Disney World rides can have some INCREDIBLY long lines which can be truly painful to wait in.

During some periods, wait times can be well over 100 minutes for some of the most popular attractions. So you might be wondering just how to skip some of the longer lines and get on more rides in less time. Well, you’re in the right place! We’ve got one particular tip (as well as a few bonus ones!) we want to share with you that could CHANGE the way you approach your Disney trip and the lines you wait in.

One of the biggest pro tips we simply HAVE to share with you is this — while rope-dropping some of Disney World’s most popular rides can be a good idea (and might be something you’re thinking about doing), you might also want to consider becoming a night owl and hopping in the lines for Disney World’s most popular rides at the END of the day!

Oftentimes, what we’ve found is that many of Disney World’s most popular rides can have fairly steady or large lines throughout the day, but if you can hop in line for the ride not long before it closes for the day, you could score some seriously LOW waits.

Let’s look at a few examples to show you what we mean! On September 2nd, 2023, Seven Dwarfs Mine Train (one of the most POPULAR rides in all of Magic Kingdom) had a 55-minute wait at 9AM (park open). The wait then varied throughout the day and went up to 90 minutes at one point. But if you waited until 9PM, the ride actually dropped to a 15-minute wait. The wait then went up to 45 minutes at 10PM, but that’s still lower than it was in the early morning.

Let’s look at another ride. On August 23rd, 2023, Frozen Ever After in EPCOT had a 55-minute wait at 10AM. The wait then fluctuated throughout the day and went as high as 85 minutes. But, near the end of the day, around 9PM, the ride showed just a 35-minute wait. That’s a significant drop.

What about Avatar Flight of Passage? That ride can get some seriously long waits in Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Well, on September 2nd, 2023, the ride’s wait time dramatically decreased at the end of the night. It showed a 60-minute wait in the morning (8AM) but dropped all the way to 30 minutes at 7PM!

Slinky Dog Dash is another ride that can really bring in those long waits. On September 3rd, the ride started its morning with a 90-minute wait and went PAST 100 minutes during the day. But at 9PM it showed a 50-minute wait. That means you might have waited HALF as long as other folks on the very same day.

Now, there are some caveats to this. Will this theory ALWAYS work? No. In Disney World, nothing is guaranteed. There may be some rides or some days where a ride does NOT have a lower wait time closer to the evening.

In fact, we’ve noticed that this tip does NOT generally work with Na’vi River Journey. On September 3rd, for example, the ride showed a 15-minute wait in the morning at 8AM but a 60-minute wait at 7PM. So this ride might be one where it is in fact much better to rope-drop the attraction than wait for the evening. And there might be other attractions where that is also the case.

Things can also vary depending on the date, time of year, and situations outside of your control (like if a temporary closure at that ride or another ride impacts wait times for the day).

But, generally speaking, at many rides you may find that waiting until the evening is the way to go. This might often be the case because it is at that time when fireworks or a nighttime show may be taking place. Or folks may have left for the day already (especially if traveling with little ones) to get some much-needed rest. That can leave lines feeling much emptier!

But note the BIG risk with this strategy — if you do wait until the end of the day to hop in line for a popular ride and that ride experiences technical issues (or other problems) that cause it to temporarily close, you may NOT get to experience that ride on that day. That is a risk you’ll need to feel comfortable with before utilizing this strategy.

If a ride is a must-do for you, you might NOT want to wait until the end of the night to get in line for it because it could temporarily shut down for the day and prevent you from getting on it at all. Instead, for must-do rides, you’ll want to prioritize those earlier in the day so that if they do go down, you at least have some wiggle room to hopefully get on the ride if it reopens later in the day.

But if you’re willing to accept the risks and can drink enough coffee (or take enough power naps) to stay in the parks until later in the evening, consider hopping in line for those popular rides toward the end of the night to save some SERIOUS time in line!

Looking for more tips to help you skip the longer waits? Well, an obvious one is to pay for the Genie+ service or Individual Lightning Lanes. These paid services can help you skip the standby lines at various rides throughout the day — no waiting until nighttime required. But you will need to budget for the extra cost.

Another thing you can consider is to rope-drop a park/ride (as we mentioned above with Na’vi River Journey). This means you’d get to the park before it officially opens for the day so you can be one of the first guests allowed in. Then, you can head to your must-do rides before many folks have even finished eating their Mickey waffle for breakfast!

If you’re staying at a Disney World hotel (or one of the other select qualifying hotels), look into using Early Theme Park Entry too. This will let you into ANY Disney World theme park 30 minutes early (provided you have a Park Pass and valid theme park ticket). That gives you a little extra time in the park with fewer crowds.

You can also look into Extended Evening Hours. This perk is for those staying at Deluxe Disney World Hotels, Deluxe Disney Villas, and select other hotels. This allows qualifying guests to stay in certain parks AFTER they’ve closed to regular guests for the day. It’s only available on select days though (and in certain specified parks) so keep that in mind.

For daily data about Disney World wait times that you can look at to see just when your favorite ride tends to have its shortest wait during the day, stop by the website for our friends at AllEars.net. They report every single day on the wait times so you know what to expect.

All of these are ways to potentially SKIP those longer lines. So if you see news about 100+-minute waits in Disney World and are panicking a little — DON’T! Know that there are ways to make those waits shorter if you know what to do!

Whew. We know that planning a Disney World trip is A LOT. That’s why we bring you posts like this so often. But we’ve also put together a complete guide in ebook format that gives you helpful info to plan your Disney World trip, all in one place! 

Use code WDW2023 for 25% off our DFB Guide to Dining at Walt Disney World.

What is your biggest ride tip for Disney World? Tell us in the comments!