Jump to content

The THRILL DATA Blog

Featured Entries

  • Webmaster

    When Will My Boarding Group Be Called?

    By Webmaster

    It's 7 AM. You have been refreshing the My Disney Experience app now for 2 minutes straight. At 7:00 AM on the dot, you snag a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle / Run. You get your boarding group assignment. When can you expect to ride? If you received a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind  at EPCOT, and the group was 18 or below, you can expect to be called at or before rope drop. Over the past month, the first 18 (some
    • 0 comments
    • 13,188 views
  • Webmaster

    How Busy is Disney World in 2023?

    By Webmaster

    How busy (or not) Disney World has been in July (and really all of 2023) is a hot topic the past few weeks. There have been numerous articles in high profile outlets (including CNN, which cited data from Thrill Data) to talk about it, and plenty of debate about it on Reddit and other groups. Is it possible to determine how busy Disney actually is right now? The short answer is no. We are simply not privy to the attendance data that would tell us so. However, utilizing wait time data and oth
    • 4 comments
    • 1,547 views
Data Bytes

Cedar Point 2023 Season Recap

In what seems like a flash, the 2023 season has come and gone at America's Roller Coast: Cedar Point. This season introduced the new The Boardwalk section, featuring the Wild Mouse roller coaster, which replaced Wicked Twister. However, most of the focus was turned to what was going to happen to Top Thrill Dragster. Mid-season, it was announced that Top Thrill 2 would modify/replace the existing TTD layout and transform it into a triple-launched coaster with a new vertical spike. Top Thrill 2 is
Data Bytes

Disney World September Wait Time Comparisons

Welcome to October and month 2 and a half of Spooky Season. September has historically been a lighter month across the resort with school beginning. With September now gone, how did wait times compare this past month to September of previous years across Walt Disney World? Let's take a look at the data. Disney's Animal Kingdom Wait times at DAK in September were down compared to each year going back to 2017 except for 2021. They were down nearly 30% compared to the average over t
Data Bytes

Posted vs Actual Wait Times at HHN 32

Halloween Horror Nights 32 (HHN32) has been underway for almost a month at Universal Studios Florida. This year's event has been as popular as ever, averaging close an hour wait time for the houses each night, and with little difference between weekday and weekend events (i.e. no slow day to go). Let's take a look at some of the data that Thrill Data users have provided. The graph below shows the event average wait times so far in 2023 as reported by the Universal Orlando app. Posted
Webmaster

Webmaster in Data Analysis

0
Data Bytes

Bear in the Magic Kingdom Causes Massive Wait Times

A wild bear wondered into the Magic Kingdom today, leading to the closure of Adventureland, Frontierland, and Liberty Square. These closures wreaked havoc on the wait times at the park today, leading the average wait time to be its highest in the past 6 months! Adventureland and Liberty Square reopened at 12:31 PM. As of 1:05 PM, Frontierland, including Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, is open. Blocks of white indicate ride closures. With a limited number of attractions available, wait
Data Bytes

HHN Heating Up in September

Halloween Horror Nights, HHN for short, is in at least its second week at both Universal Studios Florida and Universal Studios Hollywood. Both events are historically popular, but the events during the month of September are usually a bit more mild in terms of wait times. Has that story held true in 2023? During HHN 31 at Universal Studios Florida last year, the highest average wait time for any given event (the average wait time of each haunted house on a given night) was 64 minutes on 10/
Webmaster

Webmaster in Data Analysis

0
Data Bytes

Another Slow Disney World Holiday Weekend?

It was well publicized in the national media that the Fourth of July weekend at Walt Disney World this year was particularly slow. A large contributor to this was block outs for the $89 per day ticket deals and Passholders. This same scenario occurred over the past Labor Day weekend holiday. So were wait times low across Walt Disney World again on the latest holiday weekend? First, a comparison for each Disney World theme park between the 4th of July weekend, Labor Day weekend, a non-holida
Webmaster

Webmaster in Data Analysis

0
Data Bytes

Disney Parks August 2023 Wait Time Recap

August has quickly come and gone, and now we enter the fall season at the Disney theme parks, with Halloween events, and, typically, lower wait times with kids back in school. How did August wait times in 2023 compare to previous years? Let's take a look. Disney's Animal Kingdom At DAK, August wait times this year were down compared to last year and before the pandemic, but up over 2021. The Flight of Passage wait time being lower is a huge factor in this drop. August 2023 vs:
Webmaster

Webmaster in Data Analysis

0
Data Bytes

Disney World Week of 8/27/23 Recap

This week (8/21 to 8/27/2023), wait times across Walt Disney World were up 1 minute as compared to last week, with an average wait time of 34 minutes (last week was flat compared to the previous week, for reference). Out of the past 86 weeks, this week would rank #69. The same week last year also ranks #69 with an average wait time of 34 minutes. After a slow start to the summer this year, the back end is the same as last year. The weekend, once again, had the lowest wait times of the
Data Bytes

Universal Orlando Wait Times on HHN Event Days

Down I-4 from Universal Orlando, the data showed that wait times are significantly lower at the Magic Kingdom during days when there is a Halloween Party. Does the same conclusion hold true at both Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida on days where Halloween Horror Nights (HHN) takes place? Let's a take a look at the HHN 31 data from 2022 to find out. At Universal Studios Florida, where HHN is held, the average wait time in 2022 on days with a HHN event was 32.5 minutes. On da
Data Bytes

Should You Visit the Magic Kingdom on a Halloween Party Day?

If you are planning to visit the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World over the next couple months, you will run into days where the park closes at 6 PM for the separately ticketed event, Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP). Events are typically held each Tuesday, Friday, and Sunday. On these days, the park is typically open for 10 operating hours (8:00 AM to 6:00 PM) compared to 13 hours on a typical day (9:00 AM to 10:00 PM), and does not feature a fireworks show (assuming you are not
Data Bytes

Disney World Week of 8/20/23 Recap

This week (8/14 to 8/20/2023), wait times across Walt Disney World were the same as compared to last week, with an average wait time of 33 minutes (last week was down 3 minutes compared to the previous week, for reference). Out of the past 85 weeks, this week would rank #72. The same week last year ranks #61 with an average wait time of 35 minutes. It is definitely at the start of the slower season, but that doesn't mean there are no crowds. Disney World daily average wait times the p
Data Bytes

The Effects of Hurricane Hilary on Disneyland Wait Times

Disneyland Resort is feeling the effects of now Tropical Storm Hilary. Wait times at both parks are well below average, and the lowest in years. Rise of the Resistance is the only attraction averaging more than an hour wait time. Resort wide, today ranks #596 out the past 596 days! Wait times are lower than the park when it first return in April 2021 from COVID closures. Going back to 2019, wait times today at Disneyland rank #1190 out of 1190!
Data Bytes

Drop in Genie+ Prices

At Walt Disney World, the prices for Genie+ have dropped for the first time in nearly two weeks, down to a maximum of $23 per person. The last time at this price point was August 6th. It has been surprising that the cost at the Magic Kingdom has remained $25 per person on Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party days. Crowds have been much lower during the day on which the first 3 events have occurred.
Webmaster

Webmaster in News

0
Data Bytes

Disney World Mid-August Wait Time Comparisons

How has the first half of August in 2023 compared to previous years at each Walt Disney World theme park? Let's take a look at the data so far to find out! Disney's Hollywood Studios At DHS, wait times are down over 7% compared to last year, but are up nearly 10% compared to the same period in 2019. At this point in 2019, Star Wars Galaxy's Edge was not yet open. Rise of the Resistance and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster are averaging a lower wait time this August than last year despite Slinky
Data Bytes

A Look Back at Past Halloween Horror Nights Events

The 32nd edition of Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Orlando is soon upon us. This year's offering for HHN 32 includes: Stranger Things 4 The Last of Us The Exorcist: Believer Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count Universal Monsters: Unmasked Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origi… Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy F… YETI: Campground Kills The Darkest Deal Blood Moon: Dark Offerings We can take a look at past house wait time data to get a
Data Bytes

Tight Slinky Dog Dash Genie+ Availability

Wait times lately for Slinky Dog Dash, a launched roller coaster at Disney's Hollywood Studios, have been high, averaging around a 90 minute wait time (or more) in recent weeks. Naturally, most park visitors do not prefer to wait that long in a queue. This leads to high demand for the coaster's Genie+ slots. Over the past month, Lightning Lane slots for Slinky Dog Dash have filled up in less than three minutes three times. It has sold out a total of six times before Hollywood St
Data Bytes

Is Rise of the Resistance Too Expensive?

Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance has consistently been one of the most popular attractions at Walt Disney World since opening in December of 2019. Since leaving the boarding group system, and with the introduction of Lightning Lane in late 2021, the attraction can be accessed via the standby queue or with an Individual Lightning Lane (ILL). The latter option will cost each rider a varying amount of money to bypass most of the standby line. Amounts for the Individual Lightning Lane have varied f
Data Bytes

Water Ride Popularity

Depending on where a theme park is located, how popular a water ride is varies on a week to week basis. For most parks, peak water ride season is July and August, and wait times typically spike when there is a heat wave. In particular, a heat wave has been grappling Central Florida over the past week. Lets take a look at how wait times have varied for several water rides across North America since the beginning of July and see if there are any trends. Intuition says wait times should have b
Data Bytes

Disney World Week of 8/13/23 Recap

This week (8/7 to 8/13/2023), wait times across Walt Disney World were down 3 minutes compared to last week, with an average wait time of 33 minutes (last week was down 4 minutes compared to the previous week, for reference). Out of the past 84 weeks, this week would rank #72. The same week last year ranks #43 with an average wait time of 39 minutes.  Also, kudos to those who braved the extreme heat this week. It was brutal out there even for Florida! Local Orange County schools (and many o
Data Bytes

Disney World Early August Wait Time Comparisons

How has the start of August in 2023 compared to previous years at each Walt Disney World theme park? Let's take a look at the data so far to find out! Disney's Hollywood Studios At DHS, wait times are down 7% compared to last year, but are up 12% compared to the same period in 2019. 2019: 12% 2022: -7% EPCOT At EPCOT, wait times are very close to the same period last year, only down 2%. Wait times are up 9% compared to before the pandemic. 2019: 9% 2022: -
Data Bytes

When Will My Boarding Group Be Called?

It's 7 AM. You have been refreshing the My Disney Experience app now for 2 minutes straight. At 7:00 AM on the dot, you snag a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind or TRON Lightcycle / Run. You get your boarding group assignment. When can you expect to ride? If you received a boarding group for Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind  at EPCOT, and the group was 18 or below, you can expect to be called at or before rope drop. Over the past month, the first 18 (some
Data Bytes

Disney World Week of 8/6/23 Recap

This week (7/31 to 8/6/2023), wait times across Walt Disney World were down 4 minutes compared to last week, with an average wait time of 36 minutes (last week was up 4 minutes compared to the previous week, for reference). Out of the past 83 weeks, this week would rank #56. The same week last year ranks #37 with an average wait time of 40 minutes.  Local Orange County schools are in session starting this Thursday, so crowd patterns will start to change a bit. The daily average w
Data Bytes

Disneyland Resort July '23 Wait Time Recap

Disneyland Resort July Wait Time Analysis The month of July has come and gone, but how did wait times across Disneyland Resort compare to recent months and past July's? Let's take a look at the data to find out. Resort wide, the average wait time was down 3 minutes compared to June. July ranked 19th out of the past 20 months in terms of wait times, where a lower rank indicates higher wait times. Disneyland The average wait time in July of 26 minutes ranked as the
×
×
  • Create New...