If you happen to be in Magic Kingdom and notice that a certain ride queue is causing CHAOS, I know exactly which ride is the culprit.
Loooong line
Let me level with y’all: As a remote writer for DFB, I only actually go to Disney World a few times a year. However, I’m “there” every day with our fantastic reporters, as they send us updates and photos from the parks. And hardly a day goes by when I don’t see pictures of this loooong ride queue causing problems in Tomorrowland. But here’s the good news: I know how you can AVOID that super long line!
Have you already guessed which ride is the problem? I’ll give you some hints: It’s a Tomorrowland roller coaster with a reputation for being simultaneously an icon and also horribly uncomfortable.
If you guessed Space Mountain, you’re right! I have a love/hate relationship with this ride — it’s one of the classic Magic Kingdom “mountains,” and it’s also one of the few rides that’s original to Walt Disney World, opening in Florida in 1975 a couple of years before it made its Disneyland debut in 1977 (cool, right?!). The history? Classic. The ride vehicles? Unquestionably agonizingly cramped. Still, I’ll fold myself into one of those horrible seats (and risk not being able to get out again after it’s over) every time I visit.
Space Mountain Vehicle
Here’s the other problem with Space Mountain: This ride’s queue has been wreaking havoc on the walking paths of Tomorrowland recently. It seems like we see this queue causing problems just about every day! It’ll stretch far beyond the ride building, blocking paths and getting in the way of people who just want to walk past to get to TRON Lightcycle / Run or Fantasyland.
It blocks the paths!
Even though the wait times for Space Mountain don’t usually get up as high as those for Seven Dwarfs Mine Train or even Peter Pan’s Fight, apparently the indoor queue is just not big enough to accommodate all the visitors who want to ride.
It just keeps going…
So the people spill out the front door, and the line winds its way through Tomorrowland, with a Cast Member stationed at the end to let everyone else know what the ride is for and about how long it’s going to take.
Space Mountain Queue
Unless Disney is going to rebuild the Space Mountain building to construct a longer indoor queue, I don’t have a great solution for the problems it’s currently causing in Tomorrowland. However, I DO know how you can avoid waiting in that seemingly endless line!
How To Avoid This Ride’s LONG Line
We keep track of the Disney World ride wait times to look for patterns and anomalies so that we can give you tips on how to get on your favorite rides faster. For Space Mountain, the pattern is very simple: The wait time is LOW in the early morning and late evening and HIGH in the afternoon.
Space Mountain
We noticed that the wait time tends to be about 20 to 30 minutes from 9AM to 11AM, and then it gets higher, staying anywhere from 45 minutes to 80 minutes throughout the afternoon. Right around 8PM, the time drops dramatically, sometimes getting as low as 10 or 15 minutes.
Space Mountain
This makes sense, as people tend to rope-drop the most popular rides (like Seven Dwarfs and Peter Pan’s Flight), but a lot of them still want to ride Space Mountain (it’s just not their first priority). So they end up at the roller coaster sometime mid-afternoon, after they’ve gone on some of their other favorite rides.
Space Mountain
If Space Mountain is a top priority for you, we recommend going there FIRST thing in the morning, as soon as the park opens. It is open during Early Theme Park Entry, so if you’re staying at a Disney World hotel, you can get there even earlier!
Early Entry
However, if you want to prioritize a couple of other rides during that valuable morning time, you should wait and go on Space Mountain later in the evening rather than in the afternoon. Try to visit around or after 8PM, either during or right after the Happily Ever After fireworks show.
Space Mountain
You can also purchase Genie+ to reserve a Lightning Lane for Space Mountain (and lots of other Magic Kingdom rides) if you prefer, which means you’ll get to skip the standby line. Space Mountain is part of the regular Genie+, so you can’t buy its Lightning Lane a la carte, but you can just buy Magic Kingdom Genie+ to get access to that and several other rides’ Lightning Lanes.
Space Mountain Lightning Lane
We’ll keep watching for more updates from Disney World, and we’ll be sure to share our best tips and tricks with you, too! Stay tuned to DFB.
Click here to find out how Space Mountain in Disneyland compares to the version in Disney World!
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I have never enjoyed this ride. I dont even try to like it anymore. There are too many rides and shows I like a lot better in MK. It is not only uncomfortable, it is downright painful on my back as well. But….more power to those who love it and it seems that many do! I am not a big fan of Tron either, so if it weren’t for the People Mover, I could just skip Tomorrowland.