Walt Disney World Wait Times for Labor Day Week 2023

Disney fans were not heading up to San Francisco for the Labor Day Weekend show.

No, their destination was Walt Disney World instead, even if they’re joining me in mourning Jimmy Buffett.

(Photo by Rick Diamond/Getty Images for CMT)

Yes, it’s been quite a summer, and fans were ready to spend the end of it in Orlando.

Here are Walt Disney World’s wait times for Labor Day Week 2023. And yes, Hurricane Idalia was a factor.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Animal Kingdom

We should keep in mind that while school is back in session, the three-day holiday provides a better opportunity to visit.

Also, the parks typically grow more crowded during the holidays anyway because everyone’s off for a few days.

Credit: NOAA

I say typically because this week included a factor that overrides everything else.

Walt Disney World experienced a hurricane. While Central Florida thankfully avoided the brunt of the storm, crowds remained minimal on those dates.

So, we tracked three and arguably four days wherein attendance proved minimal compared to the usual end-of-summer crowds.

You’ll notice this fact immediately with Avatar Flight of Passage. This attraction averaged a wait time of…58 minutes.

Photo: Disney

First, that’s 33 minutes less than last time. Second, to the best of my knowledge, this is the first sub-hour average wait in the ride’s history.

I’m not including the early days of the pandemic in that statement, as that’s a unique phenomenon in and of itself.

Photo: Disney

I’ll be curious to see whether this trend proves to be a one-off or if it’s a trend this September.

Here are Animal Kingdom’s other average wait times this week:

• Na’vi River Journey – 49 minutes, down 26
• Adventurers Outpost – 33 minutes, down 14
• Expedition Everest – 19 minutes, down 11
• Kali River Rapids – 18 minutes, down 22
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – 16 minutes, down 10
• DINOSAUR – 13 minutes, down 15
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 9 minutes, down 1
• TriceraTop Spin – 5 minutes, no change

Photo: Disney

Those numbers are self-explanatory. Everything either dropped its wait time or stayed the same.

Overall, the average wait at Animal Kingdom last week was 26 minutes, which is 13 minutes or one-third less than the previous week.

Folks, that’s WITH a major federal holiday happening! Hurricane Idalia caused people to reconsider an Animal Kingdom visit.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

After one park, you can already tell the only story that matters this week.

So, there’s no point in beating you over the head with the obvious. Here are the average waits at Hollywood Studios last week:

• Slinky Dog Dash – 68 minutes, down 26
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 55 minutes, down 17
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 54 minutes, down 33
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 49 minutes, down 18
• Toy Story Mania! – 41 minutes, down 18
• Millenium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 40 minutes, down 17
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 38 minutes, down 40
• Red Carpet Dreams – 33 minutes, down 10
• Alien Swirling Saucers – 22 minutes, down 16
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 20 minutes, no change
• Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 15 minutes, no change
• Celebrity Spotlight – 13 minutes, down 8
• Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change

Photo: TheCoasterKings.com

Overall, guests at Hollywood Studios were happy they came. Tourists stood in line for an average of 33 minutes, which is 17 minutes or 34 percent less than last time.

EPCOT

The only factor that might counteract Hurricane Idalia, at least somewhat, is the 2023 EPCOT International Food & Wine Festival.

I doubt that even this festival will counteract the weather event’s impact, though. Here are EPCOT’s average waits for the past week:

• Frozen Ever After – 58 minutes, down 18
• Test Track – 55 minutes, down 10
• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 46 minutes, down 17
• Royal Sommerhus – 27 minutes, down 5
• Soarin’ Around the World – 23 minutes, down 18
• Turtle Talk with Crush – 18 minutes, no change
• Mission: SPACE – 13 minutes, down 7
• Journey into Imagination with Figment – 11 minutes, down 8
• Spaceship Earth – 11 minutes, down 7
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 10 minutes, down 3
• Living with the Land – 9 minutes, down 3
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 8 minutes, down 5

Photo: Disney

Folks, we’re three parks in, and no attractions have increased their wait times…for a HOLIDAY WEEK! This is incredible.

Overall, guests at EPCOT stood in line for an average of 25 minutes, which is seven minutes or 22 percent less than last time.

Magic Kingdom

Here are Magic Kingdom’s average waits last week:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 63 minutes, down 18
• Peter Pan’s Flight – 60 minutes, down 14
• Jungle Cruise – 39 minutes, down 15
• Haunted Mansion – 34 minutes, down 20
• Princess Fairytale Hall – 34 minutes, down 9
• Ariel’s Grotto – 33 minutes, down 7
• Space Mountain – 33 minutes, down 26
• Town Square Theater – 32 minutes, down 5
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 29 minutes, down 8
• Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 28 minutes, down 10
• Astro Orbiter – 25 minutes, down 15
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 24 minutes, down 17
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – 23 minutes, down 4
• Tomorrowland Speedway – 22 minutes, down 1
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 21 minutes, down 13
• Pirates of the Caribbean – 19 minutes, down 17
• The Barnstormer – 15 minutes, down 3
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 15 minutes, down 1
• It’s a Small World – 14 minutes, down 12
• Walt Disney World Railroad – 13 minutes, no change
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 13 minutes, down 10
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 12 minutes, down 5
• Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 12 minutes, down 3
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 11 minutes, down 4
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 10 minutes, down 4
• Mad Tea Party – 10 minutes, no change
• 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

Final Thoughts

Overall, Magic Kingdom guests waited for an average of 23 minutes per attraction, which is just…wow! That’s incredible.

This park’s average wait time dropped seven minutes or 23 percent less than the previous week.

Photo: Wikimedia

The shocker here is that only three (!!!) attractions at Walt Disney World required average waits of an hour or longer.

As I’ve mentioned many times, Hollywood Studios alone often has seven.

So, there’s your staggering factoid about how much Hurricane Idalia kept guests away from the parks this week.

Those of you who did visit the parks assuredly had a spectacular time since you waited 28 percent less per attraction.

Photo: MickeyBlog

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Feature Photo: Disney