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24-Hour Summer Kick-Off Celebrations Wait Times

Steve Bloom 9 Comments
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TouringPlans logoDisney will be doing their 24-hour summer kickoff for the third year at both Disneyland and Walt Disney World. As in the past, this year’s summer kickoff events starts at 6 AM on the Friday before Memorial Day. Disney did their first 24-hour event “One More Disney Day” on February 29, 2012. Disneyland Resort’s event “Diamond Celebration 24-Hour Kickoff” will be the opening night for the three new nighttime spectaculars: “Paint the Night” Parade, “Disneyland Forever” Fireworks, and “World of Color – Celebrate! The Wonderful World of Walt Disney.” Expect large crowds at both Disneyland parks with guests wanting to be the first to see the nighttime spectaculars. The best viewing spots will be taken very early as guests will camp out for hours before the shows. Our attraction wait times do not totally capture the crowds of people in the park. Walt Disney World’s event will be “24-hour Summer Kickoff” and will celebrate the start of the “Coolest Summer Ever.” There are no details on what will make this the “coolest summer ever,” or what will make this year’s event any different than last year’s.  “Frozen Summer Fun” does not start until June 7, at Disney Hollywood’s Studio and is a copy of last years activities.

For this blog post we are look back at wait times for 2013 and 2014. We can assume that 2015 attraction wait times will be similar. The tables show the average posted wait times in two hour increments, and the charts shows the detail data and the 2015 predicted wait time through the 24-hours. During the 24-hour events some attractions will be closed for maintenance and safety checks.

WDW – Magic Kingdom 6 AM 8 AM 10 AM 12 PM 2 PM 4 PM 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM 12 AM 2 AM 4 AM
7 Dwarfs Train 128 73 59 60 48 60 60 74 90 120 85 75
Astro Orbiter 2 10 13 26 27 23 26 26 23 26 19 13
Barnstormer 2 5 8 15 23 24 26 25 17 20 20 7
Big Thunder Mtn 5 10 16 34 42 35 30 36 48 79 42 21
Buzz Lightyear 5 5 9 29 36 33 27 39 33 35 26 10
Dumbo 5 10 10 19 22 23 25 26 21 21 19 8
Ench Tales w/ Belle 15 25 35 41 40 46 36 42 31 25 21 17
Haunted Mansion 13 14 12 17 33 39 26 27 26 31 29 22
it’s a small world 3 9 10 15 23 22 21 18 14 15 8 5
Jungle Cruise 5 5 12 32 36 29 34 31 22 27 22 13
Laugh Floor 5 11 15 18 18 20 15 13 15 17 12 10
Mad Tea Party 10 5 5 11 16 15 11 8 14 17 15 11
Magic Carpets 2 6 8 13 15 12 11 13 10 6 5 5
Peter Pan’s Flight 16 15 34 51 59 53 55 52 44 43 37 25
PhilharMagic 2 8 9 10 12 10 10 10 10 9 6 5
Pirates of Caribbean 5 5 7 20 27 23 17 18 18 25 16 9
Space Mountain 10 10 20 49 57 65 64 60 70 70 46 36
Splash Mountain 5 5 19 50 71 83 61 51 50 53 53 26
Stitch’s Escape 3 9 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 7 5 7
Tom’land Speedway 5 16 20 23 25 23 19 23 25 22 12 10
Under the Sea 5 10 19 22 38 43 40 53 27 31 21 11
Winnie the Pooh 5 8 22 39 37 43 40 36 26 28 20 14

 

California Adventure 6 AM 8 AM 10 AM 12 PM 2 PM 4 PM 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM 12 AM 2 AM 4 AM
California Screamin’ 10 14 30 28 20 21 29 37 47 45 — 12
Fun Wheel – Swing 5 15 16 38 34 32 45 45 30 44 — —
Grizzly River Run 5 5 5 16 32 53 71 6 7 5 — —
Monsters, Inc. 30 5 5 11 15 23 20 20 30 30 — 30
Radiator Racers 45 59 73 106 95 91 77 108 141 83 75 —
Silly Swings – Single 7 5 5 5 5 9 20 20 10 10 10 10
Soarin’ Over CA 7 10 20 25 25 35 25 40 35 28 25 —
Tower of Terror 43 18 44 57 67 57 70 98 133 75 — 82
Toy Story Mania! 47 39 32 41 34 44 41 41 48 13 65 42
24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland
 Disneyland 6 AM 8 AM 10 AM 12 PM 2 PM 4 PM 6 PM 8 PM 10 PM 12 AM 2 AM 4 AM
Alice in Wonderland 15 20 22 32 35 35 33 25 25 25 40 35
Astro Orbitor 41 5 12 15 21 25 25 23 22 45 40 45
Autopia 5 9 21 23 22 33 28 31 32 35 35 15
Big Thunder Mtn 22 40 44 45 65 60 60 55 65 75 72 70
Buzz Lightyear 9 6 9 14 14 17 17 19 22 25 25 8
Dumbo 20 8 8 27 38 25 21 20 20 20 30 20
Finding Nemo Subs 5 5 7 28 38 31 29 27 21 20 20 —
Gadget’s Go Coaster 5 8 5 9 15 21 25 29 — 30 40 —
Haunted Mansion 8 5 6 10 20 27 27 30 25 33 — 14
it’s a small world 15 5 5 7 12 10 9 5 5 5 10 15
Jungle Cruise 10 6 15 35 37 26 25 34 40 40 — 28
Mad Tea Party 15 5 6 12 15 13 11 15 15 15 — 15
Matterhorn 7 10 22 35 39 40 40 40 42 40 60 —
Mickey’s House 20 5 5 8 16 18 20 20 20 20 — 20
Mr Toad’s Wild Ride 20 5 7 17 21 22 20 20 20 21 20 20
Peter Pan’s Flight 30 26 27 36 35 35 34 30 31 30 50 —
Pirates of Caribbean 15 5 9 17 17 15 16 16 15 16 27 17
Roger Rabbit’s Spin 5 6 7 23 39 50 43 48 52 55 50 —
Space Mountain 20 23 48 56 58 71 85 109 106 120 90 35
Splash Mountain 10 7 13 35 58 74 86 80 35 20 45 —
Star Tours 12 6 28 36 38 43 62 48 57 66 58 26
Storybook Land Boats 14 5 7 20 18 12 10 15 15 15 15 15
24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland 24-Day Disneyland

When we use 2012 as a baseline, the wait times during the day are not significantly different in 2013 and 2014. The unusual patterns are in the evenings because that’s when crowds grow.

Will you be at the parks on May 22, 2015? I’ll be in the Magic Kingdom and see how things go.

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Steve Bloom

By helping TouringPlans.com continue to reach the most accurate crowd level predictions, Steve finally found a way to meld his training in statistical analysis with a lifelong passion for Disney. He first visited the Magic Kingdom in 1972, just a few months after it opened. Now he enjoys frequent trips with his two kids. At age four his son insisted on wearing cowboy boots to reach the height requirement for Test Track, and his daughter believes that a smoked turkey leg and Dole Whip make a perfectly balanced meal. Even though she doesn't quite get it, Steve's wife is supportive of his Disney activities.

9 thoughts on “24-Hour Summer Kick-Off Celebrations Wait Times”

  • How come Indiana Jones is missing from Disneyland?

    Also I assume that Peter Pan, Matterhorn, and Haunted Mansion will have longer lines since they will have “new magic” that is revealed on that day.

    Reply

  • A little disappointed that to date no special announcements have been made about the event at MK. Oh well me and my daughters are going to do all 24 hours anyway. We did 19 on New Years Eve so whats five more hours?

    Reply

  • Eek! I’m planning on Disneyland and California Adventure on May 22 (the 24 hour kickoff). #1- Am I crazy? #2- Is there a chance that Disneyland will close for capacity? I have a reservation at the Blue Bayou that afternoon.

    Reply

    • No you are not crazy. Plan on doing all your headliners before 6pm, enjoy your dinner, and then just go with the flow.

      I would not be surprised if the one or both parks reach capacity. From Guy Selga, our Disneyland researcher, “I don’t think it did last year but it did all the other years.”

      Reply

  • I know the title us 24 hour summer kick off but I’m excited about the 60th Anniversary Celebration at Disneyland for the 24 hr event

    Reply

    • I’m a bit jealous of the Disneyland event. I’ll be at WDW and I’m not seeing anything too exciting.

      Reply

  • Hey, great post! We will be there that day, I have already done our personalized touring plan. Will this effect our plan? We would love to do everything in Fantasyland, Frontierland, Adventureland,and all the mountains. Any tips or advice? Thanks for all you do!

    Reply

    • All this information is already being used on the backend of your personalized touring plan. As the day proceeds you may want to re-optimize. I have not been to a 24-hour event since the first one. On that day the crowds were not evenly distributed. At 2am Tomorrowland was packed, but Frontierland and Adventureland was not.

      Reply

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