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Fall break has arrived at Disney World, and the wait times sure do prove it. You will not believe the current wait times in the parks right now.
Fall Break
Disney World’s 50th anniversary weekend may have come and gone, but the crowds are just getting started. Not only are people visiting to experience all the 50th anniversary has to offer, but fall break is typically a busy time in the parks.
Many schools are on fall break in mid-October with Columbus Day weekend/Monday being extremely busy. Not only is there a new cavalcade, nighttime shows, daytime shows, and Beacons of Magic but we also have Boo Bash still happening for the rest of the month.
With all that is going on at Disney World plus the busy fall break season, wait times are bound to be pretty high. But, just how high?!
Magic Kingdom
At the time of writing (October 11 at 1 pm), 8 rides at Magic Kingdom currently boast an hour (or more) wait. Some of these are unsurprising like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train and Splash Mountain.
I am shocked to see Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Littler Mermaid make the list, however. It’s a cute ride, but I would never wait 65 minutes for it!
Jungle Cruise is our winner for highest wait time: 95 minutes. Although, I’m not sure there’s a real winner with wait times this long?
Epcot
Hopping on the monorail over to Epcot, the wait times are looking a bit better. Granted there are not nearly as many rides as the other parks, but Frozen Ever After is sitting strong at 60 minutes. It is quite common for Frozen to have the highest posted wait time in the park.
What is a bit surprising is to see Soarin’ at 45 minutes and Spaceship Earth at 30 minutes! In recent weeks these two rides have mostly been walk-on attractions.
Personally, if I were in Epcot today I would be checking out the Food & Wine booths!
Hollywood Studios
Let’s take the Skyliner from the International Gateway to Hollywood Studios to see the wait times there. Currently, there are 5 attractions that have posted wait times of over 60 minutes
- Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway: 60 minutes
- Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run: 75 minutes
- Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster Starring Aerosmith: 75 minutes
- Star Wars: Rise of the Restisnace: 115 minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash: 120 minutes
A few surprising things to note. Rise of the Resistance is not the highest posted wait time?! I (Monica) would argue Slinky Dog Dash is the superior ride of the two although Rise is consistently more in demand.
Animal Kingdom
Since there’s no good way to get to Animal Kingdom, bus it is!
Like Epcot, there are not a ton of attractions to experience in Animal Kingdom. Avatar Flight of Passage has a 95 minute wait, which is to be expected. I am a bit surprised to see Expedition Everest only have a 30 minute wait, but that ride is typically a walk-on.
In the middle, Kali River Rapids, Na’vi River Journey, and Kilimanjaro Safaris have posted wait times of 45-55 minutes. Not a great day to be in Animal Kingdom if you are there to knock out some attractions.
Overall, these wait times are consistently higher than they were last week, right after the 50th anniversary weekend Guests left. You can see those wait times HERE.
What do you think of these wait times? Do you visit during fall break? Join the conversation in the comments below and on Facebook.
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Disisnuts!
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
What prevents WDW from inflating the wait times to motivate consumers to buy Lightning Lane? Will their be an independent audit? I understand Disney is a business and profitability is one of their goals, but come on this is ridiculous!!!
Shannon
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
I won’t wait more than 30 minutes for any ride and I won’t pay per ride so I many never ride some rides again. I liked FP.
Chris
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
We are going the week before Christmas break starts. We are letting our daughter miss a week of school so we can go before Christmas break and hopefully it won’t be as bad since school is still in that week.
Indy J
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
Had FP been in place those wait times would easily be doubled so it's actually really nice to see wait times under an hour instead of 120 minutes.. I think what has happened is the AP holders simply get used to going to the park and ONLY using FP since they know they will be back again, so they never wait in standby. So suddenly a 30 or 45 minute seems ridiculous. When you grew up without FP and don't have an AP, a 30 to 60 minute wait is a nice, non-busy day.
Tim Martin
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
Wife and I are looking at going in January. What can we expect then?
Monica Street
Tuesday 12th of October 2021
Depends on when you go. Marathon weekend is the 6th-9th and that time will be busy. The rest of the month is a great time to go, but with the 50th it's a wild card this year.