More than 20 million guests visit Magic Kingdom annually, which works out to more than 57 thousand daily visitors. You’re fighting a lot of other vacationers each time you stand in line, and so you need a competitive edge. Here are six Magic Kingdom attractions with the longest lines and six with the shortest.
6) Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Image: DisneyI’m telling you right now that you need to get good at FastPasses. During peak park hours, more than 20 attractions will come with wait-times of 30 minutes or more. Friends, you don’t want to spend half an hour waiting on Astro Orbiter. FastPasses are the difference between your riding six attractions or 12 during a park day.
FastPasses are particularly important for the most popular attractions. Everything that we’ll discuss here has a wait of at least 50 minutes on crowded days. Big Thunder Mountain Railroad varies more than the other attractions on this list, but your best case scenario is 30 minutes on most days. During the afternoons when Magic Kingdom is most crowded, you’re looking at 50 minutes or more.
5) Jungle Cruise
Image: DisneyGiven the sheer volume of boats in operation on Jungle Cruise, this boat ride has one of the highest throughputs at Magic Kingdom. Due to its eternal popularity, however, the line is always problematic. You’ll rarely find it shorter than 40 minutes.
During peak periods, expect to wait 55 minutes or so. As I’m writing this, the wait-time was 80 minutes on a summer day, which is just…too much for Jungle Cruise. And I say that as a super-fan.
4) Splash Mountain
Image: DisneyThe positive about Magic Kingdom wait-times is that most of the rides fall into the middle of the bell curve. In other words, the majority of attractions regularly have waits between 25 and 35 minutes. So, anything that you see listed in the top six should be your highest priority for FastPasses.
Splash Mountain is an attraction that has a lot of variance. On a regular afternoon, the wait-time should be an hour. On a hot Florida day, you should add 20-30 minutes to that number. Conversely, rainy days dramatically reduce the wait-time. Most people stay away at such times, but I’m crazy. I recommend riding it then since you’re already wet.
3) Space Mountain
Image: DisneySplash Mountain and Space Mountain are effectively tied. The difference is that Space Mountain has a steadier wait-time of 60-65 minutes. Since it’s indoors, the only times when it closes are for mechanical reasons. And since it’s an iconic attraction, demand is steady throughout the day. Splash Mountain has peaks and valleys, but the desire for intergalactic travel is constant.
2) Peter Pan’s Flight
Image: DisneyThe top two attractions at Magic Kingdom in terms of wait-times are easy to guess. Well, that’s true for anyone who has spent much time at the parks over the past few years.
Since the arrival of New Fantasyland, Peter Pan’s Flight has come with the second-longest lines at Magic Kingdom. You’ll rarely see a wait-time of less than 50 minutes here, and a 75-minute line is relatively standard. For this reason, I stress to everyone that you should only ride this when you have a FastPass.
1) Seven Dwarfs Mine Train
Image: DisneyYou’re shocked, I know. Since its debut, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train has had the longest lines at Magic Kingdom. My Disney Experience’s wait-time for this roller coaster seems permanently stuck on 100 minutes.
While trackers such as Touring Plans suggest that this number is overstated, at least one service believes that its lines average more than 90 minutes. On the plus side, the ride is totally worth the wait. But I’d still suggest that you get a FastPass if at all possible.
6) It’s a Small World
Image: DisneyOne of the trends on this side of the list is that the rides have massive throughput. Some (but not all) of them also have less demand for whatever reason.
With It’s a Small World, the throughput is massive, which keeps the lines moving. You’ll rarely wait more than 25 minutes for this one, with an average of 20 minutes on all but the most crowded park days.
5) Under the Sea ~ Journey of the Little Mermaid
Image: DisneyWhen we talk about throughput, Omnimover attractions are theme park tourism’s perfect design. These interconnected ride carts move at a regulated pace throughout an attraction. Since The Little Mermaid ride at Magic Kingdom is an Omnimover, it efficiently shuttles guests through the underwater adventure. The average wait-time on this one is a modest 18 minutes.
Contrasting its throughput with It’s a Small World, The Little Mermaid is about 25 percent less popular, though. As someone who thinks it’s Disney’s best animated movie, I’m annoyed by this fact.
4) Dumbo the Flying Elephant
Image: DisneyLook, nobody goes to Magic Kingdom to ride Dumbo. It’s a cloned ride style that won’t wow anyone with its ride mechanics. From Disney’s perspective, Dumbo gets traffic out of the main paths and satisfies young guests with its flight simulation. From your perspective, it’s a 16-minute wait on average and sometimes even lower.
The one downside is that it has lousy throughput. On those rare occasions when Dumbo has a long line, you should avoid it. The wait is deceptively long.
3) Mad Tea Party
Image: DisneyThe three rides with the shortest wait-times are all ones that could take 15 minutes or less. In fact, the average wait is 10 minutes or less for all three. Mad Tea Party has the “longest” wait of the three at 10 minutes. But it’s in single digits most of the time. It’ll get crowded when Magic Kingdom has peak traffic. Other than that, you can spin yourself sick with hardly any wait. Yay?
2) Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover
Image: DisneyThe only surprise here is that the PeopleMover is not the attraction with the shortest wait. I’d argue that even that statement should come with an asterisk. The attraction with the shortest average wait-time isn’t one that most theme park tourists will bother to ride during a park visit.
Meanwhile, the PeopleMover is a tradition for all guests to Tomorrowland. It’s the space where weary travelers rest their tired feet for a few minutes, saving the ambiance of the themed land while possibly sneaking in a quick nap. In exchange for this blessed slumber, you’ll wait an average of eight minutes. It’s a trade-off that everyone happily makes at some point during a Magic Kingdom visit.
1) Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Image: DisneyDo you have six minutes of free time? If so, you may ride the Regal Carrousel to your heart’s content. That’s the average wait-time for probably the most overlooked attraction at Magic Kingdom. While everyone walks right past it during a visit and probably stares at its beauty for a time, the antique carousel is mostly ignored.
Like Dumbo, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel is ill-equipped for a rush anyway. If you see a line for this carousel, keep walking. You’ll be there for a while waiting for everyone else to take a spin on the finest amusement park technology of 1917.
PS: Just in case it’s not clear, you should never waste a FastPass on any of the six attractions with the shortest wait-times at Magic Kingdom…although I must confess that I do it sometimes for Under the Sea since I love that attraction.
