Theme park fans wait hours to try new attractions
If you’re heading to the opening of Toy Story Land this Saturday at Disney’s Hollywood Studios, you should expect to wait.
Huge crowds will lead to long lines at the rides and other attractions in the new area of the park. One expert predicts waiting for the marque ride, Slinky Dog Dash, could be as long as 200 minutes at the opening.
But long line at the opening of new theme park attractions are nothing new. Here are a few examples.
Indiana Jones
The line was sometimes more than an hour long for Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular when it opened in 1989.
Disney-MGM Studios was notoriously known for clogging up since there weren’t many attractions, and lines snaked throughout the park.
Star Tours
Visitors waited about three hours when Star Tours relaunched at Hollywood Studios in 2011, according to reports. The Orlando Sentinel reported that fans lined the streets for the procession of characters and the opening of the ride that was now in 3-D.
Harry Potter
Fans stood in line for up to seven hours to ride Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts located in the new Diagon Alley section of Universal Studios Florida when it opened in 2014. The Harry Potter attractions, the first of which opened in 2010, were instantly popular and has helped Universal compete with Disney.
Pandora
In 2017, the wait time was estimated at six hours before 8 a.m. to step foot into Pandora — The World of Avatar when the land opened at the Animal Kingdom. One expert said Flight of Passage, the thrill ride in Pandora, has been an anomaly because it’s been so popular months after its opening. People are still waiting in long lines in 2018.