130 Minute Wait Times: President's Day Best And Worst Disney World Queue Times 2026

President’s Day was a tale of worst wait times and best wait times. There was an 85.7% drop in wait time for Rise of the Resistance from 105 minutes at the worst to just 15 minutes at the best. For a UK family, that is the difference between a lost afternoon queueing and a walk-on experience.

With queue times peaking at 130 minutes for attractions in three out of four Disney World parks, President’s Day 2026 was a busy one. But we kept an eye on the wait times throughout the day and found an interesting trend emerged. A trend that translates into a strategy you can use to beat the queues even on the busiest days.

Club 130: Peak Wait Times Across Disney

Our data has revealed a staggering four-way tie for the longest wait time across Disney’s four theme parks. We're calling it Club 130. At their peak, four major attractions hit a 130-minute wait:

• Soarin' Around the World, in EPCOT

• Slinky Dog Dash, in Hollywood Studios

• Smugglers Run, in Hollywood Studios

• Avatar: Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom.

What’s interesting here is that Magic Kingdom rides don’t hit that 130 minute peak during President’s Day weekend. The park that experienced the highest number of rides with high wait times was Hollywood Studios, followed by EPCOT, then Animal Kingdom, then Magic Kingdom.

Waiting for more than 2 hours in a queue is often not part of your plan when visiting Disney World, but the peak time is not perhaps the story of the day. For UK visitors, a strategy emerged that we will share below.

The Worst Wait Times: The Midday Dead Zone

Between 12:00 PM and 4:30 PM, wait times remained at their highest, so no matter how many times you refreshed the app you were met with the same disappointing long waits. High-demand rides like Test Track and Slinky Dog Dash barely moved their wait times for hours, offering no relief to guests eager to ride.

With peak arrival times and park hopping from those who have done early entry this time becomes a dead zone. Wait times don’t move unless the rides go down and you can hop on as they reopen.

For UK visitors skipping the Lightning Lane purchases on a busy day like President’s Day, heading to the shows can be your best bet. There’s higher number's of people passing through and it can provide a welcome resting reset for the rest of the day if you plan on doing a full park day.

UK visitors with a 14-day Magic Ticket would be best using this Midday Dead Zone to head out of the parks, reset, and enjoy a few hours away from the peak crowds and wait times.

The Best Wait Times: The 8:40 PM Goldmine

For the savvy UK traveller, the evening tells a completely different story. Our analysis identifies an 8:40 PM collapse in wait times at Hollywood Studios. As crowds migrated toward Fantasmic! or park exits with people looking to enjoy an even longer evening at Magic Kingdom, (which was open until 11pm), wait times for some of the world's most popular rides vanished.

Wait times across Hollywood Studios plummeted for all of the headline attractions. This is a great insight, which shows that even on the busiest days a strategy can get you on those headline rides. Here are the wait time drops for those big, popular rides:

For UK visitors used to being recommended early bird tactics, the wait times for President’s Day suggests the opposite. The best way to make the most of your time is to head to the parks and ride in the final 60 minutes of park operation, particularly at Hollywood Studios and Animal Kingdom.

A Strategy For Busy Days

If you can keep the kids awake, the final hour of park operation at Hollywood Studios, animal Kingdom and EPCOT is the single best way to get the most rides in and make the most of your time. You can experience a 105-minute ride with an 85% wait discount on your wait time.

The best strategy is to enjoy a lay morning or character breakfast and plan to hit the parks after 5pm as wait times begin to drop. The exact timing will depend on the time the park is closing, but later entry definitely beat wait times for President’s Day queues and the busiest week between Christmas and Spring Break.

As A UK visitor this is your sign to realise that even if the parks are busy, there is usually a strategy that will help you get the most from your day, especially if you have a UK exclusive 7- or 14-day Magic Ticket.

Magic In A Minute

Wait times hit 130 minutes in 3 parks and then collapsed by 85% on certain popular E ticket rides during President’s Day sending a reassuring message to UK visitors that you can enjoy lower wait times even on busy days. It’s all about strategy.