What Are The Wait Times Actually Like for Pay-Per-Ride Attractions in Disney World?

It’s Disney Genie+ launch day, and we’re bringing you ALL of the hot tips!

©Disney

We’ve been able to try out the free Disney Genie, the paid Genie+, and the pay-per-ride Lightning Lane option (Individual Attraction Selections). And if you’re wondering how the new Individual Attraction Selection system affects wait times, today we’re sharing those with you!

Currently, 8 different attractions are considered Individual Attraction Selections and each must be purchased separately (and keep in mind that you can only purchase up to TWO per day). We’ve been riding these attractions throughout the day both with and without the Lightning Lanes, so here’s what our wait times were like!

EPCOT

Frozen Ever After

At EPCOT, we started our day off by heading into the standby line at Frozen Ever After around 12PM. The wait time was posted as 70 minutes, but we only ended up waiting 28 minutes total (!!).

Frozen Ever After

Now, the posted wait times had decreased down to 40 minutes by the time that we got off of the ride, but there still seemed to be some discrepancy in how long you’d actually end up standing in line.

Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

Unlike Frozen Ever After, Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure does NOT have a standby line. So, the only way to ride this new attraction is to purchase it as an Individual Attraction Selection (which cost $9 per person today) or secure a spot in the Virtual Queue when it opens at 7AM and 1PM daily.

Entrance to Remy’s Ratatouille Adventure

We opted to purchase access to the Individual Lightning Lane when it became available this morning at 7AM (for Disney World Resort guests only) and, when we arrived for our reservation window, we were able to basically walk on the ride.

 

We rode while Disney was boarding groups 1-20 and according to the My Disney Experience app, those who had opted to get a spot in the virtual queue had a wait of about 30 minutes in line when their return window became available.

©Disney

So, you can certainly save some time by opting for the Lightning Lane here.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom

Avatar Flight of Passage

Over at Disney’s Animal Kingdom, we first stopped at Flight of Passage in Pandora — The World of Avatar when the park opened to see what the wait time was like. At rope drop, the standby wait time was posted at 55 minutes, but we were on the ride within 45 minutes.

Flight of Passage Entrance

Later in the day, we came back for our separately purchased Lightning Lane window (which cost $11 per person today) and only waited about 8 minutes before we made it to the pre-show. At this time, the standby line was posted at a 75-minute wait.

Expedition Everest

We also opted to purchase Lightning Lane access at Expedition Everest (costing $7 per person today) and were loaded into the attraction within 2 minutes of stepping into the line.

Crowds around Expedition Everest today

After riding it through the Lightning Lane though, we noticed that the posted wait time was only 15 minutes, so we hopped into line to see how long it would actually take us to ride again. We ended up waiting roughly 5 minutes.

Single Rider Line is still open too!

And, one thing to note about Expedition Everest is that the Single Rider Line is still open, and there was NO line for it when we were there. So, you can save even more time if you don’t mind riding next to a stranger.

Learn More About Whether the Single Rider Lines Are Worth it in Disney World HERE!

Magic Kingdom

Space Mountain

The quick wait times for Individual Lightning Lanes continued at Space Mountain in Magic Kingdom! We were able to secure a 10AM Lightning Lane reservation window (for $7 today) and waited only 6 minutes in the line.

Space Mountain

Then, we chose to ride Space Mountain without a Lightning Lane reservation a few hours later when the wait time was posted at 30 minutes. And, much like other attractions, we ended up waiting less than the posted time, getting into the ride vehicle within 18 minutes of hopping in line.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

And, at Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, the wait time was posted at 60 minutes when our Lightning Lane window (which cost $10 per person today) became available and we were on the ride in 6 minutes after scanning in with our MagicBand.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

We didn’t have the chance to wait in the standby line to see how accurate the posted time was, however.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios

Rise of the Resistance

Lastly, at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, we purchased a Lightning Lane return time at Rise of the Resistance (which cost $15 per person today) and were able to walk onto the ride without a wait.

Rise of the Resistance Entrance

At the time that we rode, the standby wait time was posted at 120 minutes.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway

And, at Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway, the posted wait times have also been a bit higher throughout the day, ranging from 50 minutes to 70+ minutes.

Mickey and Minnie’s Runaway Railway

Well, that’s a look at the wait times for the Individual Attraction Selections in Disney World today! It certainly seems that Lightning Lanes will save you from having to wait in any line that you’ve purchased throughout your day, though the actual standby wait times consistently seem to be a bit shorter than they are posted.

Of course, we’ll continue to keep an eye out for more updates, so stay tuned to AllEars!

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4 Replies to “What Are The Wait Times Actually Like for Pay-Per-Ride Attractions in Disney World?”

  1. Does anyone wonder if Disney is inflating the stand-by line wait times, to push more people to purchase Genie+ or the other for the Fancy rides?

    1. Disney inflated wait times before Genie+. It’s a way to move the crowd around. If you want accurate wait times you need to use an independent app such as Lines.

  2. I’d love to see you post an article about which attractions that use either Genie+ or are an Individual Attraction Selection as to which Queues you are really missing out on if you skip the lines. For example, the queue for Slinky Dog is not that great in my opinion, but the queue for Peter Pan might be one you don’t want to miss. Thanks!

    1. Isn’t Peter Pan just the cattle gates in front of the load? There’s nothing really to see is there? Or did they change that recently?