Okay, so here’s the tea. If you’ve been to Disney World between Christmas and New Year’s, you know exactly what you’re signing up for. It’s absolute madness. Like, we’re talking elbow-to-elbow crowds, two-hour waits for a pretzel, and forget about getting a good spot for fireworks unless you camp out like you’re waiting for concert tickets.
This week is literally THE week that everyone warns you about. Disney influencers make content telling people to avoid it. Reddit threads explode with warnings. Your aunt who went once in 1987 will still text you saying “don’t go that week, sweetie” because apparently the trauma never fades. And honestly? They’re not wrong. Historically, this stretch of days is when Disney sees some of its highest attendance numbers of the entire year. The parks are prepared for it too. They staff up like they’re preparing for a zombie apocalypse, add extra showtimes for everything, keep the parks open later, and basically throw every resource they have at managing the inevitable sea of humanity. It’s a well-oiled machine designed to handle maximum capacity. But here’s where things get weird. Right now, as you’re reading this, guests at the parks are posting videos and photos that are honestly kind of shocking. We’re not talking slightly less crowded. We’re talking ghost town vibes at shows that should be selling out. And people are absolutely losing their minds trying to figure out what’s going on.
Fantasmic Is Playing to Like… Nobody
So Disney’s Hollywood Studios decided to run THREE shows of Fantasmic each night this week. Three! That’s not normal, by the way. Usually it’s one, maybe two if they’re expecting decent crowds. Three shows means they were anticipating absolute chaos levels of people wanting to watch Mickey fight some villains with water and fire and all that dramatic goodness. They don’t just add a third show for funsies. This costs money, requires staff, and only happens when they’re genuinely expecting the amphitheater to be slammed.
Plot twist: it’s not slammed. Not even close.
A guest named Kdodgers24 posted a video to X (yes, we’re still calling it that, apparently) from the THIRD Fantasmic show, and listen. The place is basically empty. Like, rows and rows of seats with absolutely nobody in them. The person filming literally had zero people sitting in front of them. Zero. During Christmas week. At Disney World. They captioned it “Reminder this is CHRISTMAS/NYE week” with what we can only assume was the shocked emoji energy.
Reminder this is CHRISTMAS/NYE week. pic.twitter.com/Iu3P7nPuEv
— Kdodgers24 (@Kdodgers24) December 28, 2025
But wait, it gets better. In the replies, Kdodgers24 confirmed that this wasn’t just the late show being empty because everyone was tired or whatever. All three Fantasmic shows that night were light on crowds. All. Three. Disney scheduled for an onslaught and got a trickle instead.
For anyone who’s tried to see Fantasmic during a busy week, this is wild. People normally show up like 45 minutes early just to get decent seats. The amphitheater fills up. It’s a whole thing. Seeing it play to what looks like maybe a quarter capacity during the supposedly busiest week of the year? That’s not just unusual, that’s basically unheard of.
Most Annual Passholders Are Blocked Out Right Now
Here’s something to keep in mind though. Right now, Disney has blocked out most of their Annual Passholders from even entering the parks. The only passes that work during these dates are the Incredipass ones, which are basically the most expensive tier you can buy. Everyone else with an annual pass is sitting at home, blocked out specifically because Disney wanted to save room for all those vacation guests who book hotels and drop serious cash.
Which, you know, makes sense as a strategy when those vacation guests actually show up. But when they don’t? Well, now you’ve got empty seats at shows and nobody to fill them because you told all your regulars they can’t come. The passholders who might have filled those Fantasmic seats on a random Tuesday are blocked out, and the tourists Disney expected didn’t materialize in the numbers they planned for.
It’s like throwing a huge party, telling your local friends they can’t come because you’re expecting a bunch of out-of-town guests, and then the out-of-town guests just… don’t show up. Awkward.
The Magic Kingdom Parade Situation Is Equally Bizarre
And it’s not just Hollywood Studios dealing with this. Over at Magic Kingdom, another user called ThatOnePassholder shared video from the SECOND showing of Disney’s Starlight parade. You know, the parade they added specifically because they thought one showing wouldn’t be enough for all the people who’d want to watch it.
Interesting…. pic.twitter.com/7AU7JLd4hA
— ThatOnePassholder (@That1Passholder) December 28, 2025
The parade route in the video? Basically empty. There are like, maybe a handful of people scattered around in viewing areas that should be absolutely packed. We’re talking spots where families normally post up an hour before the parade even starts, spreading out their blankets and snacks like they’re settling in for a camping trip.
Anyone who’s been to Magic Kingdom during a busy week knows the parade viewing situation. Cast members have to close off sections because too many people show up. You’re lucky if you can squeeze into a standing spot with a partial view. Little kids sit on their parents’ shoulders because there’s literally no other way to see over the crowd.
This year? You could apparently just walk up and have your pick of spots. During Christmas week. At Magic Kingdom. Make it make sense.
So What’s Actually Happening Here?
Look, Disney’s operations teams aren’t amateurs. They’ve been doing this for decades. They have all the data about when crowds show up and how many people to expect. They added that third Fantasmic show, scheduled the second parade, staffed up across the resort, and made all these operational decisions based on years of historical patterns and advance booking information.
And then the crowds just… didn’t show up as expected. Or at least not nearly as many as they planned for.
Is this a one-week fluke? Are people changing how they vacation? Is the economy making people rethink expensive holiday trips? Did everyone collectively decide to go somewhere else this year? Your guess is as good as ours. What we do know is that guests in the parks right now are documenting something pretty unusual, and Disney’s got a lot of entertainment capacity that’s not being used the way they anticipated.
For people actually at Disney World this week, this is probably fantastic news. Shorter lines, easy access to shows, no stress about finding parade spots. Living the dream, honestly. But for Disney’s planning folks? This is probably sparking some serious conversations about how they forecast attendance for these peak periods going forward. Because if the busiest week of the year isn’t actually that busy anymore, that changes a whole lot of assumptions about how to run the parks.
