Walt Disney World Wait Times for Mid-December 2022
The past seven days at Walt Disney World signify what’s about to come.
During the weekdays, the parks included smaller crowds relative to what happened during the weekend.
Now, we’ve arrived at the start of the 12 Days of Christmas, the most crowded two-week period on the annual calendar.
Let’s talk about Walt Disney World’s wait times for mid-December or, as Orlando fans will remember it, the time before the weather took a turn for the frigid.
Photo: Disney
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
How was Avatar Flight of Passage this past week? You’re likely wondering since Avatar: The Way of Water opened in theaters this week.
Did the film heighten demand for the eerily similar attraction? Well, Avatar Flight of Passage averaged 118 minutes, up 24 minutes from last time.
Photo: Disney
So, the answer is yes, although part of the explanation stems from the increased park crowds overall.
Here’s the rest of Animal Kingdom’s data to prove the point:
- Na’vi River Journey – 70 minutes, up 9
- Kilimanjaro Safaris – 68 minutes, up 9
- Expedition Everest – 42 minutes, up 19
- Adventurers Outpost – 41 minutes, down 6
- DINOSAUR – 25 minutes, up 14
- TriceraTop Spin – 15 minutes, up 4
- It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, no change
- Kali River Rapids – 9 minutes, n/a
Photo: Disney
Overall, guests waited an average of 45 minutes, which is 11 minutes or 33 percent more than last time.
You’ll note that Na’vi River Journey gained a similar Avatar-related bump, a trend that should continue throughout the holidays.
Photo: Disney
If you’re visiting Animal Kingdom during the holidays, I’d highly recommend the purchase of Disney Genie+ and Lightning Lane.
The prices will probably reach historic highs, but the regular lines are gonna be wild until January 4th or so.
Photo: Disney
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Ooookay. This one’s gonna get weird. It’s gonna start strange, too.
If you’ve looked at the My Disney Experience app lately, you likely know what I’m about to say.
Twilight Zone Tower of Terror required the longest wait at Hollywood Studios this week…and by a LOT!
Guests waited an average of 138 minutes, an increase of 54 minutes. Yes, that’s pretty much an hour longer.
As I type this, it’s late in the afternoon, yet the attraction’s listed wait is 160 minutes. Tourists are drawn to that cursed tower!
Remarkably, second place isn’t the attraction you’d expect, either. Slinky Dog Dash averaged a wait of 125 minutes, up 26 minutes from last time.
Image Credit: Disney
You’re probably wondering about Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance. Well, it stayed the same with an average wait of 106 minutes.
Meanwhile, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster finished right behind it at 95 minutes, an increase of 37 minutes.
Here are the other waits at Hollywood Studios:
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 90 minutes, up 34
- Toy Story Mania! – 77 minutes, up 13
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 76 minutes, up 17
- Alien Swirling Saucers – 50 minutes, up 13
- Red Carpet Dreams – 44 minutes, up 3
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 39 minutes, up 25
- Meet Sulley at Walt Disney Presents – 38 minutes, up 9
- Celebrity Spotlight – 32 minutes, up 4
- Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 15 minutes, no change
- Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change
Photo: Disney
You can tell where this is going…
Overall, guests waited an average of 63 minutes for each Hollywood Studios attraction, an increase of 18 minutes from the last time.
The good news here is that we’re pushing the upper boundaries of wait times. So, the waits can’t get much longer.
On the downside, Christmas has already arrived at Hollywood Studios, and I don’t mean that in a good way. We’ve got massive holiday crowds well ahead of the holiday.
EPCOT
Theoretically, EPCOT could work differently from the first two parks we’ve discussed.
Photo: Walt Disney World
As I mentioned last week, I don’t expect that, though.
This park offers a pair of holiday amenities that are wildly popular: the Candlelight Processional and EPCOT International Festival of the Holidays.
So, even if we track shorter wait times here, the actual park is almost assuredly more crowded right now.
Still, we care most about the wait times. Here they are:
- Frozen Ever After – 82 minutes, up 5
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 75 minutes, down 6
- Test Track – 68 minutes, up 12
- Soarin’ Around the World – 49 minutes, up 14
- Royal Sommerhus – 40 minutes, up 6
- Mission: SPACE – 28 minutes, up 14
- Spaceship Earth – 26 minutes, up 10
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 13 minutes, up 5
- Living with the Land – 12 minutes, up 3
- Journey into Imagination with Figment – 10 minutes, up 3
- Turtle Talk with Crush – 10 minutes, no change
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 7 minutes, up 2
Photo: Disney
The average EPCOT attraction required a wait of 39 minutes, 10 minutes or 34 percent more than last time.
So, yeah. The theory we discussed a couple of weeks ago seems accurate. People are visiting the parks ahead of the holidays more, at least in 2022.
Magic Kingdom
Okay, we know how this is going. Let’s confirm with Magic Kingdom:
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 107 minutes, up 43
- Peter Pan’s Flight – 71 minutes, up 12
- Jingle Cruise – 58 minutes, up 3
- Space Mountain – 56 minutes, up 13
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 46 minutes, up 6
- Haunted Mansion – 43 minutes, up 7
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 39 minutes, up 13
- Town Square Theater – 37 minutes, no change
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 35 minutes, up 6
- Pirates of the Caribbean – 31 minutes, up 13
- It’s a Small World – 30 minutes, up 13
- Princess Fairytale Hall – 30 minutes, no change
- Splash Mountain – 29 minutes, up 4
- Astro Orbiter – 28 minutes, up 8
- The Barnstormer – 25 minutes, up 10
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 25 minutes, up 1
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 23 minutes, up 4
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 20 minutes, up 10
- Mad Tea Party – 17 minutes, up 10
- Tomorrowland Speedway – 17 minutes, up 5
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 15 minutes, no change
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 12 minutes, no change
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 10 minutes, down 5
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 8 minutes, down 1
- Country Bear Jamboree – 5 minutes, no change
- Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change
Photo: Disney
At Magic Kingdom, guests waited for 29 minutes per attraction, which is just two minutes more than last week. Compared to the other parks, that’s really solid.
This park faces a fascinating scenario next weekend. Forecasts call for 30-degree weather for Christmas Eve/Christmas Day.
Photo: Disney
As we’ve discussed, wait times ordinarily drop at Magic Kingdom’s outdoor attractions and wet rides during cold weather spells. But it’s Christmas…
Whatever happens, we’ll track it here. Until then, I hope you have the loveliest of holidays!
