It’s mid-June, and summer is in full swing for guests heading to Walt Disney World. With Father’s Day weekend just passing, it’s the perfect time to take the family to Disney World for some fun.
But there’s a problem with that narrative: according to social media posts and wait times posted on the MyDisney Experience app, Disney World has been slow to start the summer.
There’s the obvious reason for this early summer slowdown: with so much construction happening at all the parks, there’s little reason to go and very few new attractions to draw in larger crowds. However, Disney World tried to counter that argument by offering huge pricing discounts, and that argument doesn’t take into account some of the larger issues that Disney World could be facing this summer.
Recession indicator, theme park edition. pic.twitter.com/v71gKHwmFH
— Theme Park Bar (@ThemeParkBar) June 15, 2025
Disney World is facing a three-pronged set of issues right now that could potentially point to a very slow summer beyond just construction.
1. Recession Fears
Despite the discounts, Disney World is still very expensive for a family, even just for a day. Disney World had a chance to address these price issues before releasing its 2025 pricing, but instead, it chose to continue to raise prices.
While Disney CEO Bob Iger and Head of Disney Parks Josh D’Amaro continue to say it isn’t the pricing; it’s the pricing. Disney failed to realize the larger economic issues facing Americans.
While inflation has cooled, prices are still high, and many families struggle to make ends meet. Most families would have planned a Disney World summer vacation in 2024 when inflation was sky-high, and there were uncertainties about when it would come down.
That makes it more challenging to afford luxuries like a Disney World vacation.
2. It’s Hot
Yes, it’s hot in Florida in the summer, but nothing like this. This weekend, Central Florida saw near-record-high heat indexes and temperatures, and it was raining so hard that guests couldn’t see the Contemporary Hotel from the Magic Kingdom monorail station.
Guests heading to Florida in the summertime already know this, but people just don’t want to deal with it. Why not wait until September or October to head to Disney World, when things start to cool down and spend your summer months at the beach?
3. Epic May Not Be Good For Everyone
Despite what Disney executives tried to convince themselves, perhaps Epic Universe isn’t going to be good for Disney World. While Disney World saw down wait times this weekend, Epic Universe was pretty crowded.
It appears that many people waited for the opening-weeks hype around Epic to calm down before they headed to the park for the first time or back for a second visit.
This is not a good sign for Disney. Rather than splitting their vacations, guests simply cut back and head to the new park with new rides and attractions.
Outlook
None of this bodes well for Disney World’s summer. Apparently, “Cool Kid Summer” isn’t enough to bring families into the parks.
Disney underestimated some of the economic and environmental factors that are out of its control. However, waiting until months before Epic Universe opened to announce and start building new rides and attractions was within Disney’s control, and they blew it.
This was magic kingdom tonight pic.twitter.com/C5mt5BYo5z
— Disneyfreak309 (@disneyfreak309) June 16, 2025
If this keeps up, Disney World can expect yet another slow summer, boiling away under the Florida sun.
How have the crowds been during your recent trips to Disney World? Let us know in the comments.
The post Disney World Was Empty This Weekend, A Sign of Things To Come appeared first on Inside the Magic.
