Shockingly low wait times at Walt Disney World theme parks on July 4

Jul 04, 2023 in "Fourth of July at Walt Disney World"

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Posted: Tuesday July 4, 2023 4:29pm ET by WDWMAGIC Staff

Guests celebrating the Fourth of July at Walt Disney World are seeing surprisingly short wait times across all four theme parks today.

Fourth of July is usual a very busy day at Walt Disney World

As of mid-afternoon, and after park hopping became available to guests, the longest wait was at Frozen Ever After in EPCOT, at 90 minutes. Most rides have a 30-minute wait, including Rock 'n' Roller Coaster, Slinky Dog Dash, Big Thunder Mountain, and Mission: SPACE. Only four attractions have waits in excess of 60 minutes.

Many attractions have wait times of less than 20 minutes, including Millennium Falcon Smugglers Run, Soarin', Expedition Everest, and Tower of Terror.

Two shockingly low wait times are at Disney's Hollywood Studios, with Mickey and Minnie's Runaway Railway at 5 minutes, and Star Wars: Rise of the Resistance at just 20 minutes.

Possibly explaining the low crowds at Disney's Animal Kingdom and Disney's Hollywood Studios is the lack of fireworks tonight. Guests will likely spend the day at either EPCOT or Magic Kingdom, with both parks offering special fireworks shows for July 4. However, wait times at both of those parks a significantly below the usual Fourth of July levels which have typically seen waits in excess of 3 hours at popular rides.

Disney executives have previously expressed concern about summer attendance, and if today's wait times are an indication of a new normal, this July may be a great time to visit.

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hopemax4 hours ago

We went to a restaurant last week, and I was wearing my Universal Studios shirt. A server from another table came over when we were seated to say how excited they were about Epic Universe opening. I was to say the least, surprised. We are in that coveted "family from Denver, CO" demo.

DisneyRoy4 hours ago

If you told me 0% outside of theme park aficionados did not know about Epic universe I would not be surprised. My boss at work went to universal this past week. I’m interested to hear if he even knows about it.

"El Gran Magnifico"6 hours ago

lentesta15 hours ago

I think Smuggler's Run is so far back in the park that it doesn't need to run at 100% capacity first thing in the morning. In looking at the numbers, if Tower had started off at 100% capacity, it would've ended up with a 0-minute wait about 10 minutes into official park opening. And as much as I hate waiting in line, I don't think they need to run the ride at 100% capacity in this case. Likewise, if Railway was running at 100% capacity, it would've bottomed out at around a 5-minute wait right after park open. No need to run the rides that hard, that early, on an average day. That said, Slinky and ROTR should run at pretty much 100% capacity all the time, given the demand. It would be hard to justify to guests why Slinky is running at less than 100% capacity when you see a 90-minute posted wait and are selling G+.

Lilofan15 hours ago

Oh I know fully well investing in the markets for over 30 years dollar cost averaging. When the markets plummet I dip into cash reserves to buy on the low. It has proven very well for me long term. I just wish I had more cash reserves in 2008 / 2009 when the sky was indeed falling.

Sirwalterraleigh15 hours ago

It’s having around its 2015 level…and has dropped $10 a share after the savior was reappointed. If anything…people should thank Peltz for driving the pump. But we get a whole new round of spin this week…can’t wait

MouseEarsMom3315 hours ago

It's possible. It also could be Disney trying to get people to book a vacation in early 2025 before people decide to go to EPIC Universe in the summer and Disney loses them all together in 2025. I track theme park news. I'm curious how much the regular Disney traveler from out of state is aware of EPIC Universe being built. For example, I think my husband only knows about EPIC Universe because I told him.

Trauma15 hours ago

Yeah it’s very easy to take two very specific points in time and play this game. Most people are not day traders or swing traders. Of those that are only 1% actually make money. You take a stock over a longer time horizon and then compare it to the market in general. Five years, ten years etc. When you have to say something like “If you had bought 94 days ago and sold last week you made a killing!” Well your just grasping at straws now.

Touchdown15 hours ago

Cherry picking a period where the S&P went up 24% too. Yes Dis beat the market, but only by 17% which while still great isn’t amazing, especially given its 2 year record.

Sirwalterraleigh15 hours ago

What date was it $135 a share again?

Lilofan15 hours ago

Wrong, not 401K, BTW, buyers last Oct that bought TWDC at $79 per share that sold recently at $135 per share made bank.

Sirwalterraleigh16 hours ago

Yeah…we’re not gonna do this 401K nonsense again, are we? And your math is wrong anyway

Lilofan18 hours ago

Other companies who run more bare bones along other things is music to the ears of Wall Street. Anyone buying Disney stock last year and riding it out has seen 50% gains ROI.