Weekly Park Report: May 10 - May 16, 2026
Soarin' Around the World had its final days at EPCOT this week — and if you'd expected a dramatic farewell surge, the data didn't deliver one. Despite closing-soon notices and nostalgia energy build...
Soarin' Bows Out, But Nobody Noticed the Lines
Soarin' Around the World had its final days at EPCOT this week — and if you'd expected a dramatic farewell surge, the data didn't deliver one. Despite closing-soon notices and nostalgia energy building around the ride, EPCOT's median wait sat at a calm 15 minutes for the entire week. That's the headline from May 10-16: a resort-wide exhale after weeks of elevated spring break pressure, with crowds running well below the 6-week rolling average across all four parks. Even a Magic Kingdom private event, a freshly reopened Big Thunder Mountain, and two After Hours events couldn't push the needle much.
Week at a Glance
This was, simply put, a light week. The resort-wide median landed at 20 minutes, matching the past two weeks but down sharply from the 30-minute pace set in early April during spring break season. That means the current stretch is running in the bottom fifth of all days tracked this year — busier than only 19% of the year so far. Post-spring-break shoulder season has arrived in full.
No federal holidays. No major school break overlaps. The Flower & Garden Festival continued at EPCOT, contributing foot traffic without meaningfully inflating queue demand. The most structurally interesting day was Wednesday, when a private buyout closed Magic Kingdom to regular guests at 5:30 PM — and the data shows a modest response, but nothing dramatic. By Saturday, Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom saw modest upticks as the typical weekend pattern kicked in, but even those highs were well within comfortable range.
The headline: this was one of the better touring weeks of the year so far.
Park by Park
EPCOT
EPCOT logged a 3/10 week despite hosting two attention-grabbing storylines simultaneously: Soarin' Around the World's final days and the ongoing Flower & Garden Festival. The park's median held at 15 minutes every single day of the week — flatline consistency that's unusual even for a light week. The 90th percentile reached 70 minutes, suggesting Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and a handful of other headline attractions still had real waits at peak times, but the overall park experience was relaxed throughout.
Soarin's closure window didn't drive the queue spike you might expect. Either guests have already processed the goodbye, or the broader low-crowd environment absorbed whatever bump in demand materialized. For anyone who still wants a final ride, this week's data suggests the window may be less frantic than feared — though the attraction officially closed Tuesday with one day remaining at the start of the week.
Flower & Garden continues to animate the park's common areas while leaving attraction queues largely undisturbed. That pattern has held consistently: festival guests browse topiaries and food booths, but the rides don't see proportional queue growth.
Operationally, EPCOT had a rough stretch for its marquee attractions. Test Track logged 26 downtime incidents — the highest of any attraction resort-wide — and Spaceship Earth added another 16. On days when both were offline simultaneously, guests heading to Future World had fewer operational options, though the light overall crowd meant alternatives weren't overwhelmed.
Hollywood Studios
Hollywood Studios came in at a 3/10 for the week, with a median of 30 minutes against the 6-week average of 40. That's a meaningful improvement for a park that often runs hot. The Thursday Disney After Hours event is worth noting explicitly: it started at normal park close and had zero effect on daytime operations. Day guests on Thursday saw a 25-minute median — the park's lightest day of the week.
Saturday pushed back to 40 minutes as weekend demand returned, but even that sits right at the 6-week average. Rise of the Resistance logged 15 downtime incidents this week, its second consecutive rough stretch. On days when it went offline mid-morning, Smuggler's Run absorbed some of the displaced demand — though the light overall environment kept any wait inflation manageable. Fantasmic! ran nightly throughout the week without flagged issues.
Magic Kingdom
Magic Kingdom lands at a 4/10 for the week — the highest crowd level of the four parks, though still firmly in comfortable territory. The most interesting day was Wednesday, when a private corporate buyout closed the park to regular guests at 5:30 PM. Unlike a publicly sold party where guests know in advance and avoid booking, private events carry weaker daytime suppression. The data reflects that: Wednesday's MK median was 10 minutes, the park's lightest day. Some guests likely left early as the private event approach, but the morning and midday hours ran very light.
Big Thunder Mountain, freshly reopened after a refurbishment closure, continued attracting above-normal attention. The ride has been back for nearly two weeks now, and novelty demand is still visible in the data — it consistently drew guests who hadn't ridden in months. Space Mountain had an operational rough patch with 23 incidents this week, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure added 14 more. Rope-droppers targeting Space Mountain on its down mornings found themselves redirecting toward Big Thunder or Tomorrowland Speedway.
Monday's Disney After Hours event at Magic Kingdom was a late-night-only affair and didn't compress daytime hours. The park ran a 15-minute median on Monday — identical to several other days, no After Hours effect visible in the daytime data.
Animal Kingdom
Animal Kingdom delivered the week's most dramatically light conditions. Friday's median dropped to 10 minutes — by any standard, an exceptional touring day. Wednesday and Thursday also came in at 15 minutes each. The park's 3/10 week average (25-minute median) runs well below its 6-week baseline of 35 minutes, and Flight of Passage almost certainly spent multiple days well under its typical ceiling. Kali River Rapids had 12 downtime incidents, but with crowds this light, guest impact was minimal — waits redistributed without meaningful queue buildup at alternatives.
Animal Kingdom's early closings on several nights compressed the usable park window, but mornings and early afternoons were exceptional. If you were at the resort this week and skipped Animal Kingdom, you left the best touring conditions on the table.
Daily Pattern
| Day | AK Median | HS Median | EPCOT Median | MK Median | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sun 5/10 | 30 min | 30 min | 20 min | 15 min | Weekend holdover demand, still manageable |
| Mon 5/11 | 35 min | 35 min | 20 min | 15 min | After Hours at MK; no daytime effect |
| Tue 5/12 | 20 min | 30 min | 15 min | 20 min | Soarin' final day; EPCOT held flat |
| Wed 5/13 | 15 min | 35 min | 15 min | 10 min | MK private buyout at 5:30 PM; lightest MK day |
| Thu 5/14 | 15 min | 25 min | 15 min | 20 min | After Hours at HS; HS lightest day of week |
| Fri 5/15 | 10 min | 30 min | 15 min | 15 min | AK hit its lightest point of the week |
| Sat 5/16 | 30 min | 40 min | 15 min | 15 min | Weekend demand returns; HS and AK climb |
The week followed a recognizable mid-May shoulder pattern: Sunday and Monday carried some residual weekend energy, Tuesday through Friday settled into the lightest stretch, and Saturday bounced modestly as the next weekend wave began. Hollywood Studios ran counterintuitively higher on Wednesday and Monday than some other days — its steady demand from Star Wars and Toy Story Land creates a higher floor even when the rest of the resort goes quiet. EPCOT's flatline through the week stands out: 15 or 20 minutes every single day, no spikes, no soft days. Remarkably stable.
Reliability Report
Test Track was the week's most disruptive presence, going offline 26 times across the week. For EPCOT guests building a morning plan around Test Track as an early anchor, the unreliability was genuinely problematic — when it closed within the first hour, options in Future World East are limited, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (which doesn't take standard Lightning Lane) became the fallback for many guests. Spaceship Earth added another layer of Future World uncertainty with 16 incidents of its own.
At Magic Kingdom, Space Mountain's 23-incident week meant rope-drop guests regularly arrived to find it offline. The timing mattered: guests who shifted to Big Thunder Mountain, still drawing post-reopening novelty interest, found waits there running longer than usual in those morning windows. The Barnstormer and Walt Disney World Railroad also had notable downtime stretches, though with crowds this light, neither created serious queue problems at alternatives.
Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios logged 15 incidents — a concerning pattern if it continues into the busier summer weeks ahead.
Next Week Outlook
May 17-23 continues deep in shoulder season with no federal holidays and no major school breaks on the calendar. Expect conditions similar to this week — resort-wide medians in the 15-20 minute range, with Hollywood Studios running slightly higher as its demand floor holds steady. EPCOT's Flower & Garden Festival continues, maintaining the same dynamic: busy promenades, relaxed queues.
With Soarin' Around the World now closed, EPCOT loses one of its anchor rides. Watch for whether Guardians or Test Track (assuming improved reliability) absorbs any of that displaced demand. If Test Track's operational issues persist into next week, EPCOT mornings could feel more constrained than the raw crowd numbers suggest.
Best strategy for next week: Animal Kingdom midweek mornings remain the highest-value touring opportunity at the resort. Plan MK for later in the week when Big Thunder novelty demand has continued softening. EPCOT is a low-commitment call any day — if you're going, arrive early and don't count on Test Track being available.
Plan Smarter with Lightning Brain
This week showed that even a quiet week has structure — the right day at Animal Kingdom on Friday was a fundamentally different experience than any day at Hollywood Studios. Picking the right park on the right day is exactly what Lightning Brain helps with. Now available at lightningbrain.app and on the App Store. Check it before you go.
