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The opening of Cars Land at DCA significantly changed the park’s traffic patterns. As soon as the park opens, most guests head straight for Radiator Springs Racers or the Racers FastPass machines. A much smaller number will head to Hollywood Land for Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT!
On days of lighter attendance, waits of more than an hour will form within a few minutes at Racers; waits of 2 hours or more appear on holidays and other days of peak attendance. FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers will typically be gone in the afternoon on any day.
Cars Land’s attractions’ wait times will usually peak 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Radiator Springs Racers will have consistent 60- to 90-minute waits throughout the day, possibly higher if the attraction has to shut down for unscheduled maintenance, a common occurrence.
Our advice for Cars Land is to obtain FastPasses for Radiator Springs Racers as soon as the park opens. If FastPasses are all gone, consider using the single-rider line for RSR.
At Grizzly Peak, Soarin’s wait times start to climb about an hour after the park opens and peak 11 a.m.–2 p.m. Once the crowds are in the park, Soarin’ will have waits of at least 30–35 minutes for the rest of the day during most times of year. Next door, wait times at Grizzly River Run are relatively low for the first hour the park is open. During summer and warm holidays, lines grow quickly about an hour after the park opens, peaking at around noon. Waits grow more slowly when the weather is cooler but still peak around noon. Expect waits to start dropping around 4 p.m. regardless of the time of year.
In Hollywood Land, waits at Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT! and Monsters, Inc. Mike & Sulley to the Rescue usually peak 11 a.m.– noon. The wait times at Monsters, Inc. typically drop off at 4 p.m. most days and 6 p.m. on holidays.
Toward the back of the park, long waits develop fastest at Toy Story Midway Mania!—still about an hour after the park opens—and peak by 11 a.m. Like Soarin’ Around the World, Toy Story will remain popular for the rest of the day, regardless of season. Secondary attractions, including Goofy’s Sky School, won’t usually be too crowded until about 2 hours after the park opens. Like the attractions at Hollywood Land, most lines at B-list Paradise Park attractions start to drop after 4 p.m. Lines at The Little Mermaid seem to be low throughout the day and on any day of the year.
Park departures begin around 3 p.m., when families with small children start heading home. However, 9-to-5 workers with Annual Passes start coming into the park around 6 p.m. and generally stay for the evening. It’s common to see waits hold steady or even rise from early evening until the park closes, undoubtedly because of Cars Land and World of Color.
World of Color FastPasses are now generally available until 11 a.m. or noon most days. Guests with World of Color FastPasses will begin queuing in the Pacific Wharf, Grizzly Peak, and Paradise Park walkways about 30 minutes before showtime. The largest wave of departing guests occurs at the end of World of Color. Just before closing, crowd levels are thin except, of course, at Cars Land, Soarin' Around the World, and Guardians of the Galaxy: Mission BREAKOUT.
Get Current and Future Wait Times with Lines
To get a complete view of the actual traffic patterns while you're in the park, use our mobile application, Lines. The app gives you current wait times and future estimates in half-hour increments for today and tomorrow. A quick glance shows how traffic patterns affect wait times throughout the day.
