Walt Disney World Wait Times for Second Week of January 2025

We’ve officially entered the slow season at Disney theme parks.

While the parks never truly grow empty these days, January remains one of the least popular times of the year to visit.

The entire reason the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts exists is to boost January crowds.

But our reporters tracked something unusual the other day. The post-New Year’s crowds didn’t vanish like usual.

Festival of the Arts signs

Here’s a post we made last week. Was this an anomaly or a sign of something else in play? Let’s find out!

Here are Walt Disney World’s wait times for the second week of January 2025.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

The transition has officially begun at this park. Parts of DinoLand USA have now closed forever.

So, everyone has had their final turn on TriceraTop Spin. Some other favorites like DINOSAUR will last a while longer.

By the end of 2025, DinoLand will be gone forever, though. And we’re already tracking the ripple effects throughout the park.

With TriceraTop Spin closed as of now, we’ve got one less attraction for guests to use.

That’s in addition to a pair of experiences at DinoLand that we lost this week, too.

Theoretically, the park’s behavior should change a bit as fewer guests frequent DinoLand USA.

Photo: Disney

Has that already started to happen? No, because the attractions were open for the full week, but it’ll be the behavior from now on.

So, here are Animal Kingdom’s average wait times last week:

• Avatar Flight of Passage – 85 minutes, down 57
• Na’vi River Journey – 58 minutes, down 29
• Expedition Everest – 47 minutes, down 36
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – 47 minutes, down 48
• Adventurers Outpost – 37 minutes, down 10
• DINOSAUR – 35 minutes, down 18
• TriceraTop Spin – 12 minutes, down 8
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, down 6

Photo: Ziggy Knows Disney

So, that’s it. That’s the end of an era at Animal Kingdom. And wait times will adjust accordingly over the next 12 months.

During this past week, the average park attraction required a wait of 42 minutes, which is 21 minutes less than last time.

Yes, that sounds like a lot. However, it’s the same wait time as the park had at this point last year, which is interesting.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Did Hollywood Studios behave similarly to Animal Kingdom?

Tower of Terror

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

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 81 minutes, down 41
• Slinky Dog Dash – 79 minutes, down 42
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 74 minutes, down 34
• Toy Story Mania! – 61 minutes, down 13
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 60 minutes, down 19
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 56 minutes, down 40
• Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 53 minutes, down 25
• Alien Swirling Saucers – 41 minutes, down 9
• Red Carpet Dreams – 39 minutes, down 9
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue! – 21 minutes, down 17
• Celebrity Spotlight – 20 minutes, down 6
• Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes down 2

Photo: Disney

You’ll notice five different attractions required an hourlong wait here on average, with two others in that same range.

So, that is a strong indicator of a crowded week at Hollywood Studios.

Photo: Disney

On average, guests waited for 45 minutes per attraction, which is 17 less than during New Year’s Week.

That’s also the same as during the second week of January 2024.

EPCOT

You’re noticing two different but accurate park behaviors here.

The first is that the crowds are a bit higher than usual for the post-New Year’s week. That was true in 2024 as well.

The other behavior, which is a bit more obvious, is that many E-ticket attractions have much lower wait times this week.

There’s a common-sense element to that. These “drops” reinforce how much crowds surge during the holiday season.

Disney

So, the data we’re tracking isn’t so much about last week as it emphasizes that New Year’s Week was wildly popular.

I suspect we’ll track the same thing at EPCOT. Here are the park’s average wait times last week:

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 69 minutes, down 55
• Frozen Ever After – 61 minutes, down 41
• Soarin’ Around the World – 45 minutes, down 40
• Royal Sommerhus – 41 minutes, down 11
• Meet Mickey & Friends – 27 minutes, down 12
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 24 minutes, down 24
• Mission: SPACE – 23 minutes, down 25
• Spaceship Earth – 21 minutes, down 22
• Turtle Talk with Crush – 19 minutes, down 5
• Living with the Land – 18 minutes, down 18
• Journey into Imagination with Figment – 15 minutes, down 16

Figment in his holiday sweater

Overall, EPCOT attractions averaged a wait of 33 minutes, which is 20 minutes less than last time.

Also, please note that several attractions are undergoing refurbishment as of last week.

Gran Fiesta Tour

At EPCOT, Gran Fiesta Tour Starring the Three Caballeros is offline for a while.

Similarly, we’re about to discuss Magic Kingdom, which won’t have Big Thunder Mountain Railroad for the rest of 2025.

Photo: Disney

These closures create ripple effects at other attractions, as the lines increase slightly, typically at similar experiences.

Magic Kingdom

Please note that EPCOT is the first park with lesser wait times than during the second week of 2024.

Last year, the post-New Year’s Week crowds led to a 36-minute wait. So, we’re down by three minutes in 2025.

Photo: Disney

Did the same thing happen at Magic Kingdom? Here are the park’s average wait times:

• Tron Lightcycle / Run – 117 minutes, down 40
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 71 minutes, down 19
• Peter Pan’s Flight – 56 minutes, down 17
• Space Mountain – 53 minutes, down 30
• Jungle Cruise – 47 minutes, down 20
• Haunted Mansion – 44 minutes, down 15
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 41 minutes, down 9
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 36 minutes, down 14
• Princess Fairytale Hall – 36 minutes, down 11
• Ariel’s Grotto – 33 minutes, down 10
• Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 32 minutes, down 12
• Pirates of the Caribbean – 32 minutes, down 15
• Town Square Theater – 32 minutes, down 8
• Astro Orbiter – 28 minutes, down 12
• It’s a Small World – 28 minutes, down 13
• The Barnstormer – 27 minutes, down 15
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 25 minutes, down 15
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – 24 minutes, down 11
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 24 minutes, down 13
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 21 minutes, down 18
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 18 minutes, down 2
• Tomorrowland Speedway – 18 minutes, down 16
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 16 minutes, down 8
• Mad Tea Party – 15 minutes, down 12
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree – 13 minutes, no change
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 14 minutes, down 4
• Walt Disney World Railroad – 12 minutes, down 13
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 11 minutes, down 9
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change

Final Thoughts

Cinderella Castle after Hurricane Milton

Overall, Magic Kingdom guests stood in line for an average of 27 minutes per attraction, which is 11 minutes less than last time.

That total is also quite a bit lower than the 31-minute average in 2024.

Partner’s Statue at Magic Kingdom

So, Walt Disney World’s most popular parks right now, EPCOT and Magic Kingdom, are the ones whose wait times fell the most year-over-year.

I suspect that’s just a blip, but we’ll track this trend throughout 2025.

Photo: Disney

It’ll be interesting to track whether EPCOT’s momentum was temporary. I suspect not, but I’ll try to keep an open mind.

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