Walt Disney World Wait Times for End of August 2024
September has arrived at Walt Disney World.
Historically, that would signal the arrival of the Halloween season at the parks.
These days, Magic Kingdom starts decorating Main Street, U.S.A., in late July.
So, we’re well into the 2024 Halloween campaign by now. Instead, the start of September indicates something else.
Mickey pumpkin wreath
We’ve entered what has become the slowest tourism month at Disney World.
The answer used to be January, but the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts changed that.
However, before we get to September, we need to tie off the (unofficial) end of summer.
Here are Walt Disney World’s wait times for the end of August 2024.
Disney’s Animal Kingdom
Photo: Disney
We know that Imagineers will start re-theming DinoLand USA this fall. And we also know that fall starts in less than three weeks.
So, the end of DinoLand USA is approaching quickly. Thankfully, Disney has indicated the change will occur in phases.
Photo: Disney
By adopting this approach, Disney can keep the attractions open later than some of the other parts of the themed land.
The current belief is that DINOSAUR will survive into 2025, but please don’t take my word on that.
DinoLand USA
If you’re visiting later this year, ride DINOSAUR while you still can, just in case.
Like the dinosaurs themselves, the attraction is definitely dying. The question is simply when.
Photo: Disney
At that point, Animal Kingdom will host fewer attractions, which is fine. You’re probably going for the zoo elements anyway.
Okay, you’re also visiting because of Pandora – The World of Avatar, and the wait times are about to show that. Here they are:
- Avatar Flight of Passage – 57 minutes, down 19
- Na’vi River Journey – 49 minutes, down 9
- Adventurers Outpost – 33 minutes, down 4
- Kali River Rapids – 27 minutes, down 18
- Expedition Everest – 25 minutes, down 13
- Kilimanjaro Safaris – 22 minutes, down 13
- DINOSAUR – 19 minutes, down 11
- It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, no change
- TriceraTop Spin – 8 minutes, down 2
First of all, wow! Animal Kingdom was empty last week!
As proof, the average Animal Kingdom attraction averaged a wait of 28 minutes, which is 10 minutes less than last time!
Photo: Disney
I’ll discuss this in detail in a later column, but this is a sneaky-great time to visit Animal Kingdom.
Disney’s Hollywood Studios
Photo: Disney
The other good news is that Hollywood Studios has slowed down recently.
Don’t get me wrong. It’s still a hectic theme park and will remain that way due to its large number of E-ticket attractions.
Photo: TheCoasterKings.com
However, the park hasn’t been as crowded in 2024 as it was in 2023, which is terrific for you! Every little bit helps.
I think you can tell the difference as we track average wait times for Hollywood Studios last week.
- Slinky Dog Dash – 59 minutes, down 12
- Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 49 minutes, down 12
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 43 minutes, down 15
- Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 41 minutes, down 10
- Toy Story Mania! – 38 minutes, down 11
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 37 minutes, down 21
- Red Carpet Dreams – 34 minutes, down 7
- Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 32 minutes, down 16
- Alien Swirling Saucers – 25 minutes, down 11
- Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 15 minutes, no change
- Celebrity Spotlight – 14 minutes, down 4
- Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change
- Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 10 minutes, down 7
Again, wow! These are some of the lowest numbers we’ve tracked at Hollywood Studios since Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge opened.
For the week, the average attraction required line time of 28 minutes, which is nine minutes less than last time.
You must have felt like you hit the jackpot if you visited either of these parks last week.
EPCOT
Did the downward trend hold at EPCOT? Let’s find out. Here are the park’s average wait times last week:
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 50 minutes, down 9
- Frozen Ever After – 47 minutes, down 9
- Royal Sommerhus – 29 minutes, down 5
- Soarin’ Around the World – 27 minutes, down 13
- Meet Mickey & Friends – 26 minutes, down 3
- Turtle Talk with Crush – 18 minutes, down 1
- Spaceship Earth – 16 minutes, down 4
- Mission: SPACE – 15 minutes, down 6
- Living with the Land – 14 minutes, down 1
- The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 13 minutes, down 4
- Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 11 minutes, down 1
- Journey into Imagination with Figment – 10 minutes, down 6
Photo: Disney
Overall, EPCOT attractions averaged a wait of 23 minutes, which is five minutes less than last time.
That’s a comically low number, and it’s the latest example that heat does seem to impact park crowds.
That’s a problem Disney probably needs to address.
Magic Kingdom
We’d need something shocking to happen for Magic Kingdom to go against all the other parks.
So, it’s a foregone conclusion that we’re about to track a lot of drops in wait time averages. Here’s the data.
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 54 minutes, down 7
- Peter Pan’s Flight – 47 minutes, down 4
- Space Mountain – 39 minutes, down 6
- Princess Fairytale Hall – 37 minutes, down 1
- Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 33 minutes, down 4
- Haunted Mansion – 32 minutes, down 3
- The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 32 minutes, down 2
- Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 32 minutes, down 1
- Ariel’s Grotto – 30 minutes, down 2
- Town Square Theater – 29 minutes, down 4
- Astro Orbiter – 27 minutes, no change
- Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 26 minutes, down 6
- Enchanted Tales with Belle – 21 minutes, down 5
- Pirates of the Caribbean – 19 minutes, down 6
- Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 19 minutes, down 4
- Country Bear Musical Jamboree – 18 minutes, up 1
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 18 minutes, no change
- It’s a Small World – 17 minutes, down 5
- Tomorrowland Speedway – 17 minutes, down 4
- The Barnstormer – 15 minutes, down 3
- Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 15 minutes, no change
- Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 14 minutes, no change
- The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 13 minutes, down 1
- Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 12 minutes, down 1
- Walt Disney World Railroad – 12 minutes, down 2
- Mad Tea Party – 11 minutes, down 1
- Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 9 minutes, down 1
- Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change
Final Thoughts
Overall, Magic Kingdom guests stood in line for an average of 22 minutes per attraction, which is three minutes less than last time.
That’s also legitimately one of the lowest average wait times I can recall at Magic Kingdom in the several years I’ve been tracking this data.
So, I think it’s fair to say that Magic Kingdom is at low tide with regard to late-summer attendance.
If you’re visiting right now, you’re going to have a spectacular time!
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