With Summer almost here and crowd levels about to peak at Walt Disney World I’m always looking for tips and tricks to avoid lines but still experience all of my favorite attractions.
While making sure to choose your FastPass+ selections carefully and even getting to the park at rope drop to be one of the first in line to your favorites attraction are both great ideas, sometimes waiting until the later hours of the evening can be the best strategy for avoid long wait times.
Here are our Top 8 attractions that are worth a visit at the end of the day for a shorter wait time!
1. Splash Mountain: While a classic Disney favorite, as the sun goes down (and temperatures drop) so does the wait time for this ride. During the heat of the day this is a very popular ride for a quick cool down thanks to the plunge near the end of the ride. Not as many guests wants to be a little wet walking around in the evenings as temperatures cool off. That said, this is one ride where the experience can be totally different in the evening because so much of it is outdoors and seeing the park a 5 stories high all lit up is truly a breathtaking experience!
2. Spaceship Earth: If they aren’t heading to Soarin’ or Test Track, most people will head straight to Spaceship Earth upon entering Epcot. That makes the wait at this attraction the longest in the few hours right after the park opens. The wait is dramatically shorter as the day progresses, making this the perfect attraction to experience as you are heading out of the park for the evening.
3. Jungle Cruise: A trip to Magic Kingdom just isn’t complete for us without a ride on the Jungle Cruise. I’m not sure if it’s because a lot of guests head left into Adventureland upon entering the park or if people think because this is an outdoor attraction it’s not as good in the evening but waits in the early evening and beyond tend to much shorter than the mornings (when they can peak at 90+ minutes!). And because it is another outdoor attraction you’ll get a new experience riding at night.
4. Pirates of the Caribbean: This is another classic Walt Disney World attraction at Magic Kingdom and guests want to make sure they get to experience at least once during their visit so the wait times tend to be longer in the morning and afternoon but significantly lower in the evenings as people are moving on to other things. This is certainly a “can’t miss ride” so if you don’t want to wait in a longer line, check it out after the sun goes down!
5. Dinosaur: Found in Dinoland U.S.A. at Disney’s Animal Kingdom this is another attraction where the line dwindles as the day winds down. Spend the afternoon enjoying some of the wonderful shows like Flights of Wonder and The Festival of the Lion King and plan on visiting Dinoland as you’re leaving the park for the day.
6. Great Movie Ride: Just like Spaceship Earth at Epcot, The Great Movie Ride is a popular first attraction for guests at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, again making the morning wait times much longer than the wait times in the evening. Again, this is the perfect end of the day attraction as you head out of the park instead of when you first enter.
7. The Haunted Mansion: This one kind of baffles me, but the wait times for Haunted Mansion tend to decrease as the evening wears on. And even if the wait is a tad longer than you’d like, the interactive queue is even more fun after dark – adding some extra spooky effects.
8. Character Meet and Greets: Wait times to meet characters tend to peak in the early morning hours and slowly lessen as the day goes on. That’s partially because children are less likely to be in the mood to meet their favorite character after a long day in the park – especially if they are sleepy! If you can, use this to your advantage and try and get in line later in the day to meet your favorite Disney characters.
One last tip – if there are two showings of the Main Street Electrical Parade or Fantasmic at Magic Kingdom and Hollywood Studios and you can stay for the later one, use the time during the first one to hit up some of the more popular attractions. Wait times for Seven Dwarf Mine Train have gone down to under 30 minutes during the parade and fireworks and same with other lines that usually have a long wait, like meeting Elsa and Anna and Peter Pan’s Flight.
Looking for more tips and tricks for your Walt Disney World visit? I’d love to share what I know as I help you plan your dream vacation. I am a Travel Magician with World of Magic Travel, the preferred agency of Chip and Co and the Disney Addicts! Email me today at alissa@worldofmagictravel.com to start planning your “Magical” vacation!
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