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  1. Webmaster
    One-third of September has already come and gone across Walt Disney World. September typically has the lowest average wait time across the resort, and the data so far in 2024 has continued that trend. Primary reason why?  School is back across the United States. Below, the weekly average wait time for Walt Disney World for each week in 2024 is graphed. The past two weeks and the current week are the lowest that have been seen yet. How do the wait time at each theme park compare to past years for the first one-third of September? Let's take a deeper look below.

    Disney's Animal Kingdom
    Compared to 2019 trough 2023 (with the COVID year of 2020 intentionally omitted), wait times at Disney's Animal Kingdom are up compared slightly to significantly to previous years for the first third of September.

    Graph Legend
    Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019 (solid) Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021 (solid) Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022 (solid) Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023 (solid) Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 (solid)  
    Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -11.7 min / -30.6% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019: Difference of 5.5 min / 26.0% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021: Difference of 10.6 min / 62.8% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022: Difference of 2.0 min / 8.2% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023: Difference of 0.1 min / 0.4% EPCOT
    Compared to 2019 trough 2023 (with the COVID year of 2020 intentionally omitted), wait times at EPCOT are up compared to 2019, 2021, and 2022, but down 14% from the first third of last September.

    Graph Legend
    EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019 (solid) EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021 (solid) EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022 (solid) EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023 (solid) EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 (solid)  
    EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -9.1 min / -29.8% EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019: Difference of 2.9 min / 16.8% EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021: Difference of 6.1 min / 42.0% EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022: Difference of 0.9 min / 4.8% EPCOT Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023: Difference of -3.3 min / -14.0% Disney's Hollywood Studios
    Compared to 2019 trough 2023 (with the COVID year of 2020 intentionally omitted), wait times at Disney's Hollywood Studios are up compared to 2019 and 2021, but down 14 to 20% compared to 2022 and 2023.

    Graph Legend
    Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019 (solid) Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021 (solid) Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022 (solid) Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023 (solid) Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 (solid)  
    Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -16.9 min / -39.2% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019: Difference of 3.6 min / 16.6% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021: Difference of 3.1 min / 13.4% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022: Difference of -7.0 min / -21.4% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023: Difference of -4.3 min / -14.4% The Magic Kingdom
    Compared to 2019 trough 2023 (with the COVID year of 2020 intentionally omitted), wait times at the Magic Kingdom are up compared to 2019 and 2021, but down 11% or more compared first third of September in 2022 and 2023.

    Graph Legend
    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019 (solid) Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021 (solid) Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022 (solid) Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023 (solid) Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 (solid)  
    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -11.2 min / -38.2% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2019 to 09/11/2019: Difference of 0.7 min / 4.2% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2021 to 09/11/2021: Difference of 1.2 min / 7.6% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2022 to 09/11/2022: Difference of -5.1 min / -23.4% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2023 to 09/11/2023: Difference of -2.1 min / -11.0% At the Magic Kingdom, early September wait times are down about 13% from August of this year, and 18% from July of this year. The Halloween Parties definitely play a factor when comparing September and August to July though.

    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/01/2024 to 09/11/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -11.2 min / -38.2% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 07/01/2024 to 07/31/2024: Difference of -3.8 min / -18.4% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 08/01/2024 to 08/31/2024: Difference of -2.5 min / -13.0%
  2. Webmaster
    Six months down, and six more to go in 2024: we are officially half-way through the year! How do wait times across Walt Disney World Resort compare to previous years up to this point? We dive into the data to find out!
    Resort wide, the pinnacle of post-pandemic travel was in winter and spring of 2022. Demand was very high coming out of a couple vacationless years for many (often referred to as the "revenge travel" period). January has had higher wait times the past two years than 2022 and before the pandemic in 2019. Spring break season in March is down quite a bit the past couple years as well, and June of this year saw more mild wait times than in the past.

    Across the resort, wait times, on average, have been their lowest on Wednesdays through the first half of the year at an average wait time of 35 minutes with Mondays having the highest average wait time of 39 minutes. This does vary park-to-park, which is detailed further down the article.

    The Magic Kingdom

    01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 | 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022 | 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023 | 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024
    At the Magic Kingdom, average wait times for the first half of 2024 trended below each of the other years in the analysis by as much as 23%. Keep in mind that TRON Lightcycle / Run does not contribute to the average since it is Virtual Queue only (same for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, but that just opened June 28th). Even in the busy 2022, pre-pandemic wait time levels were not observed, partly due to the reservations system.
    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024 vs: Magic Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019: Difference of -8.0 min / -23.4% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022: Difference of -7.6 min / -22.0% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023: Difference of -2.4 min / -8.4% So far in 2024, Tuesdays and Wednesdays are leading the way in terms of highest average wait time at the Magic Kingdom. Weekends have been the days to visit to see lower wait times.

    The busiest individual days at the Magic Kingdom in the first half of the aligned primarily with holiday periods and with different spring break weeks for areas across the US. The first week of January was busier than some years thanks to how the holiday period setup in December of 2023, leading to more breaks being extended into 2024 (including the local Orange County).
         
    Most months through June 2024, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train averaged the highest wait time across the Magic Kingdom. March wait times averages, with the highest average of the first half, is shown below. Peter Pan's Flight, Jungle Cruise, and Space Mountain typically were the other highest wait times, on average.

    During the peak spring break season, Lightning Lane availability across the Magic Kingdom was decent. The table below is sorted based on the monthly average time at which Lightning Lane reached capacity. Earlier in the day is considered worse from a guest perspective, and is indicated in red or orange. Green means that the Lightning Lane for an attraction could still be obtained late in the afternoon. The two Individual Lightning Lane attractions, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and TRON Lightcycle / Run, reached capacity first, on average. This data is useful to help set priorities during busy periods, but will change with the introduction of Lightning Lane Multiple Pass on July 24th. Also, since debuting at the end of June, Tiana's Bayou Adventure is now the first to reach capacity.

    Disney's Animal Kingdom

    01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 | 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022 | 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023 | 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024
    Through six months, average wait times across Disney's Animal Kingdom were just about flat with 2023, but lower than 2022 and 2019. Before the pandemic, Avatar Flight of Passage was newer and often averaged a 2 hour wait time (or often much more), leading to a higher park average overall.
    Animal Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024 vs: Animal Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019: Difference of -11.6 min / -24.2% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022: Difference of -2.7 min / -6.8% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023: Difference of -0.3 min / -0.8% If you are looking for the best day to visit Disney's Animal Kingdom, through the first half of 2024, Wednesday are your best bet. Mondays, Fridays, and Saturdays tend to have higher average wait times.

    February featured wait times on the higher end for Animal Kingdom. President's Day weekend and the winter break that follows is typically busy, but overall averages were high for most of the month. The winter is one of the few months in which you can see Pandora in all of its nighttime glory too.

    In terms of Lightning Lane availability, during the busy spring break season, Avatar Flight of Passage typically reached capacity first followed by meeting Mickey and Minnie. The good news, if you miss the initial distribution for Flight of Passage, is that it typically replenishes several times a day.

    Disney's Hollywood Studios

    01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 | 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022 | 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023 | 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024
    Average wait times across Disney's Hollywood Studios were higher than before the pandemic by about 6% for the first half of the year. But they were nearly 20% lower than the peaks seen during 2022.
    Hollywood Studios Date Range: 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024 vs: Hollywood Studios Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019: Difference of 2.4 min / 6.4% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022: Difference of -9.5 min / -19.2% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023: Difference of -3.0 min / -7.0% Disney's Hollywood Studios had three distinctly busier days in Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays during the first six months of 2024, with lighter days on Sundays and Wednesdays.

    During the peak spring break season, the highest wait times, on average, across Hollywood Studios were for Slinky Dog Dash and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance, averaging wait times close to two hours. Smuggler's Run, Tower of Terror, and Runaway Railway also averaged over an hour wait.

    Disney's Hollywood Studios is home to one of the most difficult Lightning Lanes to obtain: Slinky Dog Dash. During busy periods, such as the spring break season of 2024, it typically reaches capacity within a few minutes. It should be your #1 priority if you hope to obtain a Lightning Lane. The Individual Lightning Lane for Rise of the Resistance is generally also a hot commodity, often reaching capacity in the morning hours.

    EPCOT

    01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019 | 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022 | 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023 | 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024
    With its newer attractions, recent updates, and festivals, EPCOT has seen a growth in its average wait times in 2024 of at least 4.5% compared to 2019, 2022, and 2023. In particular, Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind (whose Virtual Queue typically fills in seconds still) and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure remain incredibly popular attractions across the entire resort.
    EPCOT Date Range: 01/01/2024 to 06/30/2024 vs: EPCOT Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 06/30/2019: Difference of 4.5 min / 15.4% EPCOT Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 06/30/2022: Difference of 1.5 min / 4.6% EPCOT Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 06/30/2023: Difference of 2.4 min / 7.8% EPCOT tended to be busiest on Mondays, but, unlike the other WDW parks, is pretty popular still on Saturdays and Sundays. Locals often visiting on the weekend to partake in the festivals being offered.

    Wait time wise, during busy periods in the first half of the year, Frozen Ever After and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure drew the biggest crowds with average wait times over 80 minutes. Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind utilizes the Virtual Queue, but once a boarding group is redeemed, wait times do often exceed an hour or more.

    In terms of Lightning Lane, EPCOT has a "big three" attractions that are a part of Genie+/Lightning Lane Multi Pass that are high in demand: Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, Frozen Ever After, and Test Track. It is often very difficult to obtain two or three of these attractions. The good news is that is a somewhat consistent pattern to additional availability for these. Cosmic Rewind, as an Individual Lightning Lane, often is too, especially during holiday periods. Note that Test Track is now closed for refurbishment.

    Overall, wait times were a bit lower across Walt Disney World through the first half of 2024 than the past couple years. EPCOT is the one exception where average wait times are up. Big changes are on the way with Lightning Lane Multi Pass and Single Pass allowing pre-trip selections. It will interesting to see how those changes affect the data for the rest of the year!
  3. Webmaster
    August has come and gone at Walt Disney World, and Spooky Season has begun. Many schools have returned and most will in the next few days, leading to what is usually a quieter September. But remember that quieter does not mean dead; it means lower wait times, on average, than other parts of the year. Let's compare August 2024 wait times to other Augusts in recent years.
    Animal Kingdom

    August 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -5.5 min / -14.6% August 2019: Difference of -11.0 min / -25.4% August 2020: Difference of 20.3 min / 156.4% August 2021: Difference of 10.7 min / 48.4% August 2022: Difference of -3.2 min / -9.2% August 2023: Difference of 0.3 min / 0.8% EPCOT

    August 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -8.5 min / -27.8% August 2019: Difference of -2.0 min / -8.6% August 2020: Difference of 7.4 min / 49.6% August 2021: Difference of 6.3 min / 39.0% August 2022: Difference of -3.5 min / -14.0% August 2023: Difference of -3.7 min / -14.8% Hollywood Studios

    August 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -11.4 min / -26.4% August 2019: Difference of -1.3 min / -4.0% August 2020: Difference of 9.0 min / 37.0% August 2021: Difference of 3.1 min / 10.4% August 2022: Difference of -7.1 min / -19.2% August 2023: Difference of -6.8 min / -17.6% The Magic Kingdom

     August 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -8.0 min / -28.6% August 2019: Difference of -9.3 min / -33.0% August 2020: Difference of 5.8 min / 37.8% August 2021: Difference of -2.3 min / -10.8% August 2022: Difference of -7.1 min / -27.2% August 2023: Difference of -3.3 min / -15.0%
  4. Webmaster
    It is early August... so Spooky Season has begun... at least at the Magic Kingdom within the Walt Disney World Resort. Beginning Friday, August 9th, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party (MNSSHP) is back for 2024, running through Halloween.  Typical party days are each Friday, Sunday, and Tuesday night, with a few other dates sprinkled in. An often asked question is how do the Halloween parties affect wait times across Walt Disney World? Lets take a look at some data from the past couple years to find out the impacts to the Magic Kingdom and the other three theme parks.
    When the Magic Kingdom hosts a MNSSHP event, which is a separately ticketed event, the park closes at 6 PM to regular ticket holders for the Magic Kingdom for that day (usual closing time is around 9 or 10 PM on a typical day). This, alone, seems like a big discouragement to visit the park as you do not get access to the fireworks and the park is open fewer hours. And the data supports that. In both 2022 and 2023, the daily average wait time for the Magic Kingdom, which only considers wait times from 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM (and not the party that features lower wait times), is over 30% lower (~11 minutes lower, on average) on a MNSSHP day than the non-party days that surround it. It is clear to see when this is depicted graphically, as shown below for 2022 and 2023. The party days, in the orange dots, show clear separation to the surrounding non-party days (blue dots).

    So if Magic Kingdom wait times are lower on a party day, are the other three theme parks busier? The same analysis was conducted for the other theme parks with their graphs for 2022 and 2023 below. Visually, you can notice that there is not as significant of a difference as with the Magic Kingdom, but what do the numbers says?
    EPCOT

    Disney's Hollywood Studios

    Disney's Animal Kingdom

    Across the board, by average, Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party days are busier at the other three theme parks by at least 4%. The difference at Disney's Animal Kingdom has been greater, with wait times increasing by 17%, or over 5 minutes, on party days. EPCOT is the most stable on party and non-party days. If your goal is to have shorter wait times at the Magic Kingdom, party days are your best bet. However, you must give up spending the evening at the park and no fireworks. And it's best to visit the other parks on a day the Magic Kingdom doesn't have a Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party event.

    What are wait times like during a Halloween Party itself? Check out the data from each event last year here: https://www.thrill-data.com/mnsshp/2023
  5. Webmaster
    July at Walt Disney World saw a fundamental change to how guests visit the theme parks with the introduction of the Lightning Lane Passes, which brough back prebooking of attractions with Multi Passes and Single Passes that disappeared with FastPass+ in March 2020. Only a week in, it is too early to tell what difference the new system is making in terms of overall wait times. We'll have more on that in the future, but, in the mean time, we are now tracking all current and future date Lightning Lane availability. July wait times were the lowest of 2024 so far with an average wait time of 30 minutes across the resort, down 2 minutes from June. This is a decrease of 6 minutes from July of last year, and 11 minutes from before the pandemic in 2019.


    Past July Monthly Averages
    2019: July Average Wait Time - 41 minutes 2020: July Average Wait Time - 14 minutes 2021: July Average Wait Time - 40 minutes 2022: July Average Wait Time - 41 minutes 2023: July Average Wait Time - 36 minutes 2024: July Average Wait Time - 30 minutes Disney's Animal Kingdom

    July 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.8 min / -12.8% July 2019: Difference of -17.1 min / -34.0% July 2020: Difference of 25.3 min / 274.4% July 2021: Difference of -8.7 min / -20.2% July 2022: Difference of -7.9 min / -19.4% July 2023: Difference of -3.5 min / -9.6% Wait times at Disney's Animal Kingdom were their lowest going back to 2019 outside of the COVID reopening month of July 2020. Wednesdays and Thursdays featured the lowest wait times while Fridays had the highest. Avatar Flight of Passage had the highest average wait times but guests spent less time in line than last July.


    EPCOT

    July 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -8.6 min / -28.0% July 2019: Difference of -2.6 min / -10.6% July 2020: Difference of 7.6 min / 50.4% July 2021: Difference of -3.9 min / -15.0% July 2022: Difference of -6.3 min / -22.8% July 2023: Difference of -3.5 min / -14.6% EPCOT wait times were also lower in July than all but 2020 when going back to 2019, even with Test Track closed. The park was best avoided on Mondays with the travel transition day of Sunday featuring the lowest wait times. Remy's Ratatouille Adventure and Frozen Ever After had the longest average wait times (remember that Cosmic Rewind is still Virtual Queue and not included in the statistics).


    Disney's Hollywood Studios

    July 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -10.6 min / -24.2% July 2019: Difference of -4.5 min / -11.8% July 2020: Difference of 13.1 min / 60.6% July 2021: Difference of -9.7 min / -22.2% July 2022: Difference of -12.9 min / -28.0% July 2023: Difference of -8.8 min / -21.0% Wait times at Disney's Hollywood Studios were down over 20% compared to July of last year. Weekends were the best time to visit the park with Monday, again, the day to avoid, if possible. Slinky Dog Dash had the highest average wait time of over 70 minutes, beating out Rise of the Resistance and the newly reopened Rock 'n' Roller Coaster.


    The Magic Kingdom

    July 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -7.4 min / -26.2% July 2019: Difference of -14.1 min / -40.4% July 2020: Difference of 9.4 min / 73.8% July 2021: Difference of -11.9 min / -35.2% July 2022: Difference of -11.6 min / -35.2% July 2023: Difference of -5.6 min / -20.6% At the Magic Kingdom, wait times were also down over 20% compared to last July and over 40% compared to the pre-COVID year of 2019. Weekdays were busier than the weekends by several minutes, on average. Sundays, in particular, were the lightest overall. July saw the first full month of operation for Tiana's Bayou Adventure, which is not included in these statistics as it is Virtual Queue (which also goes for TRON). This helped to lower the wait times elsewhere in the park, bringing the overall average down.


    August brings back Mickey's Not So Scary Halloween Party to the Magic Kingdom, which impacts wait times there and at the other parks. We'll have more on that coming soon!
  6. Webmaster
    On the second day of the Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) system, we can compare Lightning Lane availability on the last day of Genie+ operation (July 23rd) to the first one and half days of LLMP to identify any interesting features or trends. Lightning Lane availability can vary due to a wide range of factors; for this analysis, we tried to pick scenarios where typical Genie+ behavior was observed on its last day. In the following graphs, each dot represents a time of Lightning Lane availability at a time of day (X-axis) and its return time (Y-axis) [i.e. the time you can enter the Lightning Lane].
    At the Magic Kingdom, Thunder Mountain saw a big change yesterday with the introduction of LLMP. Availability was very limited past 10:00 AM. Availability has been better today, but with later return times than observed with Genie+.

    Single Pass availability for TRON so far has been much more limited than with the Individual Lightning Lane on Tuesday. We haven't even captured an availability for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train today!
     
    Both the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean have seen less availability and at later return times than with Genie+.
     
    At Disney's Animal Kingdom, Lightning Lane availability isn't much different with the new system, including for Kilimanjaro Safaris or Avatar Flight of Passage.
     
    At Disney's Hollywood Studios, Runaway Railway has maintained good availability as a Tier 1 attraction, and Rock 'n' Roller Coaster is not too different.
     
    Slinky Dog Dash is hard to get regardless of the Lightning Lane system while Toy Story Mania availability has decreased later in the day. Slinky and Mania did have a significant drop of new availability this afternoon.
     
    Both the Tower of Terror and Rise of the Resistance have more limited availability. Tower of Terror did have a nice availability drop this afternoon as noted with a couple other attractions.
     
    At EPCOT, Spaceship Earth had almost instant availability with Genie+ but has become more limited with LLMP, likely as a popular Tier 2 choice. Soarin' seems to be the last pick for a Tier 1 attraction, boasting great availability so far.
     
    Frozen and Remy remain popular selections regardless of the Lightning Lane system, but have had same-day availability.
     
    Finally, Cosmic Rewind availability has been more limited as a Single Pass, but did feature a big afternoon drop yesterday. Mission: SPACE has seen quite a change in its availability with LLMP.
     
    Overall, availability with the new Lightning Lane passes remains limited with the premier attractions, which is not unexpected. Expect them to book up quickly during the 7 and 3 day book-ahead periods. With the ability to make 2 Tier selections, several attractions, such as Spaceship Earth, Haunted Mansion, and Toy Story Mania, has seen a big change in availability and are not as easy to obtain same day with the Multi Pass system as compared to Genie+. The lack of meet-and-greet Lightning Lanes also is also concentrating selections of different attractions too. The system is still new and it will be interesting to see how availability behavior changes over the coming days and weeks. Some of the availability drops observed this afternoon are encouraging too. You can find this data and more on any of the various Disney World pages on the site: https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/chain/wdw/
  7. Webmaster
    While the system doesn't launch until Wednesday, July 24th, Lightning Lane Single Pass and Multi Pass functionality has been added to the backend of the My Disney Experience app for Walt Disney World. Take a look at what the selection process will be like when it launches and some potential prices (which, we assume are still subject to change) in the videos below.

    llmp_video.webm   mdx_screen_720.webm  
    llmp_twitter.webm    
  8. Webmaster
    Below, find the current and future pricing for Lightning Lane Multi Pass at Walt Disney World Resort. These are the current prices directly from the My Disney Experience app's API. It appears that the initial pricing for LLMP reflects the current Genie+ pricing scheme. However, the Park Hopper option is gone. Any guest with a Park Hopper ticket can book a Lightning Lane at another park after redeeming 1 Lightning Lane pass at the first park. This provides the opportunity for additional value compared to Genie+ (i.e. start at Animal Kingdom with the cheapest pricing and then Park Hop to the Magic Kingdom or Hollywood Studios). Note: it is possible that Disney could update the prices before the system launches on July 24th, but the current days have been aligned with the Genie+ pricing so far. Pricing is also much in-line with recent patterns. And be sure to check out the videos of the selection screens too.

     
    A sortable table version can be found at https://www.thrill-data.com/news/lightning-lane-multi-pass-pricing/

     
    Note the graph has been scaled up to the peak price point observed with Genie+ of $39 per person and minimum price of $15 per person.
  9. Webmaster
    When you are a local, you have the advantage of taking a look at the current Disney World wait time data in the afternoon and deciding to hop on over. Earlier this afternoon, we did just that. We saw that wait times at the Magic Kingdom were well below average and decided to visit for a couple of hours (which is perfect in the heat of the summer)!


    Upon entering the peak at 2:48 PM, we were able to still grab a boarding group for Tiana’s Bayou Adventure as group 150. We decided to head to Space Mountain, which just returned from a delay. On the way, we passed the Plaza Restaurant, which is getting some facade work done.
     
     
    For Space Mountain, which was listed as a 15 minute wait time but getting flooded with guests, we waited 18 minutes to ride. The posted wait time after riding was over 45 minutes. After that, we took a ride on the PeopleMover, waiting only 3 minutes to get on.
     
    We then headed back to the hub and snapped a few photos in front of a mostly deserted Cinderella’s Castle before stopping to get some pizza and hamburger spring rolls in front of Adventureland.
      
     
     
    On the way to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (posting a 15 minute wait at the time), we saw Pirate's of the Caribbean posting a 5 minute wait time and decided to stop for a ride in the AC. It only took us 3 minutes to board our boat!
     

    After Pirate's, we headed over towards Big Thunder Mountain, snapping a photo of a Tiana's Bayou Adventure log falling on the way. By the time we reached Big Thunder, the wait time had increased to 40 minutes and the queue began outside of the entrance. We decided to wait for another day, visiting the Emporium on the way to the Monorail instead.

    We had a fun couple of hours at the park in the heat, hitting 3 rides with really short wait times. Make your own trip reports like the image below any time with the Trip Reports feature!

     
    A few more random shots from the day below:
      
  10. Webmaster
    Happy Fourth of July! Like last year's well publicized low wait times on Fourth of July that prompted several national news articles, 2024 is following the same trajectory at Walt Disney World. Comparing Fourth of July's going back to 2014, last year (in gray) and this year (in black) are at the bottom of the resort-wide average wait time profile graph.

    Looking at all average wait time profiles for each day of the past year, today, the black line, is in the lower quadrant of the data. On a scale of 1 to 10 rating crowds going back to 2019, the 4th of July 2024 currently is a 1, ranking #1636 out of the past 1869 days. Yesterday, July 3rd, was also one of the slowest days of the past year.

    As of this writing, during what should be the peak of the day, no attraction is averaging a wait time over an hour. Below, you can see how many of the major Disney World attractions are below their averages for the past week and month (note TRON, Cosmic Rewind, and Tiana's Bayou Adventure are displaying boarding groups and not wait times). For example, Slinky Dog Dash is 32 minutes below its monthly average today. The 1 PM boarding group drop for Tiana's Bayou Adventure lasted its longest yet, 14 minutes today.
       
    If you are visiting the parks today, Lightning Lane availability is quite good compared to recent days, and most attractions are still available this afternoon. For example, Slinky Dog Dash lasted pasted 11:00 AM today when it is often gone by 7:30 AM! 
        
    We'll update this article later with the final statistics for the day. Why are wait times low? Likely due to block-outs for some ticket deals, block-outs for lower tier Passholders, the heat, and guests expecting the parks to be busier than they are. If you are at the parks today, enjoy the below average wait times as those who are not are quite jealous!
    For reference, wait times at Universal Orlando aren't crazy and are a bit below average too. 

  11. Webmaster

    Disneyland June '24 Analysis

    By Webmaster,


    Data Analysis
    June has come and gone across Disneyland Resort in 2024. What were wait times like, how did they compare to the past, how was Lightning Lane availability, and what were the lightest & busiest days to go? Lets take a look at the data to find out!

    A resort-wide view of the daily average wait times shows (above) that typically Mondays and Tuesdays were the busiest days with the highest average wait times. The last three Sundays of the month were particularly light, thanks, in part, to the heat. The monthly average wait time, shown below, was up 1 minute over May of this year, and tied with February at 29 minutes.

    Disneyland Park
    At Disneyland, wait times were down 1 minute from June of 2023 during peak hours. As mentioned previously, hotter days tended to keep wait times down, as evidenced by June 23rd in the graph below.
     
    When compared to 2019, before the pandemic, wait times this past June were up over 7 minutes on average. Compared to June of 2022, wait times were down 7 minutes. Overall, there was little difference between June '23 and '24 though.
    June 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -1.2 min / -4.6% June 2019: Difference of 7.5 min / 46.2% June 2022: Difference of -7.0 min / -22.4% June 2023: Difference of -0.1 min / -0.4%
    When viewed as a calendar, it sticks out that weekends were typically had lower wait times than the weekdays. The highest wait times were typically seen Monday through Wednesday. The spread of wait times was quite high, with a few days reaching average wait times of 45 minutes at their peak while other only hit 20 minutes at peak.
     
    Throughout June, Lightning Lane availability was quite good (Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane) at Disneyland. The graph below shows the percentage of time at each time of the day that Lightning lane was available for a given attraction (green means it was likely available at a given time, red not likely). Most attractions maintained availability up to 3 PM, at which attractions like Indiana Jones, Space Mountain, and the Matterhorn began to reach capacity on some days. Did you know that these attractions often release more Lightning Lane availability at consistent times? We track those here!

    Disney California Adventure
    At California Adventure, June wait times were also down 1 minute from last year. Like Disneyland, weekends tended to have shorter wait times than Monday through Wednesday.
     

    Throughout June, Lightning Lane availability was quite good (Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane) at DCA. The graph below shows the percentage of time at each time of the day that Lightning lane was available for a given attraction. Only Mission Breakout was reaching Lightning Lane capacity before the afternoon on some days.

    More Disneyland Content to Explore
    Lightning Lane Sell Out Times Magic Key Park Pass Alerts Disneyland Crowd Calendars
  12. Webmaster
    Summer arrived last month at Universal Orlando Resort with intense heat and the stormy season began. What were wait times like, how did they compare to the past, and what were the lightest & busiest days to go at Universal Orlando Resort? Lets take a look at the data to find out!

    A resort-wide view of the daily average wait times shows a slight upward trend in wait times over the course of the month. Overall, wait times were up 2 minutes over May, but still the 2nd lowest, based on monthly average, for the year.

     
    Islands of Adventure
    At IOA, wait times were down 2 minutes from June of 2023, during peak hours, but slightly up from pre-pandemic in 2019. On a per ride basis, it is noticeable that VelociCoaster wait times have gotten lower, but Hagrid has stayed pretty constant.

    Typically, Mondays and Saturdays had the highest wait times with slower days on Tuesdays and Sundays.

    Comparisons to past Junes:
    June 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.0 min / -13.2% June 2019: Difference of 1.7 min / 7.2% June 2021: Difference of -5.9 min / -19.4% June 2022: Difference of -7.6 min / -23.6% June 2023: Difference of -3.0 min / -11.0%
    Universal Studios Florida
    At Universal Studios, June wait times were down 6 minutes from last year during peak hours, with most attractions featuring a lower average than the year prior. DreamWorks Land did open and help contribute by adding new experiences to lower the overall average.

    In general, Mondays and Saturdays have higher wait times than the other days of the week.

    Comparisons to past Junes:
    June 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -3.7 min / -12.6% June 2019: Difference of -1.1 min / -4.6% June 2021: Difference of -7.5 min / -25.0% June 2022: Difference of -7.7 min / -25.2% June 2023: Difference of -2.4 min / -9.4%
  13. Webmaster
    How have wait times compared in June 2024 to June 2023 across each Walt Disney World theme park? Lets take a look at the data, comparing June 1st to the 26th of each year. This provides a comparison before Tiana's Bayou Adventure opens on June 28th.

    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -5.2 min / -18.2% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -3.3 min / -12.6%
    Animal Kingdom Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.1 min / -11.0% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -1.4 min / -4.0%
    EPCOT Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -2.7 min / -8.8% EPCOT Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -2.3 min / -8.4%
    Hollywood Studios Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -8.7 min / -20.0% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -3.6 min / -10.0% The good news for visitors is that wait times are down across the board, from 4% to nearly 13% depending upon the park. It will be interesting to see how the changes to the Lightning Lane system and the opening of Tiana's Bayou Adventure impact the July numbers.
    Was it just Disney World seeing the drop? Nope, Islands of Adventure and Universal Studios Florida wait times are also down in the 11+% range too.

    Islands of Adventure Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.5 min / -14.6% Islands of Adventure Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -3.5 min / -12.4%
    Universal Studios Date Range: 06/01/2024 to 06/26/2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.1 min / -13.8% Universal Studios Date Range: 06/01/2023 to 06/26/2023: Difference of -2.8 min / -11.0% What might be the cause? Less overall travel demand, more efficient park operations (i.e. better staffing levels), hot weather, and upcoming attraction openings could all be some potential factors.
  14. Webmaster
    A frequently asked question by guests planning to visit the Walt Disney World Resort, often after taking a look at the Lightning Lane capacity/sell out data, is if any additional Lightning Lane slots for both Genie+ and Individual Lightning Lane are released throughout the day? 
    Lets first take a step back to explain what a Lightning Lane "sellout" is. The Lightning Lane, which can be accessed for many attractions through Disney Genie+, and limited attractions through Individual Lightning Lanes, provides a shorter wait time for the attraction booked (for a fee). Each Lightning Lane eligible attraction has a limited number of "slots" or "reservations" that can be booked by Disney World guests on a daily basis through the My Disney Experience app via the Tip Board. The slot denotes a given time period at which the guests can enter the Lightning Lane for an expedited wait for the attraction. Starting when the first Lightning Lane can be booked at 7:00 AM, the allotments of each of these "slots" or "reservations" begin to deplete. For many attractions, just a small amount of the availability is filled at 7:00 AM. However, for some of the more popular attractions, such as Slinky Dog Dash at Disney's Hollywood Studios and Remy's Ratatouille Adventure at EPCOT, a large percentage of the availability is filled within minutes (or even seconds) of 7:00 AM. When all availability for attraction has been filled, it has "sold out" or reached capacity, and the option to reserve a "slot" will disappear from My Disney Experience (i.e. indicates that guests can no longer book a time for the attraction).

    What time the sell out occurs varies by the day per attraction, but it can be very quick for the biggest attractions at Walt Disney World during busy periods. We track these times each day on this page (example shown above for EPCOT). Often, it is at or around the park opening plus 2 hours mark, which typically aligns with 11:00 AM or before (dependent on the park you are at). So, you've paid for the Genie+ service, but now cannot get a Lightning Lane for the attractions you want? Or you are an off-site guest and the Individual Lightning Lane you wanted sold out before you were eligible to purchase it? What can you do now?
    There are a couple options: one based on randomness and one based on past occurrences. The latter is your better bet, but back to that in a moment. First, it is possible, that a Lightning Lane slot will randomly open up for the attraction that you want. This happens when other guests modify or cancel their plans, leading to a brief moment of availability. This is not in any way predictable, and requires constantly refreshing the Tip Board in My Disney Experience. This method is often called playing the Disney slot machine. More often than not, you won't get what you want, but may strike the jackpot every once in awhile.
    Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind is a good example of this behavior. Below is the availability heat map for Cosmic Rewind for a 30 day period. Colors, ranging from green to red to denote the best available return time, indicate that the Individual Lightning Lane was available at a given time of day for the attraction. Gray indicates that it is "sold out" or at capacity. After the continuous color bar ends, within the gray, you can see random spots of color, indicating that Lightning Lane availability briefly appeared. An example is circled in blue in the image below. However, it is evident that there is no apparent pattern to the availability on a day-to-day basis.

    So is there any predictable release of additional Lightning Lane slots for "sold out" or at capacity attractions? If we take a look at the Lightning Lane availability map instead for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure, there are some noticeable differences compared to Cosmic Rewind previously. As highlighted in the blue circles, there are vertical lines of availability at about the same time of the day for most days within the 30 day span shown. Those are releases of new Lightning Lane availability! Often, the return time is pretty close to the current time too.

    Over a 60 day period, the same times are even more pronounced, as shown below. The releases appear to occur just before 2:00 PM, 4:00 PM and 5:00 PM. So there are regular releases during a light period across Disney World, but does the same trend hold up over a busy period? Lets take a look at the data!

    Plotted below is the Lightning Lane data for Remy's Ratatouille Adventure over the 2023/2024 Christmas/New Years holiday period. Between Christmas and New Year's Day is typically the busiest week of the year at Walt Disney World. However, a majority of days still have the same additional releases, especially the two later in the afternoon! What other attractions exhibit this "popup" availability behavior at Disney World?

    There is a consistent group of five Disney World attractions that exhibit this re-release behavior:
    Remy's Ratatouille Adventure Test Track Frozen Ever After Avatar Flight of Passage Slinky Dog Dash (this one is more rare during busy periods) At Thrill Data, we automatically check for which attractions exhibit this "popup" behavior and track them conveniently on this page: Popup Lightning Lane Availability. An example from Remy is shown in the figure below:

    The best strategy is to refresh your Tip Board within My Disney Experience for a few minutes around the times listed on the Popup Availability page. Many users have had success with it! But, be aware that availability is not always released every single day. If the attraction has had issues operating that day, it is less likely that a drop will occur. Why these attractions? Disney would have to answer that, but a common theme is an early "sellout" time and parks with fewer attractions. The Magic Kingdom is absent from this list currently because the number of attractions at the park spreads out Lightning Lane use, leading to "sellout" times later in the day.
    If you are wondering if the same phenomenon occurs at Disneyland Resort, it does, but it is less common due to overall better Lightning Lane availability at the resort. Disneyland popup availability can be viewed here.
    Questions? Comments? Success stories? Post them in the comments!
  15. Webmaster
    Should you avoid Disney World on Mondays? Should you go on Wednesday or Fridays? Should weekends be avoided or embraced? While Walt Disney World can be busy any day of the week, when analyzing the statistics over a period of time, better and worse days to visit each theme park do begin to stick out. Let's take a look at the numbers so far in 2024, and back at the data for 2022 and 2023 to give you some data to pick better days to visit! Note: this article will update over the course of 2024!
    Best/Worst Days 2024
    As of May 13th, 2024 Resort wide, Mondays continue to be the busiest day to visit Walt Disney World overall. Weekends, especially Sundays, have been the lightest days to visit so far in 2024, on average. Park by park breakdowns are below, where the days do vary, and have changed some from past years. Right now, these sets feature four months worth of data, including the busy Spring Break season. Be sure to look at the 2023 and 2022 numbers further down for a broader picture.

    The Magic Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Sunday - 26 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Tuesday- 33 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Sunday - 26 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Tuesday- 33 minute average EPCOT
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday - 33 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 41 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday - 33 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 41 minute average Disney's Hollywood Studios
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday/Sunday - 42 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday/Friday - 46 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday/Sunday - 42 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday/Friday - 46 minute average Disney's Animal Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday - 39 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Saturday- 48 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday - 39 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Saturday - 48 minute average For reference, the best/worst days to visit in 2023 were:
    Best/Worst Days 2023

    The Magic Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Sunday - 26 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 34 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Sunday - 26 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 34 minute average EPCOT
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday - 29 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 36 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday - 29 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 36 minute average Disney's Hollywood Studios
    Best Day (holidays included): Sunday - 40 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday/Tuesday/Friday - 46 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Sunday - 40 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday/Tuesday/Friday - 46 minute average Disney's Animal Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday - 35 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Friday - 42 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday - 35 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Friday - 42 minute average For reference, the best/worst days to visit in 2022 were:
    Best/Worst Days 2022

    The Magic Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Friday - 33 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 40 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Friday - 33 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 41 minute average EPCOT
    Best Day (holidays included): Sunday - 31 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 38 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Saturday/Sunday - 31 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 37 minute average Disney's Hollywood Studios
    Best Day (holidays included): Saturday - 48 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 53 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Saturday - 49 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday - 53 minute average Disney's Animal Kingdom
    Best Day (holidays included): Wednesday/Saturday - 41 minute average Worst Day (holidays included): Monday - 47 minute average Best Day (holidays excluded): Wednesday - 42 minute average Worst Day (holidays excluded): Monday/Tuesday/Friday - 46 minute average
  16. Webmaster
    An often spread notion is that an excellent time to visit Disney, either Disney World or Disneyland, is on Super Bowl Sunday, especially during the game itself. But is it really true? Let's take a deeper look at the wait time data from recent Super Bowls and surrounding days & weeks to figure out if the notion is true.
    An overall look at holidays around Super Bowl Sunday across all the Walt Disney World theme parks shows that Super Bowl Sunday has the lowest wait times of the days shown going back to 2014.

    On a park by park basis, we can see the same trend holds true, although some other days are equal to Super Bowl Sunday.
     
     
    Next is a comparison of the other Sundays around the Super Bowl for the past two years and for 2020, before the pandemic. Typically, only a week or two separates the Super Bowl from the very busy President's Day weekend, which leads to a busy Sunday after the Super Bowl.

    In 2023, Super Bowl Sunday (2/12/2023), shown above, was quite similar to the other non-holiday Sundays in the same time frame.

    In 2022, Super Bowl Sunday (2/13/2022) was busier than most of the non-holiday Sundays in the same time frame.

    In 2020, Super Bowl Sunday (2/2/2020) was about average for a Sunday over an 8 week period. Below is a look at the Super Bowl (2/12/2023) and the week that followed. Super Bowl Sunday wait times were right above the average or slightly below it for that week. A drop off around 6 to 7 PM can be observed each day of the week, and is not unique to Super Bowl Sunday.

    A look at attraction wait times from last year reveals that wait times were higher before the game started at 6:30 PM Eastern, with a noticeable change that typically occurs around dinner time.

    A closer look at the evening wait times on Super Bowl Sunday 2023.

    Here is a look at the wait times the Sunday before the Super Bowl last year. Wait times fell off a little less suddenly in the evening.

    Finally, a wide view of the first part of 2023, with the Super Bowl noted by the red mark. Click to see the larger image. You can see it is not one of the lowest days of the period.

    At Disneyland Resort, Super Bowl weekend has been busier than MLK Weekend and Valentine's Day. Both Disneyland Park and Disney California Adventure exhibit the same trend.
     \
    At Disneyland Park, wait times were slightly lower on Super Sunday than the day prior.

    As the graphs below show, the Super Bowl in 2023 (on 2/12) is about average compared to 7 other surrounding Sundays, and average for the week after the Super Bowl. Wait times do not appear to appreciably drop off when the game started at 3:30 PM Pacific.


    Finally, the wide view of Super Sunday, denoted by the red mark, compared to a wider range of days across Disneyland Resort. Late January 2023 featured lower wait times than Super Bowl Weekend.

    For comparisons sake, a look at wait times at Universal Orlando reveals that Sunday wait times are lower than surrounding holidays, but higher than the Monday after the Super Bowl.

    The wider view of Universal Orlando shows that many days early in the year feature shorter overall wait times than Super Bowl Sunday.

    So what does all of this mean? At Walt Disney World and Universal Orlando, Super Bowl Sunday is typically similar to an average Sunday for early in the year that is not a holiday weekend. Nothing suggests it is less busy than an ordinary Sunday. At Disneyland Resort, Super Bowl Sunday is busier than MLK weekend and about average for a Sunday for the time of year. Overall, it doesn't seem like there is a specific reason to plan to visit Disney World, Disneyland, or Universal Orlando on Super Bowl Sunday for less crowds. It should be noted that Sunday is typically one of the better days to visit Disney or Universal, as the graphs below show. So maybe that is a good reason to plan for it if you aren't interested in the game.
     
  17. Webmaster
    Based on recent data (from the Slinky Dog Dash page: https://www.thrill-data.com/waits/attraction/hollywood-studios/slinkydogdash/), a somewhat consistent release of additional Genie+ slots has been present over the past month.

    Between 3:40 and 3:50 PM, availability with a return time around 4:30 PM has been released on a majority of days in the past month. Likely a good a idea to keep refreshing during this period to try to snag a spot. Any similar Genie+ or Individual Lightning Lane attractions that exhibit consistent popup availability are tracked on the following page: https://www.thrill-data.com/lightning-lane/wdw/popup

    Genie+ for Slinky Dog Dash is in very high demand. The roller coaster often has a 100+ minute posted wait time throughout the day.

  18. Webmaster
    The first month of 2024 has already come and gone at the Walt Disney World Resort. There has been a lot of chatter about how busy the parks have been in what is traditionally a slower month for the resort. Let's take a look at the wait time data to see how true or not that was.
    Resort Wide
    Across Walt Disney World, the average wait time in January 2024 was down 9 minutes compared to January of last year. Compared to most of the months in 2023, it would have been considered a slower month, coming in with the 4th lowest average wait time over the past 13 months.

    The busiest week was the first week of the new year when many schools were still on holiday break.

    The Magic Kingdom
    At the Magic Kingdom, wait times in January 2024 were down compared to both '22 and '23, but up compared to '17 and '21. Note that 2019 is not included as data was incomplete.
    January 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -1.1 min / -3.6% January 2017: Difference of 2.8 min / 11.0% January 2018: Difference of -5.6 min / -16.4% January 2020: Difference of -6.8 min / -19.4% January 2021: Difference of 3.0 min / 12.0% January 2022: Difference of -3.7 min / -11.4% January 2023: Difference of -1.9 min / -6.4%
    These were the average wait times by attraction.

    EPCOT
    At EPCOT, wait times in January 2024 were up compared to each year going back to 2017! It was mostly similar to last year overall. Note that 2019 is not included as data was incomplete.
    January 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 2.8 min / 9.0% January 2017: Difference of 9.9 min / 41.8% January 2018: Difference of 4.6 min / 15.8% January 2020: Difference of 3.9 min / 13.0% January 2021: Difference of 10.5 min / 45.2% January 2022: Difference of 6.3 min / 22.8% January 2023: Difference of 0.7 min / 2.0%
    These were the average wait times by attraction.

    Disney's Hollywood Studios
    At Disney's Hollywood Studios, wait times in January 2024 were down over 11% compared to 2023, but up compared to the pre-pandemic years. Note that 2019 is not included as data was incomplete.
    January 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 0.3 min / 0.6% January 2017: Difference of 21.1 min / 90.6% January 2018: Difference of 10.5 min / 31.2% January 2020: Difference of -0.7 min / -1.4% January 2021: Difference of 10.4 min / 30.6% January 2022: Difference of 0.9 min / 2.0% January 2023: Difference of -5.5 min / -11.2%
    These were the average wait times by attraction.

    Disney's Animal Kingdom
    At Disney's Hollywood Studios, wait times in January 2024 were down 2% compared to 2023, but up to 2022, 2021, and 2017. Note that 2019 is not included as data was incomplete.
    January 2024 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 3.5 min / 9.2% January 2017: Difference of 23.6 min / 130.2% January 2018: Difference of -9.9 min / -19.4% January 2020: Difference of -15.5 min / -27.4% January 2021: Difference of 16.6 min / 64.8% January 2022: Difference of 4.9 min / 13.4% January 2023: Difference of -0.9 min / -2.2%
    These were the average wait times by attraction.

    Overall, while the parks seemed busy in January 2024 to those who visited, wait times were actually lower everywhere, on average, except at EPCOT.
    As always, find data like this any time on the main site: https://www.thrill-data.com/
  19. Webmaster

    Cedar Point 2023 Season Recap

    By Webmaster,


    Data Analysis
    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 sure to be popular in 2024.
    For the 2023 season, weekends continued to be quite a bit busier than weekdays, with Saturday averaging over a 35 minute wait time. Fast Lane Plus provided the most value on Saturday and Sunday, but was also the most expensive then.

    Wait times for the new Wild Mouse roller coaster remained mostly mild throughout the season, with an average wait time of 35 minutes, and a peak of 90 minutes.

    Month Over Month Comparisons
    Most of the 2023 season at Cedar Point was remarkably consistent wait time wise, with May through August averaging around a 26 minute average wait time. September featured the lowest average wait times, while Halloweekends in October had, by far, the highest average wait times at 31 minutes. One oddity in the season was a very slow 4th of July week at the park. Typically, Steel Vengeance or Maverick held the top spot for the longest average wait time each month.



    Below, each month of the 2023 is compared to each other. Also, the monthly average wait times for each attraction are shown.

    May 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.6 min / 6.2% June 2023: Difference of 1.2 min / 4.6% July 2023: Difference of 3.2 min / 13.0% August 2023: Difference of 2.2 min / 8.4% September 2023: Difference of 4.8 min / 20.8% October 2023: Difference of -6.4 min / -18.6%
    June 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.4 min / 5.4% May 2023: Difference of -1.2 min / -4.4% July 2023: Difference of 2.1 min / 8.6% August 2023: Difference of 0.2 min / 0.6% September 2023: Difference of 5.0 min / 21.6% October 2023: Difference of -5.8 min / -17.0%
    July 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -0.5 min / -2.0% May 2023: Difference of -3.2 min / -11.4% June 2023: Difference of -2.1 min / -8.0% August 2023: Difference of -1.9 min / -7.2% September 2023: Difference of 1.1 min / 4.6% October 2023: Difference of -9.9 min / -29.0%
    August 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 0.1 min / 0.4% May 2023: Difference of -2.2 min / -7.8% June 2023: Difference of -0.2 min / -0.6% July 2023: Difference of 1.9 min / 7.8% September 2023: Difference of 3.0 min / 12.8% October 2023: Difference of -8.0 min / -23.6%
    September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -3.5 min / -13.4% May 2023: Difference of -4.8 min / -17.2% June 2023: Difference of -5.0 min / -17.8% July 2023: Difference of -1.1 min / -4.4% August 2023: Difference of -3.0 min / -11.4% October 2023: Difference of -10.8 min / -32.0%
    October 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 7.7 min / 29.8% May 2023: Difference of 6.4 min / 22.8% June 2023: Difference of 5.8 min / 20.6% July 2023: Difference of 9.9 min / 41.0% August 2023: Difference of 8.0 min / 30.8% September 2023: Difference of 10.8 min / 47.0%
    Year-to-Year Comparisons
    Overall, Cedar Point wait times in 2023 were about 7% higher than 2022, but 11% lower than before the pandemic in 2019. While 2021 numbers are high, COVID related measures often led to more inflated numbers. Expect a big season in 2024 at Cedar Point with Top Thrill 2 opening.

    Blue: 2019, Red: 2021, Green: 2022, Purple: 2023
    Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 4.2 min / 16.2% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2021 to 12/31/2021: Difference of -4.0 min / -11.8% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 12/31/2022: Difference of 5.2 min / 20.8% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 12/31/2023: Difference of 3.3 min / 12.4% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2021 to 12/31/2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 8.1 min / 31.6% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2019: Difference of 4.0 min / 13.2% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 12/31/2022: Difference of 9.1 min / 36.8% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 12/31/2023: Difference of 7.3 min / 27.4% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 12/31/2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -1.0 min / -3.8% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2019: Difference of -5.2 min / -17.2% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2021 to 12/31/2021: Difference of -9.1 min / -27.0% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 12/31/2023: Difference of -1.8 min / -6.8% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2023 to 12/31/2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 0.8 min / 3.2% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2019 to 12/31/2019: Difference of -3.3 min / -11.0% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2021 to 12/31/2021: Difference of -7.3 min / -21.4% Cedar Point Date Range: 01/01/2022 to 12/31/2022: Difference of 1.8 min / 7.4% Month-to-Past Comparisons
    The following graphs compare each month of the operating season going back to 2019.

    May 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -4.2 min / -16.2% May 2021: Difference of -15.1 min / -41.0% May 2022: Difference of -6.0 min / -21.6% May 2023: Difference of -5.8 min / -21.2% May 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 10.9 min / 42.2% May 2019: Difference of 15.1 min / 69.6% May 2022: Difference of 9.1 min / 33.0% May 2023: Difference of 9.2 min / 33.8% May 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.8 min / 6.8% May 2019: Difference of 6.0 min / 27.6% May 2021: Difference of -9.1 min / -24.8% May 2023: Difference of 0.2 min / 0.6% May 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.6 min / 6.2% May 2019: Difference of 5.8 min / 26.8% May 2021: Difference of -9.2 min / -25.2% May 2022: Difference of -0.2 min / -0.6%
    June 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -2.1 min / -8.2% June 2021: Difference of -12.4 min / -34.4% June 2022: Difference of 1.2 min / 5.4% June 2023: Difference of -3.5 min / -12.8% June 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 10.3 min / 40.0% June 2019: Difference of 12.4 min / 52.6% June 2022: Difference of 13.7 min / 60.8% June 2023: Difference of 9.0 min / 33.0% June 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -3.3 min / -12.8% June 2019: Difference of -1.2 min / -5.0% June 2021: Difference of -13.7 min / -37.8% June 2023: Difference of -4.7 min / -17.2% June 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.4 min / 5.2% June 2019: Difference of 3.5 min / 14.8% June 2021: Difference of -9.0 min / -24.8% June 2022: Difference of 4.7 min / 20.8%
    July 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 2.1 min / 8.0% July 2021: Difference of -10.6 min / -27.6% July 2022: Difference of 3.3 min / 13.2% July 2023: Difference of 2.6 min / 10.2% July 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 12.7 min / 49.2% July 2019: Difference of 10.6 min / 38.0% July 2022: Difference of 13.9 min / 56.4% July 2023: Difference of 13.2 min / 52.2% July 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -1.2 min / -4.6% July 2019: Difference of -3.3 min / -11.8% July 2021: Difference of -13.9 min / -36.0% July 2023: Difference of -0.7 min / -2.6% July 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -0.5 min / -2.0% July 2019: Difference of -2.6 min / -9.2% July 2021: Difference of -13.2 min / -34.2% July 2022: Difference of 0.7 min / 2.8%
    August 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 8.8 min / 34.2% August 2021: Difference of 5.5 min / 19.0% August 2022: Difference of 11.0 min / 47.0% August 2023: Difference of 8.7 min / 33.6% August 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 3.3 min / 12.8% August 2019: Difference of -5.5 min / -16.0% August 2022: Difference of 5.5 min / 23.4% August 2023: Difference of 3.2 min / 12.2% August 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -2.2 min / -8.8% August 2019: Difference of -11.0 min / -32.0% August 2021: Difference of -5.5 min / -19.0% August 2023: Difference of -2.3 min / -9.0% August 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 0.1 min / 0.4% August 2019: Difference of -8.7 min / -25.2% August 2021: Difference of -3.2 min / -11.0% August 2022: Difference of 2.3 min / 10.0%  

    September 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 14.0 min / 54.2% September 2021: Difference of 12.2 min / 44.4% September 2022: Difference of 22.4 min / 129.0% September 2023: Difference of 17.5 min / 78.2% September 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 1.7 min / 6.8% September 2019: Difference of -12.2 min / -30.8% September 2022: Difference of 10.2 min / 58.4% September 2023: Difference of 5.2 min / 23.4% September 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -8.4 min / -32.6% September 2019: Difference of -22.4 min / -56.4% September 2021: Difference of -10.2 min / -37.0% September 2023: Difference of -4.9 min / -22.2% September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -3.5 min / -13.6% September 2019: Difference of -17.5 min / -44.0% September 2021: Difference of -5.2 min / -19.0% September 2022: Difference of 4.9 min / 28.4%
    October 2019 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 23.9 min / 92.6% October 2021: Difference of 14.9 min / 42.4% October 2022: Difference of 14.2 min / 39.4% October 2023: Difference of 16.5 min / 49.4% October 2021 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 9.3 min / 35.8% October 2019: Difference of -14.9 min / -29.8% October 2022: Difference of -0.7 min / -2.0% October 2023: Difference of 1.6 min / 4.8% October 2022 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 10.0 min / 38.8% October 2019: Difference of -14.2 min / -28.4% October 2021: Difference of 0.7 min / 2.0% October 2023: Difference of 2.4 min / 7.0% October 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of 7.7 min / 29.6% October 2019: Difference of -16.5 min / -33.0% October 2021: Difference of -1.6 min / -4.6% October 2022: Difference of -2.4 min / -6.6% Ride Down Time
    A hot topic this past season from Cedar Point visitors was how often major roller coasters went down for some technical issue. By our estimates, Maverick averaged 90 minutes of down time per day, Steel Vengeance 82 minutes, Millennium Force 62 minutes, Wild Mouse 83 minutes, GateKeeper 55 minutes, and Valravn 59 minutes. Now these are just estimates based on gaps in wait time data, which would include weather delays, but the numbers do support the fact that attractions were down quite a bit on a daily basis.


     
  20. Webmaster
    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 the year.
    September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -10.9 min / -28.6% September 2017: Difference of -6.6 min / -19.4% September 2018: Difference of -1.8 min / -6.2% September 2019: Difference of -1.4 min / -5.0% September 2021: Difference of 12.2 min / 73.6% September 2022: Difference of -0.4 min / -1.6% EPCOT

    This September was a busy month at EPCOT, with wait times higher than years going back to 2017. The month would be considered slightly below average compared to the average of all months in the year.
    September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -2.8 min / -9.4% September 2017: Difference of 3.6 min / 16.6% September 2018: Difference of 3.5 min / 15.8% September 2019: Difference of 5.4 min / 26.8% September 2021: Difference of 12.6 min / 85.0% September 2022: Difference of 3.8 min / 17.6% Disney's Hollywood Studios

    DHS wait times were up compared to most past Septembers except for last year. Compared to the yearly average, wait times were down nearly 26%.
    September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -11.7 min / -25.8% September 2017: Difference of 11.0 min / 55.2% September 2018: Difference of 6.8 min / 30.0% September 2019: Difference of 7.1 min / 30.6% September 2021: Difference of 8.1 min / 32.0% September 2022: Difference of -3.7 min / -10.0% The Magic Kingdom

    Wait times last month at the Magic Kingdom were up over 2019 and 2021, but down compared to 2017, 2018, and 2022. 
    September 2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -7.8 min / -26.2% September 2017: Difference of -2.0 min / -9.2% September 2018: Difference of -0.1 min / -0.8% September 2019: Difference of 0.1 min / 0.6% September 2021: Difference of 4.6 min / 28.6% September 2022: Difference of -3.3 min / -14.2% Wait times did peak a bit unusually the week of September 18th, likely aided by some fall breaks, as seen below in the breakdown of September 2023 wait times by week at the Magic Kingdom.

    Looking ahead, October is typically busier than September, with more fall breaks and a holiday (plus Halloween).

  21. Webmaster

    Posted vs Actual Wait Times at HHN 32

    By Webmaster,


    Data Analysis
    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 vs Actual Wait Times at HHN 32 in 2023
    Actual Wait 40 minutes (Posted 75 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 34 minutes (Posted 60 minutes) for YETI: Campground Kills Actual Wait 83 minutes (Posted 120 minutes) for Stranger Things 4 Actual Wait 40 minutes (Posted 45 minutes) for Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings Actual Wait 19 minutes (Posted 25 minutes) for Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count Actual Wait 14 minutes (Posted 10 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 10 minutes (Posted 15 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 4 minutes (Posted N/A minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 15 minutes (Posted N/A minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 32 minutes (Posted 40 minutes) for Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate Actual Wait 29 minutes (Posted 50 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 63 minutes (Posted 85 minutes) for The Last of Us Actual Wait 25 minutes (Posted 5 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 5 minutes (Posted 10 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 17 minutes (Posted N/A minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 19 minutes (Posted 50 minutes) for Stranger Things 4 Actual Wait 12 minutes (Posted 60 minutes) for YETI: Campground Kills Actual Wait 3 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate Actual Wait 33 minutes (Posted 25 minutes) for Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count Actual Wait 18 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for The Exorcist: Believer Actual Wait 21 minutes (Posted 30 minutes) for Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings Actual Wait 23 minutes (Posted 90 minutes) for Stranger Things 4 Actual Wait 41 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 16 minutes (Posted 10 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 28 minutes (Posted N/A minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 22 minutes (Posted 45 minutes) for The Last of Us Actual Wait 18 minutes (Posted 20 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 24 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 39 minutes (Posted 40 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 26 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 42 minutes (Posted 25 minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 30 minutes (Posted 5 minutes) for The Last of Us Actual Wait 15 minutes (Posted 50 minutes) for Stranger Things 4 Actual Wait 15 minutes (Posted 20 minutes) for Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count Actual Wait 16 minutes (Posted 20 minutes) for Universal Monsters: Unmasked Actual Wait 12 minutes (Posted 25 minutes) for The Darkest Deal Actual Wait 19 minutes (Posted 25 minutes) for Dr. Oddfellow’s Twisted Origins Actual Wait 39 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for YETI: Campground Kills Actual Wait 14 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for Dueling Dragons: Choose Thy Fate Actual Wait 30 minutes (Posted 35 minutes) for The Exorcist: Believer Actual Wait 13 minutes (Posted 45 minutes) for Bloodmoon: Dark Offerings The good news is that there are more instances of wait times posted by Universal being overreported than underreported. Now, individual experiences will differ, but it is encouraging that wait times are not always as high as advertised. Keep in mind that if the Express line is backed up, the standby wait time will likely be longer as a consequence.
    Visiting HHN this year in Orlando or Hollywood? Record your time in the lines too to help everyone out! Visit any of the houses pages to get started!
    Remember to follow all of the HHN action all season long at https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/orlando/2023. Get the most up-to-date data on what days to visit HHN and when houses have the lowest and highest wait times.
  22. Webmaster
    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 attending MNSSHP). Guests with only a MNSSHP ticket can enter the park beginning at 4:00 PM. But is there a key advantage to visiting on a Halloween Party day? Let's take a look at the wait time data to find out.
    If the wait time data during August through October from 2022 is analyzed and parsed between days with a Halloween Party (Party Day) and no party (Non-Party), the average wait time difference was 11 minutes! That is, on average, if you visited on a day with a Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party event, with a daily average wait time of 24.4 minutes, your average wait time was 11 minutes lower than a non-party day, with a daily average wait time of 35.4 minutes. The same data is illustrated below for the 2022 series of MNSSHP. Note that this data is only from the operating day and not the Halloween Party event itself. For event averages see, the MNSSHP page.

    2022 MNSSHP Day vs Non-Party Day Wait Times

    Notice, too, that wait times last year increased over time, beginning in late September through mid-October, but that Halloween Party days still had considerably lower wait times than non-party days. In August, the average party day wait time was 19.8 minutes, in September it was 20.1 minutes, and in October it was 28.6 minutes. This data suggests that visiting on a MNSSHP day in August or September is your best bet for lower wait times at the Magic Kingdom.
    MNSSHP is underway in 2023 too. How have wait times looked so far (through three events)? The average for Halloween Party days is 20.0 minutes while for non-party days it is 28.1 minutes, a difference of 8.1 minutes. Not as big of gap as seen in 2022 so far, but the data set is limited. But the trend continues that wait times are lower on MNSSHP days. This graph will be updated as more events occur.
     
    2023 MNSSHP Day vs Non-Party Day Wait Times

    The average wait time on a non-party day in 2023 is 27.7 minutes compared to 18.3 minutes on a MNSSHP day, a difference of over 8 minutes!
    If you do not mind a few less operating hours (the park does open earlier, and earlier leads to lower wait times in general any day), and no fireworks show/park experiences at night, visiting on a day with a Mickey's Not-So-Scary Halloween Party event should offer lower wait times across the Magic Kingdom.
    One final graph: can you pick out which days were party days just based on the wait time profiles from August last year within a one week time frame?

    Genie+ Pricing Differences
    Some interesting trends have appeared with Genie+ pricing between Halloween Party days and non-party days. During each MNSSHP event so far, the price for Genie+ at the Magic Kingdom has been $25 per person. With the lower crowds during the day (shorter operating hours), this is a bit expensive, and the price really should be $23 per person or less. This week, a new trend began for the non-party days. Monday (8/21), Wednesday (8/23), and Thursday (8/24) have featured a Magic Kingdom Genie+ price of $27 per person. So on non-party days, you are now pay a premium for the higher crowd levels, and on party days you are also paying too much for the crowd levels. It will be interesting to see if this trend continues.
    8/11/23: Price: $25, average wait: 20 minutes 8/12/23: Price: $25, average wait: 27 minutes 8/13/23: Price: $25, average wait: 23 minutes 8/14/23: Price: $25, average wait: 31 minutes 8/15/23: Price: $25, average wait: 18 minutes 8/16/23: Price: $25, average wait: 32 minutes 8/17/23: Price: $25, average wait: 29 minutes 8/18/23: Price: $25, average wait: 22 minutes 8/19/23: Price: $23, average wait: 27 minutes 8/20/23: Price: $23, average wait: 23 minutes 8/21/23: Price: $27, average wait: 31 minutes 8/22/23: Price: $25, average wait: 22 minutes 8/23/23: Price: $27, average wait: 33 minutes  
  23. Webmaster
    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 times grew significantly for those that were open.

    How extreme did Fantasyland and Tomorrowland get? Well, it is not often that the Carousel reaches a 35 minute wait time!

    Wait times will likely remain above average for awhile today, as the backlog of Lightning Lane slots gets processed through the attractions that were closed. Many of these attractions filled up availability before more has appeared (indicated by the gray in the graph below).

     
  24. Webmaster

    HHN Heating Up in September

    By Webmaster,


    Data Analysis
    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 10/19/2022. Last night at HHN 32, on 9/17/2023, the average wait time was 69 minutes! Previous to last night, the average had hovered closer to 58 minutes. Last September, the highest nightly average was 58 minutes, which happened twice.

    Stranger Things 4 and The Last of Us have been driving the average wait times up so far. Reasonable wait times can be had for many of the houses early on (outside of ST4 and TLOU), and later on in the night, especially if you can stay past 12 AM. For all the data, updating during and after each HHN event, be sure to check out of HHN page at https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/orlando/2023

    At HHN Hollywood, average house wait times are even higher than Orlando, and higher than wait times during last year's event. During HHN 2022, the highest average wait time was 90 minutes on 9/24/2022; during the event last night (9/17/2023), the average wait time was a whopping 96 minutes!

    Based upon wait times, the most popular house at HHN Hollywood has been Chucky: Ultimate Kill Count followed by Stranger Things 4 and The Last of Us.

    Last night, several of the houses saw some dramatic swings up and down, and wait times remained high most of the night. Like HHN Orlando, follow all of the HHN Hollywood data all season long at https://www.thrill-data.com/hhn/hollywood/2023

  25. Webmaster

    Another Slow Disney World Holiday Weekend?

    By Webmaster,


    Data Analysis
    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-holiday last weekend of August (a recent week for comparison), and the average wait time profile for the past year plus. The weekend averages include the wait times from Saturday through Monday (it does include Tuesday, the 4th for July).
    At all but the Magic Kingdom (likely due to Halloween Party on Labor Day itself), wait times on Labor Day weekend were at least 2% higher than the 4th of July weekend. EPCOT wait times were up 16% over that weekend. At all but EPCOT, wait times were down over Labor Day weekend compared to the last weekend of August by 5 to 12%. Compared to the past year plus average wait time profile, wait times were down at each Disney World theme park 7 to 33% over Labor Day weekend 2023! Over the past two major US holidays, Disney World wait times have been well below average.
    This, again like the 4th of July, shows the power of a better deal. Guests are choosing to visit on other weekends for less overall cost than on holidays with no deals, but lower crowds.
    Animal Kingdom Date Range: 09/02/2023 to 09/04/2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -12.1 min / -31.4% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 07/01/2023 to 07/04/2023: Difference of 1.6 min / 6.2% Animal Kingdom Date Range: 08/26/2023 to 08/28/2023: Difference of -1.6 min / -5.8%
    EPCOT Date Range: 09/02/2023 to 09/04/2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -2.3 min / -7.6% EPCOT Date Range: 07/01/2023 to 07/04/2023: Difference of 3.5 min / 16.0% EPCOT Date Range: 08/26/2023 to 08/28/2023: Difference of 3.3 min / 14.6%
    Hollywood Studios Date Range: 09/02/2023 to 09/04/2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -15.2 min / -33.2% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 07/01/2023 to 07/04/2023: Difference of 0.7 min / 2.4% Hollywood Studios Date Range: 08/26/2023 to 08/28/2023: Difference of -4.1 min / -12.2%
    Magic Kingdom Date Range: 09/02/2023 to 09/04/2023 vs: Average Wait: Difference of -10.0 min / -32.0% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 07/01/2023 to 07/04/2023: Difference of -2.0 min / -9.2% Magic Kingdom Date Range: 08/26/2023 to 08/28/2023: Difference of -1.1 min / -5.0%  

    How did Labor Day weekend wait times compare to past years? Each day of this past weekend was slightly down from last year, except for a bigger drop on Labor Day Monday. Labor Day was also a Halloween Party on the Magic Kingdom last year, which does not explain that delta. Labor Day weekend at Disney World, in general, hasn't been as busy since the 2017/2018 time frame. 2020 data is hard to take to seriously as the socially distanced queues inflated wait times considerably.

     

     

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