Magic Kingdom Wait Times - The Tron Effect?

 

A few weeks ago, we posted about Tron: Lightcycle Run dropping its virtual queue (VQ) at the Magic Kingdom and going to a normal standby system.  Now that we have a couple of weeks worth of data, I wanted to see how this major change has affected wait times at the park as a whole, as well as whether Tron has become the new "big bad" at Magic Kingdom, with the highest wait time throughout any given day.

My supposition in that earlier post was that Tron would indeed become the attraction with the highest wait time in the park, supplanting Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, and would probably remain this way for years, until at least the new Cars rides if not Villains Land opened.  I also posited that the average wait time at the park as a whole would increase, as heretofore there was no posted wait time for Tron, meaning that even if a lot of people rode it in any given day, it wouldn't get included in the crowd level posts because there was no way to simply wait for it.  Throwing a major ride to the top of the wait times board would likely raise the average wait time since then (or so I figured).

Tron Lightcycle Run Dropping Virtual Queue

 

Disney just announced that Tron Lightcycle Run at Magic Kingdom will drop its virtual queue (VQ) system starting on September 9, 2024, and having a standby line for the attraction for the first time.  At first glance, I wasn't sure if I needed to make a post about this (small?) change, but the more I thought about it, the more I had to say.  So this post will look at why it's being done, compare it to the other VQ rides that are currently in existence and try to speculate about how this will affect crowd patterns going forward.

If you are unfamiliar (though I suspect that's not the case if you're reading this), a VQ is one of the (many) ways in which you can experience attractions at Walt Disney World.  The first one was Star Wars Rise of the Resistance way back in 2019, and most new rides debut with a VQ, at least for a little while.  Essentially it's just what it says it is - a virtual queue is where you can have your place in line held for you until your return time, while you are free to experience other attractions at the parks.  It amounts to a "free" ride in the future, as there is no cost for the VQ, either in money or time spent (except perhaps trying to secure one at the start of your day).

Disney Villains Stage Show Coming to Hollywood Studios

Concept art courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

 

In a somewhat surprising announcement, Disney posted about a new villains-themed stage show coming to Hollywood Studios in summer 2025.  This post will talk about what little we know about the show, what it's replacing and how this fits into all of the recent D23 announcements for the future of the parks.

The actual announcement is light on details (and therefore subject to change before opening) but it says that Sunset Showcase will "transform" into the "mysterious, reflective realm of the Magic Mirror."  It also say that dozens of villains will be a part of the show, including Cruella de Vil, Captain Hook and Maleficent.  

Cars Attractions to Replace Rivers of America

Artwork courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

 

This past weekend, Disney unveiled a bunch of blockbuster announcements at the annual D23 event in Anaheim.  It was easy to come out of that event with an air of positivity, as these projects will generally push the parks forward.  My next post was actually intended to be a follow up on the Villains Land announcement, a victory lap of sorts for a project that was almost universally lauded.

One of the things about events like D23, however, is that they give you all of the good news but rarely any of the bad.  In the case of Villains Land, we already know that it is going to be "beyond Big Thunder" at Magic Kingdom, in an area that wasn't utilized as park space.  Some of the other new attractions didn't mention where specifically they were going.  There's still a possibility that the Monsters Inc. Land at Hollywood Studios, for example, will lead to a closer of the beloved Muppetvision 3D. 

D23 Announcements - Blue Sky Becomes Reality

 

All artwork courtesy of Disney Parks Blog

The annual D23 convention is taking place in Anaheim this weekend.  Disney always has a ton of stuff to announce, and plenty of celebrities to trot out to help with these announcements.  There were already a ton of things announced for the entertainment division the other day, but for the purposes of this blog, the real focus is on the Parks and Experiences division, which had its major showcase last night

Even more specifically, this blog focuses on Walt Disney World.  There were a bunch of exciting announcements for Disneyland (with their 70th anniversary coming up next year) as well as the international parks and the cruise line.  But we're only going to look at the things that impact Disney World, and there were a bunch of bombshells this year.

Lightning Lane Availability Versus Genie+

 

It's been a week since Disney rolled out their changes to Lightning Lanes, replacing Genie+ with Lightning Lane Multi Pass (LLMP) and changing the name of Individual Lightning Lanes (ILL) to Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP) to help ease confusion (?) over the names.  Some of the early feedback on this new system seems to be that there are fewer LL available for the "good" attractions as compared to Genie+, so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at where we stand now and see if we can come to any conclusions.

One thing to note here - this analysis is only as good as the data we have so far, and no matter what we find, we probably shouldn't jump to any conclusions about the usability of the new LL system just yet.  There's also the fact that on July 24, the system went live for everyone; meaning, if you were going to the parks that day or if you had a trip coming up within the next week, you were all hitting the system at the same time.  This will not be the case from now on, which is why I wanted to wait a week before looking at the numbers; we now have that first week behind us, and same day availability should have leveled out by now.

Magic Kingdom - Park Strategy

 

 

We’re going to be looking at park strategies for all four of the parks at Walt Disney World.  My previous strategy guides assumed that you wouldn't be staying on property or purchasing Lightning Lane Multipass (LLMP) or Lightning Lane Single Pass (LLSP).  But so much of the best strategies involve these options, so instead I'm going to talk about what the best option is for each particular park.  Since Early Entry is available to all on property guests, this also changes traditional rope drop strategy. We'll also talk about what you can do if these options aren't available to you.  Today we’ll be discussing Magic Kingdom. (Updated July 25, 2024).

 

Magic Kingdom attractions:

Highest wait times – Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Peter Pan’s Flight, Jungle Cruise, Space Mountain, Tiana's Bayou Adventure

Moderate wait times – Pirates Of The Caribbean, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, Haunted Mansion, it’s a small world, Astro Orbiter, Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin, The Many Adventures Of Winnie The Pooh, Tomorrowland Speedway, The Barnstormer,  Under The Sea: Journey Of The Little Mermaid, Enchanted Tales With Belle, pretty much any meet and greet

Lowest wait times –  Mickey's Philharmagic, Dumbo The Flying Elephant, Prince Charming Regal Carrousel, Swiss Family Treehouse, The Magic Carpets Of Aladdin, Tom Sawyer Island, Liberty Square Riverboat, Country Bear Musical Jamboree, The Hall Of Presidents, Walt Disney’s Enchanted Tiki Room, Walt Disney’s Carousel Of Progress, Monsters Inc. Laugh Floor, Tomorrowland Transit Authority PeopleMover

N/A - Tron Lightcycle Run (more on this below)

Best Strategy - Lightning Lane Multipass

Alternate Strategy - Extended Evening Hours

 

In some ways, Magic Kingdom is the easiest park to strategize around and in some ways it’s the hardest.  There are easily more attractions at this park then at any of the others, probably combined.  That leads to a more spread out crowd throughout the day, with more moderate wait times as opposed to some really busy attractions and some empty ones.  Our recommendation is to spend two days in Magic Kingdom.  If you choose not to (or are unable to do so for any reason), our STRONG recommendation is to purchase LLMP.  I would recommend it even over a two day visit, as it allows your trip to be much more relaxed.  More than any other park, the experience of being there is worth a great deal at the most visited theme park in the world.