Walt Disney World Wait Times for Second Week of September 2024

Okay, we’ve finally reached a fork in the road.

After years of sameness at Magic Kingdom, something has changed, and it matters greatly.

Cinderella Castle

The arrival of TRON Lightcycle / Run causes ripple effects throughout Magic Kingdom and across Walt Disney World.

We’ve got less than one full week of data thus far. So, this week paints an incomplete picture, yet it still tells a story.

Here are Walt Disney World’s average wait times for the second week of September 2024.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The one thing to know about comparisons this week is that last time included the Labor Day holiday.

However, that was only one day with a realistic maximum impact of three days.

Tree of Life

So, most of last week’s data underscored a slow early September.

• Avatar Flight of Passage – 57 minutes, down 3
• Na’vi River Journey – 56 minutes, up 8
• Adventurers Outpost – 36 minutes, up 1
• Expedition Everest – 31 minutes, up 4
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – 29 minutes, up 3
• Kali River Rapids – 27 minutes, down 1
• DINOSAUR – 25 minutes, no change
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, no change
• TriceraTop Spin – 8 minutes, no change

Donald’s Dino-Bash

Overall, Animal Kingdom guests stood in line for 31 minutes, which is one minute more than the previous week.

That means the park was still slow, but it increased marginally. Is that the case everywhere at Disney World? Let’s find out.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

The debut of Tron as a standby queue attraction somewhat impacts Hollywood Studios.

With a new thrill ride available, some potential park guests headed to Magic Kingdom instead.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

That’s the theory, anyway. The data doesn’t really support that, though, as you’re about to see.

Here are the park’s average wait times:

• Slinky Dog Dash – 67 minutes, up 4
• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 52 minutes, up 7
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 50 minutes, up 2
• Toy Story Mania! – 49 minutes, up 11
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 47 minutes, up 3
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 43 minutes, up 5
• Red Carpet Dreams – 38 minutes, up 1
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 38 minutes, up 1
• Alien Swirling Saucers – 30 minutes, up 4
• Lightning McQueen’s Racing Academy – 15 minutes, no change
• Celebrity Spotlight – 14 minutes, no change
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 14 minutes, up 4
• Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change

Tower of Terror

Overall, guests at the park stood in line for an average of 33 minutes per attraction, which is three minutes or ten percent more than last time.

EPCOT

You’ll notice similar behavior at EPCOT relative to Hollywood Studios.

EPCOT

Most attractions here have increased week over week, suggesting slightly larger crowds during the second week of September.

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 58 minutes, up 5
• Frozen Ever After – 52 minutes, up 1
• Royal Sommerhus – 38 minutes, up 5
• Soarin’ Around the World – 33 minutes, up 5
• Meet Mickey & Friends – 28 minutes, up 2
• Living with the Land – 21 minutes, up 2
• Journey into Imagination with Figment – 19 minutes, up 5
• Turtle Talk with Crush – 18 minutes, no change
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 17 minutes, up 3
• Spaceship Earth – 17 minutes, up 2
• Mission: SPACE – 16 minutes, up 1
• Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros – 14 minutes, up 2

Image: Disney

Overall, EPCOT attractions averaged a wait of 27 minutes, which is two minutes more than during Labor Day week.

So, as you can see, we’re trending upward ever so slightly, even before we get to Magic Kingdom.

Magic Kingdom

Finally, we have the park with the most intrigue. Here are the average wait times at Magic Kingdom last week:

• Tron Lightcycle / Run – 76 minutes, n/a
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 51 minutes, down 1
• Peter Pan’s Flight – 45 minutes, down 1
• Haunted Mansion 37 minutes, up 6
• Big Thunder Mountain Railroad – 36 minutes, up 3
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 34 minutes, up 3
• Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 34 minutes, up 2
• Space Mountain – 33 minutes, up 3
• Ariel’s Grotto – 31 minutes, up 2
• Princess Fairytale Hall – 31 minutes, down 1
• Town Square Theater – 31 minutes, up 3
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 27 minutes, up 3
• Pirates of the Caribbean – 25 minutes, up 4
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – 24 minutes, up 3
• It’s a Small World – 21 minutes, up 4
• Astro Orbiter – 20 minutes, down 1
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 20 minutes, up 5
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 17 minutes, down 1
• Tomorrowland Speedway – 15 minutes, up 1
• The Barnstormer – 14 minutes, up 1
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree – 14 minutes, down 2
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 14 minutes, up 1
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 14 minutes, up 4
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 14 minutes, up 1
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 12 minutes, up 1
• Walt Disney World Railroad – 11 minutes, up 1
• Mad Tea Party – 10 minutes, up 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 waited for an average of 26 minutes, which is five minutes more than last time.

Obviously, there’s a primary reason for that growth. TRON counts now!

TRON Lightcycle / Run Poster at Magic Kingdom

I should mention that we had a massive amount of variance in TRON’s behavior throughout the week.

Please don’t be surprised if next week’s numbers fluctuate wildly. Along those lines, also remember that it’s September.

We’re establishing a baseline for TRON right now, but we’re doing it during the slow season.

So, TRON’s average wait could easily surpass 100 minutes by late October and possibly (probably?) cross two hours over the holidays.

Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party

That’s why Disney added the standby queue in September. Park officials gain data now and can better anticipate holiday crowds.

Still, the larger point remains. September is still slow, but it’s had an uptick relative to last week.

Disney Springs Halloween PhotoPass

Beyond that, we’ll have a full week of Tron data to examine next week, thereby (more than) doubling what we know.

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