Accuracy of WDW Wait Times

[Nick]

Discuss.

 

[deathcab4cutie]

no wait time are ever truly accurate.You have to remember many thing can effect the wait such as adding more ride vehicles.Guest in wheel chairs and a rush of fast pass.

 

[Andysol]

Discuss.

No clue. I walk onto rides at rope drop and then get fast passes for the rest.

I don’t even remember the last time I had to “wait” in a stand-by queue since FP+ was introduced.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Ok some context here.

Touring Plans noticed data submitted by their users that Disney’s reported wait times were fluctuating erratically and in impossible ways.

So TP paid someone to stand in line at Animal Kingdom rides to measure the actual wait times vs posted.

Animal Kingdom's 2019 Wait Times Are More Wrong Than Usual - TouringPlans.com Blog

What they found was the rides were being exaggerated at historical levels. All Disney rides have some error or buffer room built in, but this was way more than normal.

 

[Mad Dog]

Ok some context here.

Touring Plans noticed data submitted by their users that Disney’s reported wait times were fluctuating erratically and in impossible ways.

So TP paid someone to stand in line at Animal Kingdom rides to measure the actual wait times vs posted.

Animal Kingdom's 2019 Wait Times Are More Wrong Than Usual - TouringPlans.com Blog

What they found was the rides were being exaggerated at historical levels. All Disney rides have some error or buffer room built in, but this was way more than normal.

Yes. I've been following that string of articles. The extreme deviation from the usual 80% real time vs. posted times is interesting. Seems Touring Plans is still trying to figure it out. Probably either a "incompetence reason" or a "nefarious purposeful reason" are going to be the culprits, if that's ever discovered.

 

[NuteGunrayWasFramed]

They inflate the times to either dissuade people from entering the line or to make people who entered the line, pleasantly surprised and feel like Disney was efficient in its ops.

 

[Mad Dog]

They inflate the times to either dissuade people from entering the line or to make people who entered the line, pleasantly surprised and feel like Disney was efficient in its ops.

yes, the real reason is probably related to that in some manner,but these recent times are way over and above their normal of 20% inflation (TP usually uses that 80/20 figure when quoting their 'expected' wait times vs. the posted times).

 

[UniversalRBLX]

I don't want to start an entire Disney vs. Universal conversation, but I noticed HHN wait times are very inaccurate.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

yes, the real reason is probably related to that in some manner,but these recent times are way over and above their normal of 20% inflation.

The important word is “historically”.

TP has been collecting data since 2012 and the past year or so are all at historical overestimates, especially the start of this year.

A 35 minute wait for Everest would traditionally be labeled 45 by Disney is now 60-75 minutes.

Why does this matter?

1. Inflating wait times gives the impression FP+ is required more than it is and “seems” like a better deal. Pushes guests to expensive on site hotels in the future and gives guests the feeling their reservations are worth more.
2. Guests looking at wait times are more likely to buy After Hours events. It should be noted that DAK after hours events are now selling out for the first time.
3. For our stupid internet BS debates that only matter to us: quantification on Pandora and DAK’s success.