Disney Parks Cancel Popular Way to Manage Wait Times

Disney Parks just retired what many considered a great way to estimate attraction wait times. What do you think of this change?

High Wait Times

How to Spend More Time in the Disney World Parks — Credit: KtP

Wait times are a constant concern for Disney Guests. Many things cause high wait times, including ride malfunctions, high crowds, inclement weather, and delays with safety restraints.

One complaint that many Guests have raised over the past few years is that wait times do not seem accurate throughout the Disney Parks.

Disney likes to "underpromise and overdeliver". The feeling is that Guests would be delighted to only wait 45 minutes for Peter Pan's Flight rather than possibly waiting 65 minutes when the posted wait time is 60 minutes.

Reasons for Inflated Wait Times

Disney Makes a Change to Extended Evening Hours — Credit: Kate

That is one theory for the inflated wait times. The other theory is that Guests may be more inclined to pay for Lightning Lane MultiPass and Single Pass when high wait times are reported.

The final theory is that Disney Parks use higher wait times at more popular attractions to help control crowd flow. This encourages some Guests to skip Slinky Dog Dash when wait times are 90 minutes and counting.

With wait times being such a hot topic among Disney Guests, it is surprising that Disney is now retiring a system to monitor wait times that has been in use since 1999.

Disney Red Cards

See Wait Times Look Like When Disney World Parks Are At Capacity — Credit: KtP

Disney superfans may remember the moment of being "chosen" by a Cast Member to help monitor wait times with a red card. Simply put, a Cast Member would give a red card that stated, "This card is used to help provide you with the most accurate wait time. Please hand the card to a Cast Member at the end of the line. Thank You."

Disney Parks retired the final red cards to monitor if actual wait times matched the posted wait times for attractions.

This was a simple way to see if the actual wait time for this "chosen" guest was true to the posted wait time. This first started at Walt Disney World with the program name FLIK, "Fabulous Line Information Keeper." This was later adopted at Disneyland.

Now, after 26 years, the final location has retired the FLIK red cards. It is unclear what the next step is to monitor actual wait times compared to posted wait times.

Were you ever "chosen" to hold the red FLIK cards? What do you think is the real reason for exaggerated wait times for Disney attractions? Share your thoughts with us and share this news with your Disney pals.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Donna loved Disney from an early age. As a child, her family would joke that she lived in "Donna Land." As an adult, she enjoys planning and creating magical vacations for her family. She always brings a little faith, trust, and a little bit of Pixie Dust!