We have breakfast reservations at 9AM for the Ohana. On this day we’re going to Magic Kingdom.
When is a reasonable time to arrive at Magic Kingdom (for purposes of entering into Touring Plans)? Would 10:45AM be too early, too late?
If everything goes pretty much on time that would most likely be a good time. I think I would plan 11:00 in case there is a wait getting in to your ADR or there are issues with the monorail.
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10:45 sounds reasonable, but what time of year are you going? If you are going for Spring Break, you will not be able to get on anything the whole day except your Fast Passes arriving that late, and I dare say, anytime of the year it’s a risk. The good rides fill up (45 minute or more wait times) by 10:30 and stay full until 4:00 unless the crowd level is at 3:00.
It depends on your purpose in going. If you are a ride junky like me, I would skip the breakfast plans, put a lot of granola bars in your bag and get to the front of MK no later than 8:40 am. If you don’t care about the rides, you have accurately planned your breakfast reservation.
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If you are going for Spring Break, you will not be able to get on anything the whole day except your Fast Passes arriving that late
GULP! Really? Now you have me worried! (I AM going Spring Break week!). I have to admit that I haven’t been to WDW since the year EPCOT opened… but I’ve been doing my research on this site and using the planning tool. I’m looking for honest feedback. (ie, I don’t want to be a prisoner of hope and have my experience be totally out of whack with my expectations)
For a 10:45AM arrival (after Ohana) I have this as my basic schedule:
- Tomorrowland speedway:10:56AM, wait 15m (according to planning tool)
- Tomorrowland speedway (again):11:16AMm, wait 15m
- Mad Tea Party:11:38AM 4 minute wait
- Enchanted Tales with Belle: 11:48AM, 24 minute wait
- Under the Sea(FP+): 12:45PM, 7 minute wait
- Walking lunch
- 7 Dwarfs Mine Train (FP+):2:05PM, 9 minutes wait
- Dumbo (FP+): 3:35PM, 1 minute wait
- Rest until 7:00PM
- It’s a Small World: 7:22PM, 7 minute wait
- Mickey’s PhilharMagic, 7:46PM, 7 minute wait
I realize I don’t have a lot of hot rides after my fast passes… but what do you think of the wait times? Are they crazy low?
I hafta admit that I read that I’m going at the (second?) busiest time of the year. And when not using FP+'s, the tool does show crazy long lines for the 7DMT and other top rides…
What date is this for? What is your crowd level? Wait times reflect crowd levels so that’s important.
Another thing to keep in mind is that I have heard numerous times issues with Ohana being late with reservations. Definitely don’t plan on being at MK earlier than 11a.m.
Oh, this is for the worst day possible… Crowd Level 10 (but again, my naive assumption is that the planning tool would take that into account.)
It’s for the Wednesday in Spring Break, March 30th.
It should.
I’ve never been on a 10/10 but I HAVE been on a 9/10 and the waits were still pretty reasonable by following the plan.
Have faith.
Though I do wonder about those speedway waits. I hate that frickin line.
Speedway line can be annoying (breathing exhaust fumes while you wait is likely part of it), but if they have all 8 lanes up and running it can move reasonably well. It’s just so often they are only running at partial capacity which makes it much more frustrating. I’d presume on a busy day they’d be running near peak…
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Are you coming back to the MK another day? If not I’d cancel breakfast and book somewhere else for lunch when you will really appreciate escaping the crowds.
Agree! Go to MK early, eat during the busy part of the day. We have been the last 2 years during the first week of April…no way I would arrive that late.
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Well, to illustrate, this week is the beginning of Spring Break for Florida, not many out of town Spring Breakers yet, and I went to Epcot two days ago. My touring plan was such that we arrived to the rope inside the park by 8:40. We got on Test Track first off and waited 15 minutes. By the time we got off at 9:30 the wait time was 50 minutes. It was that long or more the entire day.
We zipped over to Mission Space immediately after and the wait time was 15 minutes. By the time we got off the wait time was 30 minutes.
We went over to Spaceship Earth where we had our first FP and the wait for us was 5 but for everyone else it was already up to 25 minutes. With that in mind, I don’t feel that your wait times that you have illustrated above are realistic.
This was Epcot at a predicted level 7 crowd. Test Track was over 60 minutes the whole day as was Mission Space.
In my experience, Epcot is never as crowded as Magic Kingdom and this was not even the official weeks of Spring Break.
We are going to MK Thursday and our plan is to get to the park by 8:15 and dart to the Seven Dwarf ride because it will be over 60 minutes or even up to 90 minutes the entire day for sure!!!
I have been to MK three times since December, all on level 4 and 5 crowd days and I have never been able to get on the 7 Dwarf ride.
Speedway will typically be at least 30 minutes in the middle of the day, and probably around 20 minutes by the time you get there in the late morning. Keep in mind that is with a level 4 - 6. I have no idea what a level 7 to 10 day would be.
All three of my wait times for Under the Sea have been over 15 minutes, never under, even in the evenings.
Dumbo has been 25 minutes or more, never less even on a level 4 crowd day. Small World is do-able on a level 6 or 7 day but I have seen it get up to 40 minutes in the afternoon. Two weeks ago on a Tuesday we waited at 2:00 in the afternoon for 30 minutes. It was raining so we were glad to be inside.
Philharmagic always a good option, never a long wait. I have never been to MK on a crowd day higher than 6, so I think my times are reliable as a baseline.
Here are good options for the middle of the day…
Tomorrowland: People Mover, Carousel of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor
Fantasyland: Carousel, Mickey’s Philharmagic, maybe the Mad Tea Party
Toontown area: Maybe Dumbo but doubtful, and Maybe Goofy’s GoCoaster, but doubtful
Adventure and Frontierland: Hall of Presidents, Tom Sawyer’s Island, sometimes Splash will have a lull but will immediately get busy, sometimes Pirates has a 25 minute wait, but usually more, but the wait isn’t too bad because it’s in cool and shade, Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse, The Tiki Room, Country Bear Jamboree
The train ride is always a good option too and any attraction that takes in people for a show that can hold a crowd.
To get the most of your Spring Break day don’t go on a Early Hours day for the resorts, get to the rope by 8:40 (entrance by 8:15), walk as steadily and a speedily as the cast members will allow to your most favorite ride, and have a second in mind to dart to afterward.
Have an early lunch around 10:30 or 11:00, and then dart to your next choice at noon (ride times go down for about 30 minute while people are having lunch.
Or, have lunch around 2:00 or 3:00 when the crowds are unbearable and the heat and exhaustion is getting to you. We go off site and eat at Sweet Tomatoes in Kissimmee. The kids fill up and the cost is 1/3 of the price, or if you don’t have transportation go get a hot dog, or a baked potato in Liberty Square. It’s easy to get a quick lunch there. We always plan for a 2 hours break for lunch when we do go off site. It keeps everyone from getting ornery and recharges everyone’s batteries so they can be more efficient and enjoy the rest of the day.
Take in a show like Mickey’s Philharmagic, or if there are other scheduled shows around 3 or 4.
Then you can start making attempts to get on more desirable rides around dinner time and parade time.
Although I said we have never done MK on a day higher than 6, I was talking about daytime. We’ve been to MK a couple of Friday nights at a level 9. We scoot back to Fantasyland after 7:30 and ride Winnie the Pooh, Small World, and Dumbo during the parades and shows. We even got on Thunder Mountain at 8 once.
Like I said, though, never been able to get on the 7 Dwarf ride ever. We’re planning a trip in May and I’m going to schedule Fast Passes now.
This is all to the best of my memory and experience based on going on a non-holiday time when the parks were at level 4 through six. You can maximize your experience by embracing the crowds and being satisfied with soaking in the atmosphere.
Whatever you do, don’t go on a day that Early Magic Hours are scheduled unless you just plan on taking advantage of the morning and having a plan B to hop to another park if the crowds get insane. I hear that on those days resort people get their very early and stay all day and it can add thousands to the crowds.
Hope this helps.
Debbie
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I will respectfully disagree with you @alwayscleaning.
As @Damavs stated, the Speedway runs at higher capacity with higher crowd levels. So the wait time might not be too far off there. Mad Tea Party is always a short line with a short ride duration - wait time seems quite reasonable there.
Also, OP has a FPP for 7DMT, Dumbo, and Under the sea so those wait times are accurate. Also Under the Sea is a continuously loading ride - I have never, even on a very high crowd level (and I have really only been on days of 7 or higher!), waited 15 minutes to board it. Similarly, Small World loads quickly and near continuously and I’ve never waited very long for that one - especially in evening hours.
Philharmagic is never a full show - you’ll always get in on the next showing, so the wait time is only reflective of how long you’ll wait for the doors to open.
I have found that the plans have worked well for us. When we have followed them we have done well. I suppose YMMV, and I can only speak to my experiences, but given that I have almost exclusively been on crowd level 7 or higher (in MK!) I think that says a lot. Whereas you’re saying you’ve only ever been at 6 or lower @alwayscleaning
That said I do agree that using early morning hours to tour, taking a break for lunch during the busiest times, and returning in the late afternoon and evening will get the greatest bang for the buck so to speak. But we have done the go all day thing too.
Keep your expectations realistic - it’s going to be crowded, there will be lines, it will be tough to move from place to place, it may even (GASP!) rain or something. But you’ll be in WDW, you’ll be armed with a lot more information than the average guest… and you will have an amazing time! 
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Fortunately, or unfortunately, we can only speak to our own experiences, so now OP has two perspectives. I didmiss the information that OP had a FP for 7DMT, but still had sleepy in my eyes when I read the post twice, so that’s great planning if he does have a FP. I was there two weeks ago and I’ll be there Thursday so I’ll will know for sure if I need to amend my report.
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Update on wait times that we experienced today as promised…
I didn’t check Mad Tea Party but by 9:30 this morning
Speedway was at 20 minutes
Under the Sea was at 10
Dumbo was at 20
Small world was at 25
PhilharMagic was at 10
We darted from the front gate at 8:50 to 7 Dwarf Mine and the non-FP
wait was 45 minutes by the time we got there.
By 10:30 the wait times were
Speedway 20 minutes
Mad Tea Party never checked
I didn’t check Enchanted (I have all boys).
Under the Sea 10 minutes
7 Dwarf 90 minutes
Dumbo 25
Small World 25
Mickeys at 10
Others that may be of interested by 10:30 Space was at 55 minutes, Thunder 35, Splash 30, Jungle
Cruise 50, Winnie the Pooh 35 by 9:30, and Peter Pan 60 by 9:30.
I think I will stand by my times since I saw it first hand today, and it’s not even Spring Break yet.
We got tired and left the park at 2:00 for the day, so I can’t comment on the afternoon or evening.
I’d say it was probably at a level 6 crowd-wise today.
Have a great trip. You’re early planning will ensure it.
You are reporting posted wait times?
Yes. The wait we experienced on 7 Dwarf Mine Train was ten minutes lower than the posted wait time, and the Splash Mountain posted wait time was ten minutes longer. These aren’t exact minute by minute wait times but generally as I was checking while walking by or checking on the attraction wait times on My Disney Experience while trying to decide if we should alter our touring plan, which we did quite a bit yesterday. I can say we, generally, did not have wait times within the realm that OP is expecting, and since Spring Break is not happening yet, OP can expect to have longer wait times than what we experienced yesterday.
Yesterday turned out to be a 7 out of 10 crowd, as was predicted. It was the largest crowd we have experienced (we never go on weekends, holidays, or school breaks), but was doable. We did get tired, left at 2:00, but because we got everything done early, we got everything done that we wanted to and felt like we had a good day,
It is predicted to be 10 out of 10 during Spring Break, so I think the times we experienced can be used as a baseline for planning, but it would be prudent to expect higher wait times than what we had yesterday.
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I have found that often there is a default posted wait time for at least the first half hour of park opening. Even later the system that is used (wait time tells you how long someone just finished waiting- not how long someone just entering the queue will wait at that moment) is not as reliable as TPs expected wait times. Me? I time just about every line I enter.
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We do to. I have a son that uses his a stop watch and we put him to work, but we have only been in Florida for two months, so we are just seeing the patterns. That being said, I did write down all of touring plans times for all parks for all of the days we were going, and did find a pattern that the times shoot up really consistently at 10:30 and calm down at 4:30 as a pattern no matter what day of the week and no matter what the predicted crowd level is. That pattern has been verified with the eight visits I’ve made to the parks since we moved to the Orlando area, but it certainly makes me know expert or human software trending program.
I’ve been testing out what I copied down from touring plans against what we are actually experiencing, and it tells me to get to the park and get what you want done right away, take it easy during the afternoon to recharge your batteries, get fast passes for your favorite rides. And, if you have energy you can pretty much repeat your favorite rides in the evening on the more normal days. So far we have been very consistent in getting in at least 10 to 12 attractions a day, and if we do that, we feel like we have had a good day no matter what. I was happy to have a great day on a crowd level 7 yesterday.
Growing up in So. CA I was programmed to feel like if we spent all day standing in lines, we wasted our money and felt really bad. Moving out in the middle of the country away from both Disneyland and Disney World, I know how intensely you feel the wasted money if you make a plan and you go to the parks and even find them moderately crowded when you just expected to be able to walk on the rides. Now, as an annual pass holder, I’m experiencing the, “Oh well, we can come back next week.” expectation, which is a fun place to be, makes me feel very spoiled, but also makes me want help others who have to maximize their time here since I used to not be able to just come back if I didn’t get what I expected for my money.