The Park Hopping PROBLEM You’re Not Thinking About

We’re starting to see some heavier crowds flood into Disney World for the summer (at least on some days and in certain spots), and with that may come a big problem you’ve not considered yet.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train

Lots of people think they’ve planned the perfect vacation when they’ve taken months and sometimes years planning out where they’re going to eat and deciding how much to budget for souvenirs. But sometimes nothing can throw a wrench in your plans faster than being held up in (unexpectedly) LONG wait times.

One problem you’ll want to think about has to do with wait times and park hopping. If you’ve already committed to the park hopper option with your tickets, you’ll want to pay close attention to what the wait times look like in the afternoon and evening times.

Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster

Currently, due to the Park Pass system, visitors are only able to park hop after 2PM each day after entering their first park of the day. On June 12th, 2023 we saw a general uptick in wait times in the afternoon.

This likely comes as no surprise to those who are familiar with just how beneficial rope drop (arriving at the parks EARLY, before they are even open) can be to getting those shorter ride lines in the morning (before things start picking up in the afternoon). But if you’re park hopping and forget about how wait times can often increase in the afternoon, you could be caught off guard.

Test Track

If you’re looking to take full advantage of those park hopper options with your Disney World tickets, you’ll want to plan ahead. Here are a few things to consider:

Look at what rides you want to accomplish in each park for your trip. Try to prioritize the park with the most rides or the rides that typically have the highest wait times to be the FIRST park you visit, so you can try to hit some of those rides before the lines get too long.
Know the Genie+ rules and how they interact with Park Hopping.
If you’ll be hopping to a park that has a ride or two that offers Individual Lightning Lane purchases, consider buying one EARLY in the morning (before they sell out) for a later afternoon time. That way, you’ll be able to skip the long wait time for that ride in the afternoon!
Consider doing some things that might have shorter waits in your second park, like dining in the park, taking in the shows, and staking out just the right spot for the nightly entertainment or fireworks.
Remember to stick around until later at night! Typically, right before the park closes, wait times drop at many attractions. So if you’re willing to stay up late and hop in line before the park closes for the day, you could get on popular rides with a shorter wait.

The goal here is just to remember that when you hop you might be met with longer lines than you expected. Try to plan ahead for those or at least go in prepared to wait a bit longer!

Look below for ALL of the wait times from June 12th, 2023.