Daily Park Report: January 17, 2026

Hollywood Studios Hit Maximum Capacity While Rise of the Resistance Spent Half the Morning Offline

Saturday delivered the most extreme crowd split we have seen in weeks: Hollywood Studios registered a 10/10 crowd level with 51-minute median waits while EPCOT, just a short Skyliner ride away, sat at a manageable 6/10. The kicker? Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance—the park's flagship attraction—was down for over three hours during peak morning touring, yet crowds kept pouring in anyway.

Perfect weather played its part. Clear skies, a high of 74°F, and no precipitation created ideal conditions for outdoor queues. But the real driver was a collision of events: the UCA & UDA College Cheerleading and Dance Team Nationals brought thousands of families to the Orlando area, the Disney Girls Soccer Showcase added another youth sports contingent, and the opening weekend of EPCOT's International Festival of the Arts pulled in festival enthusiasts. Saturday absorbed all of it.

Hollywood Studios: A 10/10 Day with a Broken Headliner

Rise of the Resistance posted a 140-minute average wait—133% above its typical 60-minute baseline—but that number only tells half the story. The attraction went down from 8:31 AM to 11:43 AM, a 192-minute closure that eliminated the entire early-morning rope drop window. It went down again from 12:08 PM to 1:37 PM. Guests who planned their day around a morning Rise ride found themselves redirected to Slinky Dog Dash or Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway, inflating those queues further.

Peak hour hit at 10:00 AM with a 65-minute median—precisely when Rise was offline and crowds had nowhere else to absorb. Star Tours climbed to 10 minutes (double its typical 5), revealing just how much spillover demand the Galaxy's Edge area generated even without its marquee attraction operating.

Magic Kingdom: Packed at 9/10 Despite Afternoon Operational Issues

Magic Kingdom ran hot all day, peaking at 2:00 PM with 30-minute medians. The 24-minute overall median represents a 21.5% jump above the 30-day average, pushing the park to 9/10 (Packed) territory.

Fantasyland bore the brunt. Dumbo climbed to 25 minutes (150% above typical), Prince Charming Regal Carrousel hit 13 minutes (also 150% above normal), and Mad Tea Party doubled to 20 minutes. These flat rides rarely generate significant waits, but Saturday's family-heavy crowds—driven by cheerleading nationals attendees—created bottlenecks at attractions parents could easily share with younger children.

Under the Sea went down twice: 57 minutes starting at 11:25 AM and another 42 minutes starting at 1:43 PM. That nearly two hours of downtime during peak afternoon pushed families toward the already-strained Fantasyland dark rides. Tiana's Bayou Adventure also went down for 57 minutes during the 9:00 AM hour, eliminating an early-morning headliner option and likely contributing to the park's sustained pressure throughout the day.

Pirates of the Caribbean averaged 35 minutes (75% above its 20-minute baseline)—a telling indicator that even Adventureland experienced unusual demand as guests sought alternatives to the Fantasyland chaos.

Animal Kingdom: Moderate Crowds with One Standout

At 5/10, Animal Kingdom offered the most comfortable touring of any park Saturday. The 33.8-minute median sits just barely above the moderate threshold, and the 11:00 AM peak of 50 minutes cleared quickly.

DINOSAUR was the exception, averaging 35 minutes—75% above its typical 20. This attraction frequently absorbs overflow when families want a thrill ride without the multi-hour commitment of Flight of Passage. Zootopia: Better Zoogether saw two downtimes totaling 85 minutes, but its newer-attraction status means guests likely waited rather than redirecting elsewhere.

EPCOT: Festival of the Arts Crowds Stay Predictable

EPCOT's 6/10 crowd level defied the chaos elsewhere. The Festival of the Arts opened this weekend, yet the 20.6-minute median barely budged from the 30-day average. Festival guests appear more interested in art installations, food booths, and merchandise than standby queues.

Journey Into Imagination With Figment averaged 15 minutes—200% above its typical 5—a pattern we see repeatedly during festivals. Guests use Figment as an air-conditioned break between outdoor activities. Gran Fiesta Tour doubled to 10 minutes for the same reason: climate control during a 74-degree afternoon. World Showcase attractions become de facto rest stops during festival weekends.

The Downtime Cascade Effect

Rise of the Resistance's 282 total minutes of downtime across two incidents dominated the day's operational story. Guests arriving at Hollywood Studios for rope drop—the standard strategy for riding Rise with minimal wait—found the attraction closed and had to pivot immediately. The 10:00 AM peak hour directly correlates with this morning outage: with Rise unavailable, every other headliner absorbed the demand simultaneously.

Magic Kingdom's Liberty Square went quiet in the afternoon when both Carousel of Progress (two downtimes totaling 153 minutes) and Hall of Presidents (111 minutes total) experienced extended closures. These capacity-absorbing theater attractions normally help moderate crowd flow, and their simultaneous unavailability contributed to the sustained pressure on ride queues elsewhere in the park.

Sunday Prediction: Rain Reshapes the Strategy

Today brings a 64% chance of rain with temperatures dropping to a high of 71°F. The cheerleading nationals continue, Festival of the Arts remains active, and tomorrow is Martin Luther King Jr. Day—meaning many families have extended weekend flexibility.

The rain changes everything. Hollywood Studios' outdoor-heavy queue infrastructure (Slinky Dog, Tower of Terror, Rock 'n' Roller Coaster) becomes less appealing when guests face potential downpours. EPCOT's Festival of the Arts suffers most from rain: outdoor art displays and food booths lose their appeal, likely pushing festival guests toward World Showcase pavilion attractions instead.

The play today: Magic Kingdom's high indoor ride capacity handles rain better than any other park. If you have flexibility, arrive mid-afternoon when morning crowds have retreated from the weather. Animal Kingdom remains the sleeper pick—moderate crowds should continue, and rain actually enhances the atmosphere on attractions like Kilimanjaro Safaris and Na'vi River Journey.

Avoid Hollywood Studios if Rise of the Resistance reliability concerns you. Two multi-hour outages on consecutive days would significantly impact any touring plan built around that attraction.

Track the Patterns in Real Time

Saturday's crowd split—a 10/10 park operating alongside a 5/10—demonstrates why real-time data matters more than generic crowd calendars. Lightning Brain identifies these disparities as they develop, helping you pivot before wasting touring hours at the crowded park. Now available at lightningbrain.app and on the App Store.