Daily Park Report: January 7, 2026

Animal Kingdom Hit Ghost-Town Levels While Rise of the Resistance Dominated Hollywood Studios

A 56% drop from normal. That's what Animal Kingdom recorded yesterday—the kind of number that turns a typical Wednesday into something closer to a private tour. While one park emptied out, Hollywood Studios told a completely different story: Rise of the Resistance commanded 140-minute waits, more than double its typical 55 minutes, as guests concentrated their energy on Galaxy's Edge.

Wednesday brought near-perfect touring conditions across the property. With highs near 79°F under mostly clear skies and no major events reshaping guest flow, the post-holiday exodus was in full effect. The Surf Expo drew some attendees to the convention center, but the real driver was simpler: families who flooded the parks through New Year's have gone home, and locals haven't yet returned in force.

Hollywood Studios: Rise of the Resistance Tells the Whole Story

At a 5/10 crowd level with a 37.7-minute median wait, Hollywood Studios ran slightly below its 30-day average. But the headline attraction rewrote the script entirely. Rise of the Resistance posted 140-minute averages—and that's despite going down twice, first for 99 minutes in the morning and again for a crushing 196-minute closure spanning the lunch rush from 11:21 AM to 2:37 PM.

Those nearly five hours of combined downtime created a pressure cooker effect. Guests who arrived expecting Galaxy's Edge found themselves rerouting to Toy Story Land, where Slinky Dog Dash absorbed the spillover. When Rise finally reopened mid-afternoon, pent-up demand sent waits soaring. The 12:00 PM peak hour hit 50-minute medians across the park—guests clearly weren't leaving, they were waiting out the closure.

Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway also experienced an 18-minute morning outage, and Toy Story Mania went down for 27 minutes in the early evening. For a park with only a handful of headliners, these stacked downtimes compressed crowds into fewer attractions.

Animal Kingdom: The Disappearing Act

A 2/10 crowd level. A 13.1-minute median wait. A 56.3% drop from the 30-day average. Animal Kingdom was effectively empty yesterday.

DINOSAUR posted 5-minute waits—75% below its typical 20 minutes. Zootopia: Better Zoogether clocked in at just 10 minutes, half its normal queue. Even the park's peak hour at 3:00 PM only reached 20-minute medians. Guests who ventured here found what amounts to a walk-on park.

Kali River Rapids went down for 51 minutes during the early afternoon, but with crowds this light, the impact was negligible. There simply weren't enough guests competing for attractions to create meaningful displacement.

Magic Kingdom: Comfortable Touring with One Exception

Magic Kingdom settled at a 4/10 crowd level with a 13.8-minute median—31% below the 30-day average. The park offered comfortable touring nearly everywhere, with attractions like Dumbo, Tomorrowland Speedway, and Prince Charming Regal Carrousel posting 5-minute waits (50-67% below their baselines).

The exception: Tiana's Bayou Adventure. The attraction averaged 45 minutes, 80% above its typical 25-minute wait. An early 78-minute closure (9:01–10:19 AM) compressed morning demand, and the attraction's continued novelty keeps it operating as the park's primary crowd magnet. Guests seeking log flume thrills had to either commit to the Tiana queue or skip it entirely—there was no middle ground.

Astro Orbiter's 87-minute morning outage and a 22-minute Haunted Mansion closure created brief Fantasyland and Tomorrowland bottlenecks, but with such light overall crowds, recovery came quickly.

EPCOT: Festival Season Without the Festival Crowds

EPCOT registered a 4/10 at just 15.4 minutes median—38.4% below its 30-day average. With the Festival of the Holidays wrapped and no major draw reshaping foot traffic, World Celebration and World Nature operated at comfortable levels.

Soarin' posted 15-minute waits, 57% below its 35-minute baseline. Living with the Land—which had been drawing elevated waits during its Glimmering Greenhouses holiday overlay—dropped to just 5 minutes. The Seas with Nemo & Friends matched that 5-minute mark. Journey Into Imagination With Figment went down for 46 minutes mid-afternoon, but with such light crowds, guests simply walked to neighboring attractions.

Test Track's 36-minute evening closure and Spaceship Earth's 27-minute afternoon outage were the only other notable interruptions—neither created visible cascading effects.

Today's Outlook: Marathon Weekend Begins

Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend launches today, and that changes the calculus. Runners flooding the resort tend to spend mornings at race events and afternoons recovering poolside rather than touring parks—but their families often don't. Expect moderate upticks at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios as travel companions seek entertainment while runners rest.

Weather remains favorable: highs near 79°F, mostly cloudy, zero precipitation chance. The Surf Expo continues but remains a minimal factor.

The strategy: Animal Kingdom's ghost-town pattern from yesterday is likely to persist—marathon families gravitate toward the castle and Galaxy's Edge, not Pandora. If you want virtually walk-on conditions, Animal Kingdom remains your best bet. Hollywood Studios carries risk: yesterday's Rise of the Resistance downtime patterns could repeat, and with slightly higher marathon weekend crowds, recovery queues will be longer. EPCOT offers the safest middle ground—comfortable waits with enough headliners to fill a full day.

Plan Smarter, Not Harder

Yesterday's 56% Animal Kingdom drop wasn't obvious from the parking lot. These hidden patterns are exactly what Lightning Brain surfaces—showing you which park is actually empty while others absorb the crowds. Available now at lightningbrain.app, and coming soon to the iOS App Store.