A heads-up on wait times....

[KingLlama]

Just got back from a long weekend trip to WDW, and noticed that some of the posted wait times were way off. A 15-minute posted wait time for IASW actually ended up being 30 minutes(and there weren't any breakdowns or stalls, it was just that long of a line).

On the flip side, a 65-minute posted wait time for Peter Pan's Flight ended up being only 30 minutes.

Bottom line....while they're accurate MOST of the time, the wait times on the app(and on the signs outside the attraction) aren't always that close. Sometimes that will work against you, sometimes it'll work in your favor. Just make sure you add your own eye test to whatever number you see posted.

 

[DrFacilier]

Just got back from a long weekend trip to WDW, and noticed that some of the posted wait times were way off. A 15-minute posted wait time for IASW actually ended up being 30 minutes(and there weren't any breakdowns or stalls, it was just that long of a line).

On the flip side, a 65-minute posted wait time for Peter Pan's Flight ended up being only 30 minutes.

Bottom line....while they're accurate MOST of the time, the wait times on the app(and on the signs outside the attraction) aren't always that close. Sometimes that will work against you, sometimes it'll work in your favor. Just make sure you add your own eye test to whatever number you see posted.

When we went in October the wait times were way off.

 

[AngiTN]

They have always been wrong more than right. What makes Touring Plans pay for itself in one trip

 

[jodybird511]

Do tell, AngiTN--Touring Plans has super accurate wait times? I've never used them in all our years of going, so I'm interested to hear. I'd agree that wait times posted are often inaccurate, but we've taken enough trips at this point to often be able to eyeball certain lines and just "know" if the posted time is accurate or not.

 

[rteetz]

They have always been wrong more than right. What makes Touring Plans pay for itself in one trip

I will say TP isn’t always right either though. I did enjoy using the app for the first time in March but in the case of FoP the posted time was right and the TP time was not.

 

[AngiTN]

Do tell, AngiTN--Touring Plans has super accurate wait times? I've never used them in all our years of going, so I'm interested to hear. I'd agree that wait times posted are often inaccurate, but we've taken enough trips at this point to often be able to eyeball certain lines and just "know" if the posted time is accurate or not.

No. Not super accurate. I'd venture to say super accurate is dang near impossible. Crowds move too fast for anything to update enough to be super accurate.
At least TP includes user data of how long people have waited. That's about as good as it gets in my opinion. Plus it also gives you the Disney app data side by side

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I have noticed that TP and MDE have had wait times that are markedly different several times when I've been looking the last two weeks. In our prior trips we've found that TP isn't always right in those cases (sometimes Disney had added or removed capacity) but for our trip next week I'll err on the side of believing TP (and my own eyes). Thanks for the heads up.

 

[wfjny]

Keep in mind, think of a low capacity ride, like Peter Pan, that can handle about 750 people per hour. You see there is a 1 hour wait, and there are about 750 people on line. In other words, the time is accurate. Now, 2 minutes before you get on line, a Brazilian tour group of 125 kids gets on line ahead of you. All of a sudden, that wait is 15 minutes longer, but there has been no opportunity to update the time.

Or the reverse. Same situation, a one hour wait, and 750 people on line. But now, since the parade is about to start, for the past 15 minutes, only 10 more people have joined the line. No time yet to adjust the wait. you arrive, see the 60 minute wait, but wind up only waiting 45 minutes.

Nor think of something like Sorin that can handle over 1800 people per hour. that is 600 per screen. Well, that capacity can change very quickly if there is an issue with one theater (Mechanical, sick person, stuck/slow moving person, etc.). So, that capacity can change in an instant from 1800+ per hour to 1200+ or even 600+. And that ride has three sides. Now think of a ride with only two or one track.

Having said all of that, I am normally impressed by how much Disney does update the times, and my experience would be that most of the time, my wait has been somewhat shorter than the posted time.

 

[dwheaton]

Like others have said the Lines app from Touring Plans is a lot more accurate. They'll listed the posted wait time but also the expected time. Sometimes these are really different in either direction.