Posted Wait Times are Greatly Exaggerated at Night

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I don't think I can emphasize this point enough.

We visited WDW two weeks ago and this practice is still very much in place, and in fact may be getting more prevalent.

Here are just a few examples from our most recent trip (crowd level 8 & 9 days per EasyWDW)

MK
7 Dwarfs right after Wishes: Posted wait - 65 minutes. Actual wait 5 minutes.

Peter Pan at 11 pm: Posted wait - 40 minutes. Actuals wait 1 minute. There were about 10 people in line.

Space Mtn at 11:30 pm: Posted wait - 40 minutes. Ride was actually a walk-on. Rode 4 times in 35 minutes.

Haunted Mansion at 9:30 pm (this one was my favorite): Posted wait - 20 minutes. We had our 7th FP+ of the day for this one. We arrived at the gate at the same time as another family. They went through standby and actually beat us to the front door because we had to stop and swipe the magic bands twice. No one else was in line.

Epcot
Test Track at 8:30 pm: Posted wait 50 minutes. Actual wait 10 minutes.

DHS
Toy Story just before Star Wars fireworks: Posted wait 50 minutes. Actual wait 20 the first time then 5 for the 2nd ride. We rode twice in less than a half hour. Not too bad.

I could go on and on and on. Anyone else notice this trend? There's often not many visitors in the parks during the last couple of hours of operation so this may be going unnoticed.

 

[AquaDame]

I noticed that as well on our last trip, not a walk on Peter Pan experience mind you, but often a good 15-30 minutes off the posted time.

 

[myjourney]

I don't get it? What is the reason for this?

 

[jtowntoflorida]

We had a similar experience when we were there earlier this month, particularly with Toy Story. We didn't stay in the MK late enough the day we were there to see whether this held true there as well.

I don't get it? What is the reason for this?

Frankly, I think they want to discourage people from getting on the rides so they can shut everything down.

 

[JimmyV]

I don't get it? What is the reason for this?

Maybe to discourage people so that they leave. By that time of the day, Disney has just about as much of your money as it is going to get, so they just as soon see you leave so that they can keep the nighttime staffing numbers down. This could be a misdirection to get people to pack it in for the day.

 

[AquaDame]

I don't get it? What is the reason for this?

The conspiracy theorist in me says so there isn't a huge line too close to closing...

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

I don't get it? What is the reason for this?

It's to guide you away from the attractions and toward the gift shops. Even though the shops stay open at least an hour after the park closes, guests are more likely to stop in and browse if the park isn't "closed".

 

[PeasandCarrots]

I agree I think it's to get you to call it a night.

 

[22Tink]

Good to know!! Sneaky!

 

[jtwibih]

Interesting info.....will keep that in mind when we are hanging out late at night

 

[BuzzinDownToDisney]

There are about a half dozen apps/websites dedicated to Disney wait times, and it's no secret the official one is the least accurate.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

On a side note, we spent a few days on this trip at Universal for the first time in several years. Their posted times in the evenings seemed to be fairly accurate. Lines over there got really short late at night also, but they seemed to be trying to keep the times updated.

 

[cckp72]

I noticed this during the day during our trip in February too. Not to the extreme that the OP is reporting on, but definitely the wait times were very much off. One example I can think of off the top of my head is 7DMR - posted was 50 or 60 minutes, actual was more around 20.

Interesting to say the least about getting people into the shops instead!! Hmmm.....

 

[rwdavis2]

Josh, on easywdw, has indicated as much as well. He regularly posts photos that say "this an X minute line" or "it's x minutes from here".

 

[angierae]

In 2013 we were making our way out at the end of the Halloween Party and we realized we wouldn't really get another chance to see Tink, so we stopped and looked at the "20 minutes" posted and were hemming and hawing about whether or not it was worth the wait. The CM outside saw us, looked at the sign, and said "That's not even close to right, just go in." There were about two families ahead of us in line. Maybe only one.

They want you to leave.

 

[Babe the Blue Ox]

There are about a half dozen apps/websites dedicated to Disney wait times, and it's no secret the official one is the least accurate.

There could be a hundred more accurate apps out there, but nothing is more effective for clearing out the area than a 60 minute posted wait time on Splash Mtn. at 11 pm with a line of people spilling out beyond the standby entrance. You could see the guests turn and walk away when they saw this.

I asked the attendant on duty if that was accurate and she said that it would be if they were using all of the queue area, but they weren't. She told us that the actual wait would be about 20 minutes. We were on in less than 10.

They created a pretty effective optical illusion by making the line appear to be much longer than it actually was.

 

[johnsonet]

I've definitely noticed this. I always assumed that the later it was, the less it mattered to update the times I go by what the line looks like.

 

[jtowntoflorida]

Josh used to display actual wait times, but Disney shut down the feed. That day made me a sad panda. Just knowing there are two internal Disney data streams (Posted and Actual) is pretty eye-opening.

 

[loves to dive]

It might also be due to people having reserved FP+ but deciding not to use them and not cancelling them. Could be those wait times are determined via computer and if x amount are FP then the computer has no way of knowing the people left if they don't cancel. Just a thought.

 

[IceSkatingPrincess]

I find this to be true a lot of times during the day as well.

Shhh, don't tell people or they'll actually get in line!