I don't get wait times!

[lugnut33]

Looking at the wait times at the parks today and they are the same as you'd find during the non-busy times. I don't get it? It's almost as if Disney is somehow keeping the parks at a constantly busy level through the whole year, be it through crowds or staffing.

 

[LSUfan4444]

Or spring break etc

 

[seashoreCM]

The wait time as posted should be roughly the time it takes to get from the wait time sign to the boarding platform.

Once the queue of people gets back to the wait time sign, the wait time should level off, all other things being equal such as no more switchbacks configured into the queueing area inside and no sudden influx of fastpass riders such as after a parade..

 

[Angel Ariel]

Looking at the wait times at the parks today and they are the same as you'd find during the non-busy times. I don't get it? It's almost as if Disney is somehow keeping the parks at a constantly busy level through the whole year, be it through crowds or staffing.

Buzz, HM, and Under the Sea all have 50 min waits. iasw has a 70 min wait, and Jungle Cruise is 75. Splash is at 175 mins right now. IME, those aren't "non-busy time" level waits. We certainly did not experience lines anywhere near that long in early October.

And that's with the new parade going on now too...

 

[dadofgoofy]

Many schools around here are still on spring break. Many have a "balance calendar" now and get 2 weeks off, and it butts up to Easter in many schools.

 

[kmb584]

Buzz, HM, and Under the Sea all have 50 min waits. iasw has a 70 min wait, and Jungle Cruise is 75. Splash is at 175 mins right now. IME, those aren't "non-busy time" level waits. We certainly did not experience lines anywhere near that long in early October.

And that's with the new parade going on now too...

Agreed. We experienced some nutty wait times at the end of October (Buzz posted: 15 minutes, actual: 55 minutes to name one) but it definitely wasn't the norm. A 70 minute wait for IASW is frightening!

 

[notfrostyjosh]

Eh, it's 3:35pm

Astro Orbiter
20 Min

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
75 Min

Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin
80 Min

Dumbo the Flying Elephant
35 Min

Enchanted Tales with Belle
60 Min

Haunted Mansion
50 Min

It's a small world
60 Min

Jungle Cruise
60 Min

Mad Tea Party
15 Min

Mickey's PhilharMagic
25 Min

Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor
20 Min

Peter Pan's Flight
75 Min

Pirates of the Caribbean
40 Min

Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
10 Min

Space Mountain
90 Min

Splash Mountain
150 Min

Stitch's Great Escape!
10 Min

The Barnstormer
55 Min

The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
25 Min

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh
35 Min

Tomorrowland Speedway
40 Min

Under the Sea ~ Journey of The Little Mermaid
50 Min

Muppet*Vision 3D
5 Min

Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith
50 Min

Star Tours - The Adventures Continue
30 Min

Studio Backlot Tour
10 Min

The Great Movie Ride
30 Min

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror
50 Min

Toy Story Midway Mania
115 Min

Several of those stand out as being considerably longer than they will be two weeks when it's average crowds again.

 

[lugnut33]

LOL, I missed the Splash wait, that is crazy. Not sure why it's like that other than perhaps it was down at some point.

However, all the rest just don't seem that far off what was supposed to be traditionally slower times of the year. It's like the old slower times are similar to holiday crowds.

I know from a crowd perspective that can't be true, so something else has to have changed.

NotfrostyJosh, those times just seem normal now.

 

[notfrostyjosh]

There are mitigating factors - two of which are the unusually long 7am - 1am operating hours spreading out crowds better and the to-the-gills staffing levels. Chances are if you've worked at Magic Kingdom in the last four months you are working this week.

The afternoon parade also pulls people away at this time of day. Fast forward two weeks and most of these waits will be 60% of what they are today.

 

[lugnut33]

I feel like I could see those wait same wait times happening on Oct. 25th, Nov. 30th, Dec. 10, mid-feb. or practically any time.

Remember all those "feels busy" threads? Well ,when I look at wait times I consider it not busy when Space Mountain is 60 minutes and under, Buzz is < 30, Pirates < 20, Jungle <30, Haunted < 15, IASW < 5, Peter < 50, BTMRR < 60, and Splash < 75. TSMM < 70, ToT < 30, RnR < 60, GMR < 20, ST < 25, TT < 75, Soarin' < 80, EE < 50, KS < 40,

Other than early in the morning or late at night I don't remember a time when wait times are less than what I've listed.

 

[texasmomoftwo]

Josh,can you fast forward four weeks?

 

[MisterPat]

We were there last week and IASW was at 75 minutes throughout the day. I asked a CM about it and she said their wait time sign was not working. The next day, a CM was standing at the entrance to the queue with a manual sign stating 20 minutes, while the regular sign said 60 minutes. The wait ws about 15.

 

[Angel Ariel]

I feel like I could see those wait same wait times happening on Oct. 25th, Nov. 30th, Dec. 10, mid-feb. or practically any time.

Remember all those "feels busy" threads? Well ,when I look at wait times I consider it not busy when Space Mountain is 60 minutes and under, Buzz is < 30, Pirates < 20, Jungle <30, Haunted < 15, IASW < 5, Peter < 50, BTMRR < 60, and Splash < 75. TSMM < 70, ToT < 30, RnR < 60, GMR < 20, ST < 25, TT < 75, Soarin' < 80, EE < 50, KS < 40,

Other than early in the morning or late at night I don't remember a time when wait times are less than what I've listed.

For the most part, the wait times we had in early October 2013 were under what you posted above...

 

[Angel Ariel]

We were there last week and IASW was at 75 minutes throughout the day. I asked a CM about it and she said their wait time sign was not working. The next day, a CM was standing at the entrance to the queue with a manual sign stating 20 minutes, while the regular sign said 60 minutes. The wait ws about 15.

The physical sign might be wrong, but the MDE app should be accurate regardless....(that's where I got my 70 min wait earlier today).

 

[disnut8]

Looking at the wait times at the parks today and they are the same as you'd find during the non-busy times. I don't get it? It's almost as if Disney is somehow keeping the parks at a constantly busy level through the whole year, be it through crowds or staffing.

Kind of confused why the week before Easter would be considered "non-busy"? Or really, with the spring breaks all over the country being spread out (our county had spring break last week), why anytime between mid-March and end of April would be considered "non-busy".

But - Disney World isn't stupid (or the people who run it). But yes, Disney is attempting to keep attendance levels at the same throughout the year. That first weekend after the Christmas/New Year's rush time used to be a great time to go. Now? There's a national marathon run. If you think about it, Disney is a great business - they see a down time and they put something in there to draw people to the parks even if it's not to just do the parks.

Personally, I don't care. I go when I can go and when I want to go. I do what I want when I want. And I still see the magic and just did last month.

 

[Missyrose]

A 25-minute wait for Philharmagic? Really?

 

[lillykat]

We are on spring break this week and many families we know will be there. I do not think this is a slow time of the year. They said they expected it to be busy.

 

[lugnut33]

What I'm saying is if crowd levels are based on wait times, then most of the year should be a 9 with 10's reserved for Christmas week. It's either busy, or swamped (if you use that for your site Josh, be sure to give me credit). Other than an occasional few days here or there, the parks are always busy or swamped. I'm not saying that's a bad thing for Disney, after all that is their job.

Also, I just don't see a lot of difference (except for that Splash Mountain number) in wait times between today, the last few weeks (which should be busy due to spring break), or any other time of the year. Take AK today, it's no different than what you'd find on some random day in May or February.

 

[Toffeewoffy]

The schools in the UK are currently on their second week of the two-week Easter holiday, and those who can't take children out of school will currently be in Orlando.

To put it into perspective, we were over 10th - 20th February and our first couple of days at the parks were DEAD! Even TSM was almost a walk-on on 11th Feb - very unusual. ToT when our FP came round was only at 20 minutes anyway. Someone told me that if it gets quiet they actually take one of the lifts out of operation to keep the queues level!

 

[Angel Ariel]

Also, I just don't see a lot of difference (except for that Splash Mountain number) in wait times between today, the last few weeks (which should be busy due to spring break), or any other time of the year. Take AK today, it's no different than what you'd find on some random day in May or February.

Josh seems to disagree with you. And from my own experience, I would disagree as well. Even on our spring break trip last year, crowds were not at a 9 or 10, nor did they *feel* like a 9 or 10 (nor did wait times). Now granted, that trip was prior to fp+, and fp+ is changing things. Regardless, though, I think the crowds and wait times I'm seeing this week are a lot higher than you'd experience say in.mid November (post Halloween, pre thanksgiving).

Eta: you may not see much difference in headliners like tsmm/soarin/space, because ride capacity is what it is. I think the difference in crowd levels is more.measureable by looking at rides like buzz and HM - omnimovers with high capacity and generally low waits. 50 min waits for those is *not* something you are going to find on most random non-holiday days throughout the year.