Which rides have the longest lines at Disney World? And how long is the longest wait time?
One of the most important things to know before you go to Disney World which rides have the longest waits. You might just assume that it’s only the newest rides, but that’s not actually the case. Some of the most popular rides are decades old.
But why is this important? These are the rides you’ll want to prioritize and go on when lines are at their lowest, and the rides you’ll want to avoid during the busy hours.
Stick around to the end of this article, because I have a few of tips on how to avoid the long lines for these incredible and incredibly popular rides.
Update 4-4-2024 – I’ve updated this article with our new video as well as an updated list of the longest lines at Disney World.
The Longest Lines at Disney World – Video
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Here are the top 10 longest lines at Disney World, based on the average wait time from January through December 2023.
- Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance – 108 Minutes
- Slinky Dog Dash – 96 Minutes
- Avatar: Flight of Passage – 95 Minutes
- Seven Dwarfs Mine Train – 85 Minutes
- Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure – 76 Minutes
- Frozen Ever After – 74 Minutes
- Peter Pan’s Flight – 73 Minutes
- Na’vi River Journey – 72 Minutes
- Rock ‘N’ Roller Coaster – 71 Minutes
- Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run – 66 Minutes
How did you find out these Disney World wait times?
The wait time data is from Thrill-Data.com, which keeps a database of Disney’s posted wait times. This is an average from the entirety of 2023.
Overall, these wait times are an average of what you could expect to see as the posted wait time. Disney tends to report an inflated wait time, as guests are typically happier to have a less-than-expected time in line. However, this is still a useful estimate and ranking of the wait times across Disney World.
Why do these rides have the longest wait times?
Wait times are a result of two main factors: demand and capacity.
Ride demand is driven both by what are the new rides and what are the best rides. Many guests will flock to a new attraction. Remy, Avatar, and Rise of the Resistance are three of Disney World’s newest rides, and they are all in the top 10 longest lines.
However, with enough time, demand can go down. Both Soarin’ and Toy Story Mania used to have the longest lines at Disney World, and now both of those rides are in the middle of the pack. (This is partially due to Disney expanding capacity by 50% on each of those rides).
Also, it is not surprising that what we consider to be the two best rides at Disney World also have the two longest wait times.
Capacity is the other main factor for long lines at Disney World. A ride could have very low demand, but if it also has very low capacity it will have a long line. Every ride has an hourly rider capacity, usually in the range of a few hundred on the low end to 2,000-2,500 on the higher end. To use an extreme example, let’s imagine two rides: Ride A has an hourly capacity of 1 rider per hour, and Ride B has an hourly capacity of 1,000 riders per hour. If 10 people are in line at Ride A, it will have a wait time of 10 hours. If 1,000 people are in line at ride B, it will have a wait time of 1 hour. So the wait for Ride A is much longer, but the actual demand for Ride B is 100 times more.
If a ride isn’t operating correctly or at its full capacity, it will have longer wait times.
For example, look at what happened at Tower of Terror in 2021. A few years ago, Tower of Terror had unusually high wait times. That was due to one of the two elevator shafts not working, which halved hourly capacity. You can see a drastic jump in wait times for Tower of Terror once this happened:
- October 2020: 45 Minutes
- November 2020: 69 Minutes
- December 2020: 53 Minutes
- January 2021: 59 Minutes
- February 2021: 106 Minutes
- March 2021: 128 Minutes
How to avoid long lines at Disney World
It is totally possible to go on every one of these rides during your Disney World vacation and not wait hours in line. Here are a few tips on how to avoid waiting so long in each line.
- If it’s within your budget, consider purchasing Genie+ and Lightning Lane. These ticket add-ons let you skip the line on all of these rides for an extra fee, saving you a ton of time. You can read more about line skipping at Disney World in our Guide 2 Disney Genie and our Guide 2 Lightning Lane at Disney World.
- Go on these rides at rope drop. Lines are the shortest immediately at park opening. Get to the park before it opens and head straight to your number one priority.
- Utilize resort perks like Early Morning Hours. Disney Resorts and Good Neighbor Hotels have access to extra operating hours. If you a guest at one of these resorts, take advantage of the extra time in the morning (or evening at select hotels only).
- Lines are also shorter in the evening. Lines can dip down in the evening, especially if the park is open later than normal. Remember, you can get in line anytime before official park closing and go on the ride. You can read more about it in this Tip: You can stay in the parks past closing.
- Use Single Rider: Single Rider lets you go on some very popular rides with a shorter wait if you’re willing to be split up from your group. While none of the Single Rider rides are currently in the top 10 longest wait times, they all still have pretty significant waits. You can read all about it in our Disney World Single Rider Guide.
- Book a VIP Tour: If you can afford it, the pricey VIP tour will let you go immediately to the front of every line. These are several hundred dollars per hour with a minimum of 7 hours, but it is a feasible option of you have a large group and limited time in the parks.
- Be sure to check out our Disney World Tips and Tricks section for more ways to save time at WDW, including our Disney World Time Saving Tips.
We want to hear from you!
How long would you wait in line for these rides? Let me know in the comments below!
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