rough morning. Seven Dwarfs Mine Train went down for 73 minutes starting at park open (8:07 AM), and Tiana's Bayou Adventure followed with its own 72-minute closure starting at 8:16 AM. Space Mountain added to the morning pain with a 141-minute outage from 10:28 AM to 12:49 PM.

Guests who arrived at rope drop expecting to knock out headliners found three major attractions unavailable simultaneously. The 1 PM peak hour at 25-minute medians shows crowds stayed moderate rather than surging—likely because early arrivals, frustrated by the morning downtimes, called it quits by afternoon.

Tiana's Bayou Adventure averaged just 15 minutes when operational—half its typical 30—suggesting guests either didn't realize it had reopened or had already adjusted their plans. Magic Carpets of Aladdin saw the opposite phenomenon: 25-minute averages (66% above normal) indicate families pivoted to Adventureland when Fantasyland headliners failed.

EPCOT: Festival of the Arts Stays Manageable

The International Festival of the Arts continued at EPCOT, but crowds held at a moderate 5/10 with 18-minute medians. The 11 AM peak suggests festival guests prioritize morning attraction touring before shifting to food booths and galleries in the afternoon—a pattern we see consistently during EPCOT festivals.

Journey Into Imagination With Figment averaged 15 minutes—triple its typical 5-minute wait—but spent nearly four hours down across three separate incidents. That 200% variance reflects scarcity more than demand: when Figment operated, guests rushed to ride before the next closure. Test Track's 111-minute afternoon outage pushed World Celebration crowds toward Journey of Water, which had its own 93-minute morning downtime.

The Seas with Nemo and Friends dropped to 5-minute waits, half its normal, as festival guests focused elsewhere.

The Downtime Story

Yesterday saw an unusual concentration of morning headliner failures. Guests arriving at Magic Kingdom rope drop found Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Tiana's Bayou Adventure, and eventually Space Mountain all unavailable before noon. At Hollywood Studios, Slinky Dog Dash's back-to-back closures removed Toy Story Land's anchor attraction for most of the morning, forcing already-heavy crowds into Toy Story Mania—which then suffered its own series of outages.

EPCOT's afternoon wasn't much better. Test Track and Journey Into Imagination going down simultaneously left World Celebration guests with limited options during the 2-4 PM window. These cascading failures amplified wait times at remaining operational attractions.

Today's Outlook: Saturday Surge Expected

The cheerleading nationals continue today, and Saturday adds the Disney Girls Soccer Showcase at medium crowd impact. With temperatures climbing to a pleasant 71 degrees under mostly clear skies, expect resort-wide increases.

Hollywood Studios will likely remain packed—competition families tend to spend multiple days at their favorite park. The strategic play is Animal Kingdom, which demonstrated yesterday it can absorb overflow while maintaining comfortable waits. EPCOT's Festival of the Arts will draw its art-focused crowd, but morning touring before the 11 AM peak remains viable.

Magic Kingdom carries risk. Yesterday's morning downtime chaos could repeat, and Saturday crowds will be less forgiving. If you're heading there, have a backup plan ready and consider an afternoon arrival after the 1 PM peak subsides.

Bottom line: Hollywood Studios is the park to avoid this weekend. Animal Kingdom is the hidden opportunity.

Track the Patterns in Real Time

These competition-driven crowd splits are exactly what Lightning Brain detects—so you can tour the empty park while others fight the surge. We're now available at lightningbrain.app and on the App Store!