ride wait times ?

[caroline1851]

Is there a place to find out what, historically, are typical wait times during certain times of year?

We;re going in Oct and I have NO idea what types of wait to expect on simple rides like: Pirates, Pooh, Peter Pan, TTA, etc. We'll be at the parks early but i doubt we'll be waiting for rope drop and I don't want to run to get to each ride, i'd like to be a bit relaxed for the kids to get to experience walking in, looking around, etc. I literally don't know if i should expect a 5 min. wait typically or 55 min. wait.

Any thoughts?

 

[toledo13]

I'd like to know this too.

I remember in October of 06, Soarin was just 60 min during the lunch hour..., Living with the Land and it's a small world were walk on...

 

[caroline1851]

And i know that there's probaly no def. answer to this, i just figure there is an average. I don't want to have this idea in my mind that we'll have 10 min. waits for rides when it's really going to be 45.

 

[HydroGuy]

The touring plans website rates each day of the year on a scale of 1-10 (actually 4-10 as the best days is a 4), but does not get specific on individual rides. Their custom itineraries might give that info - not sure.

What I use to get wait time information is RideMax - which is designed to create custom touring itineraries but as part of that it does give you a feel for wait times. For about $15 it may be worth it to you - see www.ridemax.com

 

[labattblue]

I did learn from our recent trip that many attractions have lower wait times later in the day. IaSW, PoTC, Finding Nemo, Living with the Land come to mind right away. I'm sure this varies from day to day, park to park. That being said, I don't think the crowds you will be seeing in October will be anywhere close to what we just experienced in April.

The attraction tip boards come in very handy in this regard! I just wish they had more of them at each park!

 

[Wendybird55]

There are various crowd indicators and such that I'm sure others can tell you about. I know the UG posts crowd levels (based on 1-10) but you can only get the current week unless you own the UG or subscribe tot he website.

That being said, in MK I usually find the Fantasyland rides (Peter Pan, Pooh, Dumbo, etc) to be the most crowded. They always seem to have lines. (the only one that tends not tob e as crowded is Small World). When traveling with adults I avoid these rides, but this year I'm brinign my son, so I will be waiting with the others.

The big thrill rides also tend to have longer lines. All these popular rides have fast pass and you swhould ustilize them whenever you can.

Some rides like Test Track have single rider lines - ifyou don't mind not sitting next to someone in your party you can on that line which can be shorter.

I find you really don't know what the crowds are like until you get there. The biggest waste of time can be just trying decide where you want to go and what ride you want to go on. Or if a line is too long what should you do.

Have a basic attack plan as to what rides / attractions you want to hit first. Try to attack areas as well. When I go to MK I usually veer left before the castle and head towards adventureland & frontierland - that's where most of my favorite rides are and just plough thru them as I go.

This year I'll head right towards Fantasyland.

Eveyone has their own plan based on what they like.

Also going on rides duirng the parade is helful as they tend to be shorter because eveyrone is watching the parade.

I bet we all wish we knew exactly what the crowds would be like at what parks for our trip, butit's so hard to predict exactly. But from what I read here, some of the crowd guides are usually pretyy much right on.

I tend to go during off season (usually weeek after Thanksgiving or beginning of Sept. - last time was in Feb. and though there were lines for some attractions, I never found it unbearable.

 

[Jill in Chicago]

At the back of the Unofficial Guidebook to Disney (available at your library) you will find suggested touring plans. They will want you to arrive at rope drop. (Which I totally agree with!) Then they send you on to certain rides in a suggested order. Then comes lunch. That will give you a pretty good idea of what you can accomplish in "x" many hours prior to lunch, which they suggest eating early, like 11:00.

We went in October, so medium crowds. We found the first 3 attractions had barely any wait. After that the waits were very short, maybe 20 minutes. BUT we were not going on rides like Dumbo or Peter Pan. We were hitting Space Mountain, Pirates, Buzz...

The most important thing to take advantage of is Fast Pass. Look at the FP machine PRIOR to inserting your ticket. It will tell you when to come back. (It could be in a hour, 3 hours or more. Pay attention.) Sooooooo, no standing for 1 1/2 hours, instead grab a FP and go have lunch, take a bathroom break, visit a less popular attraction.... We never stood in long lines the entire week.

 

[mattsdragon]

Remember, it's unlikely you'll be able to see everything. So relax and enjoy it while you can. Leave things to do for your next trip.

 

[Hootch]

also has a bottleneck rating of 1-10 for each ride/attraction.

 

[Luhts]

Hi! October is normally one of the slowest months, from what I've read. But no one has mentioned the MNSSHP is on in Oct., and I am betting that will affect crowds at MK, as well as the Food and Wine Festival at Epcot.

With the MNSSHP, I am guessing it will get busier later in the day??

 

[vicki_c]

With the MNSSHP, I am guessing it will get busier later in the day??

Not really because a lot of party goers will not realize that they can enter the park at 4 p.m. when the party doesn't start until 7. Also, I don't think many non-party goers will arrive at the park in the afternoon, because they will have to leave at 7. If you don't show up until 4, that would be a big waste of your ticket unless you have an AP. If you are going to the party, 4-7 can be a great time to get some attractions in.