Are you wondering what is the best day to go to Magic Kingdom in your Disney World itinerary? In this guide we will discuss the best day of the week for magic kingdom based on traditional crowds, costs and of course special events.
Is there a Best Day of the week to go to Magic Kingdom?
What is the best day to go to Magic Kingdom to Avoid Crowds
Note: Although below we will discuss the best day to go to Magic Kingdom to avoid crowds, we have found that since 2022 there really is no none crowded day and as more people follow this advice the best day of the week can change. We will do our best to follow wait times and crowd levels for the days of the week but this should be considered rough guidance not a definitive promise for less crowds.
Monday at Magic Kingdom
You might think that Monday has the potential to be the best day of the week for magic kingdom however I don’t think Monday is a great day and I will tell you why.
Although Monday is not a weekend day, you will find that many people will come to the parks Friday through Monday as part of a long weekend visit to Disney World. Therefore you will still see some of the weekend crowds around on a Monday.
Also if you arrive at the weekend or plan for your first day in the parks to be a Monday, you will find that many people will pick to start in Magic Kingdom.
The reason for this is the Magic Kingdom is the most traditional of all parks and many people chose to spend their first day in the park seeing the beautiful Disney castle. Therefore it is best to avoid Monday if you can as the crowds can be large on Mondays. Note: if you do get some good snaps of the castle be sure to check out our best Instagram Captions for Magic Kingdom.
In fact, in both my experience in the parks and also from tracking the ride times and character meet and greets at Magic Kingdom over many months I would say that Monday is actually one of the busiest if not the busiest day in Magic Kingdom.
If you have a choice, I would avoid Magic Kingdom on a Monday as this is the worst day to visit Magic Kingdom in my opinion.
Next read: how many days do you need at magic kingdom.
Tuesday at Magic Kingdom
While Monday tends to be the busiest day at Magic Kingdom I would say from both personal experience and tracking attraction wait times that Tuesday is the best day of the week to go to the Magic Kingdom.
The reason for this is that the people who arrive on a Sunday will pick to go to Magic Kingdom on a Monday, causing a dip on crowd levels on a Tuesday.
Wednesday at Magic Kingdom
As Wednesday is the middle of the working week, Wednesday also tends to be a middling sort of day crowd wise at Disney.
Therefore I would not say avoid Wednesday at all costs but you can typically expect moderate crowds levels on a Wednesday in Magic Kingdom.
Thursday at Magic Kingdom
After a Monday, my preference for the best day to go to Magic Kingdom is a Thursday.
Thursday tends to have low crowds as those people who have stayed for the week will be trying to get in the last park (and we know they tend to pick Monday for Magic Kingdom traditionally), and the weekend crowds and annual pass holders who work during the week haven’t arrived yet.
Friday at Magic Kingdom
Friday is a busy day at Magic Kingdom especially by comparison to Thursday. That is because you will find people who come for a long weekend will arrive and go straight to the parks on a Friday will flock to Magic Kingdom.
Also annual pass holders who live locally may decide to come into the park after school.
Saturday at Magic Kingdom
It should come as no surprise that Saturday is traditionally one of the busiest days of the week to go to Magic Kingdom.
The reason for this is because Saturday is a weekend day so you will get a combination of people on vacation, people coming for long weekends and also annual pass holders in the park.
Sunday for Magic Kingdom
As with Saturday, Sunday being a weekend day will cause the Magic Kingdom crowd to swell with a combination of vacationers, weekenders and of course locals and annual pass holders.
For a 2 week Orlando itinerary featuring Magic Kingdom check out this post.
Best Day of the Week for Magic Kingdom by Month
While the above is traditionally the ebb and flow of crowds at Magic Kingdom is is worth looking at the best day of the week by month as it will change depending on school vacations and public holidays.
Although you can look at crowd calendars to look at the relative crowds week on week there are certain days of the week in certain months you will want to avoid. They are:
- 3rd Monday in January – this tends to be Martin Luther King Day and some states offer this as a public holiday. Any public holiday will see crowds surge at Disney World regardless of the day of the week.
- Last Monday in May – this is Memorial Day and as this is a public holiday the crowds will swell in the Magic Kingdom.
- Juneteenth – whatever day this will fall will be very busy at Magic Kingdom as this is a federal holiday.
- 4th July – whatever day this is will be busy at Disney World
- 1st Monday in September – the 1st Monday in September tends to be Labor Day. This will make this Monday very busy.
- 3rd Thursday in November – Thanksgiving at Magic Kingdom at Disney World is VERY Busy and crowded. In fact is one of the busiest days of the year at Disney World. So although Thursdays are traditionally one of the least crowded days to go to Magic Kingdom this particular day should be avoided.
- Christmas – New Year – this will be very busy as children are not at school.
FAQS about what is the best day to visit magic kingdom
What is the least busy day to go to Magic Kingdom?
If you want to visit the Magic Kingdom on the least busy day then you should aim to enter the park on a Tuesday. After that Thursday would be my personal pick
Is it better to go to Magic Kingdom on a Sunday or Monday?
Both Mondays and Sundays at Magic Kingdom tend to be some of the busier days in the park. If I only had these two days as options for the Magic Kingdom I personally would choose to go on a Sunday over a Monday.
Should I go to Magic Kingdom on a party day?
The last time we were visiting Disney World and the Magic Kingdom more specifically was doing the Mickey’s Not so Scary Halloween Party.
I went back and forth over whether I should go to Magic Kingdom on a party day not knowing how the crowds would be affected by a party. And while the party will reduced the hours you can be in the park until c.6pm (please check times on the my disney app for confirmed opening hours on your date of visit), we find this reduced hours put a lot of people off coming into the park.
In fact when I checked wait times on party days before travel I saw that some of the big ticket attractions such as Princess and Mickey Mouse Meet and greets had a wait time of 10 minutes compared to 70 on adjacent dates.
Therefore if you aren’t fussed about seeing fireworks or are traveling to the Magic Kingdom with toddlers who like to have a bedtime routine and enjoy shorter queues then going to Magic Kingdom on a party day may be a perfect option for you. For a full guide on what to pack for Disney World with toddlers check out this post.
Personally, I would chose to go into Magic Kingdom on a party day over a non party day any day of the week.
What is the best day to go to magic kingdom?
In my opinion if you can chose any day to go into Magic Kingdom I would choose the days in this order:
- Thursday
- Tuesday
- Wednesday
- Friday
- Saturday or Sunday
- Monday
Have you been to the Magic Kingdom? What day did you go? Was it busy or not so crowded? We would love to know in the comments.