This is not uncommon right now! If you obsessively check Wait Times on the My Disney Experience App, you probably have noticed that waits have been low. This isn’t a glitch, the parks have not been crowded! This most likely will continue for the next couple of weeks. There are a few reasons why.
September is usually a great time to visit Walt Disney World. The crowds are down because vacations are over and kids are back in school. Plenty of parents will pull their kids out of school for a few days to head to Central Florida; but not in September. Schools have just started again and they want their kids to get used to new routines. This is especially the case in 2021, since many children have not attended school in person in a year and a half! Fewer families on vacation means shorter Wait Times.
2021 is a special year, because October 1 will be the 50th anniversary of the Magic Kingdom’s opening. Disney loves to plan parties, and this is called the World’s Most Magical Celebration. Even though it will last for 18 months, many people want to be there for the actual anniversary. I know that I do! The Magic Kingdom is full in all categories on the Availability Calendar, although spots have been added a few times. Many people have put off their vacations this year because they want to be where the Florida magic started, 50 years later. That means that people who usually visit in September have moved back their trips a few weeks, making the next couple of weeks a great time to visit.
One final consideration for many people is that they still do not feel safe traveling. COVID-19 cases are high in Florida. Walt Disney World has relaxed some of its safety precautions, making many wary. I still feel safe at Disney, but I can’t say the same about some of the places that are nearby. People continue to postpone their vacations, and I don’t blame them. If you do visit, please be careful and follow all guidelines.
I hear people ask often questions along the lines of “What will the crowds be like next January?” We honestly can’t judge that right now. We don’t know how the World’s Most Magical Celebration will affect crowd levels, and we also don’t know what the COVID-19 numbers will look like by then. That is why I’m advising you to take advantage of the short Wait Times now, if you can. We might not see numbers this low again for a long time.