Walt Disney World Wait Times for First Week of August 2024

The Walt Disney Company just confirmed our suspicions.

Yes, late June was less crowded than expected due to the weather.

Mickey Mouse and Families – Walt Disney World

Similarly, Disney officials hinted that they tracked the same behavior in July and expected it for August and September.

So, we should track reasonable Walt Disney World wait times during the first full week of August 2024. But did we?

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Photo: Disney

The 2024 D23 Disney Experiences Showcase highlighted several of the exciting changes coming to various theme parks.

Among them were definitive plans for the Tropical Americas, which will eventually replace DinoLand U.S.A.

Once that happens, our Animal Kingdom tracker will drop to seven experiences. So, we will definitely notice an impact.

For the time being, normalcy remains, although the clock is ticking on DinoLand U.S.A.

Animal Kingdom

Here are Animal Kingdom’s average wait times last week:

• Avatar Flight of Passage – 86 minutes, up 9
• Na’vi River Journey – 63 minutes, up 6
• Kali River Rapids – 61 minutes, up 9
• Expedition Everest – 54 minutes, up 8
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – 42 minutes, up 12
• Adventurers Outpost – 34 minutes, up 2
• DINOSAUR – 33 minutes, down 4
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, no change
• TriceraTop Spin – 10 minutes, up 2

Photo: Disney

Overall, guests stood in line for an average of 43 minutes for Animal Kingdom attractions.

That’s four minutes more than last time and reflective of the fact that the park did gain a bit of late-summer traffic.

Yes, I know that summer is barely halfway over, but at Disney theme parks, the de facto end is when the school season begins.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Some of my immediate family members were at Hollywood Studios this week.

They sounded delighted with the lack of crowds relative to their past few trips.

Photo: TheCoasterKings.com

Amusingly, the other recent Hollywood Studios reports I’ve received from my ‘ohana weren’t as positive.

So, for personal reasons, I’m curious how this past week’s events unfolded.

Photo: Disney

Here are the park’s average wait times last week:

• Slinky Dog Dash – 88 minutes, up 16
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 67 minutes, up 7
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 67 minutes, up 2
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 65 minutes, up 3
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 59 minutes, up 12
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 52 minutes, up 2
• Toy Story Mania! – 51 minutes, up 3
• Red Carpet Dreams – 39 minutes, down 4
• Alien Swirling Saucers – 37 minutes, up 2
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 22 minutes, up 5
• Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 15 minutes, no change
• Celebrity Spotlight – 14 minutes, down 4
• Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change

Image Credit: Disney

Overall, the various Hollywood Studios attractions averaged a wait of 42 minutes, which is five minutes more than last time.

EPCOT

Keep in mind that we’re tracking another phenomenon as we evaluate this week’s wait times.

The new Lightning Lane Multi Pass system has only been in place for three weeks now.

Photo: Disney

We’re tracking any oddities identifiable in the numbers. Thus far, it’s played out as I expected.

For instance, rides like Slinky Dog Dash benefit Lightning Lane users mightily.

At EPCOT, the service isn’t as do-or-die, especially since it doesn’t currently offer character greetings as Lightning Lane options.

That fact has deflated EPCOT wait times during the first two weeks, but how about now?

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Here are the park’s average waits last week:

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 63 minutes, up 8
• Frozen Ever After – 54 minutes, up 3
• Soarin’ Around the World – 48 minutes, up 14
• Royal Sommerhus – 32 minutes, up 1
• Meet Mickey & Friends – 28 minutes, up 2
• Mission: SPACE – 27 minutes, down 4
• Spaceship Earth – 24 minutes, up 5
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 20 minutes, up 4
• Turtle Talk with Crush – 18 minutes, down 1
• Journey into Imagination with Figment – 16 minutes, up 3
• Living with the Land – 15 minutes, up 4
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 14 minutes, up 3

Disney

Overall, EPCOT attractions averaged a wait of 30 minutes, which is three minutes more than last time.

Magic Kingdom

Cinderella’s Castle – Clear Sky

Okay, here are the average wait times at the most popular theme park in the world:

• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 68 minutes, up 1
• Space Mountain – 57 minutes, no change
• Jungle Cruise – 46 minutes, up 4
• Princess Fairytale Hall – 46 minutes, down 17
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 42 minutes, up 3
• Town Square Theater – 41 minutes, down 17
• Haunted Mansion – 40 minutes, up 2
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 40 minutes, up 4
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 35 minutes, up 1
• Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 34 minutes, up 2
• Astro Orbiter – 33 minutes, no change
• Ariel’s Grotto – 32 minutes, no change
• Pirates of the Caribbean – 28 minutes, up 2
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 27 minutes, up 1
• It’s a Small World – 26 minutes, down 1
• Tomorrowland Speedway – 26 minutes, up 5
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – 24 minutes, no change
• The Barnstormer – 23 minutes, up 1
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 21 minutes, up 2
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree – 18 minutes, no change
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 18 minutes, no change
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 18 minutes, up 2
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 17 minutes, up 2
• Walt Disney World Railroad – 17 minutes, up 2
• Mad Tea Party – 15 minutes, up 2
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 14 minutes, up 1
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 13 minutes, up 4
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change

Final Thoughts

Partner’s Statue at Magic Kingdom

Overall, Magic Kingdom attractions required an average wait of 27 minutes, which is one minute more than last time.

So, we appear to have ticked up slightly in attendance, which is interesting.

Disney executives provided the guidance that attendance would remain relatively flat for an extended period.

We’re probably talking about the rest of 2024, at a minimum. Ergo, wait times should remain relatively predictable.

This week, I’d describe the times as a bit surprising in that there wasn’t an ostensible reason for E-ticket rides to increase a lot.

Despite this fact, several of the biggest ones did.

Lady Tremaine

Conversely, the oddity we tracked last week, the surge in wait times for character greetings, normalized this past week.

As expected, it was more of a temporary phenomenon than something that will remain a problem indefinitely.

Well, that’s the hope anyway.

Thanks for visiting MickeyBlog.com! Want to go to Disney? For a FREE quote on your next Disney vacation, please fill out the form below, and one of the agents from MickeyTravels, a Diamond Level Authorized Disney Vacation Planner, will be in touch soon!

Feature Photo: Disney