Is Super Bowl Sunday Less Crowded?

Is Super Bowl Sunday less crowded at Walt Disney World? In my experience, yes and no. My daughter and I have a tradition of heading to one of the theme parks in the middle of the afternoon on Super Bowl Sunday and staying until the game is over. Here is a rundown of our experiences.

When we’ve gone to the Magic Kingdom we were always initially optimistic, because the monorail was full of people leaving the park. The crowd was slightly less, but others had the same idea that we did so there were more people than we expected. It was still nice, but not as empty as we hoped.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios was a different story. One year we spent the whole evening there. That park always feels crowded, even when there are fewer people. Wait Times were still long, and we only got in a couple of rides. I don’t plan on visiting Disney’s Hollywood Studios on Super Bowl Sunday in the evening again. Last year we did start at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, but we Park Hopped to Epcot well before the game started.

Epcot has been a different story. We’ve been to Epcot several times on Super Bowl Sunday, and it’s where we’re headed this year. In the past we have experienced shorter lines, but that was before Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind opened. What I like about Epcot on Super Bowl Sunday is that if the lines are long there are still other things to do. We plan to enjoy the Epcot International Festival of the Arts and take advantage of some of the MagicShots. I love to visit Epcot after dark anyway, because I can’t get enough of Spaceship Earth.

We’ve never visited Disney’s Animal Kingdom on Super Bowl Sunday. Since the park closes earlier than the other three parks it doesn’t make sense to us. We’d get home in time to watch the second half of the game!

There’s one thing to remember when it comes to Super Bowl Sunday and crowds. If a family is filled with football fans, they probably did not pick that week to visit Walt Disney World. No matter what the crowd at Epcot is like, I know that we’ll have a great time.