YIKES. The Longest Line at Disney World’s Jollywood Nights Isn’t What You Think

Time to get Jolly!

After a somewhat rocky first year, a new and (seemingly) improved Jollywood Nights has returned to Hollywood Studios for a second year. Did Disney work out all the kinks of this highly-anticipated Holiday event, and more importantly, did crowds return to find out?

New additions at Jollywood Nights this year include Glisten! “a stunning show on Hollywood Boulevard where international champion skaters perform breathtaking routines set to a vibrant holiday soundtrack”, new Character experiences, exclusive sweet treats, special event merchandise, and “Spot the Mandalorian” in Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge.

So, how did these new additions bring large crowds and long wait times to the event? We’re finding out! When we entered the park around 5PM, the line to enter was long, but it definitely moved faster than it did during the first party last year!

We were close to the front relatively quickly!

We headed down Sunset Boulevard before the party technically began, right around 6:15PM, and they were definitely pretty intense!

At 6:45, 15 minutes before the park closed for regular guests and 45 minutes before the party officially began at 7:30, the longest line in the park was Slinky Dog Dash at 80 minutes, followed by Rise of the Resistance at 65 minutes, Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster at 45 minutes, and all other rides 30 minutes or less.

However, just 10 minutes after the party officially started (so 7:40PM), wait times had already dropped pretty significantly. Everything was 25 minutes and under with the exception of Slinky Dog Dash at 55 minutes and Rise of the Resistance at 35 minutes.

However, by 8PM what SHOCKED us was this whopping 90 minute wait time! If you think you can meet Olaf, unfortunately that’s not the case during Jollywood Nights. So what was going on? As it turns out, Santa Stitch is meeting in Olaf’s normal spot, hence the VERY long wait time!

The Duffy meet and greet was also extremely packed from the moment we walked in! One of our reporters practically headed straight there only to find it was already at a 70-minute wait that quickly jumped up to 90. This meet and greet isn’t listed in the Disney World app, so you’ll have to just walk by to see how long the wait is.

One hour into the party at 8:30PM, wait times were VERY low throughout the park — 15 minutes and below for all attractions with the exception of Slinky Dog Dash back up at a 50 minute wait, the Red Carpet Dreams meet and greet at 35 minutes, and Santa Stitch in Olaf’s location at 30 minutes.

At 9:30PM, two hours after the start of the party, Slinky Dog Dash was unfortunately down, but wait times didn’t jump up too bad! Rise of the Resistance was at a 35 minute wait, as was the Santa Stitch meet and greet and the Celebrity Spotlight meet and greet, but everything else was 20 minutes and below!

At 10:30PM, Slinky Dog Dash was up and running again. The longest wait times were still at character meet and greets with popular rides like Toy Story Mania and Rise of the Resistance at 20-minute and 15-minute wait times, respectively.

And finally, at 12AM when the party officially ended, the highest wait in the park was Slinky Dog Dash at 40 minutes, while everything else on the Disney World app was 15 minutes and under! However, Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway was unfortunately down.

The wait for Duffy also significantly dropped at the end of the night, so we don’t recommend going first thing! It may be best to get in line for him later on in the night.

And that’s it! We did it friends! Be sure to check out the rest of our Jollywood Nights coverage below so you can best prepare for your party.