“Is it worth the wait?” Revisted: Magic Kingdom (3 Weeks Later)
We’re back in the Magic Kingdom!
In case you missed it: We ran ROI calculations for the (then-open) Magic Kingdom attractions on June 1, 2021, comparing average wait times vs. attraction duration. But how have things changed on average, 21 days or three weeks later?
Three weeks later…
Changes in Avg. Wait Times
Looks like the margin of error wasn’t too bad! Just +/- 6 minutes for average wait times. Wait times will always hit wild peaks and surprising lulls, but it was nice to see that our June 1 data was pretty typical for a Magic Kingdom visit.
| Attraction | Jun 1 | Jun 1-22 Avg. | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|
| "its a small world" | 29 min | 27 min | +4 min |
| Astro Orbiter | 30 min | 34 min | +4 min |
| The Barnstormer | 14 min | 13 min | -1 min |
| Big Thunder Mountain | 22 min | 28 min | +6 min |
| Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin | 21 min | 25 min | +4 min |
| Country Bear Jamboree | --- | 5 min | |
| Dumbo the Flying Elephant | 11 min | 14 min | +3 min |
| Haunted Mansion | 19 min | 25 min | +6 min |
| Jungle Cruise | 46 min | 50 min | +4 min |
| Mad Tea Party | 15 min | 14 min | -1 min |
| The Magic Carpets of Aladdin | 13 min | 11 min | -2 min |
| The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | 24 min | 27 min | +3 min |
| Mickey's PhilharMagic | 10 min | 13 min | +3 min |
| Peter Pan's Flight | 37 min | 38 min | +1 min |
| Pirates of the Caribbean | 36 min | 35 min | -1 min |
| Prince Charming Regal Carousel | 23 min | 17 min | -6 min |
| Seven Dwarfs Mine Train | 53 min | 54 min | +1 min |
| Space Mountain | 40 min | 41 min | +1 min |
| Splash Mountain | 57 min | 57 min | 0 min |
| Tom Sawyer Island | --- | 6 min | |
| Tomorrowland Speedway | 15 min | 12 min | -3 min |
| Tomorrowland Transit Authority | 9 min | 14 min | +5 min |
| Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid | 17 min | 18 min | +1 min |
| Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress | 5 min | 5 min | 0 min |
Changes in ROI Ranking
Looks like a few attractions dropped a couple of spots on the list and others bumped up. Overall, just a +/-2 margin of error for rankings, so we were happy to see that the list was reflecting the relative averages in the park!
With the addition of Tom Sawyer Island and Country Bear Jamboree, we also have two attractions that hit the top of the list. Maybe an argument for taking a break with those stompin’ clappin’ singin’ bears or taking a raft ride to the island to explore:
Tom Sawyer Island = 500% ROI (6 min wait for 30 min attraction)
Country Bear Jamboree = 200% ROI (5 min wait for 10 min attraction)
| Ranking | Jun 1 | Jun 1-22 Avg. |
|---|---|---|
| 0 (Best) | --- | Tom Sawyer Island |
| 1 | Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress | Walt Disney's Carousel of Progress |
| 1.5 | --- | Country Bear Jamboree |
| 2 | Mickey's PhilharMagic | Mickey's PhilharMagic |
| 3 | Tomorrowland Transit Authority | Tomorrowland Transit Authority |
| 4 | Haunted Mansion | ↑ "its a small world" |
| 5 | "its a small world" | ↓ Haunted Mansion |
| 6 | Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid | Under the Sea - Journey of the Little Mermaid |
| 7 | Big Thunder Mountain | ↑ Tomorrowland Speedway |
| 8 | Splash Mountain | Splash Mountain |
| 9 | Tomorrowland Speedway | ↓ Big Thunder Mountain |
| 10 | Space Mountain | Space Mountain |
| 11 | Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin | ↑ Pirates of the Caribbean |
| 12 | Pirates of the Caribbean | ↓ Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin |
| 13 | Jungle Cruise | Jungle Cruise |
| 14 | The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh | ↑ The Barnstormer |
| 15 | The Barnstormer | ↓ The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh |
| 16 | Dumbo the Flying Elephant | ↑ The Magic Carpets of Aladdin |
| 17 | The Magic Carpets of Aladdin | ↑ Prince Charming Regal Carousel |
| 18 | Mad Tea Party | ↓ Dumbo the Flying Elephant |
| 19 | Prince Charming Regal Carousel | ↓ Mad Tea Party |
| 20 | Peter Pan's Flight | Peter Pan's Flight |
| 21 | Seven Dwarf's Mine Train | Seven Dwarf's Mine Train |
| 22 (Worst) | Astro Orbiter | Astro Orbiter |
Was there anything that surprised you? Our main takeaways:
Looks like our suspicions about Dumbo having a short average wait on June 1 was correct! It’s such a classic that we’d always expect the longer wait time compared to its clone: The Magic Carpets of Aladdin.
If you’re wondering if you should get a FastPass vs. do the wait for a must-do attraction for you or your family, it does seem like attractions that are on the bottom half of the list are ones to target. The top half of attractions might have enough ROI that the wait won’t feel as bad! (This is all assuming that FastPasses are coming back, of course!)
Anything else that seemed slightly too-good-to-be-true settled into the more expected spot on the list further into June.
We’re obviously excited to do more breakdowns like this. It’s just one of the many ways to look at the data, but we know that only you can make the (hopefully!) right decision about which attractions you experience on your visit to the Magic Kingdom.
