Jungle Cruise High Wait Times

[tylermuich]

I've been checking the MDE app before our trip, and keep noticing that Jungle Cruise has consistently 60+ minute waits. Even right now, it is at 115 minutes! We never used to wait longer than 20 minutes for this attraction, and now I'm wondering if we should trade in one of our FP+'s for JC. I thought this was a high capacity attraction, what gives for the high wait times?

 

[epcotisbest]

I think it has something to do with the number of people waiting in the line.

 

[Tuvalu]

Currently Jungle Cruise is “Jingle Cruise” ~ the attraction has a Christmas overlay and different jokes. Because of this, popularity for the attraction is increased this time of year.

Also, MK has been very crowded resulting in longer standby waits for most attractions.

With increased crowds, the number of ECV guests that need to be accommodated increases. There are only a few boats equipped to handle a roll-on wheelchair or ECV. Loading time for special needs is longer which leads to a boat back-up and longer waits to board.

 

[Santa Raccoon 77]

I think it has something to do with the number of people waiting in the line.

 

[ToTBellHop]

I routinely see 60+ minute waits during the daytime throughout the year. It’s quite popular, has significantly reduced its capacity over the years, and has wait times inflated by FP+.

 

[justintheharris]

It's due to the jingle cruise but also because many attractions (at least the one I worked at) had 30 seconds tops to dispatch a vehicle. Jungle Cruise has a slow loading speed and is just therefore a longer wait when it gets busy. The ride can hold a lot of people but the process of people getting in and out of the boat can vary wildly in time and is usually on the longer end as far as Disney attractions go. But I'm sure somebody on this forum knows about this better than I do.

 

[WDWTrojan]

It's due to the jingle cruise but also because many attractions (at least the one I worked at) had 30 seconds tops to dispatch a vehicle. Jungle Cruise has a slow loading speed and is just therefore a longer wait when it gets busy. The ride can hold a lot of people but the process of people getting in and out of the boat can vary wildly in time and is usually on the longer end as far as Disney attractions go. But I'm sure somebody on this forum knows about this better than I do.

Dispatch time isn't the only issue - it's also with capacity. They have lowered the number of boats over the years. Combine with a massive influx in wheelchairs which delay the load/unload process exponentially, it's a recipe for a very long line.

 

[Damon7777]

They have lowered the number of boats over the years. Combine with a massive influx in wheelchairs which delay the load/unload process

The number of boats in circulation becomes meaningless if the load and unload times dictate the throughput.

Hypothetically if a very small number of boats, say even as few as 10, are on the circuit and boats are still waiting in queue just to unload then adding more boats does not increase guest throughput.

In select scenarios It's wheeled population that makes the unwheeled folk wait longer. And for some reason the per capita of wheeled population seems to keep increasing.

 

[LUVofDIS]

As a side note, when we were there last week we had two awesome captains both times we sailed on these boats, I mean ships. We have had some not so good captains these last few years so this was a pleasant surprise. The first one, she was really funny and had decent come backs to those on board that would respond to her. But the captain we had on our last day in the MK was the best yet, his timing, come backs and some original content was excellent. The boat was constantly laughing through the trek into the jungles of the world.

As to the wait times, we normally visit WDW in September and December and since 2015, the waits always seem to be over 40 minutes with it stretching occasionally into the 100 minute plus range. 95% of the time we have visited on days of a party, so this could have something to due with it. But before 2015/16 when we start the day of the party in the morning it would be dead.

 

[graphite1326]

I could never figure out the popularity of this ride. I never thought it was that good.

 

[MidwestStitch]

I could never figure out the popularity of this ride. I never thought it was that good.

We've always felt it was a classic. Definitely better before the jokes got sterile and CM's did not seem to put much heart into it. We still try to ride everytime, might have to get a FP+ for it though when we go next week given the times..

 

[Hakunamatata]

I could never figure out the popularity of this ride. I never thought it was that good.

You almost have to look at it like you are riding through an old news reel that was shown before movies back in the day. Thats the feel that it has, to me anyway. You have to have a certain type of sense of humor to appreciate it.

 

["El Gran Magnifico"]

Definitely better before the jokes got sterile

Or the passengers did.....

 

[larryz]

Or the passengers did.....

Nuclear-powered Jungle Cruise boats, confirmed!

 

[KTK]

We just got back today from visiting The World. Saw Jingle Cruise posted 30 min wait for stand by this past Tuesday, mid afternoon. We got in line and literally walked right on. Had a very funny boat captain as well.

 

[justintheharris]

I could never figure out the popularity of this ride. I never thought it was that good.

I honestly think it's nearly 100% dependent on the skipper you get. I've had skippers who's delivery and script made me laugh almost the entire ride while the very next day I could go on it and have a skipper who doesn't make me laugh a single time.

 

[DisneyFans4Life]

Saturday was super crowded...it's just the time of year. We luckily had fast passes for Jingle Cruise so only had to wait about 20 minutes. Stand by at the time was over 120 minutes.

 

[Damon7777]

what gives for the high wait times?

Oh I dunno..... could it possibly be that it's Christmas time and there is a corresponding seasonal overlay on Jungle Cruise coupled with the very fact that Christmas is by far the highest crowding time of the year, tripled with the notion for the last perhaps good 5 years or more peak touring seasons have been not just your ordinary high season but more like high season on steroids.


I would expect high wait times for this overlay.

 

[DuckTalesWooHoo1987]

I routinely see 60+ minute waits during the daytime throughout the year. It’s quite popular, has significantly reduced its capacity over the years, and has wait times inflated by FP+.

Yep. It used to be one you could just walk on most of the time but not anymore. It's consistently more than 60 probably. Just another casualty of all the insane crowd volume over the last few years. Irritating but it is what it is.

 

[MisterPenguin]

MK has twice the number of guests than it was designed for for the whole year. And this is one of the most popular time of years. Jungle Cruise isn't magically exempt somehow from the tipping point where more guests show up to ride it than it can cycle through. Thus, the line backs up.

Tipping point tipped.