Disney World Forced To Close Gates Due To Massive Crowds

If you didn’t get to Disney World’s Magic Kingdom early on New Year’s Eve, then you, unfortunately, were turned away at the gates.

Fans were greeted with signs that read “We apologize, the MAGIC KINGDOM is near or at FULL CAPACITY at this time Thank You” after 11:35 am, a bummer to be sure for those hoping to see the New Years celebration that the Magic Kingdom park puts on. The good news is that you could still access Epcot, Animal Kingdom, and Hollywood Studios, as each park has its own New Years celebration (via Business Insider).

The Magic Kingdom is by far the most popular park though, which is why it is recommended that you get there early and just stay around so you can secure yourself a spot. As you can imagine, this method results in a very packed park throughout the day, so expect to do some waiting in lines to get on your favorite ride. According to the Disney World app, around 1 pm the wait to experience rides like the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Space Mountain, and Big Thunder Mountain were around 3 hours.

You can check out the Magic Kingdom Park Update below.

“We are experiencing a very busy day at Walt Disney World. The Magic Kingdom is not accepting new Guests at this time. Epcot, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom are welcoming all Guests. Please call 407-560-5000 for them park availability.”

Now, just because Disney stops accepting new guests for a time doesn’t mean they won’t reopen for more guests later in the day. That’s what happened last year when Disney closed the gates at 11:30 am but opened them back up at 5:30.

That seems like a lot of trouble to go through to see some fireworks on New Year’s Eve, but then again, no one does celebrations like Disney World, so if you are going to wait around for hours for a show this would be the one to do it for.

Did you get the chance to celebrate New Year’s Eve at Disney World this year? Let us know in the comments!