Wait Times at MK (where's the smiley with the eyes popping out?)

[DisneyCowgirl]

I did my plans a month or so ago in touringplans (using easywdw as my guide for which parks on which days), and today I went back in an "Evaluated" to see if anything had changed. My wait for Dumbo went from 11 minutes to 44 minutes! What is that all about? Is this because they now are only running one side when the crowds are lower?

I think we'll skip Dumbo.

 

[Sevey13]

Why not wait and see rather than rely on predictions which may change again tomorrow?

 

[DisneyCowgirl]

Why not wait and see rather than rely on predictions which may change again tomorrow?

Yes, of course we'll wait and see, but my real question is what is driving this change?

 

[maxiesmom]

On another thread a poster mentioned that many schools pushed back their Spring Breaks this year. So you are running into a bit of that.

 

[PrincessWithABlaster]

I had at least one day where my TP estimated times jumped up 10 - 15 mins on several rides. I'm assuming they are adjusting to higher than anticipated crowds and/or not operating all rides to capacity.

 

[ArielSRL]

I did my plans a month or so ago in touringplans (using easywdw as my guide for which parks on which days), and today I went back in an "Evaluated" to see if anything had changed. My wait for Dumbo went from 11 minutes to 44 minutes! What is that all about? Is this because they now are only running one side when the crowds are lower?

I think we'll skip Dumbo.

My predicted wait for Pooh went from 20 to 42 minutes during a recent evaluate. Actually several waits went up. I guess in response to staff cutbacks? Being off on crowds? More people at MK because of refurbs and closings at Epcot and DHS?

 

[Disney Khaleesi]

Also, with one of Epcot's headliners being down and Hollywood Studios a mess, that is driving up the crowds at Magic Kingdom by a slight amount as well.

 

[DavidNYC]

This is the level of planning I think is unwise - minute by minute guess are really just that. FWIW, I was there the 11th - 15th and at a number of times every day I was in MK Dumbo was a very easy FP to get as a 4th or later FP within 30 -45 minutes of reserving it.

 

[DisMommyTX]

We tried to ride Dumbo about 9pm last month. It was the beginning of Spring Break crowds, not peak but definitely rising. The first night parade had just started and we had an hour until fireworks. The posted wait said 35 minutes, but the actual wait would probably have been twice that. When we stepped inside the building, there were well over 200 people in line waiting either to enter the play area, leave the play area, or exit the building to the ride.

They were only running one side. We often travel at peak and holiday times, but I have never seen anything like this.

 

[ArielSRL]

This is the level of planning I think is unwise - minute by minute guess are really just that. FWIW, I was there the 11th - 15th and at a number of times every day I was in MK Dumbo was a very easy FP to get as a 4th or later FP within 30 -45 minutes of reserving it.

Not trying to be disrespectful, and maybe for YOU its unwise. But to say its unwise in general is just making a blanket statement that may or may not be true based on person or situation. Have you ever used touring plans? If not, that's fine, because you should always do what works for YOU. But for others this works. Touring plans uses historical data to predict wait times and while it may not be an exact science, it can give a good idea for someone who is looking for that info and enjoys that type of planning (and believe me, lots of people use it, so it must work for a lot of people). Personally, I will use my plans as guides and know that we will deviate from the plans at various points in our trip; and the tp lines app actually allows for you to modify on the go, so its very flexible.