Walt Disney World Wait Times for Fourth Week of January 2025

Are you staying warm?

I ask because winter weather has proven more extreme than usual thus far in 2025.

Photo: Playbuzz.com

Even parts of the United States largely unaccustomed to freezing weather are experiencing freezing weather.

The Sunshine State is struggling with atypical temperatures, and it’s having an impact on the theme parks.

Olaf’s Frozen Adventure – on Disney+

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

Spoiler: The cold weather didn’t keep people away anywhere near as much as I would have guessed.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Photo: FLStormChasers_

There’s no denying the fact that the weather is the main story this week.

Over the past seven days, I checked the weather forecast in Central Florida more than I can ever recall.

Some of our best friends chose this past week as their vacation, and let’s just say that they did not dress appropriately.

I actually made the same mistake during my first visit to Disneyland Resort in the 1990s.

My travel dates were in December, and it never dawned on me that Southern California could be frigid.

When my plane touched down, I immediately got looks from people, as I was wearing shorts. I felt like an idiot because I was one.

Snowgies in EPCOT are ready for cold weather!

Well, plenty of Walt Disney World tourists have felt the same lately, at least the ones who ignore their weather app.

So, how did the extreme cold (by Disney standards) impact the crowds?

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

• Avatar Flight of Passage – 80 minutes, up 16
• Na’vi River Journey – 55 minutes, no change
• Expedition Everest – 43 minutes, up 11
• Adventurers Outpost – 41 minutes, up 8
• DINOSAUR – 40 minutes, up 15
• Kilimanjaro Safaris – 40 minutes, up 1
• It’s Tough to Be a Bug! – 10 minutes, no change

Photo: Facebook/Imagineer Podcast

Overall, park guests waited for an average of 45 minutes per attraction, which is eight minutes more than last time.

Let’s examine the next two parks before we draw any conclusions here.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

At Hollywood Studios, we just learned that it will follow Animal Kingdom soon.

The zoo-park has already closed three of its experiences, with others shutting down later this year.

Disney

Now, we know that Muppet*Vision 3D is down to its last five months before closing permanently.

Notably, Disney indicated it will preserve the attraction for generations to come but didn’t say how. That’s a bit worrisome.

So, this park is about to lose arguably its most iconic remaining attraction – it’s this or Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – in June.

With Country Bear Jamboree last year, we didn’t track much of an impact until the final week before its closure.

Photo: Disney Parks Blog

That’s the behavior I’m expecting here, but I’m only guessing. It definitely didn’t impact this past week.

Nobody knew how soon the closure was coming until the end of the week.

(Kent Phillips, photographer)

Keeping that in mind, here are the average wait times at Hollywood Studios last week:

• Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 85 minutes, up 4
• Slinky Dog Dash – 76 minutes, up 7
• Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith – 62 minutes, up 1
• Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway – 50 minutes, up 1
• Toy Story Mania! – 50 minutes, up 6
• Twilight Zone Tower of Terror – 49 minutes, down 4
• Millennium Falcon: Smuggler’s Run – 48 minutes, down 2
• Red Carpet Dreams – 39 minutes, up 2
• Alien Swirling Saucers – 32 minutes, up 1
• Celebrity Spotlight – 21 minutes, up 5
• Star Tours – The Adventures Continue – 17 minutes, up 2
• Muppet*Vision 3D – 10 minutes, no change

Image: Disney

Overall, the average Hollywood Studios attraction required a wait of 40 minutes, which is two minutes more than last time.

EPCOT

2025 Festival of the Arts

Okay, this is the first full week of the EPCOT International Festival of the Arts.

So, we should track some impact, as that’s the entire purpose of the festival.

This exhibition attracts guests during what’s historically been the slow season.

Let’s take a look at EPCOT’s average wait times last week:

• Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 64 minutes, up 8
• Frozen Ever After – 61 minutes, up 7
• Soarin’ Around the World – 50 minutes, up 7
• Royal Sommerhus – 43 minutes, up 3
• Meet Mickey & Friends – 31 minutes, up 3
• The Seas with Nemo & Friends – 28 minutes, up 6
• Spaceship Earth – 25 minutes, up 7
• Living with the Land – 23 minutes, up 4
• Journey into Imagination with Figment – 21 minutes, up 6
• Mission: SPACE – 21 minutes, down 2
• Turtle Talk with Crush – 19 minutes, up 1

Photo: Disney

Overall, EPCOT attractions averaged a wait of 35 minutes, which is four minutes more than last time.

So, the trendline here is clear, but I’ll spell it out at the end in the Final Thoughts section.

Magic Kingdom

Photo: Disney

You can tell what’s happening here. The cold weather hasn’t kept people away.

Hatbox Ghost

As proof, here are Magic Kingdom’s average wait times:

• Tron Lightcycle / Run – 96 minutes, down 10
• Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 65 minutes, down 1
• Peter Pan’s Flight – 58 minutes, up 4
• Space Mountain – 50 minutes, down 3
• Jungle Cruise – 44 minutes, down 4
• Haunted Mansion – 40 minutes, down 1
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh – 40 minutes, down 1
• Princess Fairytale Hall – 37 minutes, up 1
• Ariel’s Grotto – 36 minutes, up 4
• Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin – 34 minutes, down 1
• Pete’s Silly Sideshow – 34 minutes, up 2
• Town Square Theater – 34 minutes, up 3
• Enchanted Tales with Belle – 28 minutes, up 4
• The Barnstormer – 27 minutes, up 1
• It’s a Small World – 27 minutes, no change
• Pirates of the Caribbean – 26 minutes, down 3
• Dumbo the Flying Elephant – 25 minutes, up 1
• Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid – 25 minutes, up 1
• The Magic Carpets of Aladdin – 22 minutes, down 2
• Mickey’s PhilharMagic – 19 minutes, up 1
• Tomorrowland Speedway – 19 minutes, up 2
• Country Bear Musical Jamboree – 16 minutes, no change
• Mad Tea Party – 15 minutes, up 1
• Monsters, Inc. Laugh Floor – 15 minutes, up 2
• Prince Charming Regal Carrousel – 13 minutes, up 2
• Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover – 13 minutes, no change
• Walt Disney World Railroad – 13 minutes, no change
• Walt Disney’s Carousel of Progress – 5 minutes, no change

Final Thoughts

Cinderella Castle

Overall, Magic Kingdom guests stood in line for an average of 27 minutes per attraction, which is the same as last time.

So, we had three parks increase their average waits, while one stayed the same.

At two of those parks, there are reasonable explanations. The closures at Animal Kingdom increased waits at other experiences.

I’d expected that and said as much. Similarly, the Festival of the Arts always draws a crowd.

In fact, I’m a bit regretful that we won’t be attending this year. I generally buy some of my best Disney merch during this event.

Meanwhile, Hollywood Studios was up by a marginal amount, and Magic Kingdom held steady.

Photo: TripAdvisor

That led to a larger overall wait across Walt Disney World, but the behavior was understandable.

Still, it’s a bit surprising that the cold weather didn’t keep anyone away. I guess “cold at Disney” is better than “just plain freezing.”

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