Update: This Post Out of Date
This post was used to provide updates as changes at Magic Kingdom continued to develop. Now, as of mid-April, we’ve passed all the immediate changes, and our other content has been updated. This post will no longer be updated. The information on this page has been integrated into the following pages:
Original Post
In this post, we’re going to discuss some of the changes coming to Magic Kingdom in early 2023. Specifically, We’re going to be focused on the first four months of the year—January through April. More specifically, the bulk of this post is concerned with how the Splash Mountain closure and TRON debut will impact the park. Read on to learn what you need to know about Magic Kingdom to start this year!
TRON at Shanghai Disneyland (Photo NOT Magic Kingdom)
About This Post + Related Posts
This post supplements our other Magic Kingdom content. Because there are multiple changes happening in a relatively short time, it makes sense to have this separate post to deal with this period. Those posts still remain mostly accurate, but this post explains what’s going to be different during this specific time. This post will probably also be updated as any new details arise. This post assumes basic familiarity with Early Entry, rope drop, and Genie+.
The core Magic Kingdom posts you’ll want to read (if you haven’t already) are:
Finally, much of the touring content in this post is speculative. Yes, we know changes that Disney has confirmed, but we can only make educated guesses about how those changes will impact crowds, touring, and Genie+.
With all that context in mind, let’s move on to the specifics of early 2023.
Key Dates at Magic Kingdom Early 2023
Here are the key events we’re talking about in this post:
January 22 — Last day of operations for Splash Mountain
January 23 — Splash Mountain closed permanently
March 20 — TRON Lightcycle / Run “Soft Opening” Begins (new)
March 31 — Last day of 50th Anniversary Celebrations
April 2 — Last day of Disney Enchantment
April 3 — Happily Ever After Returns
April 3 — No TRON “Soft Opening” Today (new)
April 4 — TRON Lightcycle / Run debuts
We’ll talk about these events individually to explain how they might impact crowds, touring, and Genie+ strategy. But first, one last “note.”
Important: How to Help Yourself
While it’s hard to know what to expect immediately when something at the park changes, once a few days pass there’s a good way to see what’s going on—Thrill Data. The Thrill Data website has a wealth of information, including historical wait time, Genie+ availability, and Individual Lightning Lane availability.
In this post we make educated guests for what will happen on, for example, April 4 when TRON opens. If you’re visiting on April 11, though, you’ve got a week’s worth of real world information you can look at over on Thrill Data. Don’t just trust our pre-TRON guesses. (Note: Since TRON will soft open from March 20 through April 2, the data during that timeframe will also be informative.)
We hope to update this post (or our core Magic Kingdom posts) once these critical dates pass, but you should know Thrill Data is a great tool in the interim (and indeed, even once we’ve made our updates).
Splash Mountain Closure
Splash Mountain has closed, and the new Tiana ride won’t open until late 2024. Without Splash Mountain, this side of the park simplifies greatly. In fact, you’ve only got five rides on this side of the park to manage now:
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Pirates of the Caribbean
Magic Carpets of Aladdin
We’ve had a few weeks without Splash Mountain and some trends are starting to sort themselves out. That said, things still haven’t completely settled. Let’s talk about what we’re seeing so far (this is all information you can see over on Thrill Data, which I highly recommend). We’ll cover rope drop strategy first before moving onto Genie+.
Rope Drop Without Splash Mountain
We never advocated going to Splash Mountain first because the ride is too long. We preferred a quick ride on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad before heading to Splash. The last few years, Jungle Cruise’s popularity has made it a fine pick for that side of the park, too. Remember, you can read more in our Magic Kingdom Rope Drop and Early Entry Guide.
Jungle Cruise is still a fine first pick, but (for reasons discussed in that rope drop post) you might have a strategy where you’re starting with something in Frontierland or Liberty Square. So let’s talk about how things are shaping up in those lands.
The big question on this side of the park is “if you aren’t starting with Jungle Cruise, should you start with Big Thunder or Haunted Mansion?” And our answer is—start with Haunted Mansion.
Overall Haunted Mansion is usually seeing waits go up a little earlier than Big Thunder Mountain, even though Big Thunder tends to have the higher average wait for the entire day. Big Thunder is also slightly more popular on Genie+. In a broad sense, these rides have pretty similar wait profiles when it comes to planning your day.
All that said, the final choice comes down to simple geography. It makes a lot more sense to start at Haunted Mansion. If it’s down or you trip and fall and get beaten there by a huge crowd surge, you can go to Big Thunder. If you ride Haunted Mansion, you can head to Big Thunder second. If the wait is long when you get there, you have Pirates of the Caribbean nearby as a backup.
Genie+ Without Splash Mountain
On the Genie+ front, Splash Mountain was always hard to pin down. On summer or even warm winter days, the ride drew a lot of crowds. On cooler days, it could be one of the least popular rides in the park.
In any case, Splash Mountain was rarely worthy of a first Genie+ pick. Now that it’s gone, you’ll still be thinking about Peter Pan’s Flight, Jungle Cruise, or Space Mountain for your first Genie+ pick. You can read more about those options in our Magic Kingdom Genie+ Guide.
Peter Pan’s Flight and Jungle Cruise remain the top Lightning Lanes (of rides*). With the asterisk—unrelated to anything in this post—that the newly returned Ariel greeting is extremely popular at the moment.
TRON “Soft Opening” Begins March 20
TRON is now in a “soft opening” phase from March 20 through April 2. It will be closed April 3 before officially opening April 4. (HT to Scott Gustin.)
The important details on the soft opening are:
TRON is using a virtual queue during the soft opening
TRON is on Individual Lightning Lane during the soft opening
The virtual queue opens at 7AM for guests with reservations for Magic Kingdom and 1PM for guests inside Magic Kingdom.
For a “soft opening” you should be prepared for the ride itself to be fully operational, but don’t be surprised if certain queue effects / experiences aren’t working all the time.
You also should be prepared for somewhat reduced capacity, which can manifest itself in two ways. First, it might be that the Individual Lightning Lane and virtual queue have lower capacity, making them very hard to book. Second, it might be that even if you book via one (or both) of those methods, the ride can’t accommodate you. In the case of an Individual Lightning Lane, you’d be entitled to a refund.
We talk more about TRON, including strategy for getting on the ride, below.
Entertainment Changes March 31 through April 3
That was…a lot. But now we get to relax for a bit. The next set of changes aren’t going to be huge for touring the park, but I want to mention them anyway:
March 31 — Last day of 50th Anniversary Celebrations
April 2 — Last day of Disney Enchantment
April 3 — Happily Ever After Returns
I don’t expect much special in the park on March 31. Probably the last running of Mickey’s Celebration Cavalcade will have more crowds along Main Street. Mickey’s greeting at Town Square Theater will also have long lines (and less Genie+ availability) as people hope to see him in his 50th outfit for the last time.
April 2 and April 3 will have large crowds at night, particularly April 3. Expect the return of Happily Ever After to bring every local guest onto Main Street the night of April 3. Since nighttime shows are after park hopping begins at 2PM, guests who can get a reservation at any of the four parks will be able to head into Magic Kingdom to see the return of the beloved show.
TRON Lightcycle / Run Officially Debuts April 4
It used to be rides debuted with a BANG. Crowds packing the gates at 5AM, parks staying open for 60 hours straight, and that one family that has absolutely no idea what’s going on. Things have changed.
Will TRON use a virtual queue?
TRON uses a virtual queue for the soft opening and will continue to use one once it “officially” opens April 4.
The virtual queue will have the usual openings at 7AM (for guests with Parks Pass reservations at Magic Kingdom) and 1PM (for guests inside Magic Kingdom). We’re not going to go into the minutia of using a virtual queue in this post. A Google search for “guardians virtual queue” should provide sufficient information for how that virtual queue works (which is how we expect the TRON virtual queue will work).
Will TRON have an Individual Lightning Lane?
TRON will have an Individual Lightning Lane available for purchase. If you’re staying at a Disney hotel, this will be available for purchase at 7AM. If not, you’ll have to hope for some availability at the time the park opens.
What should I do at 7AM?
A guest at a Disney hotel with a reservation for Magic Kingdom and Genie+ purchased will potentially have four things to do at 7AM:
join the TRON virtual queue
buy a TRON Individual Lightning Lane
make your first Genie+ selection
buy another Individual Lightning Lane
(If you aren’t a Disney hotel guest, you won’t be able to buy the Individual Lightning Lane at 7AM. You’d instead have to wait until the park opens, at which time you shouldn’t expect there to be availability. You’d instead want to focus on the 7AM and 1PM virtual queue openings. You should still at least check for Individual Lightning Lane availability when it opens to you, though.)
Here’s how we’re approaching the situation as a Disney hotel guest now that the ride has begun its soft open (this section contains information on what you should do, but this isn’t a step-by-step ‘how to use the Disney app to buy a Lightning Lane’ guide)…
Early in its soft opening, the virtual queue is running out within seconds, while the Individual Lightning Lane sales are lasting minutes. Theoretically, this would allow you to cover these tasks in the following order:
Try to Join Virtual Queue for TRON
Make first Genie+ selection
Buy Individual Lightning Lane for TRON
Buy another Individual Lightning Lane
I think this is the most balanced approach, and it’s what I’d do if I were in the park tomorrow. There’s a small risk that the Individual Lightning Lanes sell out before you get to that step. So far, that hasn’t been an issue. And even if Individual Lightning Lanes weren’t available at 7:01AM, it’s usually the case that space will pop up over the next 15 minutes because not everyone will actually complete that booking. If I knew immediately that I’d be fine paying for TRON, I’d start by making my first Genie+ pick, skipping the virtual queue.
If TRON is really the highest priority for you, then just accept that you have to pay for it first, and book the Individual Lightning Lane right at 7AM. Your Genie+ pick will be a little worse than if you started with that, but Magic Kingdom is a big park—you can make it work with a little effort.
Finally, keep in mind that if you fail to get the virtual queue, you can still try to get in it at 1PM.
Very Important Note About Individual Lightning Lanes
All guests can buy two Individual Lightning Lanes (only once for each ride, though) each day. You can buy Individual Lightning Lanes at any park. Disney hotel guests can make these purchases at 7AM. Other guests can buy the Individual Lightning Lane for a ride at the time the park containing that ride opens. As of this update, we now know that Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will keep an Individual Lightning Lane once TRON debuts.
The important thing I want to note here is that even if TRON sells out immediately, there’s some chance of times reappearing between 7AM and 7:15AM. Theoretically it can reappear at any time of day, but in these first few minutes families will be scrambling to join the virtual queue or make their decisions about the day. If someone selects a time but then abandons it, you might have a chance to grab it.
What you don’t want to do is fail to get TRON at 7AM and immediately decide you’ll buy Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and then Guardians of the Galaxy Cosmic Rewind (at Epcot, because you’re park hopping I guess). Now you’ve used your two Individual Lightning Lane purchases, and you won’t have a shot at TRON if it shows back up at 7:05AM.
What will happen to Seven Dwarfs Mine Train’s Lightning Lane?
Seven Dwarfs Mine Train will remain as an Individual Lightning Lane when TRON debuts, though we’ll have to see how long that lasts as no other parks currently have two Individual Lightning Lanes.
How will this impact Genie+?
Because Seven Dwarfs Mine Train isn’t moving to Genie+ yet, we don’t expect any impact to Genie+ at this point.
How Will This Impact Rope Drop?
Since TRON is using a virtual queue / Individual Lightning Lane and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train is staying as an Individual Lightning Lane, we don’t expect any significant rope drop impacts from the debut of TRON. Guests getting off the ride, or guests just curious about seeing the building / store will bring increased crowds to Tomorrowland.
All Your Other Disney World Planning Questions Answered
Don't be overwhelmed by Disney World planning! Take a second to check out our most important content and you'll not only be an expert, but you'll save big $$$ along the way.
Just starting out? Check out our Walt Disney World planning guide! If you're still picking dates, we've got everything you need to know about Disney World crowd calendars. For picking your hotel, check out our Walt Disney World hotels guide.
When it comes time to book we’ll help you find discount Disney World tickets. Decide whether you need a dining plan in our Complete Guide to Disney World Dining Plans! And don't forget to book those Disney World Advance Dining Reservations!
Don't forget to master your Disney World Genie+ and Lightning Lane strategy a few months in advance. We'll keep you out of long lines so you can maximize the magical time in the parks! We've got park-specific guides as well: Magic Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Epcot Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, Animal Kingdom Genie+ and Lightning Lanes, and Hollywood Studios Genie+ and Lightning Lanes.
Know what to ride with our guides to: Magic Kingdom rides, Hollywood Studios rides, Epcot rides, and Animal Kingdom rides! Plus learn about the water parks with our guide to Blizzard Beach and our guide to Typhoon Lagoon! And for some some fun prep, check out our Ranking of Every Ride at Walt Disney World.
Finally, before you head out, be sure to check out our to-the-point packing list, 10 essentials you forget to pack for every Disney trip. And if you're interested in saving, there's no better list than our 53 Ways to Save on your Disney trip from start to finish.