That holiday sparkle is starting to dim as holiday travelers return home. All four Walt Disney World theme parks saw a decline in their average wait times today. We received 165 Actual Wait Times from our Lines app users today. Overall, each park was about as accurate as we expect on their Posted Wait Times, but EPCOT’s actual wait times were about half of what Disney posted as the wait time – quite a difference!

Also at EPCOT we observed 9 out of 500 guests who were not wearing their mask in accordance with Disney’s guidelines. So about 98% of observed guests were wearing their masks properly. Finally, this is the second day of Park Hopping being reinstated. This could help spread out demand across the day. We’ll have a recap of how to park hop with the new procedures, and our thoughts on the experience soon.

Alright, keep your arms and legs inside the blog post and let’s do the numbers!

Magic Kingdom Wait Times

Although wait times declined at Magic Kingdom today, it was not as dramatic a change as at some of the other parks. Today’s average wait times rank at number 9 of the past 30 days. It is interesting to see the increase in wait times starting around 2:30 p.m., an indicator of the amount of folks who park hopped over to Magic Kingdom today, perhaps?

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad had an average wait time today of 55 minutes. Its 7-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 57 minutes, so today ranks #16 for the past month. We received 10 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 44% of the posted wait time.

Buzz Lightyear’s Space Ranger Spin had an average wait time today of 41 minutes. Its 7-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 41 minutes, so today ranks #15 for the past month. We received 9 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 69% of the posted wait time.

“it’s a small world” had an average wait time today of 44 minutes. Its 7-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 35 minutes, so today ranks #48 for the past year.

Peter Pan’s Flight had an average wait time today of 46 minutes. Its 7-day average is 49 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 43 minutes, so today ranks #8 for the past month. We received 7 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 82% of the posted wait time.

Pirates of the Caribbean had an average wait time today of 50 minutes. Its 7-day average is 59 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 53 minutes, so today ranks #18 for the past month. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 71% of the posted wait time.

Space Mountain had an average wait time today of 60 minutes. Its 7-day average is 68 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 56 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month. We received 14 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 75% of the posted wait time.

Splash Mountain had an average wait time today of 50 minutes. Its 7-day average is 80 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 55 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. We received 7 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 56% of the posted wait time.

The Haunted Mansion had an average wait time today of 29 minutes. Its 7-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 52% of the posted wait time.

Seven Dwarfs Mine Train had an average wait time today of 84 minutes. Its 7-day average is 91 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 79 minutes, so today ranks #8 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 74 minutes, so today ranks #83 for the past year.

EPCOT Wait Times

Without any festival currently in place, EPCOT is a calmer place to be. Today’s average wait times ranked at number 12 of the past 30 days.

You can’t have the third day of the month without the Three Caballeros. Gran Fiesta Tour Starring The Three Caballeros had an average wait time today of 14 minutes. Its 7-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 11 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 10 minutes, so today ranks #38 for the past year.

Journey Into Imagination With Figment had an average wait time today of 20 minutes. Its 7-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #7 for this week. Its 30-day average is 21 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #73 for the past year.

Soarin’ had an average wait time today of 55 minutes. Its 7-day average is 76 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 51 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 50% of the posted wait time, meaning the actual wait times were around 27 minutes.

Spaceship Earth had an average wait time today of 24 minutes. Its 7-day average is 42 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 26 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 20 minutes, so today ranks #80 for the past year.

Test Track had an average wait time today of 76 minutes. Its 7-day average is 107 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 75 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 56 minutes, so today ranks #30 for the past year.

Frozen Ever After had an average wait time today of 38 minutes. Its 7-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 60 minutes, so today ranks #22 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 57 minutes, so today ranks #182 for the past year.

Disney’s Hollywood Studios Wait Times

The decline in average wait times was not as dramatic at Hollywood Studios as compared to the other parks. A reminder that park hopping begins at 2:00 p.m. which is after the 1:00 p.m. distribution of Rise of the Resistance boarding groups. So we are not expecting to see massive amounts of guests hopping to Hollywood Studios in hopes of getting on Rise. And perhaps the folks inside Hollywood Studios who did not get a Boarding Group for the day broke free of their bonds and hopped out of the park after 2:00 p.m.

I’ve got to include Muppet*Vision 3D on this third day of the month. It had an average wait time today of 34 minutes. Its 7-day average is 34 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 30 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 15 minutes, so today ranks #7 for the past year.

The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror had an average wait time today of 77 minutes. Its 7-day average is 71 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 64 minutes, so today ranks #4 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 57 minutes, so today ranks #48 for the past year. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 91% of the posted wait time.

Another 3-D attraction for this third day of the month, Toy Story Mania! had an average wait time today of 38 minutes. Its 7-day average is 38 minutes, so today ranks #2 for this week. Its 30-day average is 32 minutes, so today ranks #6 for the past month. We received 10 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 66% of the posted wait time.

Slinky Dog Dash had an average wait time today of 70 minutes. Its 7-day average is 75 minutes, so today ranks #4 for this week. Its 30-day average is 65 minutes, so today ranks #10 for the past month. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 71% of the posted wait time, which means the actual wait times were around 49 minutes.

Mickey & Minnie’s Runaway Railway had an average wait time today of 51 minutes. Its 7-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 47 minutes, so today ranks #9 for the past month. We received 8 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 77% of the posted wait time.

Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run had an average wait time today of 80 minutes. Its 7-day average is 72 minutes, so today ranks #1 for this week. Its 30-day average is 66 minutes, so today ranks #3 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 59 minutes, so today ranks #32 for the past year.

Rise of the Resistance had a decent day of operations. Boarding groups started to be called just before 9:00 a.m. and were progressing a little slower than the last 7 days, but otherwise have stayed on pace the rest of the day.

Disney’s Animal Kingdom Wait Times

With park hopping being back in place, I expected wait times to start to really decline after 2:00 p.m. which is when park hopping is allowed. Today there was not a noticeable decline, but we’ll see how things go as park hopping becomes more “normalized.” Today’s average wait times rank at 14 out of the past 30 days at Animal Kingdom.

Today it did not take too much time to get back in time. DINOSAUR had an average wait time today of 48 minutes. Its 7-day average is 66 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 48 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 33 minutes, so today ranks #62 for the past year.

Expedition Everest – Legend of the Forbidden Mountain had an average wait time today of 33 minutes. Its 7-day average is 46 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 34 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month. We received 6 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 46% of the posted wait time, meaning the actual wait time was around 15 minutes.

Have you heard about the new dwarf goats that are viewable on the safari? Kilimanjaro Safaris had an average wait time today of 26 minutes. Its 7-day average is 37 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 29 minutes, so today ranks #17 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 40 minutes, so today ranks #110 for the past year. We received 5 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 45% of the posted wait time.

Since it’s the third day of the month let’s look at TriceraTop Spin which had an average wait time today of 5 minutes. Its 7-day average is 8 minutes, so today ranks #5 for this week. Its 30-day average is 7 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 7 minutes, so today ranks #106 for the past year.

Na’vi River Journey had an average wait time today of 61 minutes. Its 7-day average is 85 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 64 minutes, so today ranks #14 for the past month. Its 365-day average is 53 minutes, so today ranks #85 for the past year.

Avatar Flight of Passage had an average wait time today of 73 minutes. Its 7-day average is 96 minutes, so today ranks #6 for this week. Its 30-day average is 72 minutes, so today ranks #13 for the past month. We received 4 actual wait times today, and the actual wait averaged 65% of the posted wait time.

The post Holiday Crowds Are Heading Home – Disney World Wait Times for Sunday, January 3, 2021 appeared first on TouringPlans.com Blog.