Wait times for Rides are concerning me...

[poeticdiabetic]

OK, we're going April 5th-9th. I am on the now famous $1200 budget challenge, which takes the whole idea of staying onsite out. And I've been seeing threads about hour and hour-and-a-half waits.

So I'm thinking to myself: Is this trip going to be basically a waiting game? Personally, I like the whole fastpass deal at WDW. And for those of us who stays onsite at WDW, the after or before hours deal is fantastic.

But are the 60-90 minute wait times the norm on the good rides at US/IOA? Especially when you factor in the April 5th-9th dates?

 

[Metro West]

OK, we're going April 5th-9th. I am on the now famous $1200 budget challenge, which takes the whole idea of staying onsite out. And I've been seeing threads about hour and hour-and-a-half waits.

So I'm thinking to myself: Is this trip going to be basically a waiting game? Personally, I like the whole fastpass deal at WDW. And for those of us who stays onsite at WDW, the after or before hours deal is fantastic.

But are the 60-90 minute wait times the norm on the good rides at US/IOA? Especially when you factor in the April 5th-9th dates?

Unfortunately, that week will be fairly busy. The Express pass is almost at it's highest price so expect longer lines. If you get there early, you should be able to do a lot of the major attractions before the crowds arrive.

 

[avic77]

I have the same concern but luckily I was able to go whatever dates I wanted ( yaa homeschool ). So I took into account we would not have expresspass or FOTL and looked for the dates with a) the cheapest express pass prices and b) the cheapest hotel prices, which combined should have us going at a fairly slow time for year. I am hopeing for no more then 45 minute waits on the big rides.

Unfortunatly you will probably have some serious lines. Follow the Disney rule of getting there early and thitting the BIG ONES first. Good Luck and try to enjoy your vacation even if you have to hang out in line for a bit.

 

[macraven]

OK, we're going April 5th-9th. I am on the now famous $1200 budget challenge, which takes the whole idea of staying onsite out. And I've been seeing threads about hour and hour-and-a-half waits.

So I'm thinking to myself: Is this trip going to be basically a waiting game? Personally, I like the whole fastpass deal at WDW. And for those of us who stays onsite at WDW, the after or before hours deal is fantastic.

But are the 60-90 minute wait times the norm on the good rides at US/IOA? Especially when you factor in the April 5th-9th dates?

If you read some of the disney threads about being in the park during spring break, you'll read about the long waits there also.

These long waits are going to happen at any park during certain time periods in the year.

Fast passes are running out in the morning for the hot rides in their parks.
can't count on the FP to help for the entire day there in the parks.

Last year the wait for Toy Story Mania was 90 minutes. This was on a weekday, the first week in October. The FP were all gone by 11 that day.


When I have gotten the FP there, the return time isn't always the time period that is good for me. If I have an ADR when my time is for the ride, I still lose then.

With the economy being slow, employees being laid off, we will see longer waits at disney also during spring break.
And, we will see long waits in line at universal also during spring break.

I always took my kids out of school to do disney and universal before I would go to Orlando during spring break.
None of us could handle the long lines.

I believe some of us gave you suggestions on another thread prior, on ways to avoid crowds and long waits in lines.

The key is to get to the parking garage early, way before it opens.

Also, check the calendar for hour changes before you go.
And, inquire at gs if there are park hour changes while you are in the park.

The hours can always change. They can open early or extend the park hours each day based on attendance in the park.

If you go early, eat at off times, use the single riders line, you can shave time off those wait lines.

You are a brave person to go to any park when it is high crowd level time.
I'm a wimp, I'll stick with the crowds at HHN......

 

[Darcy03231]

I went in August 2007 during peak time and stayed off-site (we were there for 16 days with 9 people - no way we could have stayed on-site). We got to the parks every day for park opening. We were at the turnstiles by between 8:30 - 8:45 am. Lines really don't start to form until about 11 am. You can get a lot done in the first two hours. From 11 am - noon we found there were lines, but not too bad (15-30 min). Depending on the day from noon to 1 pm they got a bit longer (30-60 min) and after 1 the lines for the more popular rides got really long. We left then and went back to the rental house for something to eat, swim, rest, etc. and came back at night (parks were open until 9-10 pm). While there were lines at night they didn't seem to be as bad as mid-day (instead of 90 min for Spiderman it was 35 min).

One thing I did was to book a room for one night to get two days of FOTL for 5 of us (me, my 2 teens and my sister's 2 teens - my Mom, niece (3.5), sister and BIL really weren't interested in the coasters/thrill rides). The kids loved it (which is why we're staying on-site this trip). It was also nice having the room as one of the adults could take my niece to the room for a nap easily (BIL took advantage of this too). If that's in your budget I would suggest doing it since you're going during a busy week.