What are your experiences with stand by times on unpopular attractions

[Sweettears]

August 2021 from what I recall

Living with the Land-walk on but saw posted up to 20 mins on a few occasions
- Tiki Room-didn't do it but saw 10 mins generally
- Country Bear Jamboree-wasnt open
- Voyage of the LM-varied between 5 and 40 mins
- Barnstormer-walk on
- Gran Fiesta-walk on to 10 mins
- Anything Nemo-the seas was a walk on, AK show and turtle talk were closed
- Muppet Vision-walk on to 15 mins
- Small World (of course)-10 to 60+ mins

I think that you maybe are referring to Under the Sea at MK. The Voyage show has been closed for some time now

 

[Lady Hiss]

Recent trip, busy parks:
Epcot:
Gran fiesta- walk on
Epcot Nemo ride - 35 min
Spaceship Earth - 20 mins
Living with the Land - 35 mins
Pixar shorts- walk on
MK:
We got disgusted and left after seeing 40 mins for Tomorrowland Transit Authority, maybe could’ve done COP or Philharmagic but didn’t feel like maneuvering thru the hordes
AK -
Triceratops Spin - walk on
Gorilla Falls - no wait, manageable crowd, baby gorilla!
Maharaji Trek - no wait
HS:
Muppets - walk on

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I can’t speak to wait times, but our 3 year old LOVED Living with the Land for whatever reason. We rode it probably a dozen times. I got bored and turned it into a game of I Spy…which only made her want to ride it MORE.

Figment rarely has a line and Spaceship Earth is often walk on, as long as you don’t go first or last thing. My daughter loved those. Dumbo, Aladdin’s carpets, and the dino one at AK are all perfect for that age too.

Living with the Land is one of my favorites and I can totally see our 4 YO loving it as well with the whole slow boat ride. I adore Spaceship Earth...it's one of my "good feels" rides and I hope the parts where it gets a bit too dark don't scare him. Will have to have to play that one by year.

If you are willing to purchase Genie+ I think you could do a lot more but also think you will be able to have fun checking out the atmosphere.

Yeah I'm not too keen on buying Genie+ every day but we would be there for a good while so going slow is no problem. On the days we do buy Genie+ I'm sure we would be able to do a bit more but like you said a lot of this trip will be just walking around taking in the atmosphere and fun of just being there.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

You may be thinking of Primeval Whirl but that ride is no longer in existence.

YES! lol. In all these years I've never bothered to check out Dino land except on my b-line to Dinosaur (an absolute favorite).

Pack patience is what I'm telling friends who are going. If it's better than you expect that is a win.

OK so what you wrote seems very realistic and worst case scenario (assuming it doesn't just keep getting worse!). I know that if we hadn't wanted to take our son so badly these past few years we probably would not even think of going. I've been watching the vlogs since they closed. I've been reading these message boards. I've had anecdotal experience of close friends. All of it points to the fact that Disney is not the same as it used to be, overcrowded, perhaps just less fun in general. However since it will be such a special trip I'm going to do exactly what you said and go in full well knowing I won't do nearly as much as I used to and I will get less for my money but the fact that it will be my kid's first time in Disney will more than outweigh all of that...or at least I hope so!

 

[TheDailyMoo]

The above were wait times we encountered last week. I added some too.

And you would say it was pretty packed? Again my trip would be around 4th of July but I'm almost getting the feeling that every day is like the 4th of July now! But again as long as there are a few walk ons or up to 20-30 minute wait that wouldn't be so bad.

I've never been really peak demand time, but I would think about a hard ticket for this plan. The parties have parades and such that a toddler would like. Parties like that are going to be easy to get on Barnstormer and Dumbo, what you are looking for. I'd rather go to a Halloween party in than wait 45 mins for Aladdin. All of the kiddie stuff will be walk on during a hard ticket event, plus some stuff that is really frustrating when it has a wait, like the Little Mermaid or maybe Haunted Mansion, if you want to get crazy. The less hours is great for a toddler anyway.

Yeah that sounds good but I have the dates set the week of 4th of July. I don't think there are any of those during that time right? I guess I can always spring for LLs if I really wanted to get on something but again he won't know the difference between Country Bear Jamboree and an e-ticket attraction so that's where I'm thinking if I can just do a few things a day with minimal wait that's all I need.

For Nemo, remember that you can enter the aquarium via the gift shop to wait for the Nemo line to go down.

Good tip!

- Small World (of course)-10 to 60+ mins

I feel like Small World is a wild card...always has been. Sometimes it's a walk on sometimes it's over an hour yup. I've seen that on many occasions.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I think that you maybe are referring to Under the Sea at MK. The Voyage show has been closed for some time now

Yup that's exactly what I was thinking of.

Recent trip, busy parks:
Epcot:
Gran fiesta- walk on
Epcot Nemo ride - 35 min
Spaceship Earth - 20 mins
Living with the Land - 35 mins
Pixar shorts- walk on
MK:
We got disgusted and left after seeing 40 mins for Tomorrowland Transit Authority, maybe could’ve done COP or Philharmagic but didn’t feel like maneuvering thru the hordes
AK -
Triceratops Spin - walk on
Gorilla Falls - no wait, manageable crowd, baby gorilla!
Maharaji Trek - no wait
HS:
Muppets - walk on

I think Epcot and AK are going to be two of the best parks for what I'm looking for. So did you not stay at MK at all? It was that bad all over or was People Mover just the last straw?

 

[jimmymc]

On my most recent trip:
- Country Bears and Muppetvision were both the next show, about 15 minutes.
- Nemo was listed as 20 but I walked right on
- Journey into Imagination was listed as 15 but walked on
- Gran Fiesta was about 15 minutes to get inside the indoor area, then a 5 minute wait in the queue
- Living with the Land was listed as a 20 minute wait, got on in 5
- Voyage of the Little Mermaid was a walk-on early in the day. The posted wait got up to 45 minutes but I didn't ride it at that time
- Small World was listed for 45, waited about 20. It's a walk on early or late in the day

 

[holden]

And you would say it was pretty packed? Again my trip would be around 4th of July but I'm almost getting the feeling that every day is like the 4th of July now! But again as long as there are a few walk ons or up to 20-30 minute

Our trip was 3/7-12. Unfortunately our flight was canceled and we were stranded for two extra days. My comment was based on our experience 3/7-12. It was crowded then. Starting 3/13 crowds were definitely higher. 3/13 was a Saturday and the beginning of Spring Break crowds. Once those crowds came waits were much higher.

 

[HopperFan]

OK so what you wrote seems very realistic and worst case scenario (assuming it doesn't just keep getting worse!). I know that if we hadn't wanted to take our son so badly these past few years we probably would not even think of going. I've been watching the vlogs since they closed. I've been reading these message boards. I've had anecdotal experience of close friends. All of it points to the fact that Disney is not the same as it used to be, overcrowded, perhaps just less fun in general. However since it will be such a special trip I'm going to do exactly what you said and go in full well knowing I won't do nearly as much as I used to and I will get less for my money but the fact that it will be my kid's first time in Disney will more than outweigh all of that...or at least I hope so!

Exactly. We still bought our AP for our November trip (we used regular tickets in July). We knew our trip would be major impacted without FP+ (my DS is disabled and FP+ was gold to us). We knew we wouldn't be able to do as much without it and because crowds were steadily increasing. Disney's capacity is minimally impacted, only reduced by anything closed. But it is obvious in the parks they brought back much less CMs, so some of that magic, some of the special interactions and some of the efficiency of the operation are now gone. I try to always be nice and friendly and positive with those who are there because guests are mad it's not the same, and it's not their fault. Dining is not distanced or reduced, you can't get ADR because people are booking it all. Bottom line, parks are not reduced capacity but staffing is, and the less efficient operation is causing long lines etc. Not in our control. How we react to it is in our control.

You might not get those wow moments of the past where you stopped in your tracks looking at something - because everywhere you look will be other guests maybe blocking your view, so I suggest you look at all with the eyes of your child. Let your view and excitement be watching your child. Think about things that might WOW them, maybe things you skipped before. I'm lucky that respect because my DS functions as a young child and there are moments that make him so happy that I might have missed. I might have been driven to hustle to that next ride. Last trip at Epcot he kept saying "paint wall" because he remembered the wall where you paint a few squares to make a big painting. It was a simple thing but he loved it. If you get Genie+ make sure you max out those special filters. DS and I had SO MUCH FUN creating all kinds of fun pictures, like turning us into Genies. He wanted to ride the paddle boat in MK, something we never do. He loved it and I saw things I don't remember ever seeing. I'm so glad he drug me on it. Joy and happiness and magic still happen if you let it.

You will have a great trip if you just know what to expect, watch wait times, utilize morning hours, think about what your child will love. Be flexible, shift gears as needed and enjoy all the details that make Disney special. My other son had lunch with a Disney Imagineer and scored big with one of their biggest. He oversaw the entire New Fantasyland expansion. My son asked him what was his favorite part of that and he said "I've never been able to design so many different kinds of stones, bricks etc. so look next time." Well every time I'm in that land I look at the so many different ones, I lose count. I enjoy it through his eyes. Let your little one be the captain of your adventure and no matter what you end up experiencing crowd wise, he'll always find something that makes his eyes twinkle.

Rather than looking at getting less for your money, know you can never replicate a trip at this age so your trip will provide priceless memories.

 

[Mflowers92]

I've never been really peak demand time, but I would think about a hard ticket for this plan. The parties have parades and such that a toddler would like. Parties like that are going to be easy to get on Barnstormer and Dumbo, what you are looking for. I'd rather go to a Halloween party in than wait 45 mins for Aladdin. All of the kiddie stuff will be walk on during a hard ticket event, plus some stuff that is really frustrating when it has a wait, like the Little Mermaid or maybe Haunted Mansion, if you want to get crazy. The less hours is great for a toddler anyway.

With all the parties shifting to after hours, they don’t really work with little one’s sleep schedules unfortunately. Unless they still do Early Morning Magic?

 

[Shellyred8]

I've been watching the wait times periodically throughout the day for a while now. It seems that the morning hours or later afternoon/evening hours are going to be the best times to get on the rides you are looking at. By about 11am the MK lines for the rides you listed start getting longer than I like to wait (more than 20 minutes). Given that you are going in July, this might be a good time to head back to your resort for some lunch, a nap or a dip in the pool. I didn't see if you were planning to stay on-site or not. If you aren't, this might be a good trip to see if you can make that work so you can use the Disney transportation for the afternoon breaks.

At AK, don't forget about the Bone Yard. I went a few years ago with my cousin and her twin two-year old girls and they absolutely loved it! It took them a little bit to get comfortable with the area, but once they started to figure things out they were off and running. As an adult with no kids of my own, I would never have realized how much fun kids have in this space had I not gone in there with them.

As HopperFan mentioned, take the time to see WDW through your child's eyes. If they hear some music playing and start dancing to it, let them dance. If they see some ducks swimming in the ponds and stop to look at them, let them look at them for a bit.

The little kiddos probably won't remember much about the trip, but they will have fun and you will make some awesome memories with them! Have a great trip!

 

[Miffy]

We got to Epcot about 10 a.m. a couple of weeks ago. We were really just there for an ADR at Rose & Crown and to shop around. Rides would be a bonus.
Spaceship Earth: standby was 60 minutes
Gran Fiesta: HUGE long line, so we didn't even bother, and I have never seen this before
We didn't look at Living with the Land, but I've seen 60-minute standby lines there since G+ started. Just warning you.

Note on Early Entry at MK: Unless you're at the front of RD crowd and walk super fast and/or run, forget about PPF. The standby line goes from zero to 60 in like 10 minutes. Instead, head the other way. Do Pooh and then Barnstormer (very cute, btw, but very short) then maybe double back and do Philharmagic. As for the LM ride at MK, there probably won't be much of a line for that at this point. But as soon as the park opens, it's a free-for-all.

But Country Bears is easy. As a PP said, usually the wait's no longer than the time it takes the show to play out. And you'll be waiting inside--a bonus--and perhaps even have a seat, depending on when you get there.

 

[Lisa P.]

Don't forget more of the shows at DHS and AK - they can handle large crowds so you may be able to get in line <30 min ahead: Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, Frozen Sing Along, Beauty and the Beast, and Lightning McQueen's Race Car Academy at DHS; Festival of the Lion King and Kite Tails at AK (Nemo's reopening date in 2022 has not yet been announced).

At MK, we've seen pretty short waits for Prince Charming's Carousel. Kids love the air-conditioned play area while waiting for their turn on Dumbo. Since it's hot in July, bring a change of clothes (at least shorts, underwear, & socks) and let him play at Casey Jr.'s Splash N Soak near Dumbo. In Epcot, there's a small splash area of sidewalk near Test Track & Mission: Space (used to be an indoor air-conditioned play area inside the back entrance of M:S as well - not sure if it's still there).

Have a fun time exploring all the kiddie-friendly things with your son for the first time!

 

[Lady Hiss]

Yup that's exactly what I was thinking of.



I think Epcot and AK are going to be two of the best parks for what I'm looking for. So did you not stay at MK at all? It was that bad all over or was People Mover just the last straw?

MK wasn’t enjoyable for us as 2 adults who didn’t rope drop or buy Genie+ . Yes it was crazy crowded and the waits for even less popular rides were longer than we’d ever experienced. We didn’t check Dumbo or the kiddie coaster, however. Your experience may be different and I truly hope it is. For small kids I think just looking around would be entertaining. For us the line for People Mover was the catalyst for our decision to leave. The whole atmosphere was frenetic, not magic.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Thank you all for the great responses

 

[TheDailyMoo]

Exactly. We still bought our AP for our November trip (we used regular tickets in July). We knew our trip would be major impacted without FP+ (my DS is disabled and FP+ was gold to us). We knew we wouldn't be able to do as much without it and because crowds were steadily increasing. Disney's capacity is minimally impacted, only reduced by anything closed. But it is obvious in the parks they brought back much less CMs, so some of that magic, some of the special interactions and some of the efficiency of the operation are now gone. I try to always be nice and friendly and positive with those who are there because guests are mad it's not the same, and it's not their fault. Dining is not distanced or reduced, you can't get ADR because people are booking it all. Bottom line, parks are not reduced capacity but staffing is, and the less efficient operation is causing long lines etc. Not in our control. How we react to it is in our control.

You might not get those wow moments of the past where you stopped in your tracks looking at something - because everywhere you look will be other guests maybe blocking your view, so I suggest you look at all with the eyes of your child. Let your view and excitement be watching your child. Think about things that might WOW them, maybe things you skipped before. I'm lucky that respect because my DS functions as a young child and there are moments that make him so happy that I might have missed. I might have been driven to hustle to that next ride. Last trip at Epcot he kept saying "paint wall" because he remembered the wall where you paint a few squares to make a big painting. It was a simple thing but he loved it. If you get Genie+ make sure you max out those special filters. DS and I had SO MUCH FUN creating all kinds of fun pictures, like turning us into Genies. He wanted to ride the paddle boat in MK, something we never do. He loved it and I saw things I don't remember ever seeing. I'm so glad he drug me on it. Joy and happiness and magic still happen if you let it.

You will have a great trip if you just know what to expect, watch wait times, utilize morning hours, think about what your child will love. Be flexible, shift gears as needed and enjoy all the details that make Disney special. My other son had lunch with a Disney Imagineer and scored big with one of their biggest. He oversaw the entire New Fantasyland expansion. My son asked him what was his favorite part of that and he said "I've never been able to design so many different kinds of stones, bricks etc. so look next time." Well every time I'm in that land I look at the so many different ones, I lose count. I enjoy it through his eyes. Let your little one be the captain of your adventure and no matter what you end up experiencing crowd wise, he'll always find something that makes his eyes twinkle.

Rather than looking at getting less for your money, know you can never replicate a trip at this age so your trip will provide priceless memories.

I have to say what you wrote really resonated with me and actually tugged at my heartstrings and that doesn't happen too often from posts from strangers on a message board! Thank you for that and I absolutely agree that this will be a magical trip for a very different reason than any of my previous trips. I'm definitely someone who does not like change, especially for the worse, and I really hate not getting value for my money, and I can't say those thoughts won't pass through my head a lot but in the end this is about creating the most important memories of all. Thank you again.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

I've been watching the wait times periodically throughout the day for a while now. It seems that the morning hours or later afternoon/evening hours are going to be the best times to get on the rides you are looking at. By about 11am the MK lines for the rides you listed start getting longer than I like to wait (more than 20 minutes). Given that you are going in July, this might be a good time to head back to your resort for some lunch, a nap or a dip in the pool. I didn't see if you were planning to stay on-site or not. If you aren't, this might be a good trip to see if you can make that work so you can use the Disney transportation for the afternoon breaks.

At AK, don't forget about the Bone Yard. I went a few years ago with my cousin and her twin two-year old girls and they absolutely loved it! It took them a little bit to get comfortable with the area, but once they started to figure things out they were off and running. As an adult with no kids of my own, I would never have realized how much fun kids have in this space had I not gone in there with them.

As HopperFan mentioned, take the time to see WDW through your child's eyes. If they hear some music playing and start dancing to it, let them dance. If they see some ducks swimming in the ponds and stop to look at them, let them look at them for a bit.

The little kiddos probably won't remember much about the trip, but they will have fun and you will make some awesome memories with them! Have a great trip!

I didn't even know about the boneyard! Great idea!

We got to Epcot about 10 a.m. a couple of weeks ago. We were really just there for an ADR at Rose & Crown and to shop around. Rides would be a bonus.
Spaceship Earth: standby was 60 minutes
Gran Fiesta: HUGE long line, so we didn't even bother, and I have never seen this before
We didn't look at Living with the Land, but I've seen 60-minute standby lines there since G+ started. Just warning you.

Note on Early Entry at MK: Unless you're at the front of RD crowd and walk super fast and/or run, forget about PPF. The standby line goes from zero to 60 in like 10 minutes. Instead, head the other way. Do Pooh and then Barnstormer (very cute, btw, but very short) then maybe double back and do Philharmagic. As for the LM ride at MK, there probably won't be much of a line for that at this point. But as soon as the park opens, it's a free-for-all.

But Country Bears is easy. As a PP said, usually the wait's no longer than the time it takes the show to play out. And you'll be waiting inside--a bonus--and perhaps even have a seat, depending on when you get there.

OK this is the kind of realism I need to properly set my expectations.

Don't forget more of the shows at DHS and AK - they can handle large crowds so you may be able to get in line <30 min ahead: Indian Jones Stunt Spectacular, Frozen Sing Along, Beauty and the Beast, and Lightning McQueen's Race Car Academy at DHS; Festival of the Lion King and Kite Tails at AK (Nemo's reopening date in 2022 has not yet been announced).

At MK, we've seen pretty short waits for Prince Charming's Carousel. Kids love the air-conditioned play area while waiting for their turn on Dumbo. Since it's hot in July, bring a change of clothes (at least shorts, underwear, & socks) and let him play at Casey Jr.'s Splash N Soak near Dumbo. In Epcot, there's a small splash area of sidewalk near Test Track & Mission: Space (used to be an indoor air-conditioned play area inside the back entrance of M:S as well - not sure if it's still there).

Have a fun time exploring all the kiddie-friendly things with your son for the first time!

Thank you! And yes great idea with those shows! I'll put them on my list.

 

[TheDailyMoo]

MK wasn’t enjoyable for us as 2 adults who didn’t rope drop or buy Genie+ . Yes it was crazy crowded and the waits for even less popular rides were longer than we’d ever experienced. We didn’t check Dumbo or the kiddie coaster, however. Your experience may be different and I truly hope it is. For small kids I think just looking around would be entertaining. For us the line for People Mover was the catalyst for our decision to leave. The whole atmosphere was frenetic, not magic.

I hope the people mover is at least a quick hop on. If that's packed then there's no hope that day! Yikes.

 

[Sweettears]

I hope the people mover is at least a quick hop on. If that's packed then there's no hope that day! Yikes.

I wouldn’t necessarily give up on the Peoplemover if it has a long wait time. It has a pretty consistent track record of going down lately. When it does lines build. However since it’s a fast loader the line can move pretty quickly

 

[Kingoglow]

There are no unpopular attractions.