Pirates wait?

[DarthVader92]

Went to WDW last week and pirates had a 30 min wait on emh day. On normal day, it's highest wait was 5-20. DL's pirates hasn't been crowded either. How come Pirates is losing people? Is it because, everyone has seen it already? We're most likely going in July. Should I be prepared to wait a long time for Pirates? We're going to Disneyland most likely July 3rd!

 

[DLR29]

The reason that PotC always has short lines is not due to lack of popularity. It is because the ride can hold a lot of people at once and so the line is constantly moving. I believe PotC has the highest capacity in both DL and MK. The TTA could have a higher one at MK though. But PotC is up there. Another reason for the short line is that there are 2 lines, separating the people in half.

HOwever, last year when the Pirates' opened after being redone, the lines did reach around 45+ minutes at DL. I don't know about MK. That will not be the case for you. I would expect a line of max. 30 minutes in July

 

[Mom2micayla]

I think that it's still a very popular ride. It's always the very first one my family goes on when we get to DLR. I think the reason the lines aren't usually very long has more to do with the fact that the ride loads a ton of people at one time. It's constantly moving so the line usually doesn't get a chance to build that big of a queue. I consider that a good thing.

I've never been to DL in July so I'm not entirely sure what the waits will be. But I'd anticipate not more than 20 minutes or so. I'm going off of that guess by being there other times of the year around a holiday.

 

[HydroGuy]

The reason that PotC always has short lines is not due to lack of popularity. It is because the ride can hold a lot of people at once and so the line is constantly moving. I believe PotC has the highest capacity in both DL and MK. The TTA could have a higher one at MK though. But PotC is up there. Another reason for the short line is that there are 2 lines, separating the people in half.

HOwever, last year when the Pirates' opened after being redone, the lines did reach around 45+ minutes at DL. I don't know about MK. That will not be the case for you. I would expect a line of max. 30 minutes in July

Yep, that is right. POTC is the highest capacity ride at DLR with a maximum capacity of 3400 an hour.

During a summer day with park hours of 8AM-Midnight that means they could push through 54000 people a day. In reality they start and end the days with less boats because of lower demand, so the 54000 per day number is a bit on the high side. But still compare that to the new Nemo Subs ride with a max capacity of 900 an hour and 14000 per day. With a typical summer day visitor total of 40000-50000, you can see how just about everyone could ride POTC but only a fraction could ride Nemo Subs. That is why you will see 3-4 hour lines for Nemo this summer when you are there in July. Ride Nemo first thing in the morning to avoid worst of the lines.

Finally, be aware that the more offerings DLR has, the more it spreads people out. With Nemo Subs open this year there will be 2000-4000 people in that line most of the day, which will represent 4-10% of all people in the park. If people are in the Nemo lines, they are not elsewhere which means other lines will be shorter. At least they will be after the first few weeks and the local AP holders get blacked out. The last few years DL has brought several rides on line to suck up people, including the revamped and more efficient Space Mtn and Buzz LY. Plus DCA is inching up there in popularity, which draws people out of DL.

And I do not think the POTC ride is losing popularity. If anything, it is growing because of the boost from the movies.

 

[Husker Mickey]

We were in DL during Spring Break - busy time of the year and the lines were long with wait times long too. We watched the fireworks the first night of our trip and went on the long line rides during the fireworks on the next nights. We actually went on POTC two times in a row because of the lack of people in line. I love the new additions!!! Family members got their pics taken with Jack Sparrow on our first day close to New Orleans Square. What fun!