Realistic chances of doing our ride wish list without buying any LL's?

peacefrogdog

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Joined
Feb 22, 2000
Messages
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Have a trip booked from May 9-11 inclusive. Orlando informer list these days as 5-6/10 on the busy scale with a cheerleading competition going on then. None of the days have DAH or EEH. It's me, wife and 3 adult kids who prefer to avoid getting up early but would plan to stay up until closing. We have been lucky to visit WDW many times such that we do not feel the need to do every ride, but are prioritizing ones we have not done before. Unfortunately they are the newer ones that are popular.

My question is: how far down each of the ride wishlists below do you think we would realistic get without having to shell out the cost of individual or multi-LL's?

Magic Kingdom: aim to get there late morning and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Tron
2. Tiana
3. Space mountain
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Pirates

DHS: aim to get there late morning, and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Rise
2. Tower of Terror
3. Millenium Falcon
4. Star Tours
5. Toy Story

AK: Get there early, stay until closing. Ride wishlist.
1. Flight of Passage
2. Everest
3, Dinosaur
4. Safari
5. Kali
6. The avatar boat thing

Thanks in advance
 
Have a trip booked from May 9-11 inclusive. Orlando informer list these days as 5-6/10 on the busy scale with a cheerleading competition going on then. None of the days have DAH or EEH. It's me, wife and 3 adult kids who prefer to avoid getting up early but would plan to stay up until closing. We have been lucky to visit WDW many times such that we do not feel the need to do every ride, but are prioritizing ones we have not done before. Unfortunately they are the newer ones that are popular.

My question is: how far down each of the ride wishlists below do you think we would realistic get without having to shell out the cost of individual or multi-LL's?

Magic Kingdom: aim to get there late morning and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Tron
2. Tiana
3. Space mountain
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Pirates

DHS: aim to get there late morning, and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Rise
2. Tower of Terror
3. Millenium Falcon
4. Star Tours
5. Toy Story

AK: Get there early, stay until closing. Ride wishlist.
1. Flight of Passage
2. Everest
3, Dinosaur
4. Safari
5. Kali
6. The avatar boat thing

Thanks in advance
You definitely can get all of that doje with the time you allotted without LLs. Typically I'd save your popular rides for later in the day (better chance of not quite as long of a line).
 
This list is a couple of years old, but is just an example of what could be accomplished in about 4 hours on a Crowd Level 8 summer evening without any line assistance:

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.
 

You definitely can! Using early entry, if possible, will let you get at least one of the heavy hitters in quickly and since you're staying until close, you should have plenty of time.
 
You can do this without LL. Rise, FoP, and Tron are going to be your longest lines, so I would save those for later in the evening while others are watching fireworks or even just before close. Rise is the only iffy one because sometimes it breaks and doesn’t come back up before park close.

At MK, Tiana and SM are likely to be longer waits, maybe an hour, spending on timing. I would guess HM and Pirates will be closer to 30.

At HS, MF may also be an hour. ToT and Toy Story Mania will likely be 30-40 minutes. Star Tours is always short.

At AK, Navi (boat ride) may be long. I would do that in the evening with FoP. Kali may also be long in the afternoon if it’s hot. I wouldn’t be concerned about Safari, Everest or Dinosaur being more than 35 minutes or so. Note that AK closes before the other parks and opens earlier. Many people prefer AK earlier because the animals tend to be more active in the cooler mornings.

Remember that Disney often inflates posted wait times, especially toward the end of the day. Ride times sometimes also drop a bit during dinner time or during fireworks/fantasmic.

If you’re really into research, thrill data has great info on wait timers. You can drill down into specific rides and see average times over the course of the day, averages for the past month, etc. https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/chain/wdw/
 
Have a trip booked from May 9-11 inclusive. Orlando informer list these days as 5-6/10 on the busy scale with a cheerleading competition going on then. None of the days have DAH or EEH. It's me, wife and 3 adult kids who prefer to avoid getting up early but would plan to stay up until closing. We have been lucky to visit WDW many times such that we do not feel the need to do every ride, but are prioritizing ones we have not done before. Unfortunately they are the newer ones that are popular.

My question is: how far down each of the ride wishlists below do you think we would realistic get without having to shell out the cost of individual or multi-LL's?

Magic Kingdom: aim to get there late morning and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Tron
2. Tiana
3. Space mountain
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Pirates

DHS: aim to get there late morning, and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Rise
2. Tower of Terror
3. Millenium Falcon
4. Star Tours
5. Toy Story

AK: Get there early, stay until closing. Ride wishlist.
1. Flight of Passage
2. Everest
3, Dinosaur
4. Safari
5. Kali
6. The avatar boat thing

Thanks in advance
Oh yes it’s totally possible. Be sure to go on these attractions while the other guests are eating lunch or dinner. Your wait times should be reduced by then.

If available, remember this. If you have a ride that only you want to go on… Single Rider standby… it’s basically FREE LIGHTNING LANE!
 
This list is a couple of years old, but is just an example of what could be accomplished in about 4 hours on a Crowd Level 8 summer evening without any line assistance:

Big Thunder 3x
Splash Mtn 2x
Space Mtn 2x
Mine Train
Pirates
Jungle Cruise
Haunted Mansion
Pooh
Peter Pan
Speedway
Barnstormer 2x

We also watched the fireworks and had a couple of Dole Whips.
Wow impressive. When you say evening, starting at what time? I assume summer hours are later too than the 9 pm closing for May.
 
Wow impressive. When you say evening, starting at what time? I assume summer hours are later too than the 9 pm closing for May.
This one was 8 pm to midnight, but wait times will almost always decrease as closing time approaches.

Just keep in mind that wait times near the end of the evening are intentionally inflated to discourage late riders. We’ve been using this strategy for almost 30 years and it has always been successful.
 
Good point. MF and EE have these.

Rise has had a single rider line too recently. since OP has done it before, they may not mind missing the “preshow” portion.
Is the part where you are waiting in the hall as the CM as imperial soldiers comment that you're prisoners considered the preshow?
 
I agree with the consensus, you can get everything done without LL-just keep an eye on wait times in the app. Rise single rider line usually takes us around 30 minutes but you do miss out on 2 of the 3 preshows. Even thought Ive rode more times than I can count, I do feel it takes away from the experience and wouldnt recommend it to everyone.
 
You can do this without LL. Rise, FoP, and Tron are going to be your longest lines, so I would save those for later in the evening while others are watching fireworks or even just before close. Rise is the only iffy one because sometimes it breaks and doesn’t come back up before park close.

At MK, Tiana and SM are likely to be longer waits, maybe an hour, spending on timing. I would guess HM and Pirates will be closer to 30.

At HS, MF may also be an hour. ToT and Toy Story Mania will likely be 30-40 minutes. Star Tours is always short.

At AK, Navi (boat ride) may be long. I would do that in the evening with FoP. Kali may also be long in the afternoon if it’s hot. I wouldn’t be concerned about Safari, Everest or Dinosaur being more than 35 minutes or so. Note that AK closes before the other parks and opens earlier. Many people prefer AK earlier because the animals tend to be more active in the cooler mornings.

Remember that Disney often inflates posted wait times, especially toward the end of the day. Ride times sometimes also drop a bit during dinner time or during fireworks/fantasmic.

If you’re really into research, thrill data has great info on wait timers. You can drill down into specific rides and see average times over the course of the day, averages for the past month, etc. https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/chain/wdw/
Rise is more likely to fail firing up in the morning than it is to break down at night.

We’ve often been able to ride 3 times during the last hour and a half of operation even though the posted wait is 70-100 minutes.
 
Is the part where you are waiting in the hall as the CM as imperial soldiers comment that you're prisoners considered the preshow?
They’ve tested a few things. I believe now single riders skip Rey and the transport ship but do get to see the storm troopers.
 
Rise is more likely to fail firing up in the morning than it is to break down at night.

We’ve often been able to ride 3 times during the last hour and a half of operation even though the posted wait is 70-100 minutes.

I've also been evacuated from ROTR at the end of the night...we were there for 7 days so it wasn't a huge deal for us, but on a short trip I would probably buy LL for it.
 
The rides that are must dos for us during the entire trip are Rise, Flight of Passage and Tron. I know Rise can shut down - how about the other two?
 
Have a trip booked from May 9-11 inclusive. Orlando informer list these days as 5-6/10 on the busy scale with a cheerleading competition going on then. None of the days have DAH or EEH. It's me, wife and 3 adult kids who prefer to avoid getting up early but would plan to stay up until closing. We have been lucky to visit WDW many times such that we do not feel the need to do every ride, but are prioritizing ones we have not done before. Unfortunately they are the newer ones that are popular.

My question is: how far down each of the ride wishlists below do you think we would realistic get without having to shell out the cost of individual or multi-LL's?

Magic Kingdom: aim to get there late morning and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Tron
2. Tiana
3. Space mountain
4. Haunted Mansion
5. Pirates

DHS: aim to get there late morning, and stay until closing. Ride wishlist:
1. Rise
2. Tower of Terror
3. Millenium Falcon
4. Star Tours
5. Toy Story

AK: Get there early, stay until closing. Ride wishlist.
1. Flight of Passage
2. Everest
3, Dinosaur
4. Safari
5. Kali
6. The avatar boat thing

Thanks in advance
For all three of your #1s, you will want to jump in those lines at the VERY end of the day, mins before park closing. Ignore the wait times on the boards. Just trust!

As for the other really popular rides, try to get there as close to opening as you can stomach. I enjoy visiting AK when most people are leaving (early-mid afternoon depending how late it is open).
 












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