PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 7/25/20 (Large Crowds and Long Lines, Characters Galore, New Merchandise, and More)

Kevin Lake

Cinderella Castle and Main Street at Magic Kingdom

PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 7/25/20 (Large Crowds and Long Lines, Characters Galore, New Merchandise, and More)

Greetings from a relatively crowded Magic Kingdom! While we are early into our time with the “new normal” at Walt Disney World, each day presents some new changes and adjustments. Today is no different, with some exceptionally long lines and waits when compared with the last two weeks. We also found some new merchandise and had lots of character sightings. Let’s head in and take a look.

Main Street Cinderella Castle 7 25 20
Cinderella Castle Makeover Lifts 7 25 20
Cinderella Castle 7 25 20

If pictures of Cinderella Castle a priority for you during your visits, weekends have been the best time during the castle makeover as the crews generally take the weekends off. The lifts are still present in the moat but are not visible in most castle pictures.

Evil Stepsisters at Cinderella Castle 7 25 20

The rear of the aforementioned castle holds the first of our many character interactions today, starting with the Evil Stepsisters, Anastasia, and Drizella.

Goofy Character Cavalcade 7 25 20 2
Goofy Character Cavalcade 7 25 20

We also had an opportunity to catch “A Goofy Cavalcade” rolling down Main Street USA.

Aurora Character Cavalcade 7 25 20 1
Cinderella on Character Cavalcade 7 25 20
Jasmine on Character Cavalcade 7 25 20
Merida Character Cavalcade 7 25 20
Rapunzel Character Cavalcade 7 25 20

As part of the Royal Princess Processional, we were able to interact with classic Princesses such as Aurora and Cinderella, as well as more recent ones like Jasmine, Merida, and Rapunzel.

Tinkerbell in Character Cavalcade 7 25 20

Tinkerbell also has her own occasional procession through Frontierland, Liberty Square, the Hub, and down Main Street.

Brer Bear Plush Splashdown Photos 7 25 20 1
Brer Bear Plush Splashdown Photos 7 25 20 2

Moving onto merchandise, Br’er Bear was the sole piece of Splash Mountain merch available in the park today.

Beauty and the Beast Spatula Set 7 25 20

Taking a look at new items, this Cogsworth and Lumiere spatula set makes its debut at The Emporium on Main Street. The set retails for $19.99.

New Neon Shirt 7 25 20
New Neon Tank 7 25 20 1
New Neon Tank 7 25 20 2

Also at The Emporium, these bright tops have been added to the ever-expanding neon line of apparel.

Dug UP Hat 7 25 20 1
Dug UP Hat 7 25 20 2

At The Chapeau, this Up hat has made an appearance, and features Dug on the side of the headwear. It sells for $27.99.

Jungle Cruise Skipper Hat 7 25 20 1

On a similar note, this Jungle Cruise Skipper hat has cruised into Plaza del Sol Caribe Bazaar – better known as the Pirates of the Caribbean exit shop. Like the Up hat, it also sells for $27.99.

Youth Splatter Spirit Jersey 7 25 20 1
Youth Splatter Spirit Jersey 7 25 20 2

Rounding out the new items, this youth “splatter” Spirit Jersey is now available on Main Street USA at The Emporium. It features similar styling to the adult version which debuted last month.

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad Wait Time 7 25 20 1
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Wait Time 7 25 20
Splash Mountain Wait Time 7 25 20
Splash Mountain Line 7 25 20

Today held some significant wait times, generally longer than anything that has been seen at the Magic Kingdom since its reopening.

Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin Line 7 25 20
Carousel of Progress Line 7 25 20
Space Mountain Physically Distanced Line 7 25 20
Astro Orbiter New Queue Rope 7 25 20

In Tomorrowland, lines were noticeably longer than they have been in days past. Even at Astro Orbiter, a new rope was being rolled out to add to the queue during the day.

its a small world Physically Distanced Line 7 25 20
its a small world Physically Distanced Line 7 25 20 2
its a small world Physically Distanced Line 7 25 20 3 1

At “it’s a small world”, the line extended beyond temporary masking tape markings that had been added, leaving guests to do their best to physically distance and direct the line from that point.

Jungle Cruise Line 7 25 20
Pirates of the Carribean Line 7 25 20

Pirates of the Caribbean and Jungle Cruise had similar situations to “it’s a small world”.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train Line 7 25 20

While Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had a long line, this one was prepared in advance for far more guests than ended up being needed. Since the reopening of the Magic Kingdom, the queue has been configured to wrap entirely around the attraction if demand called for it.

Tom Sawyer Island Return Line 7 25 20

Even at Tom Sawyer Island, the line to catch a raft back to Frontierland was long for the island. Each raft being limited to three parties, with only one raft operating at the time, contributed to the backup.

Tomorrowland Speedway 7 25 20

A few attractions, such as Tomorrowland Speedway, have options for increasing capacity. Today, three of the four tracks were used, whereas only one has been in use most of the time since reopening.

PeopleMover Closed 7 25 20 1
PeopleMover Closed 7 25 20 2

Unfortunately, the Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover’s continued downtime is not helping with capacity constraints and reducing wait times elsewhere in the park.

Mask Policy Signage Magic Kingdom 7 25 20 1 1
Mask Policy Signage Magic Kingdom 7 25 20 2
Mask Policy Signage Magic Kingdom 7 25 20 3

The park is seeing changes in other ways as well. Similar to what we recently saw in EPCOT, signage is going up around the Magic Kingdom to remind guests that walking without a mask, for any reason, is not allowed.

TRON Lightcycle Run Construction 7 25 20 1
TRON Lightcycle Run Construction 7 25 20 2

Rounding out our day with a few construction updates, TRON Lightcycle Run is making slow progress. Not many differences are visible since our most recent update on the project, unfortunately.

Magic Kingdom City Hall Scrim 7 25 20

Similarly, City Hall off of Main Street has been hidden behind scaffolding and scrim since well before the closure of the park.

Grand Floridian Walkway Construction 7 25 20 1 1
Grand Floridian Walkway Construction 7 25 20 2
Grand Floridian Walkway Construction 7 25 20 3

Finally, and thankfully a bit different than TRON Lightcycle Run and City Hall, the walkway from Disney’s Grand Floridian Resort & Spa is making much more progress than those other two projects. While our most recent update on it goes into greater detail, the key point is that crews seem to be furiously working to complete this long-awaited walkway.

Thanks for joining us today as we toured the Magic Kingdom! Are you surprised to see crowds, and lines, growing as quickly as they have since the reopening? Let us know in the comments!

7 thoughts on “PHOTO REPORT: Magic Kingdom 7/25/20 (Large Crowds and Long Lines, Characters Galore, New Merchandise, and More)”

  1. I’ve never been to Disney World and had a family trip planned for over a year. So when Covid hit we were still unsure when they reopened..but it ended up being the best decision to go. Not only was there the obvious, less people and social distancing, but everywhere you walked or turned there was a hand sanitizing machine for guests to use. They are very strict on your mask staying above your nostrils and what kind of mask you can come in with. The wait times were nothing compared to what they probably would be on a normal visit and that made being able to see and ride what you wanted so much easier and better. We got on Space Mountain, got off and rode it again in about a total of maybe 25 mins. Our park hopper tickets turned into 4 days, one day per park, so that was nice because you definitely get more for your money. Overall good job Disney for being extremely cautious for your guests ❤️

  2. We were there on the 25th and though the time said 45 minutes on several of the rides, the actual time was only 15-25 as I timed them. Crowd was larger than the week before but in many places still felt so empty. The social distancing that guest are rather impressively adhering to is wonderful.

  3. Was thinking of heading there soon, but very bummed to see the long wait times and so many closed attractions =\ I thought they were keeping capacity at a minimum? This seems to contradict that a bit. Thanks for keeping us informed..

  4. We were just there at all 4 parks. Not crowded in my opinion. Weekends are more crowded as to be expected, but still not crowded.

  5. We were there also the day these photos were taken. 😊 It was rather nice having much shorter lines. That day was a litte more crowded I think due to it being a Saturday of coarse. The days before during the week the Attractions were basically walk on or max 5-10 mins. Most of the estimated wait times on the signs Sat. weren’t accurate. 65 min was really about 30 or so. It was awesome to finally see more characters and small parades Saturday also . It was such a great time for our family. We made so many magical memories. Disney did a great job with sanitizing, social distancing, quick entry through the temp checks. Making hand sanitizer available everywhere. I didn’t see one person not being respectful of the guidelines. And wearing a mask really wasnt a bother at all. It was a great experience.

  6. Is this real? Or a spoof? The entire thing is insane and beyond irresponsible. Criminally reckless would be an understatement right now.

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