Disney World Wait Times at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom on March 2nd 2011

Yesterday I listed the wait times at the four major Disney theme parks (minus Epcot due to the fire alarm).  We saw incredibly short wait times at the two recommended Parks (Animal Kingdom and Magic Kingdom) and significantly longer wait times at the Parks that were not recommended (Epcot and Hollywood Studios).  Let’s have a look at the wait times at Animal Kingdom and Hollywood Studios today compared to yesterday, since those are the two Parks that switched from being recommended/not recommended.

Just like yesterday, all wait times are taken from what’s posted outside of the attraction between 1:00pm and 1:15pm.  Today’s wait times are listed first and yesterday’s wait times are in parentheses.

Animal Kingdom (Not Recommended):

Dinosaur: 20 minutes (5 minutes)

Expedition Everest: 35 minutes (10 minutes)

It’s Tough to be a Bug: 10 minutes (5 minutes)

Kali River RapidsK: 30 minutes (5 minutes)

Kilimanjaro Safaris: 45 minutes (10 minutes)

As you can see, wait times are significantly higher today than they were yesterday.  I will be monitoring wait times at the Animal Kingdom closely now that they have completed the switch to two morning Extra Magic Hours per week.  As you should be aware, evening Extra Magic Hours at the Animal Kingdom are not scheduled again at any point in 2011.  It is still not clear when or if Disney will reinstate evening Extra Magic Hours.  There have been no changes to Extra Magic Hours at the other Parks – you’ll still find morning and evening Extra Magic Hours at Epcot, Hollywood Studios, and Magic Kingdom.

Hollywood Studios (Highly Recommended):

Backlot Tour: 15 minutes (20 minutes)

Great Movie Ride: 15 minutes (20 minutes)

Rock N Roller Coaster: 30 minutes (30 minutes)

Tower of Terror: 10 minutes (35 minutes)

Toy Story Mania:  50 minutes (80 minutes)

When Hollywood Studios wasn’t recommended yesterday, waits at Tower of Terror and Toy Story Mania were longer.  Waits at the other attractions are comparable.  However, one positive about going on a recommended day without evening Extra Magic Hours or Fantasmic is the fact that the Studios empties out as it gets later in the evening.  Because there is no reason to head to the Studios at night, very few people will arrive after 3pm.  On days with Fantasmic or evening Extra Magic Hours, people arrive throughout the late afternoon and evening for those events, which keeps attraction wait times higher as the evening progresses.  In addition, the lower crowd level on a recommended day makes it easier to get good seats at all of the Studios’ high capacity shows.

Next week, crowds will be significantly higher due to Spring Break.  We’ll take another look then and see what can be expected from a “crowd level 8” day.  Expect differences in wait times to be more apparent, as well as higher across the board.