Lines in July

[DisGeekDude]

We are planning our first trip the last week of July and I'm trying to get an idea of just how long the lines are. I mean, are we talking (on average) 1 hr per "attraction" (ride), 2 hrs., what? I'm aware of the fastpass, but you're still waiting somewhere for your window. Also, just how big a difference do the EM hours make (particularly morning, since it's only one hour). I'm just trying to get an idea of what's "do-able". Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[satman1962]

The earlier the better, not only are the crowds thin, it's also before it gets too hot!

 

[Robo]

The earlier the better, not only are the crowds thin, it's also before it gets too hot!

DITTO, for sure!

 

[DisneyDork712]

We were there in July last year, and the longest line we encounterd was for Soarin' - 220 minutes. (Needless to say, we skipped it that time!) We were also not able to see Festival of the Lion King, because the theater filled up. We didn't even get near the theater entrance and there was a huge long line of people that got turned away after waiting at least 20 min. Of course, we didn't try to get there early, just happened to be passing by and decided to try it. At most other shows, a CM would grab us and pull us down to the front of the theater for good seats, because we were wearing our Bride and Groom Ears! It was so magical!

As for the EMH:

The morning EMH are wonderful! No crowds, no long lines, etc. The evening EMH however was a nightmare! People everywhere! Long lines for the major attractions. (At Disney Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Future World) If you just want to be in the park and not actually do anything except soak in the (crowded!) atmosphere, evening EMH is the thing to do. World Showcase was practically empty for the evening EMH though. We had almost the whole thing to ourselves! We walked right on Maelstrom and El Rio del Tiempo and had boats to ourselves.

 

[Robo]

As for the EMH:

The morning EMH are wonderful! No crowds, no long lines, etc.

And the resaon this is virtually ALWAYS TRUE is regardless how many times we explain how much BETTER the parks are EARLY in the morning...
most guests simply will NOT get up early on vacation.

And for that, I'm eternally GRATEFUL!

Let 'em sleep... I'm having enough FUN for dozens of 'em!

 

[DisneyDork712]

most guests simply will NOT get up early on vacation.

And for that, I'm eternally GRATEFUL!

Let 'em sleep... I'm having enough FUN for dozens of 'em!

LOL Ditto on that!

 

[disneygirlatheart]

We were there in July last year, and the longest line we encounterd was for Soarin' - 220 minutes. (Needless to say, we skipped it that time!) We were also not able to see Festival of the Lion King, because the theater filled up. We didn't even get near the theater entrance and there was a huge long line of people that got turned away after waiting at least 20 min. Of course, we didn't try to get there early, just happened to be passing by and decided to try it. At most other shows, a CM would grab us and pull us down to the front of the theater for good seats, because we were wearing our Bride and Groom Ears! It was so magical!

As for the EMH:

The morning EMH are wonderful! No crowds, no long lines, etc. The evening EMH however was a nightmare! People everywhere! Long lines for the major attractions. (At Disney Studios, Animal Kingdom, and Future World) If you just want to be in the park and not actually do anything except soak in the (crowded!) atmosphere, evening EMH is the thing to do. World Showcase was practically empty for the evening EMH though. We had almost the whole thing to ourselves! We walked right on Maelstrom and El Rio del Tiempo and had boats to ourselves.

Almost 4 hour wait on Soarin'. I can not imagine. We are going in July for our first trip to WDW. Are all the lines this long on all the attractions? It looks like we won't be able to ride anything if we have to stand in line that long for each attraction.

 

[riopooh]

That's why it is helpful to plan Fastpass rides and other rides. Grab a FP, go on something else, have a bite to eat and come back during your window!! The crowds can be daunting - but not impossible!!

 

[debkorb1]

Trust me, July is possible, but you have to know what you are doing! It is very, very busy and very, very hot so plan plan plan. As people have said above the key bit of advice really is get to the parks early - about an hour before opening i.e. 8.00am. Do all the most exciting attractions early and leave at 12/12.30. Then go back to your hotel for a 4/5 hours and arrive back at the park about 4.30/5. You should be able to do MGM in a single day doing that and the best of MK and Epcot over 3 days (I prefer a day and a morning at MK and a day and an evening at Epcot). AK is trickier because it closes earlier, but if you have time try a morning until 2 and then another morning. I also think the key is to prioritise - ok, you might not be able to get everything done, but if you spend a total of 10+ hours in MK over a day and a morning and you plan properly you'll have a wonderful time. If you miss something - well, Disney ain't going anywhere!

From what I hear EMH in the morning is ok if you're a Disney guest, but a nightmare if not because even if you get there early the park is quite full. Remember the overall volume of traffic on an EMH day is bigger.

I highly recommend the Unofficial Guide to Disney by Bob Sehlinger. It has touring plans, which show you the best order to do rides, which will minimise the amount of time in lines. We went from June 27th-July 10th - barely queued for anything. There really is no reason to queue 220 minutes for Soarin - if you get to Epcot at 8am then you'll queue 5-30 minutes.

 

[java]

Just to not that last year we got to Soarin at 8AM- and there was a line of about 20 minutes. when we got off the ride- the line was 90 minutes and by 12 the fast passes were gone. So there are rides that if you really want to do- do them EARLY!!!! In Epcot that would be Soarin, Test Track and Mission Space.
In MK it can be everything.... the lines there are unbelievable if you are there in the PM. We go EARLY, ride ride ride..... then grab some fast passes and go eat lunch early. When we are done we ride the fast pass rides- and then we leave.
Oh and an example of what you can "do" in that morning hour. Last July we were able to hit Space MT-3 times, Buzz Lightyear, Teacups, Winnie the Pooh and get on line for Peter Pan before the park opened to the public. We saved BTMR and Splash Mountain for later in the day using fast pass.
In Epcot we just road Soarin and were on the line for test track- and then the park was open to everyone else- it is just the SIZE of that park. By the time they walk over to the rides- you have a chance to get on something else

 

[declansdad]

We were there from the 5th to the 16th of July last year and had no real problem with lines. We never waited more than 20 minutes or so and did use Fastpass on the major attractions. We used both morning and evening EMH and had no problems with either. Lines did build up though if you weren't early enough.

As others have said, go early, take a break and return for the evening and you should be fine.

 

[LUVMICKEY]

Typically, the lines during that part of summer are usually pretty long. Get there early and really use FP as often as you can. We have found you can still get everything in that you want.

Michele

 

[DisGeekDude]

Thanks for all the advice. We were planning our days around the evening EMH, but I think we will change it to the mornings. It's obvious that my original ideas were not "do-able". Thanks again.

 

[bobcat]

Evening EMH is great and we try to do a combination of both morning and evening EMH. We've gone the last few July's and the rides are very doable with little wait if you have a plan. As others have said many people just don't want to get up early on vacation so we find that is the best time to begin, especially Fantasyland. If you can plan on hitting your big rides early you can use FP for the rest of your day. The key is to get a FP and then go do something else, don't just wait around for your ride time. Always have a FP in hand. For example get a FP for a ride then ride something else with a shorter line. When it is time for your FP for the first ride get another FP for another ride before riding #1. That way you always have a FP ready to go.

Eat at off times to avail the crowds, and have a FP in hand while you eat. Use the sit down restaurants at lunch to cool off and relax. Head out of the parks around 12-1 and go back to the hotel to swim or freshen up. We always head back to the parks around 4 and a lot of the day crowd starts to leave after the parades. Hit some of the lower wait attractions ( a good guide book can tell you what these are, I love the Unofficial Guide) or shows while the crowd thins out. Evenings are magical in the parks. Many times in summer there are two MK evening parades and two Fantasmics. Chose the later one if you can, they are less crowded, and go on rides while the first one is going on.

We love to visit WDW in the summer. Call us crazy but we love the long hours, the excitement of the crowds, and the fact that almost everything will be up and running. We can deal with the heat and humidity.

 

[FromVatoDisney]

To the OP, here's a "WDW July snapshot" that illustrates why earlier is better.

Our family of four (myself, DH, DS (then 9) and DD (then 6) was in WDW last July 13-20. First full day in WDW was a Thursday. We ate breakfast in our rooms, got out, got to MK maybe 10 minutes after it opened. We headed straight for Fantasyland, it was virtually empty. Waited 5 mins. for Dumbo, 5 mins. for Peter Pan's flight, went on everything we wanted to. We wouldn't wait 20 mins. for Pooh, so we fastpassed it and went on it later, about 11 a.m. It was a breeze (and by the way, Mickey's Philharmagic is a great place to cool off and recharge).

Another day, we were doing Frontierland, but DD and I wanted to do Peter Pan again, so we grabbed a fastpass for the afternoon. We walked on to the ride again, since we had FP, but now the standby line was 60 mins.!

Please don't ever do that to yourself. There's a reason why some of us love July and others would never go during that time. Those of us who love it go early and thus we find the crowds and heat very manageable. I can't tell you how sorry I felt for people crowding the gates at noon, knowing they were going to fight all day to get onto 2 rides, when we had already gotten through 2 whole LANDS and were ready for our refreshing break.