best app for wait time

[mom4scrapbooking]

We are heading to DL in a few weeks and with cars land and it being busy for summer. I am trying to make the most out of my time. What is the best accurate app for the park.

 

[zavandor]

I have used Mobile Magic, the official Disney app, and it's awesome.
It is the only app that gets data directly from the Disney system: so you'll see on your app exactly the same wait time that you would see on the boards outside the ride. Moreover you'll also be able to see the return times for fastpasses, so you can decide which Fast Pass get next before heading to the ride (very annoying to go to take a fast pass and it's not available any more).

I found that for rides that use the electronic system to update the wait time, the system is very accurate (all rides that use fast pass). For rides where the wait time is updated manually by a CM, the app is not updated real time (understandably).

The app also gets your position using GPS, so it will display the rides nearest you first in the list.

I would change only one thing: for the shows it will only display the time for the next show. So to know when is the second World of Color or the second Fantasmic! you must look at the time guide.

I've downloaded it from Google Play, I don't know if it's available also for Iphone.

 

[rtfelt]

I've used MouseWait, TouringPlans Lines, Ride Hopper, and even the Disney Mobile Magic (only available on Verizon). Ride Hopper and MouseWait depend completely on user input. MouseWait has a larger user base, so it's times are more accurate than Ride Hopper, but MouseWait never has times for any EE mornings (at least that I've been able to see, it always has "CL" by each ride), and it has a max input time of 135 minutes, so this last week when RSR was 240+ minutes, MW was very misleading. They also don't have single rider times or FP return times. They do have times for food lines--like for a Dole Whip, which is nice.

Disney MM has the posted times and the FP return times, but they don't show unless you're actually in that park. You can't even look to see what ToT in DCA lines looks like while standing in line for SM in DL. It's also incredibly difficult to read in the sunlight. What's also amazing is that even though it's supposedly tied to the system, it rarely shows "ride closed" in the app. It will show a wait time, then when I get to the ride it's been closed for 30 minutes and it hasn't been updated in Disney's own app. It's fairly accurate (not perfect like I think it should be) in showing the posted wait times, but I use it mostly for the FP return times, because it's the MOST accurate app for this.

In my experience TouringPlans Lines is the most accurate. It shows Expected Wait times (based on historical data, which is often more accurate than the posted time), the posted wait times (submitted by users), single rider times (estimated times for DL, posted for WDW), and FP return times (a combination of user input and historical data). Unfortunately this app is not free. There's a fee for use. You can buy for a week or a month or a year. However, I noticed that when I didn't renew it immediately for the next year, I could still access the wait times on my phone (maybe I was just lucky, but I did renew--to me it's totally worth it), I just couldn't access the future crowd estimates calendar, which isn't always accurate for DLR anyway.

I actually have all of them on my phone and switch around depending on what I'm trying to find out. I use the Disney MM for FP times and mostly TP for attraction lines.

 

[ArchOwl]

Mobile Magic is nice if you have Verizon, but if you have another carrier it doesn't display wait times. It also has an unfortunate problem of being limited to the park you are in. So when I am in DL, I can't check DCA wait times, etc.

Mousewait is pretty accurate and free. They have a large user database, so that gives them a leg up over other wait time apps.

Touring Plans has a Lines app, but it is not free. I find it to be generally good, although they seem to consistently under report wait times.

I generally will use a ride ordering system in the morning, such as Ridemax, to set me up for the rest of the day. In the evenings, I check Lines and/or Mousewait for showtimes and to see how the waits are.

 

[allyswan]

I swear by MouseWait, just because it's really easy to use and simple to understand. It lists wait times for the meet & greets as well, which, as far as I can tell, Mobile Magic does not. It also has a ton of other really useful information, like places where you can charge your phone, showtimes, and restrooms and food near you.

 

[figment_jii]

I also like MouseWait because it's free and shows you when the times were last updated.

I'm not on Verizon so Disney's MM isn't really very useful.

I've also used Disneyland Wait Times (free), but it doesn't display when the data was last updated.

I tried out the new MouseAddict app (affiliated with MouseChat), but I don't like the fact it only gives you bars (e.g., long red, short green). The bars are good for a quick visual, but there is no way to know if a long red means 30 minutes or 2 hours. I asked them about it and they said that it's a complicated math formula based on maximum observed times and current crowds. From that, it sounds like the length of the bar means different things for different rides.

Generally, I prefer to look at several apps to see what is the general trend/time.

 

[JadeDarkstar]

wait mousewait is free? hows it work ive never had any of these and didnt want to spend money but if its free

 

[ArchOwl]

wait mousewait is free? hows it work ive never had any of these and didnt want to spend money but if its free

Mousewait is a free app you can download to your smartphone. Mobile Magic is also free for your smartphone, but only works if you have Verizon.

 

[soniam]

We are on AT&T/iPhones and used Mobil Magic at WDW a couple of weeks ago. I swear that we were getting ride wait times. I could be confused though; it wouldn't be the first time.

I used Touring Plans at WDW as well. It shows historical and reported wait times. The reported wait times have to be reported by a user using this app, so not all attractions will have a reported wait time. They all have a historical wait time. I liked it. Plus, it let me view my personalized touring plan. My husband gritched, because it was slow to download over 4G. Everything seems to be on the server, so every time you go to a different page, it has to upload it again. I also like the detailed menus listed for every eatery.

We also used the WDW maps for VersaEdge. They also have a DL map. It showed the park map with attractions listed and corresponding wait times. I don't know where they were getting the wait times, but they seemed to match WDW's listed times most of the time. I think it also listed FP, but they may have been Mobil Magic. The map worked offline too.

 

[dalstitch45]

I used MM at WDW earlier this month. It worked exactly the way it was supposed to for wait times, FP return times, etc. I don't have Verizon. I have Sprint. I downloaded the app while I was there. Didn't think I was going to be able to use it, but was thrilled when it did. Can't wait to see what it does at DLR.

 

[DBMC]

I really like MouseWait.

 

[DisneytheKid]

Thanks for the info!

 

[mom4scrapbooking]

I have sprint. Any good ones for that? Wanting to try one at DL.

 

[TotalDreamer]

We are on AT&T/iPhones and used Mobil Magic at WDW a couple of weeks ago. I swear that we were getting ride wait times. I could be confused though; it wouldn't be the first time.

I used Touring Plans at WDW as well. It shows historical and reported wait times. The reported wait times have to be reported by a user using this app, so not all attractions will have a reported wait time. They all have a historical wait time. I liked it. Plus, it let me view my personalized touring plan. My husband gritched, because it was slow to download over 4G. Everything seems to be on the server, so every time you go to a different page, it has to upload it again. I also like the detailed menus listed for every eatery.

We also used the WDW maps for VersaEdge. They also have a DL map. It showed the park map with attractions listed and corresponding wait times. I don't know where they were getting the wait times, but they seemed to match WDW's listed times most of the time. I think it also listed FP, but they may have been Mobil Magic. The map worked offline too.

I just saw Mobile Magic in the itunes app store.

 

[Tasmen]

I have the official Mobile Magic app. I used a combination of that and TouringPlans when I went to WDW. Both were really good for there. I plan to use both on my upcoming trip to DL.

 

[Huff]

As others have said Disney's own Mobile Magic is Verizon only.

All other apps appear to rely on visitor input which to me is inaccurate. I'm there to enjoy the park with my family. I'm not going to sit and input times while touring the park!

Rather than an app, I use my phones browser and browse to Disney's own mobile website m.disneyland.go.com. It doesn't show actual wait times but does show if they are walk on, moderate or long waits. Also shows FP availability, show times, restaurants, character location times etc.

 

[PinkBudgie]

I've used MouseWait, TouringPlans Lines, Ride Hopper, and even the Disney Mobile Magic (only available on Verizon). Ride Hopper and MouseWait depend completely on user input. MouseWait has a larger user base, so it's times are more accurate than Ride Hopper, but MouseWait never has times for any EE mornings (at least that I've been able to see, it always has "CL" by each ride), and it has a max input time of 135 minutes, so this last week when RSR was 240+ minutes, MW was very misleading. They also don't have single rider times or FP return times. They do have times for food lines--like for a Dole Whip, which is nice.

Disney MM has the posted times and the FP return times, but they don't show unless you're actually in that park. You can't even look to see what ToT in DCA lines looks like while standing in line for SM in DL. It's also incredibly difficult to read in the sunlight. What's also amazing is that even though it's supposedly tied to the system, it rarely shows "ride closed" in the app. It will show a wait time, then when I get to the ride it's been closed for 30 minutes and it hasn't been updated in Disney's own app. It's fairly accurate (not perfect like I think it should be) in showing the posted wait times, but I use it mostly for the FP return times, because it's the MOST accurate app for this.

In my experience TouringPlans Lines is the most accurate. It shows Expected Wait times (based on historical data, which is often more accurate than the posted time), the posted wait times (submitted by users), single rider times (estimated times for DL, posted for WDW), and FP return times (a combination of user input and historical data). Unfortunately this app is not free. There's a fee for use. You can buy for a week or a month or a year. However, I noticed that when I didn't renew it immediately for the next year, I could still access the wait times on my phone (maybe I was just lucky, but I did renew--to me it's totally worth it), I just couldn't access the future crowd estimates calendar, which isn't always accurate for DLR anyway.

I actually have all of them on my phone and switch around depending on what I'm trying to find out. I use the Disney MM for FP times and mostly TP for attraction lines.

The only one I can get on my Kindle Fire is MouseWait so I've been looking at that. I did notice that almost everytime I checked RSR it said 135 which I thought was odd. It can't ALWAYS be that. So what you said about not being able to input more than 135 makes sense, except the other day I looked and it said 210. So I know it can go higher. Oh, and I just checked LFT and it said 3 min so I know that can't be right!