Walt Disney World Waits Times for Third Week of October 2022
Last week, Walt Disney World crept up again after an extended slow period.
Now, Halloween is near, and that usually leads to an uptick in attendance and lines.
Photo: Disney
How were the wait times at Walt Disney World last week? Let’s find out!
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
I must confess that I’m paying closer attention this week since my Disney Countdown is under five days.
Credit: Disney
So, if you’re in the same spot as me and visiting for the Halloween-to-Christmas conversion, this is a big week.
At Avatar Flight of Passage, guests waited an average of 97 minutes last week, a modest increase of three minutes.
Meanwhile, Na’vi River Journey remained at 75 minutes for the past week. Thus far, it looks like crowds are similar to last time.
Let’s examine the other Animal Kingdom wait times to verify:
- Kilimanjaro Safaris – 55 minutes, no change
- Adventurers Outpost – 42 minutes, no change
- Expedition Everest – 36 minutes, no change
- Kali River Rapids – 35 minutes, down 9
- DINOSAUR – 31 minutes, down 2
- TriceraTop Spin – 12 minutes, no change
- It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 11 minutes, down 4
Photo: Disney
Overall, guests waited an average of 44 minutes, a one-minute drop from last time.
I’ll admit that I didn’t expect any of the parks to decrease this week. This is a surprise.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
You’re probably wondering about Hollywood Studios, as Animal Kingdom isn’t always the best bellwether.
Notably, Hollywood Studios has bumped up its attendance enough that it’s the second-most popular Walt Disney World theme park.
Photo credit: DisneyWorldVacationGuide.com
That isn’t surprising to anybody reading this column regularly, but the Themed Entertainment Association 2021 report confirmed it.
Thus far in 2022, the park has appeared even more crowded. Did that trend continue in mid-October?
Photo: Richard Harbaugh
Last week, Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance averaged a wait of 107 minutes, right in line with the previous week’s 105 minutes. So, we’ll need more data.
Here are the other wait times at Hollywood Studios for last week:
- Slinky Dog Dash – 92 minutes, down 5
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 68 minutes, up 2
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 64 minutes, up 2
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 62 minutes, up 1
- Toy Story Mania! – 60 minutes, no change
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 50 minutes, down 7
- Red Carpet Dreams – 45 minutes, up 1
- Meet Sulley at Walt Disney Presents – 40 minutes, down 2
- Celebrity Spotlight – 35 minutes, up 4
- Alien Swirling Saucers – 34 minutes, down 3
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 15 minutes, down 4
- Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 14 minutes, down 1
- Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change
Photo: Disney
For the week, guests waited for an average of 47 minutes at Hollywood Studios, down a minute from last time.
To a larger point, those wait time averages are about as static as they can possibly be.
Image Credit: Disney
Thus far, only two attractions have experienced serious wait time changes. That’s rare.
EPCOT
This park still possesses a Top Three and then everything else.
Photo: Todaysorlando.com
For last week, Remy’s Ratatouille required the longest wait at 84 minutes, two minutes more than the previous week.
Next was Frozen Ever After, which hovered at 72 minutes, three minutes less than last week.
Photo: Disney
Then, we had Test Track, which averaged 65 minutes, the same as last time. So, once again, everything appears stable at EPCOT.
Here are the park’s other average wait times:
- Soarin’ Around the World – 46 minutes, up 1
- Royal Sommerhus – 35 minutes, down 3
- Spaceship Earth – 20 minutes, down up 1
- Mission: SPACE – 19 minutes, down 5
- Living with the Land – 12 minutes, down 6
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 9 minutes, down 1
- Journey into Imagination with Figment – 9 minutes, down 2
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 8 minutes, no change
- Turtle Talk with Crush – 7 minutes, down 3
Credit: Disney
Overall, guests waited an average of 31 minutes, only one minute different from last week.
More importantly, all three Walt Disney World parks are (ever so slightly) down week over week.
Magic Kingdom
Did we go four for four? Here are the wait times at Magic Kingdom last week:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 65 minutes, down 7
- Peter Pan’s Flight – 61 minutes, down 3
- Jungle Cruise – 50 minutes, down 6
- Town Square Theater – 41 minutes, down 3
- Haunted Mansion – 40 minutes, down 3
- Splash Mountain – 39 minutes, down 8
- Space Mountain – 36 minutes, no change
- Princess Fairytale Hall – 34 minutes, down 3
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 33 minutes, down 2
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 29 minutes, up 1
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 26 minutes, down 5
- Pirates of the Caribbean – 26 minutes, down 4
- Astro Orbiter – 25 minutes, down 4
- It’s a Small World – 21 minutes, down 3
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 20 minutes, down 2
- Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 15 minutes, down 4
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 14 minutes, down 1
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 13 minutes, up 2
- The Barnstormer – 12 minutes, down 5
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 12 minutes, down 6
- Tomorrowland Speedway – 10 minutes, down 1
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 9 minutes, down 1
- Mad Tea Party – 8 minutes, down 1
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 9 minutes, down 1
- Country Bear Jamboree – 5 minutes, no change
- Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change
Photo: Disney
On average, guests waited for 25 minutes at Magic Kingdom attractions this past week. That’s a drop of four minutes from last time.
So, we can safely conclude that parks slightly decreased during the third week of October.
Photo: Disney
I should mention that Orlando did suffer a cold spell that may have had a slight impact here. At a minimum, it lessened the crowds at the outdoor wet rides.
