EPCOT saw a dramatic shift in crowds this week after reports circulated that the park had become unusually empty following an early closure. After being abruptly cut short on Wednesday, May 21, guests flocked to the park in droves on Thursday, May 22, leading to a sudden spike in attendance.
EPCOT’s early closure on Wednesday was the result of a private buyout for the 2025 SAP Sapphire & ASUG Annual Conference Orlando. Instead of staying open until 9:00 p.m., the park shut its doors at 5:30 p.m. to accommodate the event, which ran from 7:30 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. This closure came on the heels of the sudden cancellation of EPCOT’s Luminous The Symphony of Us fireworks show on Tuesday, which had already left many visitors disappointed.
The surprise early closure left guests with single-park tickets scrambling for alternate plans. Many chose to visit Magic Kingdom Park, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, or Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park instead. Some Annual Passholders and Park Hopper guests still made their way to EPCOT, but the park was far emptier than usual.
Reddit user u/Tedanyaki shared their calm EPCOT experience on Wednesday, posting a photo from Living with the Land with no other passengers:
Epcot is so busy we got an entire living with the land boat to ourselves.
Epcot is so busy we got an entire living with the land boat to ourselves.
byu/Tedanyaki inWaltDisneyWorld
But on Thursday, EPCOT saw a massive influx of crowds. As word spread that the park was once again open with its usual attractions, families and visitors who had missed the fireworks show two nights in a row flooded in. Redditor u/hollysk8 noted: “EPCOT [is] absolutely mobbed today. 25-minute wait for Living with the Land. Remy’s is down and my lightning lane redemption pass cannot be used for Frozen? Ugh!”
Other Disney Parks fans weighed in with similar experiences.
“Everyone who decided not to go to EPCOT yesterday due to it closing at 5:30 is going today,” u/harmacist87 wrote. “If you ever see a park has an early closing, like MK for party nights, and you don’t care about seeing fireworks, go to the park that day. The park will be way less crowded, and you will probably get more done in that shorter timeframe than you would with the full day.”
“Was at EPCOT yesterday and it was a ghost town,” u/SlurnieKosar replied. “Hopped to MK for fireworks and it was jam-packed. I figured EPCOT would play catch up today.”
When do you visit Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, Disney’s Hollywood Studios, and Disney’s Animal Kingdom Theme Park to avoid the crowds? Let Disney Dining know in the comments!
