Wait Times Throughout the Year

[Withnail]

It's been fifteen years since I've visited Walt Disney World, I was seven years old. I've wanted to go back ever since. My brother and I were homeschooled growing up, and therefore never needed to take vacations in summer. We would go to theme parks when all the other kids were in school, and enjoy incredibly short waits in lines. That's how it was when we went to Disney World in October of 2003. We were finally planning on going back this year, but I've been made aware that it's not like that anymore, no matter when you go. For me, a 20 minute wait is excessive. Like, that's really pushing it for me, it better be an amazing ride. Right now though, you're looking at 20 minute waits for Dumbo at Magic Kingdom, and Big Thunder Mountain can have you waiting 2 hours. That should be illegal. And apparently it's like this year round now.

So Disney World is out of the question. It's either save our money and wait for the next economic recession, or find a place without the heavy crowds. Does Disneyland still have slow times, or is it Dollywood for us?

 

[Priory]

Considering your 20 minute wait maximum, let me ask you a question. How much do you like Winnie the Pooh and Little Mermaid...


Disneyland’s MaxPass May work out to your liking. Read some of the threads about it to get an idea of how it can work.

 

[lunasea]

At no amusement park are you going to find 20 minute waits. My husband is military and we have lived in lots of places across the US, and even at amusement parks in areas that are more local than tourist were waits for the good rides 30-45 minutes.

 

[blackjackdelta]

I would probably stick with those parks then. The last year or so the crowds have been much heavier than years before, go early as you can and then go with the human flow.

Jack

 

[Withnail]

At no amusement park are you going to find 20 minute waits. My husband is military and we have lived in lots of places across the US, and even at amusement parks in areas that are more local than tourist were waits for the good rides 30-45 minutes.

That's how it was when I was a kid, man. It was great. I remember getting on It's a Small World when there was literally no line, we walked right on. We'd go to theme parks, ride something, and get right back on. Dollywood was so great, sometimes we'd ride Daredevil Falls, and when our log came back into the station there'd still be no one in line, so the person running the ride would just ask if we want to go again, and we wouldn't even get out.

 

[agamble]

It isn't so much seasons as times of day that are light. If you go to Disneyland at 8 AM you can get on a lot of rides that do not have FP and just walk on. This way you can ride everything in Fantasyland in just over an hour (except maybe Peter Pan). Staying at a Disney owned hotel will give you EMH and allow you access to one of the parks an hour before opening. At DL only Fantasyland and Tomorrowland are open and guests with certain tickets can get in too, so it is nice but not perfect. However, at DCA only the hotel guests can get in and most rides are open, so this can mean lots of walking on.

Night time isn't as short of waits, but you can reride water rides like Splash Mountain and Grizzly River Run over and over because fee people want to ride them late at night. The later it is the more families bail.

Late January and the first week or 2 of February are the "slower" season at DLR. However, hours are short and more rides are closed. If the park opens at 9 or 10 AM you will see more people at park opening than when it opens at 8.

The use of MP to ride the FP rides with a short wait would help you a lot. Combine that with arriving early every morning and you could do a lot with little wait. Save the busier time of day to ride rides that have shorter waits like Mermaid and Pooh and see shows like Frozen or Mickey and the Magical Map.

Disney has also created a new app to help people find something to do in line. Or you could talk to your family while waiting.

We just visited a small park called Gilroy Gardens this Saturday. It did not have long waits. But they are also sooo slow at loading compared to Disney. This was also our experience with Knotts and Six Flags. Fewer people and the lines were shorter, but loading was a slow process. Disney has it down to a science.

 

[ExcitedMama]

Be warned I don’t think you will find Disney empty anytime of year. I did have an amazing experience once when there was a downpour and everyone left. I’d much rather be at Disney during rain than heat so I was delighted. I homeschool our kids and we tag along with my husband when he has to go to Southern California for conferences and we are often there during regular school times and it’s still packed. We were there last fall when it was not a school break time and there were school kids everywhere and the place was packed. I was shocked by the crowds during weekdays. Max Pass was easy to use and really helps. We really enjoyed the Mickey Halloween Party too. A lot of people are there for special characters and things so it would be a great time to ride the rides pretty easily.

 

[Geemo]

It's been fifteen years since I've visited Walt Disney World, I was seven years old. I've wanted to go back ever since. My brother and I were homeschooled growing up, and therefore never needed to take vacations in summer. We would go to theme parks when all the other kids were in school, and enjoy incredibly short waits in lines. That's how it was when we went to Disney World in October of 2003. We were finally planning on going back this year, but I've been made aware that it's not like that anymore, no matter when you go. For me, a 20 minute wait is excessive. Like, that's really pushing it for me, it better be an amazing ride. Right now though, you're looking at 20 minute waits for Dumbo at Magic Kingdom, and Big Thunder Mountain can have you waiting 2 hours. That should be illegal. And apparently it's like this year round now.

So Disney World is out of the question. It's either save our money and wait for the next economic recession, or find a place without the heavy crowds. Does Disneyland still have slow times, or is it Dollywood for us?

My grandkids were home schooled too. One's in their early 20's and the other is mid 20's. Made it nice to pick the time to go when we knew the parks wouldn't be so crowded.
I see you became a member last Friday.

As you read through the threads, you'll see times have changed the past three or so years. Disneyland is busy most times of the year now. There are NO times that can be predicted to be slow now. Five years ago yes, there were times when the lines would be short waits to walk-on. That is a thing of the past. When StarWarsLand opens I believe everyone is expecting CROWDS to be even worse.

Your best bet for a slow day in the parks is if it's bad weather.
Figment_jii maintains a calendar of official and unofficial events in the parks.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/2018-calendar-of-events-school-breaks-and-dlr.3635162/
Review and see if there is a time you think might work for you.
HydroGuy maintains the Historical DLR info.
https://www.disboards.com/threads/historical-dlr-park-hours-entertainment-and-refurbs.2291124/

Good luck

Geemo

 

[tink89]

I think most other parks are pretty slow during school, but not Disney. My local amusement park has wait times of about 15 min for kid rides and about 25 -35 minutes for other rides. That is usually on slow days when school is in. Otherwise it is packed and wait times are longer. We sometimes do no notice how long because not all amusement parks have a wait time before you enter.

If 20 min is excessive then i think you are limited to Pooh and Ariel like others mentioned. Even with a FP or MP you sometimes still have to go through the whole queue which is can be long and then wait another 5 -10 minutes or a bit more depending on the ride.

 

[RedHotMama]

I don't like wasting time in lines either. But with a good touring plan, you don't have to. My family went late winter this year for 5 days and I think we stood in line for 20-25 minutes only 3 times. Everything else was 5-15 minute waits. Use Fast Pass. Be there for rope drop. Enjoy shows and other attractions and take your time with meals when the lines are long and you're waiting for a FP window.
You can check out my trip report in my signature to see what our days were like.

 

[Indiana Scott]

We have made it a near science to determine slower times of the year and only go during them. We look for shorter wait times as well and wait times of 20~30 minutes are our standard and can be readily achieved with only a few ride exceptions.
We make use of the fast pass system as well and that helps a lot. When a ride we want has a ridiculous wait time, we get FP's and check the app for shorter lines elsewhere or even go to the other park.
There's just too much to do at DLR to spend that much time waiting in line. There's always something to do.

 

[lcp9]

Agree with PP - we are 1-2x a year out of town visitors, and with FP and now MP, I don't know that we've waited longer than 20 minutes for anything, honestly. Maybe when it was still tower of terror and constantly breaking down, the FP line was longer than that, but that's it. If you have a strategy and are a get things done type of person, it doesn't have to be miserable. That said, we are exhausted at the end of Disney days because we HUSTLE. Part of a good strategy is being willing to criss cross the parks 500 times when a MP pops up.