Whats the deal with posted wait times

[luvsJack]

Just got home this morning. 3 days in all 4 parks. Something we noticed in every park was the posted wait times being way off. This was on the app and on the signs at the attractions.

One attraction might say 30 minutes and be a walk on and another say 30 minutes and be more like 90. Now if we were on one side of the park, checked the wait time and then walked to the other side I would expect a change but not every time and not when it was close by to change that much.

At peter pan it was posted at 10 min and the CM was telling everyone as they went in "its more like 40 min". Over at Stitch it was posted as 10 and he was saying "I have to go by whats posted, buuuttt..."

Made it really hard to determine what we had to do between fast passes. Is this always a problem?

 

[Robo]

Just got home this morning. 3 days in all 4 parks. Something we noticed in every park was the posted wait times being way off...

Is this always a problem?

Pretty much.

 

[Richard M Nixon]

They know you're going to wait, and they're never on time!

 

[DisneyFive]

They know you're going to wait, and they're never on time!

You see, you know how to TAKE the reservation, you just don't know how to HOLD the reservation!

Dan

 

[luvsJack]

Lol. definitely that your going to wait anyway most of the time!

Does anyone know if there is a reason the times are off so much?

 

[nkereina]

Lol. definitely that your going to wait anyway most of the time!

Does anyone know if there is a reason the times are off so much?

I suspect FP+ plays a role in this, since this can jack up stand by wait times depending on how many FP+ returns they get at any given time. But otherwise, I think some wait times are inflated so guests are happy when the 15 minute posted wait only took 5 minutes. In my experience, there's been only a handful of times when the actual wait was actually longer than what was posted, and that was due to a technical glitch - for instance, Splash had a malfunction and we were stuck waiting about 45 mins rather than the posted 30. By the time we got off the ride, the wait had been adjusted on the screen. There is a bit of a delay in the time actually being updated (the red cards they hand people in line helps to update the times). I also find wait times to be less accurate first thing in the morning due to the influx of people entering the lines and the times not adjusting quick enough to account for that.

 

[luvsJack]

All of that makes sense. It just seemed to be a bit of a problem all ober the park at the same time. A couple of times one of the most popular attractions would show no wait. When we walked by the CM would just grin and say "yeah, thats NOT right" I mean they were friendly with it and joking, anyone could see it wasn't a walk on but I wondered if they got fussed at about it. We know enough not to depend too much on the posted times but some were so very off it was laughable.

 

[msmama]

I wouldn't necessarily blame FP+ for the problem as I encountered the same problem at Disneyland last year. Posted wait times were wrong for just about every ride we went on!

 

[angierae]

In 2013, late one night, we walked by where Tink and friends were meeting (in Adventureland) and the sign said something stupid like 30 minutes. DD and I stood there looking at it for a moment, trying to decide if it was worth it (she's been trying to meet Terrance again since our first trip and at that time he was still in rotation) and the CM standing outside saw us, looked up at the sign, and said "It's not even CLOSE to that, come on in."

There was one other group ahead of us once we got in there. Sometimes I think they use wait times to funnel people around the park. It's like how at the end of the night, the TSMM times are never right. They don't WANT people getting in line, so they jack it up.

 

[ellie05]

Out feb 14 trip the wait times were way off. However the two trips after that wait times have been pretty accurate except when the ride has gone down.

 

[g8torphan]

Isnt there an app that that uses user feedback to show actual wait times?

Anyone remember the name of it?

 

[dmband]

It shouldn't be so hard to keep accurate wait times
There has been many times in the past I was given a red card that they scanned when I came in line and again at the end
Supposedly it is to update the time and they can do this all day long. Every half hr or so they should send someone through with a card

 

[rtbreneman]

Isnt there an app that that uses user feedback to show actual wait times?

Anyone remember the name of it?

Touring plans has user feedback. Their app is called Lines.

 

[sharona]

Isnt there an app that that uses user feedback to show actual wait times?

Anyone remember the name of it?

I believe you're thinking of the Touringplans Lines app. I haven't used it in a long time but that was how it used to work.

 

[DisneyMemories71]

Not sure if this is true, but I've heard that Disney uses projected wait times as a way to funnel people towards or away from certain rides. I like the Lines App because I feel like they are an independent source for unbiased information.

 

[silenttuba]

Touring plans has user feedback. Their app is called Lines.

I used Lines during my trip last month. Their user updated info was far more accurate than Disny's posted wait times. That app alone was worth the TouringPlans subscription.

Note to anyone who decides to use Lines: do your part, and time for waits when you can! The app doesn't work if users don't pitch in.

 

[volfan1978]

Remember just a few weeks ago that the WDW Wait Times app used to give hyper accurate wait time information that was being plucked from the Disney system, but then Disney changed it up so that the information was no longer available (the app's designer frequently posts here so maybe he can chime in)? There were frequently discrepancies between the "posted" wait times and the "actual" wait times that were probably being generated by the red cards. This is proof enough to me that there is definitely some social engineering at play in the posted wait time to try to steer people where Disney wants them.

 

[ArwenMarie]

I think FP+ does make it worse though. Get a surge of FPs coming in, the wait time can shoot up then not come back down when it should, or not shoot up accurately, etc.

 

[g8torphan]

I think FP+ does make it worse though. Get a surge of FPs coming in, the wait time can shoot up then not come back down when it should, or not shoot up accurately, etc.

How is that different than old FP?
At least now there is a limited amount of time you are allowed to return in. Miss your window and you miss your chance. Plus, they still only release a limited amount for any time window.

 

[Flight]

i have found the posted wait times to be wildly inaccurate on some occasions. Sometimes there will be a 30 minute posted wait while at the same time people are walking right onto an attraction.