Can these wait times be right?

mrsjoannh13

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May 13, 2015
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I'm looking on the Disney app to see what approximate wait times are right now for various rides (doing a little pre-planning for my November trip). I'm surprised to see the following and just wondering if this is accurate? If so - why so long for a mid-week in October? (I'm posting this Wed. 10/14 at 12:30 pm central time). Most of the outrageous times I'm seeing are in Magic Kingdom. Maybe this is an EMH day or something???

Haunted Mansion 80 minutes
Space Mountain 120 minutes
Splash Mountain 130 minutes
Journey of the Little Mermaid 60 minutes
Jungle cruise 85 minutes
Enchanted Tales with Belle 70 minutes
Meet Mickey 95 minutes

Tower of Terror 80 minutes
Toy Story Midway Mania 90 minutes

Ellen's Energy Adventure 80 minutes (okay this one's a joke)
 
Those are roughly the times on the TP lines app as well. They were rating today a 4....
 

Was there last week and Wednesday being the non-party, EMH day at MK was by far the biggest crowd of the week. These times are not reflective of what the rest of the week looked like.
 
We went last year around this time. Seems about right. Rope drop 'til no later than Noon, return after dinner 'til close worked for us. Sometimes we would do 6 attractions before 10:30am with 1-2 FP.
 
There is no "slow" time anymore especially during October it seems. With the way those parties are selling out, that can only translate to there is a lot of people in the resort.

I went the first week of October last year and was shocked how crowded it was at the MK. I was able to utilize 4th, 5th and 6th fast passes to make the longer afternoon waits tolerable, but it was still crowded to just walk around (especially the Fantasyland area). It was much less crowded the last week of August this year.
 
It is an EMH and non-party day, during the busiest part of the day, so I don't doubt at all that the MK times are accurate.

Yep. It is night and day between a non-party day and a party day, especially one with EMH. Plus, this is a holiday week in Canada and in some parts of the country (fall break).

Thanks for the head's up, OP. We're hopping to the MK next Wednesday...it's good to know to expect to be able to do pretty much nothing once we get there.
 
It's posts like these that make me second guess my planning! We are looking at late January 2017 when it *should* be low crowds. With four kids at that time ranging from 3-11, I don't want to spend an hour in line for It's a Small World. And the trip will cost us over $7,000 (o_O). DH is all Disney all the way for our next big vacation, but for that money, and with the price changes and the crowds being heavier than normal, I'm really starting to think about other vacations we can take with that money. We loved our last trip in November 2011, during free dining, and waiting no more than 20 minutes for anything. We got lucky, and spoiled, I guess. But I just don't know...
 
Yep. It is night and day between a non-party day and a party day, especially one with EMH. Plus, this is a holiday week in Canada and in some parts of the country (fall break).

Thanks for the head's up, OP. We're hopping to the MK next Wednesday...it's good to know to expect to be able to do pretty much nothing once we get there.

I forgot to note that they extended the hours. The EMH was originally 11-1, not 12-2, so it is slightly more crowded than Disney first anticipated

It's posts like these that make me second guess my planning! We are looking at late January 2017 when it *should* be low crowds. With four kids at that time ranging from 3-11, I don't want to spend an hour in line for It's a Small World. And the trip will cost us over $7,000 (o_O). DH is all Disney all the way for our next big vacation, but for that money, and with the price changes and the crowds being heavier than normal, I'm really starting to think about other vacations we can take with that money. We loved our last trip in November 2011, during free dining, and waiting no more than 20 minutes for anything. We got lucky, and spoiled, I guess. But I just don't know...

This week cannot be compared to January in any way. As mentioned before, today in a non-party day during a very heavy party season, so for many this will be one of if not the only night of their trip they can see Wishes/MSEP. There are no events in January to cause this kind of attendance bottleneck
 
October is getting busier & Monday was a holiday for many folks so I can believe those times. Disney is making sure there isn't a "slow" time anymore.

We did Columbus weekend in '08 & '09. Noticed enough of a crowd difference that we did a week day trip end of Oct in '10. I am sure it's gotten even more crowded as attendance in the parks continues to rise.
 
Thanks! I feel like I've seen a lot of posts lately about wait times, but you are right, they have all been since MNSSHP started. That makes me feel better!
 
The website's also having lots of problems today; I'm sure if people in the parks are losing their FPs en masse that it can drive up wait times substantially.
 
It's posts like these that make me second guess my planning! We are looking at late January 2017 when it *should* be low crowds. With four kids at that time ranging from 3-11, I don't want to spend an hour in line for It's a Small World. And the trip will cost us over $7,000 (o_O). DH is all Disney all the way for our next big vacation, but for that money, and with the price changes and the crowds being heavier than normal, I'm really starting to think about other vacations we can take with that money. We loved our last trip in November 2011, during free dining, and waiting no more than 20 minutes for anything. We got lucky, and spoiled, I guess. But I just don't know...

We went in late Jan in 2014 and 2015. I can't tell you what it will be like in 2017, but crowds were not an issue. Cold and rain, yes, but not crowds. There were gorgeous 80 degree days, and cold, rainy 40 degree days the next. That's a gamble. But like I said, crowds, no. The only thing that had *real* waits (45+) were Soarin', Mine Train, TSMM, maybe (?) Test Track, if I remember correctly... we were able to do single rider walk-on on Everest and Rock n Roller Coaster. Hoping that January trend continues for you. My hubs said no more January because, "it's not supposed to be cold in Florida." So what will we do next year? September. He's in for a dose of reality when the heat hits him.
 
I'm rethinking going to MK on a non-party Veteran's Day Weds. with EMH if this is what it's like. 2 hours for Space Mountain; 2.5 hours for Splash. There is just no way...

It's our arrival day with 6 first-timers and no hoppers--we'll get to MK around 3PM. We do have FP+ for 7DMT, PP, and BTMRR starting around 5:45PM and it would be great to see MSEP and Wishes. But I just don't know if it's worth it.

Wishes is at 10 and EMH is from 10-Midnight so we're not likely to derive the full benefit of EMH.

Maybe Epcot is a better choice for arrival day and we can go to MK on a party Friday (no Wishes or MSEP, and not likely that I will get 7DMT fast passes, but an overall quieter day).

What would you guys do?
 
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Personally I think the whole "party" season (from the start of MNSSHP in early Sept through the end of MVMCP in late Dec) is pretty rough in terms of MK wait times. There are only 2-3 days a week that the park is open all day to non-party guests, with EMH crammed in there too. So you have everyone packing into the park on those few days because they would rather get a full day's park time and evening parade/fireworks for their ticket dollars.
 
We are at the world now this had been the most insanely busy we have ever seen it! It's a sea of people. The wait times are horrendous, the character greets have been short, bussing has been so slow! Even during the magic hours earlier in the week, waits for RR and ToT, TM were all 1 hour plus.
I don't know that we will be returning in October any more.
 


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