Are these normal wait times for summer..?

[auteur55]

I'm looking at wait times today and they seem abnormally large. Almost worse then a Saturday. Finding nemo at 75 minutes, 45 minutes for mr. toads. 70 for peter pan. An hour for It's a small world??! I've never been in the summer but I don't remember waits every being this high. Good grief. Is something going on again this week?

I'm heading down next week and am having second thoughts.

 

[figment_jii]

I don't know how much of an impact there really is, but the United Spirit Association Camps are occurring at the Anaheim Convention Center this week. The Special Olympics Games have also started in the LA area, and VidCon just ended (Sat).

 

[auteur55]

Even some of my most seasoned Disneyland friends who live down in California were shocked at these wait times today.

 

[SMD]

Peter Pan can easily reach a posted wait time of 90 min. That's a little high for Mr. Toad, but 35-40 hasn't been unheard of since it left MK and it has a decent area for a long queue, unlike Snow White and Pinocchio. That's about right for Nemo and for IASW right after the first parade passes.

 

[auteur55]

Good heavens then I guess all my fears about summer are true. I would have never booked a trip during that time but I kept reading all these things online about how summer really isn't that bad and with the blockouts it's very manageable. I think I'll stick to the off times and am very close to convincing my sister we need to cancel.

 

[ktlm]

We were there for 5 days last week, and did not experience those kind of wait times. In the middle of the afternoon peak time, Mr. Toad and Small world were 20 minutes. We also waited 20 minutes for Nemo in the afternoon, but I did see that line go up to 45 minutes. Peter Pan, the line was consistently around 60 minutes, or even a little higher because it has recently reopened after being closed for some time for enhancements. We did not think it was that bad. It got more crowded on Tuesday and Wednesday as the 60th was approaching, but the Saturday, Sunday and Monday before that were fine.

 

[Girimama33]

I was there 6/28-7/2 and wait times were very manageable throughout the day.

 

[auteur55]

That's why I was comfortable booking because I kept reading what you said above. But looking at wait times today it's either completely changed or hour plus wait times are considered manageable.

 

[Sweetpea2011]

I think I need to stop reading these posts about the horrid wait times. We will be there next week as well, and I'm starting to freak out a bit.

 

[scrapshappen]

Wow. I just called Otto and the wait times do seem a bit crazy. We arrive on Thursday. Guess we'll be spending a lot of time people watching.

 

[SMD]

But keep in mind that posted wait times can be off in either direction. I've seen a posted wait time of 90 minutes for Peter Pan, I've rarely experience that to be accurate. On the other hand there's a ride like Star Tours where the actual wait is usually longer than the posted wait, especially if you get sorted into the front row and wait through the whole pre-ride experience. 60 minutes after a parade is typical for IASW because it's near a wheelchair seating area and will often be the next ride people choose once there parade passes but the parade hasn't finished passing FL walkways yet. I'm still a fan of just waiting instead of criss crossing the park trying to find shorter wait times, especially when it's crowded, because walking from point a to b also takes longer. But knowing certain things like IASW or that Storybookland closes for parades does help too.

 

[ADLFAN]

Wow, Disneyland does look busy! My app says DCA looks a lot better, lots of 10 minute wait stuff on the Pier. Hooray for Park Hoppers, right!? That is exactly why most people are willing to pay that up charge.

 

[720L]

Just back to our room. The lines were insane today! Seemed a lot like summer waits in WDW.

 

[Mysteryincorp]

I've been watching mouse wait all week. The lines seem ridciculous. This doesn't seem just like normal summer crowds?? I knew the 60th was going to affect crowds but this seems crazy!
We were there last week and it didn't seem that bad.

 

[iKristin]

I consider that normal for Summer. It's the main reason I don't visit the park in the Summer very often, I prefer to wait until the crowds die down. If I do visit, it's a Wednesday or Tuesday morning at rope drop then I quickly get out before the crowds show up.

 

[Supermavs]

I, too, am getting worried about the lines. I was checking on and off today and it was crazy! We are supposed to be there next week as well, but only 2 days (1 park each day) and i so wish we could bump our trip just a week later even, but school starts on the 11th.

 

[auteur55]

Just back to our room. The lines were insane today! Seemed a lot like summer waits in WDW.

Any word in the parks why wait times were so high today? Was it hard to enjoy the parks?

 

[luulu1999]

The main thing to help in the summer get there early, you can get SOOO much done with short waits early in the mornings then mid afternoon take a break when crowds or heaviest or go see a show or something, we went last summer at this time and never had crazy wait times but we used FP's and got there within 30 mins of park opening and it was not bad at all!!

 

[RemainSeatedPlease]

I was there last Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday (19-21) and the wait times were pretty bad. As usual it depends heavily on the time of day you are looking at. Mornings were great, but by midday I was seeing some crazy waits. Like you I saw Nemo go up to something like 75 minutes. I wanted to yell at all the people in line "it's not worth it!" At least to me it wouldn't be.

IASW is a strange one, it would go from practically no wait at all up to an hour wait then back to no wait quickly. I suppose like others say it has to do with parades going on in the area.

Space, Indy, Star Tours, Matterhorn regularly had hour waits or longer, Space usually around 90 minutes. Pirates surprised me, typically that line moves quickly enough that it doesn't build too much, but people were lined up around the corner and up onto the bridge. Splash Mountain had very long lines all day long, but that's to be expected for a wet ride in summer.

Jungle Cruise had typical posted wait times of 20-30 minutes, but it looked much longer than that...I saw areas of the queue on the upper level open that I didn't even know could be used as queue sections!

Even when it poured rain for a few hours the crowds didn't seem to die down. I would definitely say it was the busiest I have seen the parks. No other events in the area were going on to increase crowds that I know of. BUT, do not fear, it was still a fun trip and we still rode lots of stuff. We just made sure to ride the busy things in the mornings, first thing, and then mostly rest in the afternoon (which was needed anyway since it was hot and humid). And if you care at all about characters, the wait times for those didn't seem bad at all.

 

[SMD]

This summer actually seems more like 2012 level crowds in DL, maybe not so much in DCA but I'll be honest, I don't frequent that park. One difference is that there is much more entertainment, character greets, photo ops/other things to wait in line for besides just rides in DL. So it's not like last year, or the 55th, but these crowd levels aren't unheard of. Kudos to Disney, they hit on a campaign that brought the interest back.