Disney World waits climb Oct. 12–18

What changed

Standby's wait-time tracking put the average standby wait across Disney World's four parks at 30 minutes for Oct. 12–18. The week before, it was 27 minutes, so waits rose 11% overall. All four parks moved up, and Hollywood Studios moved the most.

Park by park

Hollywood Studios was the longest park, averaging 41 minutes against 36 the week before, a 14% rise. EPCOT averaged 31, up from 28 (11%). Animal Kingdom averaged 26, up from 24 (8%). Magic Kingdom stayed the shortest at 20 minutes, up from 19 (5%).

The hour-by-hour curve for Hollywood Studios shows how the day built. Waits averaged 23 minutes at 8 a.m., 38 at 9 a.m. and 49 at 10 a.m., then peaked at 51 minutes at 11 a.m. They held near 50 at noon and 48 at 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. By the 9 p.m. hour they had eased to 28 minutes, compared with 15 in the same hour the week before.

Best and busiest days

Oct. 18 was the best day across the resort in Standby's calendar. Hollywood Studios averaged 34 minutes that day, its lowest of the week, and EPCOT averaged 25. Magic Kingdom's lowest day was Oct. 15 at 14 minutes, with Oct. 16 and Oct. 18 at 15 each. Animal Kingdom's lightest day was Oct. 14 at 19.

Hollywood Studios had the heaviest days. It was rated high on Oct. 12, 13, 15 and 16, with Oct. 13 the busiest at 48 minutes and Oct. 12 at 47. Magic Kingdom's busiest day was Oct. 14 at 31, and Animal Kingdom's was Oct. 12 at 37.

Biggest movers

TRON Lightcycle / Run at Magic Kingdom averaged 68 minutes, up from 57 the week before. Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios averaged 63, up from 52. Soarin' Across America at EPCOT averaged 42, up from 32, and Kilimanjaro Safaris at Animal Kingdom averaged 43, up from 35.

The one notable drop was Avatar Flight of Passage at Animal Kingdom, which averaged 58 minutes after 67 the week before.

Hours in the week ahead

Magic Kingdom's published schedule for Oct. 19–25 has a few oddities. The park runs 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Oct. 19, 20 and 21, with an early entry window from 8:30 a.m. On Oct. 22 it is scheduled to close at 6 p.m., and the schedule lists a special ticketed event from 7 p.m. to midnight. Standby has not confirmed an official name for that event.

Oct. 23 repeats the pattern: an 8 a.m. opening with early entry from 7:30 a.m., a 6 p.m. close and the same 7 p.m. to midnight ticketed event. Oct. 24 swings the other way, with an 8 a.m. opening and a late close at 11 p.m. Oct. 25 returns to an 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. day with the ticketed event again. Three days close early and four are flagged in total.

Planning a visit

If Hollywood Studios is on your list, Standby's tracking points to the early hours: waits averaged 38 minutes at 9 a.m. and climbed to 51 by 11 a.m. Evening waits there were also longer than the week before.

If you are headed to Magic Kingdom in the week ahead, check the day before committing. On Oct. 22, 23 and 25, regular park hours end at 6 p.m. A ticketed event runs after that, so plan your must-dos accordingly. These figures are Standby's measured standby waits and the parks' published schedule, and they describe what happened, not what comes next.