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Christmas Eve Brings Long Lines and Strained Operations at Disney World’s Magic Kingdom

After a relatively moderate pre-Christmas week, wait-time spikes and select ride closures signaled a full holiday surge with pressure on crowd flow and services.

Overview

  • TRON Lightcycle Run reached about 130 minutes at midday, with Space Mountain and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train near 65 minutes and Peter Pan’s Flight and Jingle Cruise around 60 minutes.
  • Haunted Mansion and The Barnstormer were temporarily closed, redirecting guests and contributing to longer queues at other attractions.
  • Reporters on the ground noted dense walkways and bottlenecks, including some guest accounts of prolonged delays to exit the park after nighttime entertainment.
  • Several classic experiences posted minimal waits, such as PeopleMover, Carousel of Progress and Mickey’s PhilharMagic, indicating demand concentrated on headliners and seasonal offerings.
  • Other parks showed moderate-to-high waits, and outlets advised arriving early, using Lightning Lane where available, rotating in low-wait attractions and planning breaks to cope with peak crowds.