If you want to Decrease time spent waiting in lines, you’ll love these tips!
Our guide is designed to help you cut down on Disney World wait times, avoid long lines, and make the best of your Disney trip!
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Whether you’re going to the beautiful Magic Kingdom or the young and vibrant Animal Kingdom, there are hundreds of incredible sights to explore.
While theme parks are an exciting way to spend your vacation, they have peak times and seasons which make it difficult to enjoy some of their most famous experiences. This is especially true with some of the Walt Disney World wait times.
Fortunately, a bit of smart planning makes it entirely possible to avoid the crowd and enjoy everything Disney World has to offer.
It’s not hard to avoid crowds once you have the right information. With that, here’s everything you need to know about planning a fun and easy day at Walt Disney World.
HOW LONG CAN THE WAITS AT DISNEY WORLD BE?
The longest Disney World wait times include iconic attractions like Space Mountain, Rise of the Resistance, and the Kilimanjaro Safaris, which can reach over an hour long! Even a less popular ride can average a half an hour wait time or more.
Unfortunately, these wait times for popular rides at the Disney parks add up.
If you’re not careful, you may end up spending the majority of your time at the most magical place on earth waiting to experience it.
This is why using strategies to avoid long waits at Disney World is so important to make the best use of your limited vacation time.
One good way to avoid long wait times is to avoid common vacation seasons like Spring Break and instead visit in quiet seasons like September (as a bonus, these quieter seasons are usually the cheapest times to visit Disney!).
In addition to checking the posted wait times at the attraction, using apps that estimate wait times is a great way to find the shortest lines in the Disney park and optimize your time.
What Are the Longest Lines at Disney World
Knowing which attractions have the longest lines at Disney World can be very useful when you’re developing your game plan.
Thrill-Data.com keeps track of Disney’s posted wait times, and has said that these rides typically have the longest wait:
- Rise of the Resistance (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Avatar: Flight of Passage (Disney’s Animal Kingdom)
- Slinky Dog Dash (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure (Epcot)
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (Magic Kingdom)
- Frozen Ever After (Epcot)
- Jungle Cruise (Magic Kingdom)
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Peter Pan’s Flight (Magic Kingdom)
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Splash Mountain (Magic Kingdom)
- Millennium Falcon (Disney’s Hollywood Studios)
- Test Track (Epcot)
HOW TO AVOID LONG WAIT TIMES AT DISNEY WORLD
Arriving at Disney World at the right time of the year is the most effective way to avoid long lines.
While common vacation times like Spring Break and Summer Break have high crowd levels, it usually slows down when kids go back to school.
As such, visiting at the end of August, during September, late January, or early February is a great way to score a shorter wait time for your favorite attractions.
If you plan to visit Disney World at a peak time, using their line app called the My Disney Experience app is a great way to avoid busy areas of the park and plan your trip.
An added benefit to using the My Disney Experience app is that you can use it to keep all of your vacation plans in one place.
The Touring Plans Lines app is another great way to plan your trip around long waits. While it does come with a $15 annual subscription, many people find that the time the app saves is well worth the cost.
PURCHASE Disney Genie + or A LIGHTNING LANE ENTRY PASS
If you’re really looking for a way to cut down on wait times (so much so that you’re willing to pay for it!), then purchase the Disney Genie+ service and/or an individual lightning lane entry pass.
This is essentially a “golden ticket” that helps you zip through lines faster at Walt Disney World Resort by gaining you access to a separate, faster queue, rather than waiting in the standby line.
For $15 per person per day (on top of your ticket purchase), Genie+ lets you “skip the line” of 19 attractions, including such Disney fan favorites as Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Pirates of the Caribbean, It’s a Small World, Haunted Mansion, and Splash Mountain.
Of course, it is not absolutely necessary to spend extra money to have a productive day at Disney, and a Disney Genie+ pass will not help you gain faster access to every attraction in the park.
While some do swear by it to gain faster access to their favorite ride, others would much rather keep their $15.
Ask a Cast Member
Sometimes, the posted wait times at a ride isn’t entirely accurate. The actual wait times may be quite shorter!
If in doubt, you can ask the cast member stationed at the entrance of the queue. They’re usually familiar enough with the average waits that they can tell you if it’s a good estimate or not.
MAKING THE BEST OF DISNEY WORLD WAIT TIMES
While waiting in a crowd is never fun, sometimes it’s unavoidable to get to a theme park attraction.
When you’re stuck waiting in such a line, it’s important to lighten up and find ways to make the best of the time.
Depending on the age of who you’re traveling with, there are lots of great strategies to make the time melt away. Strategies like food, fun games, and lively conversations are a great way to pass the time.
Games And Snacks While Waiting in Disney Lines
If you’re going to Disney with toddlers or young children, there are a lot of fun games you can employ to keep everyone entertained. Simple games like “I Spy” encourage them to fully enjoy all the sights of the park, while snacks are perfect for entertaining even the fussiest child.
Older kids love games too! While it’s important to think creatively with older kids, there are a lot of fun and safe games that will keep everyone entertained.
You can have everyone go in a circle and come up with a story by taking turns saying sentences, or prepare a list beforehand for an “I Spy” scavenger hunt!
Teenagers are great at keeping themselves entertained, but it’s still important to come prepared.
Delicious snacks are a must, and plenty of venues around the park sell fun Disney-themed treats. They’re likely to enjoy spending time with any friends who came on the trip or playing a fun Disney app on their phones.
And, of course, there are ways to entertain family and friends all together. Coming up with original Disney-themed trivia games or challenges is a great way to put your brain to work during the vacation.
Study the Queue’s Theming
The Disney Imagineers go above and beyond when it comes to designing fun themes around an attraction’s queue.
Often, you’ll find loads of details or fun things to check out if you just take the time to look around you!
This can be a great way to help little ones pass the time.
Prepare for the Heat
If you’re visiting Disney World during the warmer months of the year, be sure to check out our tips for staying cool at Disney World.
Although many attractions have indoor queues, there are still several rides that have at least a portion of their line outdoors.
Be sure to bring a misting fan so you aren’t melting in the sun!
Reducing Wait Times at Disney World
Although some wait times are inevitable, there are also a few tried-and-true ways to cut back on average wait times, so you can do more and wait less!
Early Morning Attractions
If there are popular attractions that you know you want to enjoy during your trip, you may want to consider planning to hit those attractions first thing in the day.
If you’re staying at a Disney resort and have the privilege of early entry into the park, take advantage of the opportunity to make a beeline to an attraction early in the day that would otherwise have a long wait.
Attractions During the Parade or Fireworks
Afternoon parades and evening fireworks are another great time to visit attractions that ordinarily have longer wait times, since many guests will be posted up in one place, watching the fireworks or parade.
Not only will you often have a shorter wait time during these events, but sometimes you’ll get an amazing view!
Riding Dumbo the Flying Elephant, Magic Carpets of Aladdin, or the Astro Orbiter during fireworks can be a spectacular finish to your day!
Closing Time Attractions
If you don’t mind staying out a little bit later, consider getting in line for your must-ride attraction just before park closing.
As long as you are in the queue prior to closing time, you’ll be able to ride. Attraction wait times are often much shorter later in the day.
So while many guests are making their exit to the parking lot, monorail, or hotel transportation, you can be getting in line for your favorite ride!
Enjoying Disney World Despite the Lines
Being a guest at Walt Disney World is sure to be a magical experience. Whether you’re visiting the famous EPCOT or exploring nature in Disneys Animal Kingdom, there’s always something new to explore.
To make the most of your visit, it’s important to visit at the right time and go to the quiet areas of the park to avoid an unwanted crowd.
Many rides, while less famous, are just as fun as their most iconic counterparts.
Opening your mind to every area of the park and enjoying it is one of the best ways to keep your Disney World vacation action-packed.
Additionally, visiting during quiet months and using apps to determine what areas of the park are busy is a great way to avoid any long wait time.
At the end of the day, the most important part of your day plan for visiting Disney World is to visit with a positive attitude.
Whether you’re at the top of Space Mountain or still waiting in the line below, there are always opportunities to make the best of your time and enjoy the park with your family.
With so many delicious snacks and sights all around the park, you’ll be able to enjoy an enchanting trip to Disney World, despite the ride wait times!
More Disney Planning Resources:
- Disney Packing List: What to Bring on Your Trip
- How to Get Last-Minute Disney Dining Reservations
- How the Disney Payment Plan Works
- Top 10 Disney World Tips
Be sure to save this article to your Disney planning board on Pinterest!
