How Much Longer Are Standby Wait Times?

[Mambo Junkie]

I could see that, yes. The 29th was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I was there from approximately noon until 8pm.

Here are a couple of pictures from the following Tuesday - looks to me like half the crowd I saw on the 29th:

Yes, they were all at MK

 

[wisblue]

I could see that, yes. The 29th was the Saturday after Thanksgiving. I was there from approximately noon until 8pm.

Here are a couple of pictures from the following Tuesday - looks to me like half the crowd I saw on the 29th:

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If you're going to post random pictures with no context (such as time of day) that pretty much tells me you aren't interested in having a real and honest discussion, but are just going to jack me around. So, I will bow out.

 

[Laketravis]

If you're going to post random pictures with no context (such as time of day) that pretty much tells me you aren't interested in having a real and honest discussion, but are just going to jack me around. So, I will bow out.

Dude, are you serious? Did I need to have DW stand in the picture with a newspaper and clock so you could verify the date/time?

Good grief. My bet is Mambo can tell by the cloud cover that was certainly last Tuesday because it's the same day it poured in MK.

You're not getting the answers you want and now you're just being ridiculous.

 

[wisblue]

Dude, are you serious? Did I need to have DW stand in the picture with a newspaper and clock so you could verify the date/time?

Good grief. My bet is Mambo can tell by the cloud cover that was certainly last Tuesday because it's the same day it poured in MK.

Don't worry, Wis - the hostage is still alive.

It's not that, but there just might be a different number of people in a certain spot during AM EMH than at noon or 4 PM.

Just like comments about how long a line was with no reference to date or time of day doesn't add much to a discussion, neither does a picture that obviously wasn't taken in the middle of the day.

 

[Laketravis]

It's not that, but there just might be a different number of people in a certain spot during AM EMH than at noon or 4 PM.

Just like comments about how long a line was with no reference to date or time of day doesn't add much to a discussion, neither does a picture that obviously wasn't taken in the middle of the day.

I bet we could do some forensics on those shadows and nail down the time within 10 minutes........ I'm on it............

 

[Laketravis]

Edit: (forget it, I'm done)

 

[mistysue]

If you want a touch of anecdotal evidence, I can tell you that my family goes the last two weeks of August for the last 6 years. We started going right when the economy sort of tanked, so we have seen crowds increase every year. Going last year to this year the difference in waits was not any more dramatic than in past years unless you count our actual waits at dining... this is the first year we have walked up and been behind more than one group more than just a few times on the trip. We were also turned away at TS- this has never happened before!

As to wait times, mid-late afternoon (3-5pm)our kids usually like to go over the Pirates and Haunted mansion and ride each a few times. This trip was the first time we have ever waited more than 10 minutes for Pirates. I believe we waited close to 40 minutes on August 17 and around 25 on the 20th which was less than the posted wait. We have a similar habit for the Haunted mansion and were pleasantly surprised that the wait was consistently much lower than posted. We rode this a minimum of twice a day on the 17, 20, 23 and 24th with a usual wait posted in the 15-25 range and we walked into the outdoor penned in area every time. In past years we have run into a backup so that we had to wait or play with the toys a bit.
Our looping of Winnie the Pooh mid-morning was similar to every other year with the exception of 2010 (best year ever!) I remember thinking the posted time looked scary, so I think the line is moving faster than the posted time. The little mermaid was a near-walk on every afternoon we were there despite 15-20 minute posted waits. That one the line takes so long to walk through it must be skewing the posted wait just because it takes people 10 minutes to get there if they don't dawdle.

We spend the same Mondays at EPCOT every year and found headliner waits were easier to swallow- Soarin' at rope drop had posted waits that seemed to jump faster, but we got on the ride a little quicker than in the past- last year DH could loop Living with the land 3 times before I got back and this year it was twice. The wait at Spaceship Earth was a new experience and took a walk on ride to a 20 minute wait. I feel like Figment ebbs and flows dramatically every couple years- a few years ago I remember wanting to avoid it because of the lines the previous year but then last year the lines were short. Then this year they were up again. I think this line might require a longer look back to every try to guess what is creating the line variance. This line also gets seriously messed with when you have a show next door. Increased flow through EO means a more erratic pattern here.

Nothing else at any of the 4 parks, doing the same parks on the same days one year later really phased us at all. It was all within a few minutes up or down.

 

[dawgsgirl]

My experience is that you just cannot tell anymore about the standby lines. Might be long, might not be. This is my frustration with FP+. We all used to know what to expect based on the time of year we were visiting, etc. Now, well, it's just taking a chance with a standby line.

 

[FlipHipster]

This was the Nemo FP line 12/4 at 10:37:45AM. Posted 10min wait which means no wait. People just kept coming through the FP line (the one on the left) it was kinda funny and sad all at the same time.

This was TT at 12/4 11:40:52AM. Same sort of thing. Posted 70mins. The SB line is to the door if you can't tell. Left line is FP+. We waited until the FP line wasn't visible at the door and FP'd it. It stopped just inside the building, took 25mins including design time.

Soarin' FP queue looking back from the merge point at 12/4 15:20:01. I just stuck my phone over the wall and clicked. The line went around the corner.

 

[Laketravis]

Yeah, Flipster - but do you have PROOF?

 

[Laketravis]

Dude! I'm seriously in that picture from Thursday!!!! LOL!!!

 

[Dis703]

Only anecdotal but we haven't seen much if any change from our May trips in overall lines. We experienced the same this year we did every year which was even the less popular rides sometimes had longer waits (meaning up to 30 minutes maybe more) but as usual when they were long we passed them by and came back another time and rode them when they were only around 10 minute waits. When we were there last November and it was still in testing mode same thing.

 

[Mambo Junkie]

Every time I try to raise this question, the discussion gets sidetracked by comments about what is causing lines to be longer.

What I would like to do, if possible, is get a handle on how standby waits at some attractions have changed in the last 2 years for days with comparable crowd levels. Even though it is impossible to get an exact measure because we don't have daily attendance numbers, it should be possible to get at least a rough idea using available data on posted wait times and comparing them from one year to the next.

Is anyone else interested in trying to figure this out, or is it just me? If I am used to touring the MK during spring break when the park opens at 8 AM and riding POC at 10 AM with a 10 minute wait, I would like to know if I should now expect that posted wait to be 30-40 minutes.

Is it worth trying to quantify some of this, or is everyone satisfied with the general statement that "standby lines are a lot longer"?

BTW, I am aware of the studies by Touring Plans and easyWDW that have said that average standby waits are up to 10 minutes longer at some attractions and up to 10 minutes lower at others. But those seem to have been rejected by posters who say that they have observed significantly longer waits throughout the day. So, is there some way to use objective data to make these comparisons without offending anyone who thinks that raising this question is dismissing their observations?

While I do believe that the wait times for the rides that used to be little or no wait are up (such as POTC or Figment, etc) I do think the long wait lines are comparable. For instance, there has always been a wait for Soarin which ranged from 40 to 90 minutes, jungle cruise has always had a long wait which I never understood since it's been EXACTLY the same since 1971, one time around 5 years ago we waited in SB for TT for over 45 minutes and the line only moved when people left, TSMM, ToT, RnR, even Dumbo have always had long wait, usually in the 60 minute range. Occasionally you luck out and get on pretty quickly but the popular rides have always had long wait times. It's the secondary rides that are being affected, IMO. I found the wait time for some of the attractions shorter, especially the rides like Barnstormer, Speedway, dumbo etc.

 

[Suvadoo]

While I do believe that the wait times for the rides that used to be little or no wait are up (such as POTC or Figment, etc) I do think the long wait lines are comparable. For instance, there has always been a wait for Soarin which ranged from 40 to 90 minutes, jungle cruise has always had a long wait which I never understood since it's been EXACTLY the same since 1971, one time around 5 years ago we waited in SB for TT for over 45 minutes and the line only moved when people left, TSMM, ToT, RnR, even Dumbo have always had long wait, usually in the 60 minute range. Occasionally you luck out and get on pretty quickly but the popular rides have always had long wait times. It's the secondary rides that are being affected, IMO. I found the wait time for some of the attractions shorter, especially the rides like Barnstormer, Speedway, dumbo etc.

I think dumbo's wait time diminished considerably when they moved it and added a 2nd spinner.

 

[HulkBuster]

yeah dumbo is a poor example for sure it is clear waits dropped there when it dubled and it was moved to away less visibl spot

 

[Jennasis]

Dude! I'm seriously in that picture from Thursday!!!! LOL!!!

No way!! Where??

 

[Laketravis]

No way!! Where??

Right there in the front!!!

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[Jennasis]

hehehe

 

[Mambo Junkie]

yeah dumbo is a poor example for sure it is clear waits dropped there when it dubled and it was moved to away less visibl spot

Maybe Dumbo is a poor example but the others were walk one and Mafic carpets was a walk on at 4:00 on the 28th (day after thanksgiving) one of its busiest days. The biggest differences are the wait times for some of the secondary rides. There has always been a long wait for Peter Pan, too.

 

[FlipHipster]

Dude! I'm seriously in that picture from Thursday!!!! LOL!!!

I thought that was you!!! I kept telling dw, if that guy can figure it out certainly we can...