Wait more than 4 hours for an attraction that only lasts two minutes? In this famous park, one of the most visited in the world, this is commonplace. But contrary to what one might believe, it is not even part of the Disney franchise.
This is what all amusement park visitors fear: long queues, which spoil both the pleasure and the profitability of this day. Because we know, entrance tickets to major theme parks are more and more expensive, and no one wants to waste their time (and therefore their money) standing and moving forward a meter every 10 minutes… for rides that rarely last more than 3 minutes. Add to that impatient children, a pressing desire, or even worse, pouring rain, and what was supposed to be a great day turns into a real nightmare.
But of course, not all are equal when it comes to queuing: some small local parks allow you to fill up on attractions without ever having to wait, while other national giants have discouraging wait times. In France, we always think of Disneyland Paris, which is as famous for its magical world as for its endless queues. Moreover, during the inauguration of the new Frozen World, some visitors waited more than 4 hours! An exceptional event, however, which does not reflect the daily life of the park: the maximum averages on the most popular attractions (such as Frozen Ever After precisely, or even the Princess Pavilion) do not exceed 2 hours in 2026 according to the Queue Times website. In reality, other resorts far exceed these levels.
Universal Studios Japan in Osaka is known for having some of the longest queues in the world. Still according to the Queue Times site, which lists amusement park statistics, visitors wait on average 60 to 100 minutes on major attractions, with peaks regularly exceeding 200 minutes, or more than 3 hours 20 minutes. The worst attraction is Mine Cart Madnesswhere waiting times are breaking records: in 2026 alone, you will have to wait around 3 hours 50 minutes. The craziest? This is a maximum average, that is to say the average of the largest peaks, which can therefore still climb beyond. During certain busy periods, comments on the internet report queues sometimes lasting more than 4 hours… for an experience of only two minutes!
The Nintendo zone, where we find the carousel Mario Kart: Koopa’s Challenge (maximum average wait of 2.5 hours), or the attractions of the universe Harry Potter (1h40 on Flight of the Hippogriff for example) are also very successful, so much so that their access can sometimes be regulated by time tickets in high season. Other flagship rollercoaster: Hollywood Dream – The Ridewhich even combines two separate files. There is the classic version, where you generally have to wait more than an hour, and the “backdrop” version where the trains go in reverse. More in demand but with lower capacity, the experience therefore generates even longer waiting times, up to 2 hours 10 minutes on average.
The third busiest amusement park in the world, Universal Studios Japan has 16 million visitors per year. A reputation which is therefore accompanied by excessively long queues, probably the worst of all: because although no official ranking exists, we realize that even in the most famous parks in the Disney franchise, these levels are far from being reached. At Disney Magic Kingdom in Florida (United States), the most visited park in the world, maximum averages do not exceed 1 hour 45 minutes on the most popular attractions. Ditto for Disneyland California, the very first park from the Mickey universe. Enough to lose patience, certainly, but not as much as in Japan!
