How long are you willing to wait?

[slpeters]

Also does anyone consider the wait until rope drop as part of the wait for the first ride? I get to RD, but about 15 minutes early, then first ride is about 10-15 minutes. Standby next ride, then start FP. If you get to RD and are on the rope, how long do you wait? First on? Is it worth the hour wait for RD?

I think I would count it which is perhaps why we never did it. We do ropedrop/EMH every day but usually arrive about five minutes before. We've never been in the press to get to the big ride at rope drop because it just seems like waiting in an even longer line--plus we've always had a FP for that one any way.

 

[epcotobsessed]

I waited in the line at Universal for the Gringots ride - very cool line. Same for Frozen ride, Mine Train, Pooh, even new Dumbo has better line. But once I’ve done it once, it’s FP for me. I bail if sign says 45 mins or more, since often that means 30.

Also does anyone consider the wait until rope drop as part of the wait for the first ride? I get to RD, but about 15 minutes early, then first ride is about 10-15 minutes. Standby next ride, then start FP. If you get to RD and are on the rope, how long do you wait? First on? Is it worth the hour wait for RD?

You hit upon one of my reasons for rethinking my strategy/asking my question in the first place - if I get to rope drop at least 30 minutes early, and I do, in reality I have "waited" 30+ minutes to get on that first ride. That being said, with a reasonable degree of planning, you should be able to ride at least a few rides in that first hour, especially in MK where rides are closer together, with very short wait times, so that's why I'm thinking rope drop might still be worth it.

 

[0FF TO NEVERLAND]

Probably 30 mins. 40 mins if it’s high in demand.

Universal I had to stand in line for the potter lines. They were so cool though that I didn’t mind. No longer than an hour though.

 

[Beauty&TheBooks]

Generally I won't wait more than 30 minutes at Disney. I tend to wait a little longer for rides at other parks, but since I've ridden everything at Disney (and know that there's always other opportunities to go on rides), anything over 30 minutes tends to be a little too much for my patience.

 

[pillowbook]

I prefer to rope drop at Disney, and I'm cool with waiting up to 30 minutes. Theres generally so much to see in queues and with pre-shows and all, its never felt like a chore to wait at Disney as opposed to your local amusement park.

 

[Mamiamjo]

30 minutes is about my limit also. I “might” wait a bit longer for certain rides depending on the circumstance, but not for just any ride, and not very often

 

[BachataMan]

For me, how long I'm willing to wait in a ride depends on who I'm in the line with. If I'm in line with normal friendly people I could possibly strike up a conversation with or if I want to take a break from walking and make updates on my phone, wait time doesn't bother me. If, on the other hand, I'm in line with loud and obnoxious people and/or bratty children and/or people who smell really bad, then there's a good chance I'm not going to be waiting in that line if it doesn't move quickly.

 

[Megsie1000]

30 minutes is pretty much my limit,but I might stretch that to 40 if I am really into the ride and it is not too miserable in the queue (like someone else mentioned- a/c vs no a/c in the hot months). But I love having tweens and teens who can make some of these decisions for themselves. If they feel like waiting 45 minutes to ride space mountain for the 5th time that day after all our fast passes have been used up, I am happy to let them do that while I sit and people watch and eat popcorn or go on the People Mover by myself or with my mom.

We are doing evening EMH at MK on July 3rd and I am under no illusion that we will have short lines. But my kids love being out late and doing MK in the dark. I can choose to join them on rides or I might park myself at the CP porch and just chill with my kindle.

 

[MinnieWebster]

Also does anyone consider the wait until rope drop as part of the wait for the first ride? I get to RD, but about 15 minutes early, then first ride is about 10-15 minutes. Standby next ride, then start FP. If you get to RD and are on the rope, how long do you wait? First on? Is it worth the hour wait for RD?

We don't really consider the time at RD as part of the wait for a ride, because while it is waiting in line, the park isn't open so you wouldn't be doing anything else during that time. (Except maybe sleeping in, but we dont do that at Disney ) DH likes the challenge of being at the front of the line for the ride we choose to RD, and we are usually pretty successful.

 

[ofcabbagesandkings]

Just curious how long, on average, you are willing to wait for a ride. Our strategy has always been rope drop--->ride as much as possible--->three FP in a row starting about an hour after rope drop (and grabbing something to eat in that block)--->ride anything else/see a show that has less than a 20 minute wait time--->go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool (and sometimes come back later for fireworks). I guess this is why I like Epcot so much because to me it's a great park to spend all day in even with riding only a few rides. Now that my kids are older (preteen/teen), I wonder if we are being foolish/missing out by bypassing all rides with wait times more than 20 minutes.

We tour just like you. The only ride I would wait in line longer for is FOP - maybe for 90 minutes.

Yep, us too. We generally leave after lunch to get away from the crowds/heat and let our little ones nap and cool off in the pool. We waited 30 minutes for Astro Orbiter at night once because it doesn't have FP and DS was dying to ride it all lit up, but it was Xmas week and they had a stage show going that kept us entertained in line. We waited over 30 minutes in the FOP FP line when two of the theaters went down and they had to close the standby line. And I think we waited 30 for Haunted Mansion our first trip. I think it's easy to avoid long waits with good planning. We also do character meals to avoid meet lines as much as possible.

 

[xmansmom]

I've been to WDW enough to not care if I miss something because the line was too long.

We're the same. Someone said if that's my attitude then I go too often. My response: There's no such thing as going to WDW too often.

 

[Garyjames220]

7 hours max. Wouldn’t want to wait any longer than that through

 

[disneygirlsng]

I waited in the line at Universal for the Gringots ride - very cool line. Same for Frozen ride, Mine Train, Pooh, even new Dumbo has better line. But once I’ve done it once, it’s FP for me. I bail if sign says 45 mins or more, since often that means 30.

Also does anyone consider the wait until rope drop as part of the wait for the first ride? I get to RD, but about 15 minutes early, then first ride is about 10-15 minutes. Standby next ride, then start FP. If you get to RD and are on the rope, how long do you wait? First on? Is it worth the hour wait for RD?

I don't usually get there until 30 minutes before, most of the time closer to opening. But I think the benefit to waiting before is that the park isn't open, so you aren't "wasting" park time by waiting if that makes sense. Sure, you are waiting an extra 30+ minutes or however long. But you aren't missing out on riding other rides at that point. I'm usually up early anyway so I wouldn't be losing sleep for it either.

 

[Shellyb84]

20 to 30 minutes, except for FoP, which I'll wait 60 minutes for.

 

[MonorailNate]

Our general rule is 30 minutes max. Time is valuable at WDW and there are lots of things to do and ways to circumvent long waits. We have always been successful in doing everything we wanted, including the tier 1 attractions.

 

[Thiago Acquaviva]

regular rides: 30~45 min
top rides: 45~90 min

 

[ChanduTail]

20-30 minutes. Waiting longer than 30 minutes feels like a waste of time when I could easily be doing something else.

Unless it's something like FOP, it's really rare to not be able to pull SDFP+ for just about anything.

I say this but I remember being 15-16yo & waiting in a 3-4 hour line for a new roller coaster at a nearby amusement park. I was with my friends, having fun, and didn't care. Somehow, it turned into a good memory.

 

[indoshakespeare]

60 minutes: Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Splash Mountain
45 minutes: Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Toy Story Midway Mania, Frozen Ever After, Flight of Passage
30 minutes: Peter Pan's Flight, Under the Sea, Na'vi River Journey, Expedition Everest, Haunted Mansion, Pirates of the Caribbean
20 minutes: Star Tours, Tower of Terror, Buzz Lightyear, Gran Fiesta Tour, It's a Small World, Test Track, Soarin'
15 minutes: Jungle Cruise, Living with the Land, Spaceship Earth, Mission Space, Rock n Roller Coaster, Dinosaur, TTA
10 minutes: Kilimanjaro Safari, Kali River Rapids, Winnie the Pooh, Dumbo Flying Elephant, Barnstormer

 

[Crystal824]

20-30 minutes is our limit too. That may change as my kids get older, but right now if the line is longer that, we just don't do it. I had three little ones, and it is just easier for everyone.

 

[scrapquitler]

Just curious how long, on average, you are willing to wait for a ride. Our strategy has always been rope drop--->ride as much as possible--->three FP in a row starting about an hour after rope drop (and grabbing something to eat in that block)--->ride anything else/see a show that has less than a 20 minute wait time--->go back to the hotel and enjoy the pool (and sometimes come back later for fireworks). I guess this is why I like Epcot so much because to me it's a great park to spend all day in even with riding only a few rides. Now that my kids are older (preteen/teen), I wonder if we are being foolish/missing out by bypassing all rides with wait times more than 20 minutes.

We generally won't wait more than 30-40 minutes, but it really depends on the ride and our plan for the day. Last summer we waited 2 hours for FOP and didn't mind. l