Disney Tips Your Guide To A Great Disney Vacation
If you’ve spent any time at Walt Disney World or Disneyland, you know that wait times are a big part of planning your day. Those digital signs in front of every ride? They tell you how long you can expect to wait before experiencing your favorite attractions — but what if those numbers aren’t always telling the truth?
Credit: Inside The Magic
Lately, Disney parkgoers have been buzzing about whether Disney’s posted wait times are being inflated — sometimes by a LOT. And this conversation really took off after Disneyland local Matt Desmond posted a now-viral photo that left a lot of fans scratching their heads. Desmond shared an image of the Incredicoaster’s wait time sign showing an 80-minute wait — and then followed it with a picture of the queue, which was almost completely EMPTY. His caption? “I never trust wait time signs at Disneyland.”
And honestly… he might be onto something.
Let’s break down how Disney’s wait times are supposed to work.
Disney has a system to keep their wait times updated throughout the day — and it involves YOU. If you’ve ever seen a guest wearing a red lanyard with a small card attached, you’ve seen part of this process in action. A cast member hands the lanyard to a guest entering the line, and when that guest reaches the front, their card is scanned. This helps Disney gauge how long the current wait really is, and the time on the sign is updated accordingly.
In theory, this keeps the wait times accurate. But in practice? Not so much — at least according to an increasing number of Disney fans.
We’ve been hearing more and more reports of wildly exaggerated wait times, and it’s not just at Disneyland’s Incredicoaster. Rides like Space Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Indiana Jones Adventure have all been called out by guests who waited far less time than what was posted. Over at Walt Disney World, popular attractions like Seven Dwarfs Mine Train, Slinky Dog Dash, and Flight of Passage have had similar complaints.
So what’s going on here?
A lot of fans believe it has something to do with Disney’s new Lightning Lane Multi Pass, the paid skip-the-line service that replaced Genie+. With Lightning Lane Multi Pass offering faster access to popular rides for an additional fee, some guests suspect Disney might be inflating standby wait times to make the paid option seem more appealing. After all, if the sign says you’ll be waiting 80 minutes for Rise of the Resistance, spending extra money to skip that line suddenly feels like a pretty good deal.
Credit: Inside the Magic
But that’s not the only theory. Sometimes ride operations just move faster than expected, especially if cast members are loading ride vehicles more efficiently or Lightning Lane usage is lower than usual. Other times, the wait time signs reflect a projected wait rather than the actual current wait — which means they might overestimate the line if Disney expects a rush of guests soon.
Still, the sheer number of people reporting exaggerated wait times makes it hard to ignore the pattern.
So what can you do about it?
First, don’t panic if you see a long wait time posted. If the line looks short — like you can actually see the entrance or a lot of open space — it’s probably worth getting in. You might end up waiting far less than the sign suggests. We’ve seen “45-minute” waits turn into 10-minute waits more times than we can count.
Second, keep an eye on mobile apps like My Disney Experience and Disneyland App. These sometimes offer more up-to-date wait times, though they’re still based on the same system. And if you’re not sure whether a line is worth the wait, try checking ride times on crowd-tracking websites or forums.
Finally, stay flexible! Sometimes the best Disney days happen when you go with the flow — and if a ride’s wait time seems inflated, take it as an opportunity to explore a different part of the park or grab a snack you haven’t tried yet. (Might we suggest the Corn Dog Nuggets at Casey’s Corner or a Night Blossom in Pandora?)
At the end of the day, Disney’s wait time system is a helpful tool — but it’s not always perfect. So next time you see a sign claiming there’s a 90-minute wait for Haunted Mansion, take a closer look at the line. You might just find yourself walking right on.
