Current wait times vs. posted times

[Babybears]

I was wondering if anyone who has been to the parks recently can comment on the current wait times vs. posted wait times. Our last trip we found that many of the posted times seemed inflated. I remember looking at a line at BTMR and saying, no way is this a 40 minutes line, this is a 20 min line max. Another example is GOTG was posted 65 min and it actually took 25 minutes. For those who've gone often, I know you know what I mean by that. You can look at where the line ends and kinda have an idea of what to expect, timewise, to wait. We really had a good plan when we had Fastpass and Maxpass, and will need to figure out how best to utilize Genie+ now and just really trying to see how accurate recent visitors feel the posted wait time are. Any input is appreciated!

 

[varyth]

Not sure if this was specific to Disneyland, but will answer as if it is based on the sub-forum.

We found some to be inflated, most notably Mickey & Minnie's Runaway Railway like this forum warned about. However, ride breakdowns and pauses seemed so prevalent in our last Disneyland trip that some posted wait times were definitely shorter than how long we actually waited... Ariel's Undersea Adventure (posted 5 minutes was actually closer to 40 minutes ), Haunted Mansion (the line moved super slow, and when we got down the elevator the interior hallway was packed like sardines and didn't move), and BTMR (line overflowed and the CMs finally came by to say the ride is down and they could not provide an estimate).

We found it highly dependent on if the ride is up and running the entire time.

 

[HIRyeDVC]

Some are inflated, some are accurate, and some are underestimated. Truth is, so many issues can arise that impacts wait times, including ride break downs, or shutdowns due to weather. The posted times isn't science. Just estimates so I try to pack a lot of patience. I once waited for Space Mtn for 60 minutes, but the posted wait time was 20. There's nothing worse than your line not moving for 30 minutes while seeing the LL constantly moving. It is what it is.

 

[DonnerB]

Some are inflated, some are accurate, and some are underestimated.

Yep.

Was there all day Thursday and Friday...we waited nearly 25 minutes in the Lightning Lane for Star Tours when the posted wait was 25 minutes...and waited about 25 minutes standby at Radiator Springs Racers for a posted 60 minute wait.

The worst time to be in or join a line, I find, is right after a ride comes back up from a lengthy downtime (unless you are truly ahead of the crowds). The influx of Lightning Lanes will lead to a backlog and grind standby to a halt. Friday was rough at DCA - Grizzly was down most of the afternoon and evening, along with the to-be-expected breakdowns of Incredicoaster, Webslingers, etc throughout the day. Soarin' is down for refurb. Even the Lightning Lanes gum up on days like that, with the number of any experience passes floating around and limited time frames in which to use them.

 

[godfather927]

Just got back and in my experience, the wait times at DL and DCA are more inaccurate than WDW. On one morning, Radiator Springs was a posted 70 min wait, but it was actually 30. Then a bit later we got in line for Incredicoaster which was a posted 30 min wait that ended up being 55 min and caused us to be late to our ADR and miss the 12:30 VQ we had for Rogers. At 3pm, Maters was a 15 min wait that ended up being 25min, on another day Jungle Cruise was a posted 25 min that was literally a walk on to the next boat. Granted for the JC case at least, it was at 8pm and Disney is notorious for inflating wait times at night but it was still pretty hilarious.

Like someone said, maybe the rides break down more or efficient loading is less reliable but for whatever reason, the posted wait times aren't very useful at DLR even with the TP Lines app, whereas they are more reliable in WDW.

 

[godfather927]

Yep.

Was there all day Thursday and Friday...we waited nearly 25 minutes in the Lightning Lane for Star Tours when the posted wait was 25 minutes...and waited about 25 minutes standby at Radiator Springs Racers for a posted 60 minute wait.

The worst time to be in or join a line, I find, is right after a ride comes back up from a lengthy downtime (unless you are truly ahead of the crowds). The influx of Lightning Lanes will lead to a backlog and grind standby to a halt. Friday was rough at DCA - Grizzly was down most of the afternoon and evening, along with the to-be-expected breakdowns of Incredicoaster, Webslingers, etc throughout the day. Soarin' is down for refurb. Even the Lightning Lanes gum up on days like that, with the number of any experience passes floating around and limited time frames in which to use them.

We were there that day also and it was rough. Overall, we found the waits with Lightning Lanes at both parks to be ridiculous on this trip. Greatly reduces the value of genie+ which used to be a no-brainer for us.

 

[DonnerB]

We were there that day also and it was rough. Overall, we found the waits with Lightning Lanes at both parks to be ridiculous on this trip. Greatly reduces the value of genie+ which used to be a no-brainer for us.

I’m a Magic Key holder, so I don’t bother with Genie+ often, and usually it’s with friends who have Hoppers. This day was with an out of state friend who didn’t have Hoppers PLUS had young kids who don’t ride half the rides in DCA. I told her the night before we shouldn’t buy it, but she had pre-purchased it with her tickets .

 

[HIRyeDVC]

I’m a Magic Key holder, so I don’t bother with Genie+ often, and usually it’s with friends who have Hoppers. This day was with an out of state friend who didn’t have Hoppers PLUS had young kids who don’t ride half the rides in DCA. I told her the night before we shouldn’t buy it, but she had pre-purchased it with her tickets .

For us out-of-towners, it's really hard to resist from buying Genie+ in advance with our tickets. We didn't pre-buy it last November with our 5-day tickets. We bought it for one day on a Saturday and regretted it. But I find myself conflicted again planning for this November. I don't know what it is. I just want to pre-buy it and not think about it. But it's almost $500 to add Genie+ for a family of 4 for 5 days. It's nuts!

 

[tink89]

I was wondering if anyone who has been to the parks recently can comment on the current wait times vs. posted wait times. Our last trip we found that many of the posted times seemed inflated. I remember looking at a line at BTMR and saying, no way is this a 40 minutes line, this is a 20 min line max. Another example is GOTG was posted 65 min and it actually took 25 minutes. For those who've gone often, I know you know what I mean by that. You can look at where the line ends and kinda have an idea of what to expect, timewise, to wait. We really had a good plan when we had Fastpass and Maxpass, and will need to figure out how best to utilize Genie+ now and just really trying to see how accurate recent visitors feel the posted wait time are. Any input is appreciated!

Just commented about this on another post. We were two weeks ago and the times posted were different than what we waited. We never buy Genie unless we need it and the last 4 times we have one since they reopened we have not needed it. From the rides i remember BTMR had 30 posted and it took 10 min to get to the stairs, Matterhorn had 30 posted and it was less than 15, Web slingers showed 20 and it was a walk on, RSR showed 50 and it was 35.

I think this time we went they did much better at managing the FP lines. When we went last year it did not matter if there was one person or 100 in the FP line they let all of them go through before standby line. This year i notices they did stop the FP line to let standby line go through.

 

[Dug720]

For us out-of-towners, it's really hard to resist from buying Genie+ in advance with our tickets. We didn't pre-buy it last November with our 5-day tickets. We bought it for one day on a Saturday and regretted it. But I find myself conflicted again planning for this November. I don't know what it is. I just want to pre-buy it and not think about it. But it's almost $500 to add Genie+ for a family of 4 for 5 days. It's nuts!

I mainly get it for photopass. I'll definitely still use if for LLs, but especially traveling solo the photopass makes it a no-brainer for me. I definitely come out cheaper than getting Memory Maker at WDW - and it's like getting Genie+ for free when I put it in those terms.

 

[DonnerB]

For us out-of-towners, it's really hard to resist from buying Genie+ in advance with our tickets. We didn't pre-buy it last November with our 5-day tickets. We bought it for one day on a Saturday and regretted it. But I find myself conflicted again planning for this November. I don't know what it is. I just want to pre-buy it and not think about it. But it's almost $500 to add Genie+ for a family of 4 for 5 days. It's nuts!

And to complicate things for those seeking advice, “worth it” is totally subjective! My friend probably thought $25 a person for a short wait for Monster’s Inc and Midway Mania was worth it, meanwhile I was losing my mind remembering days where I’ve gotten 9-10 Lightning Lanes for high value attractions in both parks

 

[HIRyeDVC]

And to complicate things for those seeking advice, “worth it” is totally subjective! My friend probably thought $25 a person for a short wait for Monster’s Inc and Midway Mania was worth it, meanwhile I was losing my mind remembering days where I’ve gotten 9-10 Lightning Lanes for high value attractions in both parks

I mainly get it for photopass. I'll definitely still use if for LLs, but especially traveling solo the photopass makes it a no-brainer for me. I definitely come out cheaper than getting Memory Maker at WDW - and it's like getting Genie+ for free when I put it in those terms.

To complicate it even further, we usually take breaks from the parks between 12-6 for pool and nap time at the hotel, which makes Genie+ even less worth it IMO. We'd rather take advantage of early entry and close the parks than to endure through the afternoon slog. Actually, having said this out loud, Genie+ totally doesn't make sense, at least for the whole family. I do agree though about the free access to photo pass though. Maybe I should just buy it for myself, lol.

 

[Dug720]

To complicate it even further, we usually take breaks from the parks between 12-6 for pool and nap time at the hotel, which makes Genie+ even less worth it IMO. We'd rather take advantage of early entry and close the parks than to endure through the afternoon slog. Actually, having said this out loud, Genie+ totally doesn't make sense, at least for the whole family. I do agree though about the free access to photo pass though. Maybe I should just buy it for myself, lol.

I mean, unless you're at DL/DCA for 10 days, it's less than buying Memory Maker at WDW - so even if you never use a LL, you're still ahead.

 

[Babybears]

Good info everyone! Ever since they started Genie+ I wondered if the times might be inflated to promote purchase of the plan. I also realize there are many daily variables as well that affect the wait times. I guess I really miss the fastpass/maxpass days, we had those plans so well figured out that our days were always productive.

 

[DesertScorpion]

Lots of variables at play with regards to the posted times. What I do know is that at times in order for them to get an accurate wait time they will ask guests to hold onto a card at the entrance to a ride and have that person give it to one of the cast members at the end of the line before boarding. They use that as one of the ways to estimate ride time.

I didn’t even know this was a thing until I was asked to do it by a cast member during our trip in May. Within two minutes of handing the card to the cast member before boarding BTMRR the wait time on the app was updated and reflective of the time it took us to get through the line.

 

[NorCalFanatic]

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