Best Time to Ride Big Thunder Mountain Railroad

Disneyland Park · Based on 22376 real wait time data points
8AM
Shortest average wait for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad
Arrive around 8AM for an average wait of just 17 minutes. That's 32 minutes shorter than the peak time (5PM, 49min avg). Best day of the week: Sunday (38min avg).
40m
Average Wait
17m
Best Time Wait
49m
Peak Time Wait
85m
Record High

Hour-by-Hour Wait Guide

7AM 0m Best
8AM 17m Best
9AM 29m Good
10AM 38m Busy
11AM 42m Busy
12PM 44m Busy
1PM 46m Busy
2PM 47m Busy
3PM 48m Busy
4PM 49m Busy
5PM 49m Busy
6PM 47m Busy
7PM 45m Busy
8PM 40m Busy
9PM 36m Busy
10PM 35m Busy
11PM 27m Good

Wait Times by Hour

Best Day of the Week

Wait Time Heatmap: Day × Hour

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad averages 57 minutes at 8 PM on Mondays but only 5 minutes at 8 AM on Tuesdays.

7a 8a 9a 10a 11a 12p 1p 2p 3p 4p 5p 6p 7p 8p 9p 10p 11p
Mon 21 16 31 38 44 44 57 53 52 46
Tue 8 5 17 30 40 45 47 48 54 49 57
Wed 26 25 16 27 36 43 47 48 48 48 50
Thu 11 19 28 37 41 42 44 46 45 51
Fri 20 15 29 34 33 40 39 43 46 46
Sat 25 19 30 39 43 40 41 39 43 40
Sun 20 14 29 37 40 47 44 47 53 42

Tips for Riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with Minimal Wait

Big Thunder Mountain Railroad at Disneyland Park averages a 40-minute wait, but timing makes a huge difference. The data shows waits are shortest around 8AM (17min) and longest around 5PM (49min) — a 32-minute difference just by choosing the right time.

Sunday is typically the lightest day of the week with an average wait of 38 minutes. Avoid Wednesday if possible — waits average 42 minutes.

Pro tip: Arrive at Disneyland Park before opening and head to Big Thunder Mountain Railroad first. Early-morning waits are consistently the shortest across all days of the week.

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