EPCOT guests reported “body to body” crowd chaos in the United Kingdom World Showcase Pavilion during one of the busiest New Year’s Eve celebrations at Walt Disney World Resort. Unmitigated congestion caused traffic in a portion of the Central Florida Disney park to grind to a standstill, causing a safety issue for thousands of guests.New Year’s Eve at Disney WorldCredit: DisneyNew Year’s Eve is one of the busiest days of the year at Walt Disney World Resort. Magic Kingdom Park, EPCOT, and Disney’s Hollywood Studios stay open until midnight, each offering its standard nighttime spectaculars alongside special fireworks shows and exclusive entertainment to ring in the New Year. Magic Kingdom Park often reaches capacity before noon, and EPCOT follows; Disney’s Hollywood Studios is usually the least popular of the three (but hardly empty!). Disney’s Animal Kingdom closes on time, as fireworks and other New Year’s Eve celebrations would disturb the wildlife that calls the theme park home.EPCOT Crowd ChaosMany of the EPCOT World Showcase Pavilions celebrate with music and other performances as the clock strikes twelve in each pavilion’s real-world counterpart. This was where the troubles began on Wednesday evening.Credit: DisneyX (formerly known as Twitter) user @bioreconstruct was walking through the EPCOT World Showcase shortly before 7:00 p.m. on December 31–hours before midnight in the United States, but moments before the United Kingdom welcomed the New Year. Thousands of guests flocked to the U.K. World Showcase Pavilion to celebrate the countdown to 2026 in London.The Disney Park guest shared this photo of the unsafe crowd bottleneck that caused a “body to body” standstill in the U.K. Pavilion:Safety problem in EPCOT New Year’s Eve celebration at United Kingdom pavilion. Large number of guests stopped in middle of the walkway minutes before 7pm to wait and then countdown midnight in London. Body to body congestion resulted. Safety problem in EPCOT New Year's Eve celebration at United Kingdom pavilion. Large number of guests stopped in middle of the walkway minutes before 7pm to wait and then countdown midnight in London.Body to body congestion resulted. pic.twitter.com/8XjXuYFmiW— bioreconstruct (@bioreconstruct) January 1, 2026It’s unclear whether anyone was injured during the congestion in the United Kingdom World Showcase Pavilion.Other Safety Issues at EPCOTCredit: Eric Lopez, FlickrAbout 30 minutes after the congestion in the U.K. World Showcase Pavilion, a physical fight broke out at EPCOT, requiring law enforcement intervention. Scanner monitoring account reported the call on X: Police Alert – 12/31/25 7:37 PM: Physical Fight at : Disney’s EPCOT#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney Police Alert – 12/31/25 7:37 PM: Physical Fight at : Disney's EPCOT#WaltDisneyWorld #Disney pic.twitter.com/BnGYHJHJh2— Walt Disney World: Active Calls (@WDWActiveCrime) January 1, 2026Emergency calls at Walt Disney World Resort theme parks and hotels are tracked at centralized addresses, rather than the exact location of the law enforcement response. The pinpoint at the center of EPCOT on the attached Google Maps screenshot doesn’t necessarily correspond to the area where officers intervened in the physical fight.Credit: Jeremy Thompson, FlickrIt’s unclear exactly what occurred in this incident, but those involved likely won’t see the countdown to midnight. Walt Disney World Resort security typically requests that local law enforcement issue trespass notices to guests who break the theme park rules, banning them from coming back to the Central Florida property for anywhere from one day to a lifetime.Have you ever spent New Year’s Eve at Walt Disney World Resort? Share your experience with Inside the Magic in the comments!The post Bodies Pile up at EPCOT During New Year’s Crowd Control Failure appeared first on Inside the Magic.